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Friday, November 20, 2009
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November 05, 2009 - 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 Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 05, 2009 - 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 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 has been available to residents of 19 states, including Maryland and Delaware, and Washington, D.C.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 05, 2009 - 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 Court has upheld permits for construction of the Virginia portion of a multistate power line. Dominion Virginia Power and a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy plan to build the 500-kilovolt transmission line between Washington County, Pennsylvania, and Loudoun County.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli has named two former attorneys general and a former state Republican Party chairman to his transition team. Republican Richard Cullen served as attorney general in 1997 after Jim Gilmore stepped down to run for governor.
MANASSAS, Va. (AP) Prince William County police have arrested and charged a 15-year-old boy for attacking five women. Police say they arrested the Manassas boy on Tuesday and charged him with three counts of abduction, five counts of malicious wounding, one count of sexual battery and one count of attempted rape. They did not identify the teen.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 05, 2009 - 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, and "pertinent" lines of communication were in place.
Crabaugh said the base is implementing appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the base and its Marine and civilian residents and employees.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 05, 2009 - 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 what appears to be the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base.
There was no immediate word on a motive. The shooting began around 1:30 p.m., said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. He said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening.
"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said. A law enforcement official identified the shooting suspect as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
A defense official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hasan was a mental health professional, an Army psychologist or psychiatrist. Officials say it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to Islam at some point.
A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on nearby at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.
Greg Schanepp, U.S. Rep. John Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter, whose district includes the Army post. Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him of the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter, he said.
The base was locked down after the shootings. The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Nine were taken to Scott + White Memorial Hospital in Temple. A hospital spokeswoman says all had been shot and are adults. A Fort Hood spokesman said he could not immediately confirm any identities of the injured.
Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis., says her daughter, 19-year-old Amber Bahr, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition. "We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," Pfund told The Associated Press. She couldn't provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel.
"I ask that all of you keep these families and these individuals in your prayers today," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said.
The shootings on the Texas military base stirred memories of other recent mass shootings in the United States, including 13 dead at a New York immigrant center in March, 10 killed during a gunman's rampage across Alabama in March and 32 killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down. "The bottom line for us is that we are increasing security at our gates because the threat hasn't yet been defined, and we're reminding our Marines to be vigilant in their areas of responsibility," said Capt. Rob Dolan, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.
In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence." He said it's a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil. "We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," the commander in chief said. "We are going to stay on this."
Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, the sprawling base is located halfway between Austin and Waco.
About a mile from Fort Hood's east gate, Cynthia Thomas, director of Under the Hood Cafe, a coffee house and outreach center, was calling soldiers and friends on the post to make sure they're OK. "It's chaotic," Thomas said, as a SWAT team just drove by. "The phones are jammed. Everybody is calling family members and friends. Soldiers are running around with M-16s."
Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood. It has been continuously used for armored training and is charged with maintaining readiness for combat missions.
Associated Press Writers Anne Gearan, Lara Jakes, Suzanne Gamboa and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, D.C., Jay Root in Temple, Linda Stewart Ball, Anabelle Garay and Andre Coe in Dallas contributed to this report.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 05, 2009 - 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 Leggett said the problems with the computer that sets the timing will take time to repair, which means county workers will have to fix the signals at each intersection manually.
There are close to 800 intersections with signals in Montgomery County. Riders will be able to take the county's Ride On Buses for free again tomorrow because of the increased congestion.
Matt Bush reports...
Montgomery County executive Isiah Leggett speaks with reporters about the failure of traffic signals during rush hour.
Courtesy of: Matt Bush
November 05, 2009 - 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 members of both groups at a White House ceremony. The award is given for outstanding out-of-school and after-school arts and humanities programs.
Young artists with the Sitar Center aren't strangers to the White House, they've performed there before. The center has been in Washington for 10 years, reporting a 40 percent increase in enrollment since 2007.
Brion Tillman-Young, a scholar with "Higher Achievement," ignored the strict White House rules to walk across the stage and say "thank you" to Mrs. Obama. Instead, Tillman-Young sprinted across the stage for a First Lady-style hug.
Each group will receive $10,000 and an invitation to attend a national leadership conference.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
Michelle Obama, presenting the 2009 Coming Up Taller Award at the White House.
Courtesy of: Sitar Arts Center
November 05, 2009 - 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 Delaware, and Washington, D.C.
People wanting to get the free phone and minutes must demonstrate that they get state or federal help, such as energy assistance, food stamps or medical assistance.
TracFone estimates that more than 90,000 residents in Baltimore alone could qualify for the service.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 05, 2009 - 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 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties mean an automatic ejection, and Peeler would have missed the next game for the defending state champions as well if the decision had been upheld.
Northern Virginia Football Officials Commissioner Dennis Hall said the chest bump has become the high five for a new generation. "If it's a spontaneous chest bump, that's fine," said Hall. "What you don't want is where three or four of them do hand signals and do a choreographed thing."
Despite the reversal of Peeler's suspension, Hall said he doesn't mind if northern Virginia is getting a reputation for enforcing the rules strictly.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
November 05, 2009 - 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 locations for priority groups in the District, and increasing the amount of vaccine available at doctor’s offices and community health centers.
According to the DOH, over 11,000 people have been vaccinated during the past two weeks of H1N1 vaccine clinics. DOH said it continues to have H1N1 vaccine in stock to host clinics for priority groups, but will be reducing the number of weekly clinics from eight to five locations.
In addition to the ongoing free clinics, as more vaccine becomes available, it will be distributed to pediatricians, family physicians and community health centers who have registered to distribute the vaccine. Residents should call their providers to see if they can receive the vaccine by visiting their health care provider allowing them to avoid the lines at the public clinics and know that there will be enough vaccine for them when they arrive at their provider’s office.
The H1N1 vaccine clinics will continue to serve the following priority groups in every ward once a week for the next two weeks:
Pregnant women and youth ages 6 months to 24 years
Adults with underlying health conditions such as asthma and diabetes
Caregivers of children under 6 months
Health care workers
The vaccine is now expected to arrive at pharmacies after the week of November 23. Residents can find additional information on H1N1 here or by calling the Mayor’s citywide call center at 311.
Updated H1N1 Vaccine Clinic Schedule for Priority Groups
Thursday, November 5: 5-9 p.m.
Coolidge Senior High School
McKinley Tech Senior High School
Saturday, November 7: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Cardozo Senior High School
Ballou Senior High School
Eliot-Hine Middle School
Kelly Miller Middle School
Thursday, November 12: 5-9 p.m. Cardozo Senior High School Ballou Senior High School
Saturday, November 14: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Eliot-Hine Middle School Kelly Miller Middle School Hardy Middle School
Beginning the week of November 16th, all others can get the H1N1 vaccine from their primary medical doctor. After November 16th, all others can get the vaccination at local vaccination sites. After November 23, non-priority groups can also get vaccinated at local pharmacies.
November 05, 2009 - 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 Hamilton, a former judge in D.C. Superior Court, as he stands next to one of the cafeteria tables.
"There are some non-minority children who are committing crimes in the District of Columbia. But for one reason or another they're not arrested, they're not put into the system and so, consequently, none of them end up at New Beginnings."
Hamilton is part of a group making recommendations to the D.C. Council about changing the juvenile justice system. The group says police officers, prosecutors and judges need to be trained differently, to help minorities better navigate the system.
It also wants the city to reevaluate law enforcement inside D.C. public schools.
David Schultz reports...
Former Superior Court Judge Eugene Hamilton discusses juvenile justice on a panel with Vincent Schiraldi, the head of D.C.'s Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services.
Courtesy of: Campaign For Youth Justice
November 05, 2009 - 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 morning and evening commutes longer than expected.
A spokesperson for the county says technicians worked overnight trying to fix the computer glitch, but says the issues are expected to continue today so drivers can again expect delays.
Traffic engineers are manually adjusting lights in some cases. Pedestrian crossing signals are functioning properly and the county says Ride on buses will be free all day today.
Montgomery County is two years into a six-year, $35-million program to upgrade the computer system . Natalie Neumann reports...
November 05, 2009 - 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, said parents should take whatever precautions they can take to protect the lives of their children. Parker said she always gets seasonal flu shots for her children but that the H1N1 virus took the family by surprise.
Health officials in Maryland have confirmed 13 deaths from swine flu. School-based vaccination clinics are underway in Baltimore this week. Five schools for students with disabilities will get the vaccine first.
Meymo Lyons reports...
November 05, 2009 - 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 of money that was spent in Maine, the way our opponents mobilized themselves from around the country to fight," said Jackson. "They've been doing the same thing in D.C. but still, that voice of the people was heard and that voice prevailed."
In June, the district's Board of Elections ruled a referendum on same-sex marriage would violate the city's Human Rights Act. The board is expected to rule on a second attempt this month. Some supporters of gay marriage say they are confident the board will reject it.
"Comparing Maine to D.C. is a bit of a stretch because D.C. does have a clear policy that it will not put something on the ballot that would allow discrimination," says Sultan Shakir, a field director with the Human Rights Campaign.
The D.C. Council is expected to vote on a same-sex marriage bill this month.
Patrick Madden reports...
November 05, 2009 - 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...
November 05, 2009 - 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.
November 05, 2009 - Local food banks say they are seeing longer lines, brand-new faces, and handing out less food.
Patrick Madden reports...
James Gwynn, 69, waits for his turkey at the Bread For The City food bank in Washington D.C.
Courtesy of: Patrick Madden
November 05, 2009 - 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 that most non-custodial parents pay would go up, while payments for the lowest-income families would decrease slightly. For the most part it would affect families with new cases.
Those who oversee the court-ordered child support collections have tried without success to update the guidelines. But they hope lawmakers will approve it in the upcoming legislative session in Annapolis.
Bill Redlin reports...
November 05, 2009 - (Through November 22) WE WON'T PAY! Keep a firm grip on your seat and watch for flying groceries, as The Hub Theatre unleashes the revolutionary play We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, a show so action-packed you have to say it twice. The show runs at ArtSpace in Falls Church through November 22nd. Actors put on the work of Italian playwright Dario Fo with precision timing and panicky wit, as a group of housewives attempt to hide the fruits of their five-finger discounts from their hardworking husbands - a sharp satire on personal responsibility in the face of economic woes.
(November 7) FOUND FOOTAGE The Found Footage Festival comedy show appears at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse Saturday night at 7:15. Resurrected VHS tapes are dusted off and injected with humor by writers from The Onion and The Late Show. The Arlington festival](http://www.tinyurl.com/FFFArlington) features some local "found footage," including a 1985 home movie from a heavy metal festival in Potomac, Maryland.
(November 6) TODAY'S LADY DAY Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater is Lady Day in A Tribute to Billie Holliday at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda tomorrow night at 8, breathing new life into the music made famous by Billie Holliday.
November 05, 2009 - 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 vaccine shortage, but he said there's also a shortage of communication that's made getting a shot confusing. "Some parents let me know their particular elementary school didn't have the vaccine and there was one school that had an actual epidemic, and yet they didn't have the vaccine available," said Moran.
Arlington's public health director says the county has the doses needed to start vaccinating in schools as early as Friday. They'll start with first-graders, then move up to higher grades. Consent forms went out in October, and federal health leaders are now explaining to Congress the reason for the delay.
"With 20-20 hindsight, it's clear we should have been more skeptical about the projections being made," said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Frieden says the H1N1 flu virus spreads quickly among the public, but grows slowly in the lab.
Megan Hughes reports...
First-graders in Arlington, Virginia could start getting school-wide H1N1 vaccinations as early as this Friday.
Courtesy of: Centers for Disease Control
November 05, 2009 - 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, Graumann helped persuade the University to build the LGBTQ Resource Center. So he was especially distressed this week when a slur written on a Post-It note was stuck to the Center's door. "After seeing the good work that they do, it really made me sad, someone shaking the community with a little post-it note," said Graumann.
It was the third in a recent string of incidents involving what the University calls "homophobic language and disrespect." The first two involved physical assault. Still, Graumann says he doesn't want the Resource Center to change a thing. "Any kind of major change would show that they're easily intimidated. By continuing their efforts to advocate for us to the administration, they're doing exactly what they need to be doing in response," said Graumann.
The university says it will step up patrols of the campus and surrounding areas.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
Neighbors of Georgetown are showing solidarity with the university's LGBTQ community by hanging rainbow ALLIES signs on their homes.
Courtesy of: Rebecca Sheir
View more images from this gallery.
November 05, 2009 - 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 applications have been accepted and 100 more are being reviewed.
Maryland's last tax amnesty period was in 2001. That effort brought in more than $39 million for the state. Analysts were not expecting the program to bring in that much this year because of the number of people who settled up the last time around.
Shapiro says many participants are on payment plans. That means the state will receive the money during this fiscal year and the first half of the next fiscal year. Five other states, including Virginia, currently are offering tax amnesty.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
November 05, 2009 - 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 what they will do to meet that goal. The agency says it expects progress reports every two years and threatens to impose consequences if states do not make adequate progress.
Beth McGee, is a scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which had sued the EPA over the slow pace of restoration efforts. She says the threat of consequences is critical.
"We can have the most detailed plans in the world but if there is no impetus for the state's to implement them then we will basically be in the same place we've been the last 25 years in Bay restoration," she says.
President Obama has issued an executive order calling for the development of a bay restoration strategy. The EPA is expected to release a draft of that strategy Monday.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
November 05, 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...
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