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Friday, March 19, 2010
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October 01, 2009 - Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski wants to end gender discrimination in health care, especially for the most vulnerable women.
Domestic violence survivors in the District can legally be denied health care, since their abuse is considered a pre-existing condition. Senator Mikulski says the Senate health care bills would ban that practice. "Well, we don't believe in battered women whether it's in their home or in the insurance marketplace," says Mikulski.
Cesarean births are also considered a pre-existing condition and a basis for denying coverage. Mikulski frames the problem as a feminist issue. "We did make advances for equal pay for equal work," she says. "Now we're calling on the women of America to suit up to get equal insurance for equal premiums."
Mikulski says women are often charged up to one and a half times the premiums men pay without getting adequate coverage for their needs. The Senate Finance Committee is still working out the details of its plan and how to pay for it.
Tanya Snyder reports...
October 01, 2009 - With thousands of languages used in the world today, Commentator Fred Fiske is always amazed that nearly everywhere he goes on this planet he can order coffee using the language of home.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WAMU 88.5 or American University.
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October 01, 2009 - A new patient visitation policy at Inova Fairfax Hospital bans child visitors.
The policy states that only two people at a time can visit a friend or relative in the hospital's inpatient unit. It also says that visitors under the age of 18 will not be allowed in the facility.
Dr. Allen Morrison of Inova Fairfax says the new rule is designed to help cut the risk of H1N1 virus transmission. "If you are a patient and an underage individual comes to visit, they could easily be incubating the virus," says Morrison. "Contact with the patient could cause a transmission event and that could significantly deteriorate their condition."
Edith Arias was on her way to visit a friend at Inova shortly before the restriction took effect. "On one point it's good for the safety of the patients, but then it's not good if they want to visit their parents or something," says Arias.
The policy carries execeptions for limited circumstances, such as visitors for patients receiving end-of-life care.
Elliott Francis reports...
October 01, 2009 - It could be a flu season to remember, and Metro says it's taking extra steps to keep its buses, trains and stations clean, and its passengers healthy.
Instead of bi-weekly cleanings, Metro workers will wipe down the inside of trains and buses once-a-week through flu season.
"We can't protect people completely, but we're trying to make an effort for both our riders and our employees," says Joan LeLacheur, Metro's deputy chief of environmental management.
Some riders say they're not worried about using public transportation during flu season. Bobbie Fleet says she does wish the more frequent cleanings become a year-round practice.
"I think it's good they're cleaning things more often, not even just because it's flu season," says Fleet. "I just think all public places should be better taken care of."
Brand new for this flu season are red and white posters in vehicles and stations, reminding riders to sneeze and cough into their sleeves, wash their hands, and stay off public transportation if they are sick.
The posters are in both English and Spanish, and riders should start seeing them this week.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
October 01, 2009 - As D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced at this week's groundbreaking, the Rosedale Community Center will feature fitness and game rooms, public computers, a spray park and a library.
Rosedale has had access to the nearby R.L. Christian and Langston library kiosks, but never a full-scale facility of its own. Brit Wyckoff of the Rosedale Citizens Alliance says a library will help the neighborhood both financially and personally.
"Books are expensive, magazines are unbelieveably expensive, even the newspaper's expensive," says Wyckoff. Wyckoff says the library will establish "the fabric of a community, regardless of age or money or race."
Wyckoff says the library's design still is being finalized. The community center is slated for completion in summer 2011.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
Government representatives and community members break ground on the Rosedale Community Center.
Courtesy of: Rebecca Sheir
October 01, 2009 - Drivers in Maryland who speed, drink, or text while driving face stiffer punishments beginning this morning.
Speed cameras are no longer just restricted to Montgomery County. Every jurisdiction in Maryland may now install them in construction and school zones.
Texting on a cell phone while driving is now illegal across the state. Fines for texting while driving can go as high as $500. Several laws against driving under the influence in Maryland have also changed. They extend probation for first-time offenders from 5 to 10 years.
State highway administrator Neil Pedersen says adults convicted of supplying alcohol to minors also face harsher penalties. Under another new law, anyone convicted of two DUI's within a five-year period will face a mandatory one-year drivers license suspension.
Matt Bush reports....
October 01, 2009 - Staring out at a sea of students in blue blazers and pleated skirts, D.C. councilman Marion Barry calls on the federal government to reauthorize funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Last spring, Congress opted not to reauthorize funding for the program, which provides vouchers for low-income students to attend private schools. But Bruce Stewart, who recently retired as head of the private Sidwell Friends School, says the program is essential.
A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that would extend the program for another five years.
Jessica Gould reports...
October 01, 2009 - As part of our continuing series "Conversations," reporter Michael Cottman speaks with Carrie Trybulec, Director of the Gandhi Memorial Center about its role in the greater Washington area...
The center's website is: http://www.gandhimemorialcenter.org/.
October 01, 2009 - The District could be the next battleground in the debate over gay marriage. D.C. Councilman David Catania says he will introduce a bill next week legalizing same-sex marriage. Standing before 200 or so activists from the city's gay and lesbian community, Catania, the Districts first openly gay councilman, told the crowd he is ready to introduce his long-awaited same-sex marriage bill. With 9 co-sponsors lined up, there is little doubt the measure will be approved by the 13-member council.
But all laws in the District are subject to congressional review, and federal lawmakers have intervened in local affairs. Back in 1992, congress restricted the city's effort to recognize domestic partnerships. Catania told the crowd at last nights marriage equality convocation to prepare for push back, especially from those who think the city is moving too fast on a potentially divisive issue. A public hearing on the legislation will be scheduled later this fall.
Patrick Madden reports...
October 01, 2009 - (Through Nov 1) RECENT ACQUISITIONS The exhibit Recent Acquisitions at the Corcoran Gallery of Art showcases the latest and greatest to join the gallery's collection over the past two years, on display through November 1st. The show focuses on modern and contemporary art, with works by the likes of pop artist Andy Warhol, London sculptor Marc Quinn and local photographer Cynthia Connolly.
(Oct 1-Dec 12) JERSEY BOYS D.C.'s National Theater plays host to the hit Broadway show Jersey Boys, opening tonight and running through December 12th. Washington native Joseph Siravo joins the cast in a show chronicling the life, times and music of pop music's Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
(October 2) FATHER OF THE BRIDE, REDUX Grammy winner Steve Tyrell performs in North Bethesda at The Music Center at Strathmore Friday night at 8. His cameo role in the movie Father of the Bride has endeared his smoothly delivered American classics to a new generation, rolling out hits by George and Ira Gershwin, Burt Bacharach and Ray Charles.
October 01, 2009 - This summer, as images poured in from angry health care town halls across the country, advocates for rural communities decided their folks were getting a bad rap. Today, at a congressional briefing on rural issues in health care reform, those advocates hope to set a different tone.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
October 01, 2009 - Drivers in Maryland who speed, drink, or text while driving face stiffer punishments beginning this morning. Speed cameras are no longer just restricted to Montgomery County. Every jurisdiction in Maryland may now install them in construction and school zones. Texting on a cell phone while driving is now illegal across the state. Fines for texting while driving can go as high as 500-dollars.
Several laws against Driving Under the Influence in Maryland also have changed. They extend probation for first-time offenders from 5 to 10 years. State highway administrator Neil Pedersen says adults convicted of supplying alcohol to minors also face harsher penalties. Under another new law, anyone convicted of two D-U-I's within a five-year-period will face a mandatory one-year drivers license suspension.
Matt Bush reports...
October 01, 2009 - Legislators in Maryland could lose their free E-Z Passes.
The speaker of Maryland's House of Delegates and the president of the state senate have asked the state transportation authority to terminate the legislative branch's E-Z Pass program. The program allowed scores of lawmakers to avoid paying for the electronic toll-collection service.
In July, the authority imposed a $1.50-a-month fee on E-Z Pass customers and began charging $21 for the transponders. It's unclear how much the move would save, but an authority spokeswoman tells the Baltimore Sun the 137 non-revenue transponders issued to state senators and delegates in fiscal year 2008 recorded 2,300 transactions.
About 15,000 government employees and officials in the state have the free accounts. Lawmakers would still be able to receive reimbursement for tolls.
Natalie Neumann reports...
October 01, 2009 - The D.C. Council is considering easing restrictions on raising chickens in the city.
Currently, it's illegal to have chickens within 50 feet of homes in the District. But D.C. Council Member Tommy Wells is proposing legislation to allow chickens if neighbors say it's all right.
Wells drafted the bill on behalf of a family in his district that had eight hens confiscated recently by animal control officers. The mother of that family tells the Washington Examiner they kept the birds as pets, but also because she says with two young children, they go through a dozen eggs a week.
Wells' bill would require would-be chicken keepers to get written consent from 80 percent of the households within 100 feet of the proposed coop. And if even one neighbor objects, the coop would have to go. The bill also requires annual permits and spells out sanitary requirements. Roosters would not be allowed under the legislation.
Matt McCleskey reports...
A new proposal could make it easier for D.C residents to keep chickens.
Courtesy of: Morgue File
October 01, 2009 - The owner of a mobile home park in Frederick County will pay $200,000 in fines after managers dumped raw sewage from the park into a preserved trout stream.
Under a settlement, Maryland's office of the Attorney General says S.K. Singh, owner of the Concord Mobile Home Park in Jefferson, agrees to pay $175,000 to the Maryland Clean Water Fund and $25,000 to the Northeast Environmental Enforcement Project, because Robert Phelps, the operator of the park's wastewater treatment plant, dumped untreated sewage into the tributary of Renn Branch.
Phelps pleaded guilty to a host of pollution related charges and perjury. He was sentenced to seven years, but he will only serve 90 days in jail. The rest of Singh's sentence time was suspended.
Meymo Lyons reports...
October 01, 2009 - A man from southwest Virginia has been sentenced for posting threats of violence at schools online.
Allen Leon Sammons pleaded guilty in June to five counts of transmitting a threat across state lines. The 28-year-old from Oakton posted long essays on livejournal.com expressing his frustrations with the university system. One e-mail sent to Rice University called the school "classist and elitist," adding, that was why Seung-Hui Cho "shot up VTech.
In another post, Sammons stated that he intended to take over a university by force in order to make his point. At times, he stated he bought a cheap, imitation AK-47, which he would use. He also wrote that he intended to commit suicide by cop while in the process of taking over the campus. During a search of Sammons' hard drive, FBI agents found a document labeled "People to Kill." It was a list of names and addresses. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison.
Meymo Lyons reports...
October 01, 2009 - Leaders in Washington say a new merger of D.C.'s sports and entertainment commission and convention center authority will bring more high-profile events to the city.
The new Washington Convention and Sports Authority owns the Washington Convention Center, the Stadium-Armory campus and Nationals Park.
The Convention Center generates more than $400 million each year. The merger is expected to create an additional $20.3 million annually.
Jamila Bey reports...
October 01, 2009 - The state of Maryland is granting a tax payment extension for businesses affected by last month's flooding outside of Baltimore.
Comptroller Peter Franchot says taxpayers in the Dundalk area had filing dates of October 15th and 20th. He says those deadlines have been pushed back a month for sales and use tax.
People who file by the November dates won't be charged interest, late payment fees or penalties.
A six-foot wide water main broke on September 17th, washing away part of a road, flooding cars and trapping some residents in their homes.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
October 01, 2009 - Montgomery County, Maryland is suspending a program that funds training for employees.
The program has prompted several investigations. According county records, the training includes "hot yoga" lessons, glass-fusing art classes, fashion and portrait photography classes and a class called "The Christian Home."
In a statement, the county's chief administrative officer writes, "serious questions have been raised about the appropriateness of a small number of the hundreds of courses covered by the program."
The county says it will not approve new courses until a review of the program is completed.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
October 01, 2009 - This week 30 gallons of liquid ethanol spilled onto the ground of a loading facility less than 1,000 feet from an elementary school.
Norfolk Southern, which owns the operation, failed to notify the local fire department and instead alerted the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Norfolk Southerns says it was just following standard procedure, and the state eventually notified the fire department. But neighborhood residents didn't find out until the next day.
A Norfolk Southern spokesman says the railroad will notify the city government immediately after any incident in the future, and a spokesman for the city also committed to more timely notification.
Michael Pope reports...
October 01, 2009 - Entrepreneurs and business owners in Montgomery County, Maryland now have another resource to help them become even "greener."
Wearing a lime-green blouse and even brighter green shoes, Tracy Bloom Schwartz is what you’d call "environmentally conscious." But the party supply store she operates sells stationary, place cards and invitations. "We're very aware that what we produce is used and then, some save, we like to think they save, but most is disposed of," says Schwartz.
That’s why Schwartz was in downtown Bethesda this morning for the launch of the Green Business Incubator, an economic development center funded through a public-private partnership.
The Incubator is where she's hoping to learn more about recycling the products she sells. It's also where other eco-friendly entrepreneurs can network and learn about the latest green business practices.
David Schultz reports...
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