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Saturday, March 13, 2010
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October 16, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) Lawmakers asked House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer about rumors of attaching a plan to give D.C. residents a voting member of Congress to a defense funding bill. The Maryland Congressman did not say if that would happen but continued to speak of his support for the measure.
WASHINGTON (AP) A hospital rabbi who comforted the family of the security guard who was killed at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has been fired for speaking and writing about the experience. Rabbi Tamara Miller says she didn't reveal anything that was not already public knowledge. But George Washington University Hospital says she still shouldn't have said anything.
WASHINGTON (AP) The chairman of the D.C. City Council opened a hearing on the dismissal of nearly 400 school employees by criticizing the way the firings were done and denying a claimed budget crunch. The council will meet later this month with the mayor and schools chancellor.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
October 16, 2009 - BALTIMORE (AP) Federal prosecutors say a Bethesda woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in mortgage fraud tied to 25 properties in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia worth millions. Forty-four-year-old Sabrina Weinberg was sentenced today.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
October 16, 2009 - ROANOKE, Va. (AP) The Western District of Virginia has a new U.S. attorney. Timothy Heaphy has served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District and in Washington, D.C. He had worked in private practice since 2006.
MIDDLETOWN, Va. (AP) Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated is planning an $8.9 million expansion of its Middletown facility that will create 50 jobs. Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced the expansion today. Kaine says the science supply company is adding a new medical liquid formula line at the manufacturing facility.
STANLEYTOWN, Va. (AP) Stanley Furniture Company is planning layoffs and implementing a voluntary early retirement program due to slumping earnings and sales. Officials say the number of layoffs will be determined by the first week of December. He said a ``vast majority'' will occur at the furniture maker's manufacturing facility and corporate offices in Stanleytown.
ABINGDON, Va. (AP) A federal jury has awarded $200,000 to a newspaper publisher after deciding the Buchanan County School Board unconstitutionally banned him from school grounds. The jury in Abingdon ruled yesterday after a three-day trial on a lawsuit filed by Earl Cole of The Voice, a twice-monthly newspaper.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
October 16, 2009 - The Washington Post has compiled a list of locations to get the swine flu vaccine. Click here to go directly to the site.
October 16, 2009 - A number of major roads will be open to bicycles only tomorrow morning for the Washington and Arlington Community Bike Ride.
Imagine, no traffic on the Whitehurst Freeway or the GW Parkway. Those are just a couple of the "forbidden roads" on the community ride map, says event organizer Rick Bauman. "For the people who are already avid bicyclists it gives them the opportunity to go out and say, 'Wow, here we get some stretches of road we normally drool over,'" says Bauman.
But the ride's not just for spandex-clad bike pros. Bauman hopes people new to biking and worried about traffic will try it out. "This is your chance, with the streets closed to motorized traffic, to get out there and really see what biking around Washington can be and how special it is."
Online registration is open until midnight tonight. You can also sign up tomorrow morning before the ride, at Pennsylvania Avenue & 10th Streets Northwest.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
The Whitehurst Freeway, as viewed from the D.C. side of the Key Bridge, will be car-free for one morning.
Courtesy of: Stephanie Kaye
October 16, 2009 - An engineering group gives Virginia's roads, dams and other infrastructures poor grades. The state's section of the American Society of Civil Engineers rtes the state's infrastructure in thirteen categories, giving it an overall grade of D+. The condition of Virginia's roads received a D-, while the facilities for schools, storm water and waste-water got D+ marks. Parks in the Commonwealth got the highest grade, receiving a B- from the group. The president of the society's Virginia section, Thomas L. Fitzgerald, says infrastructure is vital to the health of the state's economy, and the state's ability to attract business and industry.
Bill Redlin reports...
October 16, 2009 - Women pay higher health insurance premiums than men in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. And many are denied care for pre-existing conditions only women have. This discrimination was the focus of a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.
Insurers are allowed to charge men and women different rates based on gender. On average a 25 year-old female pays 45 percent more than a 25 year-old man. And Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski says coverage is skimpy at best. She says health care proposals working their way through Congress would to take away an insurers' right to deny care to a woman because she is pregnant or had a C-section. One person testified she couldn't purchase a plan from a private insurer unless she underwent sterilization. Mikulski was furious.
"I found it offensive and morally repugnant and I intend to do something about it," she says.
Insurance companies say women use more health care services than men. Some also face higher premiums if they have pre-existing conditions.
Sara Sciammacco reports...
October 16, 2009 - On Tuesday, the median age of people wearing suits and high heels in the Capitol dropped considerably. Scores of earnest 20-somethings flanked Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her announcement of a new provision in the House version of health care overhaul.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
October 16, 2009 - D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has pledged to stay through the end of Mayor Adrian Fenty's second term. But what happens if he isn't reelected?
Rhee often says she thinks she can close the academic achievement gap for children and transform D.C.s public school system by the end of Fenty's second term -- which would be in 2015. But Rhee won't say what she's do if Fenty isn't reelected in 2010. Rhee only will say Fenty has been "a huge factor" in her aggressive reform efforts.
She was asked whether his reelection was a two for one deal or if she will consider working with someone else who gave her the same leeway. Rhee flashed a grin. "Hes the only politician Ive met across the country whos taken a stand on this. Its easy for people to say things but to follow through is a whole different story," said Rhee
Fenty hasn't officially announced that hes running for a second term. Kavitha Cardoza reports...
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has pledged to stay through the end of Mayor Adrian Fenty's second term.
Courtesy of: NBC4.com
October 16, 2009 - After a school bus in Alexandria, Virginia dropped a five-year-old Kindergarten student in an unfamiliar neighborhood, administrators are trying to figure out ways to prevent what happened to him from taking place again. Gavin Salinas made it home OK after a stranger noticed him crying and called his mother.
But administrators in Alexandria say they are investigating a number of future changes, including a daily roster check and distributing electronic swipe cards to each student. Spokeswoman Amy Carlini says administrators will install signs with animal logos in all 86 buses in the school system next week.
Michael Pope reports...
October 16, 2009 - Latinos make up an estimated 13 percent of the population but 18 percent all new AIDS cases in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a non-profit agency in Northern Virginia says a new focus on the Latino community there is starting to make a difference.
K.I. Services is a health service agency that's targeted the region's minority populations since 2001.
But Yvonne Williams, K.I.s Executive Director says this year the agency's efforts with the Latino population have been more successful, because of new bilingual counselors.
"Now that we have two full-time Latino workers, we have found new sites that I didn't even know about out," Williams says.
Marco Vallejo is one of the new counselors.
He says its not just a shared language that allows him to talk with Latinos about HIV/AIDS.
"We grew up with the same taboos, and the same customs in our countries," Vallejo says. "We understand each other."
K.I. Services will continue their efforts to educate and treat AIDS in the local Latino community on Saturday with free HIV testing for two hours at Tenant and Workers United in Alexandria, Virginia starting at 10:00 in the morning.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
October 16, 2009 - This year marks the 100th anniversary of the NAACP. Lorraine Miller, President of the Washington DC Branch, welcomed guests to an anniversary gala last night, to an evening that she says was a celebration of the past. Edna Marie Hardmon embodied that past. She's one month OLDER than the organization. Hardmon joined the NAACP when she was very young.
But the evening began with the group's future. Students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts played, to a theater that was about half-full. Talk show host and emcee Joe Madison stepped in to liven things up with what he called a "Kanye West" moment, interrupting the band. Actress Cicely Tyson spoke of the group's mission, while singer India Airee lent her voice.
The Washington Branch will hold discussions on health care, the economy and mentoring in the months ahead.
Stephanie Kaye reports on how the Washington DC Branch is celebrating a century of civil rights activism...
October 16, 2009 - (October 17-April 11) FASHIONING JAPAN From kimono to couture, The Textile Museum presents Fashioning Japan, a new exhibit opening in downtown D.C. tomorrow. The show runs through April of next year, presenting an astounding array of cloth-as-art, featuring designs that boggle the mind. The Textile Museum and the Phillips Collection are also hosting curators and designers for a symposium of style beginning today and running through Sunday.
(October 17) THE OLD MAN & THE BAY The Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park, Maryland hosts New Moon Theatre Company's The Old Man and the Bay tomorrow afternoon at 4. This interactive play presents local history through the eyes of the explorers and pirates who trolled the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, and the settlers and watermen who stayed - a memorable way for kids and adults to experience Maryland's history.
(October 17) CHAIRS You might not think a book about chairs would have many legs to stand on, but author Judith Miller does. She'll present her tome, Chairs, during the Washington D.C. Antiques Art & Jewelry Show Saturday afternoon at 1 at the Washington Convention Center. This latest book by the international antiques expert celebrates a passion for chairs, examining more than 100 favorites and reflecting upon the chair's iconic status, historical development and just how good they can be for your back.
Dress, Fall/Winter 1990/91, Issey Miyake (b. 1938), Japan. Collection of Mary Baskett.
Courtesy of: Textile Museum
October 16, 2009 - It's cold and drizzling at Harpers Ferry, just as it was a century and a half ago - almost to the day - when John Brown tried to foment a slave rebellion. Diane Young, a professor of history at Youngstown University, leads me along the Potomac River to a small engine house.
"This is where Brown and his men were [held]up - with a few captives - and the building was surrounded."
Young said Brown believed slavery itself was a war that America had been perpetrating against African Americans for 200 years. His plan was to seize a vast federal arsenal and arm the half million slaves of Virginia. He failed. Brown was captured by U.S. Marines under none other than Robert E. Lee. But the event shocked the nation and scared the South.
"If Northern whites were going to be complicit and join four million slaves, slavery was in trouble," said Young.
While awaiting his hanging, Brown wrote "the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood." Violence was suddenly a real possibility.
"This was a catalyst for the Civil War," said Young.
Southern militia movements germinated. Abolitionists in the North galvanized. History tumbled toward war.
A week long commemoration is planned at Harpers Ferry and nearby locations, you can find more at www.johnbrownraid.org/events
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
The Engine House, where abolitionist John Brown and 18 men held their last stand before being captured by U.S. Marines under Robert E. Lee.
Courtesy of: Sabri Ben-Achour
View more images from this gallery.
October 16, 2009 - Today marks 150 years since John Brown led a band of 18 abolitionists on a mission to seize a federal arsenal and arm the slaves of Virginia. The most basic facts are there, but how people view those events has changed over time.
Alice Keesey Mecoy's family knows this. She is a great, great great grand daughter of John Brown. She is very proud of her ancestor.
"He was for equality of all people, not just slaves, he wanted women and men to be equal, and everyone to be treated the same."
But up until Mecoy's generation, her family didn't ever talk about being related to John Brown. They were ashamed.
"In the early 1900's, John Brown was not viewed favorably - he was a 'murderer', a 'terrorist', so people were not willing to admit it as much," said Mecoy.
John Brown's violent methods were controversial then and now. For a long time, he was hated in the South. So much so that fifty years ago in 1959 the National Park Service couldn't even mark the 100th anniversary of the raid because of political pressure. That was at a time when desegregation was still a dirty word in some parts. Attitudes today reflect how times have changed.
The raid's anniversary is being marked with a week of celebrations, lectures, plays and tours. You can find more about those events by clicking [here (http://www.johnbrownraid.org/events).
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
October 16, 2009 - Every few weeks Fritz Hahn joins us to talk about what happens in the DC region after the sun goes down. He writes about nightlife for the Washington Post and he's one of the Going Out Gurus at the washingtonpost.com. This week, he tells David Furst where to find pumpkin carving contests in neighborhood bars.
October 16, 2009 - Both Senate and House are out of session today. This morning, the Brookings Institution hosts a discussion on policy options for Afghanistan.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
October 16, 2009 - Women pay higher health insurance premiums than men in Maryland, Virginia and DC. And many are denied care for pre-existing conditions only women have. This discrimination was the focus of a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.
Insurers are allowed to charge men and women different rates based on gender. On average a 25 year-old female pays 45 percent more than a 25 year-old man. And Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski says coverage is skimpy at best. She says health care proposals working their way through Congress would to take away an insurers right to deny care to a woman because she is pregnant or had a c-section. One person testified she couldn't purchase a plan from a private insurer unless she underwent sterilization. Mikulski was furious.
"I found it offensive and morally repugnant and I intend to do something about it," said Mikulski.
Insurance companies say women use more health care services than men. Some also face higher premiums if they have pre-existing conditions.
From Capitol News Connection Sara Sciammacco reports...
October 16, 2009 - There is a lot going on this week around the Washington region: Virginia's gubernatorial candidates move toward the finish line, D.C. students show some gains while at the same time the council looks into teacher layoffs and an update on slots in Maryland.
Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney joins WAMU's Morning Edition Host Matt McCleskey to talk about some of the region's top stories...
October 16, 2009 - Virginia is dedicating a memorial this afternoon for a different kind of hero killed in the line of duty.
About 100 K-9 officers and their partners are expected at a ceremony today in Blacksburg remembering the sacrifices of law enforcement dogs. They'll help dedicate a statue installed at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.
The life-size bronze image of a German Shepherd dog was sculpted by Blacksburg artist Larry Bechtel. The statue honors 12 dogs that have died in the line of duty in Virginia over the past 47 years. Authorities use dogs to locate drugs and explosives, and to help apprehend criminal suspects.
State Attorney General Bill Mims and Virginia Tech President Charles Steger are scheduled to speak at the ceremony.
Natalie Neumann reports...
October 16, 2009 - An exchange on the floor of the U.S. House is leading some to speculate about the possibility of attaching a D.C. Voting Rights amendment to a defense spending bill.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton says she's looked at a variety of legislative ways to pass a voting rights bill. "I don't care how the baby is born, I'm just trying to get as clean a voting rights bill as I can'" says Norton.
One possibility is attaching it to a defense spending bill. The House and Senate have each passed massive defense appropriations bills to fund the military. Leaders will meld the bills into a final conference report for a vote. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) indicated on the House floor that a D.C. voting rights bill could be included in the report.
Illir Zherka directs D.C. Vote. He says attaching the voting rights amendment to a larger bill could speed up the process. "The Congress does not have to spend a lot of time on the D.C. Voting Rights Act to move it forward," says Zherka. "So we certainly have the time. If it were attached to any other bill as an amendment, that would make it easier for the Congress to take it up again."
Attaching it to a larger bill also creates political leverage, because it would require lawmakers who want to oppose D.C. voting rights to vote against the entire package.
Peter Granitz reports...
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