News Archive - November 5, 2009

Latest Maryland Regional News

DUNDALK, Md. (AP) A Baltimore police officer has been released from the hospital after being stabbed in the neck and back outside a strip club. Authorities say the officer was released this afternoon while the suspect he shot remained in serious condition.

BALTIMORE (AP) TracFone Wireless i...

Post-It Note Slur Troubles Georgetown Community

Joseph Graumann, a Georgetown junior and co-chair of the GLBTQ group GU Pride, said he's seen the university transform "from an institution that completely ignored LGBTQ students, to an administration that almost whole-heartedly embraces them."

After a number of anti-gay incidents in 2007,...

Quantico At "Threat Condition Alpha''

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) A spokeswoman says the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Va., is at "threat condition alpha" after shootings in Fort Hood, Texas, that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded.

First Lt. Joy Crabaugh, Quantico's media officer, says the base is monitoring the situation at Fort Hood...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) A Washington group has created a new way to learn about the history and designers behind the nation's public parks, gardens and other landscapes. The new "What's Out There" searchable, online database includes 650 sites across the country.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated P...

Arlington Moves Toward Vaccinating First Graders Against H1N1

First-graders in Arlington, Virginia could start getting school-wide H1N1 vaccinations as early as this Friday. That's something that's been on hold as the county health department deals with the vaccine shortage.

Congressman Jim Moran, of Arlington, said he's heard complaints about the vac...

Traffic Signals Still Not Right In Montgomery County

Traffic lights in Montgomery County, Maryland aren't functioning properly during rush hour for a second straight day. It will be that way tomorrow too.

The timing of the lights is supposed to change during morning and evening rush hour to accommodate heavier traffic. County executive Isiah...

Latest Virginia Regional News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Gov. Kaine will return to teaching at the University of Richmond after his four-year term ends in January. He says he's accepted appointment to the University of Richmond's School of Law and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The Virginia Supreme...

Opponents Of Gay Marriage In D.C. Cheer Results In Maine

Opponents of same-sex marriage in D.C. are cheering the results of a ballot measure in Maine. Voters in Maine overturned a law allowing marriage for same-sex couples. Pastor Harry Jackson is fighting to put a similar measure on the ballot in D.C.

"It energizes us because of the vast amount...

Army: 12 dead, 31 Hurt In Attacks At Fort Hood

By APRIL CASTRO and DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writers

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) An Army officer opened fire Thursday with two handguns at the Fort Hood military base in an attack that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman and apprehended two other soldiers in w...

Traffic Lights In Montgomery County Operating In Non-Rush Hour Mode

Montgomery County continues to have problems with its traffic signal computer, and traffic lights are operating on regular, non-rush hour timing.

The computer controls the automated system for 750 traffic lights. The problem started yesterday, snarling traffic in some areas and making morni...

Proposal Calls For Increasing Child Support Payments In Maryland

The last time child support levels were revised in Maryland was in 1988, but now state officials are saying it's time to increase them.

Officials from the department of human resources say the new proposal would bring payments more in line with today's costs.

In the plan the amount th...

First Lady Presents Award To D.C. Non-Profits

First Lady Michelle Obama has presented two local non-profits with a national award for their work on behalf of inner-city youth and their families.

The Sitar Arts Center and a group called Higher Achievement are being recognized with the 2009 "Coming Up Taller Award."

Obama hosted me...

Power Breakfast for November 5, 2009

Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek takes the witness chair before a House Judiciary subcommittee to talk about the importance of banning a particularly dangerous import: pythons.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...

Food Banks: The Frontline Against Hunger

Local food banks say they are seeing longer lines, brand-new faces, and handing out less food.

Patrick Madden reports...

Free Cell Phones Offered

BALTIMORE (AP) TracFone Wireless Inc. is offering free cell phones and 64 minutes a month of air time to some 400,000 low-income Maryland residents.

The year-old program by TracFone affiliate Safelink Wireless Inc. has been available to residents of 19 states, including Maryland and Delawar...

Group Calls For Changes To Juvenile Justice In D.C.

It's meal time at the New Beginnings Youth Center in Laurel, Maryland and barbeque beef is on the menu. There are nearly 60 boys living here. They're D.C.'s most serious juvenile offenders.

Every single one of them is African American.

"I mean, that just defies reason," says Eugene Ha...

Commentary: Marathon Dreams

Many of us set exercise goals for ourselves. Five years ago, Commentator Fred Fiske set a lofty one, and now finds himself reluctantly moving the goalposts.

If you have your own marathon story to tell, let us know here.

Controversial Suspension Of Star High School Running Back Overturned

A controversial suspension for a star Northern Virginia high school football has been overturned.

Broad Run High School's star running back T.J. Peeler was penalized twice during last week's game against Potomac Falls for chest bumping teammates after scoring touchdowns.

Two unsportsm...

EPA Releases New Expectations for Chesapeake Restoration

The six Chesapeake Bay watershed states and the District of Columbia are facing a new list of restoration expectations from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA's goal is to have the Bay meet water quality standards by 2025. It is requiring the watershed states to detail exactly wha...

H1N1 Victim's Mother Urges Vaccine Use

The parents of a young girl in Baltimore who died of swine flu are urging other parents to vaccinate their children.

Fourteen-year-old Destinee Parker died in late September. She had no underlying medical conditions that her parents or doctors knew about. Her stepmother, Deirdre Parker, sai...

D.C. Updates H1N1 Vaccine Clinic Schedule

D.C.'s department of health has updated its H1N1 vaccine clinic schedule. Click here to get directions to local vaccination clinics.

The D.C. Department of Health announced today that it will adjust its current H1N1 vaccine clinic schedule by reducing the number of free H1N1 vaccine clinic...

Comptroller: Maryland Tax Amnesty Nets $9.6 Million

The office of Maryland's comptroller says the state's tax amnesty program is netting an estimated $9.6 million. The program allows residents to pay back taxes free of penalties and one-half the interest due.

Joseph Shapiro, a spokesman for Comptroller Peter Franchot, says close to 6,500 app...

"Conversations..." Michael Cottman & President Of The Hispanic College Fund

As part of our continuing series "Conversations," reporter Michael Cottman speaks with Idalia Fernandez, president of the Hispanic College Fund, which provides scholarships for Latino students who are seeking careers in the areas of math, science, technology and engineering...