News Archive - November 9, 2009

Latest Maryland Regional News

WHEATON, Md. (AP) Serial sniper John Allen Muhammad's upcoming execution has residents in the Washington area reliving the fear they felt during his three-week killing spree seven years ago. Muhammad is set for lethal injection tomorrow in Virginia for shooting a man at a gas station.

BALTI...

VA Dems Vote Against Health Care Reform Bill

By Elliott Francis

A majority of Virginia's congressional representatives voted against the health care legislation, thanks to two Democrats who crossed party lines.

Democrats Glenn Nye and Rick Boucher voted with the state's five Republican representatives in opposing the legislation...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) Workers at the National Zoo had to euthanize a wild deer that jumped into an enclosure with two female lions that fatally injured the animal. Officials say the deer apparently entered the zoo from nearby Rock Creek Park and then leapt into the lion enclosure.

(Copyright 2009...

UN Rep.: D.C. Homeless Activists Not On Same Page

By David Schultz

Local homeless activists met at a homeless shelter yesterday with Raquel Rolnik, who just finished a U.S. tour studying the issue of affordable housing for the United Nations.

Almost as soon as the round table discussion started, an argument erupted between the activi...

Latest Virginia Regional News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block Tuesday's planned execution of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad. The Court had no comment on its decision in the case of Muhammad, who terrorized the Washington area with a series of shootings seven years ago.

ALEXANDRIA, V...

Congress Could Investigate D.C.'s HIV Programs

By Peter Granitz

A recent Washington Post investigation discovered millions of dollars misspent by HIV-AIDS care providers in the district. Now, some lawmakers on Capitol Hill hope to investigate.

D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton fired off a letter blasting Republicans for meddling...

Supreme Court Denies D.C. Sniper's Last Minute Appeal

By Jonathan Wilson

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block tomorrow's scheduled execution of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad. The court did not comment Monday on why it refused to consider the appeal.

Muhammad is scheduled to die by injection at a Virginia prison for the sla...

Stimulus Funds Boost D.C. Charter Schools

By Patrick Madden

Nearly a quarter of the federal stimulus funds marked for the district's public school system is going to charter schools.

Forty-Five different charter schools were allocated money. The grants total more than $12 million. By contrast, the district's traditional publi...

Nearly 100 New Construction Jobs Created In Baltimore

By Cathy Duchamp

Nearly 100 new construction jobs have been created in Baltimore, thanks to federal stimulus money to renovate public housing.

Jean Sherrod lives on a dead end street, a place that looked like it had a dead end future because of abandoned housing. "The guys found house...

"Choc'late Soldiers" Tells Tale Of African Americans During WWII

By Stephanie Kaye

Ushering in Veterans Day, a new film explores the experiences of African Americans serving in World War II.

"My unit went into the Normandy invasion and we didn't have any bullets in our rifles," says John Wood, who was 17-years-old when he enlisted. "We hadn't been...

New Study Gives D.C. And MD An "F" Grade For Removing Ineffective Teachers

By Kavitha Cardoza

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Leaders and Laggards report, which grades states based on education innovation, has given Virginia top marks for removing ineffective teachers from the classroom while Maryland and D.C. got a failing grade.

The report card doesn't look...

Jury Selection Begins For Trial Of Baltimore Mayor

By Cathy Duchamp

Jury selection begins today, November 9, in the trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, on charges she stole gift cards intended for needy families.

Mayor Dixon is accused of making purchases at Target, Best Buy, Old Navy and other retail stores with gift cards that de...

D.C. Communities Print Their Own Money

By Rebecca Sheir

Update: We've received word that Larry Chang's favorite coffee shop has started accepting Potomacs. Qualia Coffee on Georgia Avenue (NW) is now the second local business to deal with the local currency.

Larry Chang started making "Potomacs" on his inkjet printer this...

Fort Hood Shooter Not Active Member At VA Mosque

By Patrick Madden

The outreach director for the mosque in Virginia where the suspected Fort Hood shooter sometimes attended prayer services says Major Nidal Hasan was not an active member.

Power Breakfast for November 9, 2009

In his 11 years in the House, never has Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY) experienced anything like the what happened Saturday night when the House narrowly passed a health care reform bill.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Monday, November 9, 2009

By Stephanie Kaye

(November 8-July 4) AFRICA IN MEXICO The African presence in Mexico is explored at the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast D.C. through July 2010. The traveling exhibit comes by way of Chicago, where curators examined the history, culture and art of Afro-...

Federal Government Wants To Expand Chesapeake Clean-Up Role

By Patrick Madden

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its draft strategy for restoring the Chesapeake Bay in response to an order issued by President Obama on May 12th.

The EPA says states in the bay watershed have achieved measurable pollution reductions, but that federa...

D.C. Food Pantry Takes Lesson From Old Testament To Feed Hungry

By Mana Rabiee

The district's largest food pantry is taking a lesson from the Old Testament to feed the hungry.

On the Parker family farm in Colonial Beach, Va., 20 nicely dressed professionals hack away at broccoli plants with kitchen knives.

They're volunteers with a D.C. non-...

Commentary-Phyllis Caldwell

Phyllis Caldwell has served as president of the Washington Area Women's Foundation for almost two years.

She is leaving for a job in the Obama Administration, but before she does, she has these thoughts about "just who is the Washington, D.C.-area woman?"

Tell us what you think on the...