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Thursday, March 18, 2010
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October 23, 2009 - A day care worker in Maryland's Talbot County is accused in the death of a baby in her care.
Maryland State police say the child suffered injuries consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome. The D.C. medical examiner's office says nine-month-old Trevor Ulrich died last month from inflicted head trauma.
Paramedics found the baby in cardiac arrest at Dobson's day-care center in Trappe, Maryland on September 2nd. The child died the next day at Children's Hospital in Washington. Investigators say the baby boy had been in 52-year-old Gail Dobson's care for two days.
Dobson is charged with manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death.
Bill Redlin reports....
October 23, 2009 -
(October 23) DINNERSTEIN IN JAIL The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is sending a classically-trained pianist to prison. World-renowned musician Simone Dinnerstein checks in at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women this morning at 11 for some "Jailhouse Bach." This performance is off-limits to the general public, but not to worry - Dinnerstein will be released in time for her concert Simply Classical tomorrow at The Music Center at Strathmore and Sunday at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.
Dinnerstein's "Jailhouse Bach" performance comes thanks to The Piatigorsky Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing classical music to non-traditional venues.
(October 23-25) BOO AT THE ZOO This weekend it's Boo at the Zoo, time to trick-or-treat with some of D.C.'s creepiest and cuddliest creatures, tonight through Sunday at the Smithsonian Zoological Park in D.C. From 5:30 to 8:30 you can "enjoy" a tarantula talk, learn all about cockroaches and feast your eyes on the scorpion spectacular.
(Through October 31) ICHABOD'S TRAIL If you find yourself on an abandoned road in West Virginia on a dark and stormy night, you may have come across Ichabod's Trail and the Haunted Hay Ride happening in Dawson. Greenbrier Valley hosts some very haunted evenings through October 31st.
Web only: Directions: You can find old Ichabod by taking Route 81 into Virgina to Route 64, heading into West Virginia through Lewisburg. Take the Dawson Exit off of I-64. Turn left off the exit and left at the stop sign. Pass the Dawson Country Store and the Dawson Inn. Turn right at the stop sign. Take the first road to the right (Grassy Meadows Road by Old Mill Antique Store). At the small intersection continue straight onto Bennett Mountain Road. At the top of the hill, follow the signs to the haunted trail. For more information call 304-392-6153.
October 23, 2009 - With 400 citations for running red lights in 2004, Metro bus operators are in the spotlight, and so are the people they work for.
Bus operators watching television, texting behind the wheel, along with reports of rude behavior and frequent traffic accidents. That's just part of recent public reports on the conduct of some of the people who work for metro.
According to Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein, these workers are in the minority. "We've got 10,000 employees; the majority of employees do a great job every single day," said Farbstein. "You just tend not to hear that."
What is heard are the mounting reports which cast doubt on a system already troubled with crime and safety issues. Here's how Metro is tackling the problem, according to Farbstein: "We are currently reviewing our standard operating procedures, our disciplinary actions and changing our approach to discipline."
Worker's unions say they support Metro's ongoing discipline initiatives.
Elliott Francis reports...
October 23, 2009 - A Senate committee passed a bill to give six central Virginia Indian tribes federal recognition. That would let the tribes apply for federal housing and education dollars.
Virginia lawmakers say the tribes are unique. They signed British peace treaties and an old state law made it impossible to claim their Indian heritage. Furthermore, court records needed for recognition were destroyed during the Civil War.
So Senator Jim Webb introduced legislation to get approval from Congress. Wyoming Republican John Barrasso argues that decision should be left up to the Department of Interior. "These tribes point to one or more problems, not on their own making, that make the administrative process very difficult or impossible--that's fair enough," said Barrasso. "The appropriate congressional fix is to address each of the specific problems specifically, not simply deem them to be tribes."
A similar bill passed in the House. That legislation drafted by Virginia Congressman Jim Moran would prevent gaming on Indian land. The Senate bill now goes to the floor for a vote.
Sara Sciammacco reports...
October 23, 2009 - Hundreds of families in Wards six and seven lined up for their doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine last night, though some remain mistrustful.
Khepra Anu won't be getting a flu vaccination this year - or ever. He doesn't trust vaccine providers.
Howard University historian Greg Carr says a history of racist medical practices have left many African Americans skeptical. That is beginning to change though.
Dr. Pierre Vigelance is head of the D.C. Department of Health. He insists the risk of side effects from the flu vaccine is low, and says thousands have been safely vaccinated.
Free flu shots for vulnerable groups will be available in the District until mid November.
Jamila Bey reports...
October 23, 2009 - From Portland, Oregon to Barcelona, cities are adopting streetcars as a more efficient way to move people. D.C. has a $1.5 billion plan to build a network of modern streetcars.
Monte Edwards, a lifelong resident of the D.C. area, remembers the pre-World War II era when streetcars roamed the city.
"They were lovely, silent things," he says. "Of course, they were relics of the 30s and 40s. But they ran. They worked well."
Edwards is at an open house put on by the District Department of Transportation showcasing the streetcars. They'll connect highly developed areas with neighborhoods along H Street NE, Georgia Avenue and the Anacostia River - parts of the city that never fully recovered from the turmoil of the 1960s.
"The streetcar may be the thing that brings D.C. back to its glory days," DDOT Director Gabe Klein says.
The District plans to conduct an environmental study on the streetcar plan by next year so it can receive federal funding.
David Schultz reports...
October 23, 2009 - This week, the whipping frenzy seems to intensify with each passing day - and each new sign that a certain linchpin element of health care overhaul is gaining traction in both chambers.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
October 23, 2009 - In Virginia, some members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors are working on a new set of regulations for tree trimmers.
Adam Wingo uses a series of ropes to scale up a silver maple in Fairfax County. A resident has hired him to remove branches scraping against a home roof. Wingo says Virginia could play a better role in helping consumers.
"I would welcome regulation because it would separate the what from the chaff," he says.
Fairfax Supervisor Jeff McKay says police have responded to a number of complaints about tree trimmers charging exorbitant fees and performing unnecessary work. He says he would like to see Virginia create a system of licensing so the state could go after scam artists.
"What we are looking for is to try to come up with penalties for folks who are in the neighborhood preying on elderly," he says.
McKay says he'll be working with members of the General Assembly to determine the best strategy for crafting new regulations.
Michael Pope reports...
October 23, 2009 - Some local activists are reacting to the passage of a U.S. Senate bill extending hate crime protections to include victims targeted for their sexual orientation or gender identity. They say the legislation signals a shift in political momentum within the District.
Sean Bugg is the co-publisher of Metro Weekly, Washington's gay and lesbian weekly news magazine. When news got out the Senate passed the much-anticipated hate crimes bill, he joined a busy online community of gay activists and supporters who were spreading the word.
"Watching everyone's reaction through twitter and email and web sites, there's this sort of sense of relief that finally something is happening," he says.
D.C. already has hate crimes legislation in place, but Bugg says the new federal law provides an additional avenue for prosecution.
"It's like the keystone in a lot of ways and I think that's how some people are seeing it," he says. "This keystone's been moved and now everything else can start moving forward. It's like the gears of government are finally working in our favor."
But the measure has conservative groups worried. Tom McClusky is Vice President of the Family Research Council. He says passage of the bill makes his next local fight more difficult.
"Especially in the District of Columbia, it will embolden the DC City Council to go further and try to ram through what they're already trying to ram through - having the District of Columbia recognize same sex marriages within the District," he says.
The House passed the same hate crimes bill earlier this month, and President Obama says he will sign the bill into law.
Mana Rabiee reports...
October 23, 2009 - Attorneys for the so-called D.C. sniper are trying to convince Governor Tim Kaine that their client is too mentally ill to be executed.
John Allen Muhammad's lawyers say they gave Kaine a compilation of interviews with attorneys, mental health experts and witnesses showing Muhammad's mental illness. The U.S. Supreme Court has banned executions of people who are mentally ill.
Muhammed was convicted of killing a man at a gas station in Manassas Virginia in 2002. The shooting was one of a string of attacks across the D.C. region.
Muhammad's execution is schedule for November 10th.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
October 23, 2009 - Virginia's health commissioner says the state may be seeing the peak of swine flu infection. Karen Remley says Virginia could be in the middle of its "epidemic curve," where a disease reaches its highest point of infection before starting to come down.
"We are up at 14.2 percent," she says. "When we look at other states that have gone through their influenza curves, they tend to hit somewhere between 14 and 16 percent and then start to come down."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Department of Health and Human Services also are monitoring other countries, specifically Australia, to see if the H1N1 virus follows the typical infection pattern.
Remley says right now, Virginia is trying to vaccinate people who are at high risk of contracting the virus.
"It will be interesting for us to see how getting vaccination out - even if it's in small numbers - might help us bring down that curve."
But she says she expects to be able to make the vaccine available to the general public by mid-November. However, delays in production mean that date is a "moving target."
Stephanie Kaye reports...
October 23, 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 23, 2009 - Tens of thousands will participate in the Marine Corps Marathon that meanders through DC and Northern Virginia Sunday. Race organizers say they're making sure to minimize its impact on the environment.
30,000 runners will surely affect the environment. Marathon runners throw extra clothing on the ground, along with empty cups and exhausted water bottles. But race planners say they're prepared for the cleanup, director Rick Nealis proudly touts the efforts he's making.
"Does the cost go up, sure?" he says. "There is a cost factor: a penny, two pennies, a dollar. But at the end, it's the right things to do."
He says two years ago organizers decided to make the environmental impact a major focus. Bruce Rayner, the man tasked with greening up the event, says the Marine Corps Marathon is leading the way in hosting environmentally friendly sporting events.
"They're firing on many cylinders, the waste, the climate. They're promoting health among youth," he says.
His goal is to recycle at least 50 percent of the waste produced. He says people will gather more than eight-hundred-fifty-thousand cups and send them to a commercial composter in Maryland.
Peter Granitz reports...
October 23, 2009 - Virginia's health commissioner says the state may be seeing the peak of swine flu infection. Karen Remley says Virginia could be in the middle of its "epidemic curve," where a disease reaches its highest point of infection before starting to come down, measured by the number of cases seen in hospital emergency rooms. "We are up at 14.2 percent. When we look at other states that have gone through their influenza curves, they tend to hit somewhere between 14 and 16 percent and then start to come down."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Department of Health and Human Services also are monitoring other countries, specifically Australia, to see if the H1N1 virus follows the typical infection pattern.
Remley says right now, Virginia is trying to vaccinate people who are at high risk of contracting the virus. "It will be interesting for us to see how getting vaccination out - even if it's in small numbers - might help us bring down that curve." But she says she expects to be able to make the vaccine available to the general public by mid-November. However, delays in production mean that date is a "moving target."
Stephanie Kaye reports...
October 23, 2009 - Teachers from some charter schools in D.C. will collaborate with teachers from schools in England and discuss curricula, social challenges and similar experiences in the classroom.
Tom Nida with the public charter school board says this is the first time there's been such a partnership in D.C. The Transatlantic School Innovation Alliance has similar partnerships with schools in New York and Boston.
Teachers from five schools in the West Midlands in England will travel to the District next week. Nida says he expects this to help improve student achievement. "We keep hearing about how much worse out our education system is getting on an international level," said Nida. "So this is an opportunity to separate the fact from the myth and find out if there are best practices on both sides of the Atlantic."
The public charter schools participating in D.C. are Paul, SEED, Cesar Chavez, Capitol City and Washington Math, Science, Technology.
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
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