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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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November 23, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) A new poll suggests D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty could have a tough fight for a second term. The poll released Monday found 34 percent of voters want to see Fenty re-elected in 2010, while 53 percent said they want somebody new.
WASHINGTON (AP) The murder trial of the man accused in Chandra Levy's death has been postponed until October. Ingmar Guandique had been scheduled to stand trial on first-degree murder and other charges in January. But prosecutors told a D.C. Superior Court judge that they plan to file additional charges.
WASHINGTON (AP) The District of Columbia has agreed to pay protesters arrested during demonstrations nine years ago more than $13 million. The preliminary agreement was announced Monday. It includes a maximum payment of $18,000 to each of the 680 people who were arrested at the April 2000 protests tied to meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 23, 2009 - BALTIMORE (AP) Jurors in the theft trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon have recessed again without reaching a verdict. The jury left around 4:40 p.m. Monday after sending a note to the judge saying they had not completed deliberating but were "making progress."
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) The Maryland State Highway Administration says the Route 90 Bridge into Ocean City will reopen earlier than expected. The SHA says the Ocean City Expressway Bridge over the Assawoman Bay in Worcester County will reopen at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) Federal prosecutors say two men have been sentenced for plotting to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Thirty-six-year-old Otis Harris of Washington was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison and 38-year-old Jerry Bannister of Indian Head were sentenced to more than 18 years on Monday.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 23, 2009 - ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) A Virginia man has been arrested on charges of stealing more than 100 flat screen TVs from Fort Belvoir. Thirty-six-year-old Stephen Don Carter has been charged in federal court in Alexandria with theft of government property. Carter could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The Virginia Department of Health says about one-third of the homicides in the state between 1999 and 2007 were domestic-related. In a report released Monday, the agency says men were more likely to die in what it called the "crossfire" of intimate partner violence. Women were more likely to be killed by an intimate partner.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Dominion is donating $1 million to a program that helps families pay heating bills. The donation to EnergyShare follows a $1 million contribution that Dominion made in October. EnergyShare helps people who have lost their jobs or have other financial problems heat their homes after other forms of assistance have been exhausted.
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. (AP) Investigators say the fatal shooting of a Midlothian man during a standoff with police was justified. Brett Rivers was shot by a Chesterfield County Police SWAT officer on Aug. 31.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 23, 2009 - By Rebecca Blatt
Virginia's State Board of Elections has certified the results of the November 3rd general election. All three Republican statewide candidates won with comfortable margins.
Governor-elect Bob McDonnell received nearly 59 percent of the vote in defeating Democrat Creigh Deeds. Ken Cuccinelli got almost 58 percent of the vote for attorney general, and Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling won re-election with nearly 57 percent of the vote.
The closest race was for a House of Delegates seat in Virginia Beach. The board certified Republican Ron Villanueva as the winner over incumbent Robert Mathieson by 14 votes out of more than 15,000 cast.
Mathieson's campaign manger Mark Henson says the Democrat will seek a recount.
November 23, 2009 - The criminal trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is headed for a fourth day of jury deliberations.
Patrick Madden reports from Baltimore Circuit Court...
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Courtesy of: City of Baltimore
November 23, 2009 - By Jonathan Wilson
People who work or shop in Tysons Corner, Virginia now have a new way to navigate its frequently congested roadways, and its free.
The first Tysons Connector bus pulled away from the bus stop outside Nordstrom Department store at 10 o'clock Monday morning. The service will run every ten minutes, from 10 to 2:30 pm on weekdays.
Ellen Kamilakis with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation says one goal is to keep local roads from getting more congested as Tysons copes with the construction of new Metrorail service here.
"Especially when the major construction starts, we would rather people be on a Tysons Connector bus rather than trying to traverse the streets when they're like this," says Kamilakis.
Tysons Connector will have two routes, and 21 stops, including the two major shopping malls.
In an effort to decrease traffic congestion, the new Tysons Connector shuttle will run every ten minutes from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Courtesy of: Jonathan Wilson
November 23, 2009 - By Sabri Ben-Achour
As holiday promotions start appearing in store windows, some consumers are preparing to spend a little more.
Discounts have begun to deck the halls of Pentagon city Mall in Arlington Virginia, where shopper Kathy Gregory is thinking about holiday spending. "I'm spending more this year," says Gregory. "I didn't do anything last year, so anything more is a lot."
But Gregory says she's definitely not spending like she used to. "No, never again," says Gregory.
Some economists say consumers may, like Gregory, end up spending more this year. At least a little bit. "By the standards of what we got used to for most of this decade, but compared to last year's dismal results it's going to be better," says Bill Hampel, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association.
Hampel says fewer consumers are cutting back this year, though many still are. Hampel predicts spending will stay the same or even rise two to three percent.
November 23, 2009 - It's day three of jury deliberations in the felony theft trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Cathy DuChamp reports from circuit court...
November 23, 2009 - By Natalie Neumann
The Republican sweep in Virginia is about to become official. The State Board of Elections meets this afternoon to certify the results from this year's election.
Today's general election certification will lack the drama of 2005. That's when the election for attorney general was the closest in modern Virginia history. This year all three statewide Republican candidates won handily.
There is one close race this time, but on a more local scale. In a House of Delegates race in Virginia Beach, Republican Ron Villanueva holds an unofficial 14-vote edge over Democratic incumbent Bobby Matheison. That's close enough for a taxpayer-financed recount.
November 23, 2009 - By Natalie Neumann
A 23-year-old graduate of the University of Virginia who created a nonprofit group to help tackle the AIDS epidemic in Washington has been named a Rhodes Scholar.
UVA Graduate Tyler Spencer learned about a group that trains star athletes in South Africa to teach about HIV prevention and adapted the program for the District. He has recruited more than 100 volunteers and college athletes to work with students in after-school programs and through the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Spencer, a native of Staunton, Virginia, says a study abroad trip in southern Africa changed his life when he saw the impact of HIV and AIDS on a community in Mozambique. With the Rhodes scholarship, Spencer will study ways to evaluate the effectiveness of HIV prevention programs at the University of Oxford in England.
November 23, 2009 - By Matt McCleskey
Funeral services are scheduled at Arlington National Cemetery today for a military physician assistant from Maryland killed in the recent shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman of Havre De Grace, Md. was 55 years old. She was preparing for deployment to Iraq when an Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers, killing thirteen. Warman is survived by two daughters and six grandchildren.
A second soldier killed in the attack will be laid to rest on Wednesday. Fifty-two year old Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo of Woodbridge, Virginia was an immigrant from Mexico. He had a doctorate in psychology and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.
November 23, 2009 - (November 20-Dec 6) CASA PATAS Three weekends of flamenco are coming to D.C. during Gala Hispanic Theatre's annual Fuego Flamenco Festival, on stage through December 6th. Madrid's Casa Patas cultural center keeps things steamy with performances straight out of Spain, as the group imports its fiery footwork to Washington.
(November 20 - January 10) THE FANTASTICKS Arena Stage resurrects The Fantasticks, opening tonight at D.C.'s Lincoln Theater and running through January 10th. One of the world's longest-running musical gets a remix for this run, as Matt and Luisa journey to maturity in an abandoned amusement park.
(November 18-March 5, 2010) CLIMATE CHANGE The American Association for the Advancement of Science presents Climate Change in Our World, an exhibit of photographs at its downtown D.C. space through March of next year. Photojournalist Gary Braasch uses his images to highlight worldwide climate challenges.
November 23, 2009 - By Kate Sheehy
As the economy has tumbled over the last year, immigrants in the Washington area have felt the effects like everyone else. But the impact has gone beyond their own pocketbooks and all the way to the countries they came from.
Many people in Washington's large Hispanic immigrant community have been sending money to the families they left behind. The families, and the economies of those countries, have come to rely on these remittances, as they are known. But work is scarce, so remittances are down substantially.
Kate Sheehy reports...
November 23, 2009 - By Jessica Gould
Some colleges across the country are beginning to let men and women live together in dorm rooms. Now a group of students at George Washington University says it's time to join the movement.
For Kaden Trifilio, the transition from high school to college was especially hard. That's because he was also making another transition--from life as a female to life as a male.
"Toward the end of high school, I was passing as male quite a bit of the time, and I realized I felt a lot more comfortable having those interactions and knowing that I was being perceived as male than I did previously being perceived as female," says Trifilio.
But Trifilio was worried about what his GW roommates would think. "I was sort of panicking over the idea of having to live with girls who might not understand, or might not be comfortable with my presentation," says Trifilio.
Now Trifilio is joining other undergrads to push for gender-neutral housing at GW.
"Gender neutral housing is a program that offers male, female and transgendered students the opportunity to live in the same housing," says student senator Michael Komo.
Right now GW only allows students of the same sex to share a dorm room. But Komo says students of the opposite sex should be allowed to live together, too. Komo plans to introduce a bill calling for gender-neutral housing at the school in January.
Michael Komo, a GW student who will be
introducing a bill in the student senate in January calling for gender neutral housing, allowing male and female students to room together.
Courtesy of: Jessica Gould
November 23, 2009 - With the holiday season upon us, commentator Terri Lee Freeman is urging each of us to help those who are in need.
Freeman is president of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region…
SCRIPT:
The recession is over, or so say the economists. After all, that tell-tale sign-the Dow-has once again surpassed 10,000. The region's Consumer Confidence Index is rising. Happy days are here again.
Yet, I'd be hard pressed to tell that to the many no-, low- and moderate-income residents who are struggling to feed their families, find a job or keep their homes. These are precarious times for many Washington area residents and the safety net organizations they typically turn to for help. In fact, from my vantage point as President of The Community Foundation-the largest funder of nonprofit organizations in the region-things couldn't be much worse. Some 633,000 area residents are experiencing or at risk of hunger. Prince George's County has the highest foreclosure rate in the state of Maryland and Prince William County leads the state of Virginia. Seniors are being forced to choose between paying their utilities and buying food. Foreclosure prevention programs have long waiting lists. Shelters have had to turn people away.
Things are bad. How bad? In 36 years, The Community Foundation has never seen anything like this. Across the region, thousands of people are struggling to get the basics-Food. Shelter. Clothing. Safety-net organizations are struggling to keep up with growing demand for services while funding continues to dwindle. Not only is foundation and donor giving down, but deeper government cuts are looming.
That is why last fall The Community Foundation made a decision to launch the Neighbors in Need Fund. Since its inception, donors of all ages and income levels have given generously to Neighbors in Need. Donors like Jackie Marlin, who expressed what many of us have been thinking: "Now is the time to provide the basics. What good is an education, or music lessons, if you don't have food to eat or a roof over your head?"
Sixty safety-net groups throughout the region have received Neighbors in Need grants to date. But it isn't enough. Requests have already reached $8.4 million, more than two and a half times the amount donated so far.
Nonprofits are bracing for an even tougher year in 2010. In the words of Bread for the City's executive director, George Jones, "We expect funding to be down, yet our needs will increase. That's a horrible convergence of factors-less money, more people."
In other words, despite improvements in the stock market and other hopeful indicators, the situation for local nonprofits and the people they serve has gotten worse. Local nonprofits need you now more than ever. Your neighbors need you now more than ever. As we all give thanks for the blessings this year, please help your neighbors in need.
I'm Terri Lee Freeman.
You can comment at Conversation.WAMU.Org
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November 23, 2009 - By Rebecca Sheir
The American College Health Association reports 50 percent of college students feel overwhelming anxiety. A new study at American University suggests a certain kind of meditation might help.
Brittany Gada is only a freshman at AU, but she's no stranger to stress. "During midterms I ended up working five days and covering for someone else and I had two papers and three midterms in the same week," says Gada.
As AU psychology professor Dave Haaga explains, "It's an age group experiencing a lot of new stresses as far as how to manage their time, make choices when everything isn't as structured as much as it is in high school."
Haaga and a team from Iowa's Maharishi University of Management studied 300 AU students. Half learned transcendental meditation, focusing on a sound or mantra, twice a day. Half did not. After three months, the TM group showed less anxiety, even lower blood pressure.
Brittany Gada says she would try TM. The only catch? "I would definitely have to make time for it!" she says.
And for an international-relations major and French-and-Arabic minor juggling two part-time jobs, that's no small feat.
November 23, 2009 - By Mana Rabiee
A local food charity that normally helps needy people is reaching out to military families for the first time this holiday season.
At the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast D.C., young Naval Sea Cadets learn drills from a junior instructor.
Nearby, Commander Jospeh Cirone oversees the unloading of large food boxes destined for the Thanksgiving tables of military families.
"Ensign Levoi, you and Fondino take both of our vans. We're gonna load the coast guards' baskets into our vehicles," orders Cirone.
It's all part of Project Giveback, a local food charity that normally helps feed needy families during holidays. This year they also reached out to 125 military families -- 25 from each branch of the armed forces.
"Charity organizations tend to think that the military people are taken care of by the military."
Retired marine Edgar Jimenez is also a Project Giveback board member. He says military families often feel "over looked" by charity groups.
"In a lot of cases the military tries to work with them but is unable to meet a lot of their needs so charity organizations really need to reach out to them, now more than ever," says Jimenez.
The baskets contained enough food staples to last a family at least a week.
November 23, 2009 - By David Schultz
There's no heating in Monique Townes' Southeast D.C. condo building. For 10 days, it didn't have hot water. And the trash collection stopped months ago.
"So the trash is open and all you see is just bags of trash sitting there," Townes says. "On a warm day, there's an aroma of trash."
The property manager here is Charles Jenkins, a Virginia-based developer who recently declared bankruptcy. He converted this building into condos three years ago but could sell only half the units.
Ward Seven Councilwoman Yvette Alexander calls Jenkins a slumlord and wants the city to take legal action.
But Jenkins says he can't afford to make repairs. His residents stopped paying their condo dues.
"I've been short on money or whatever out there," Jenkins says. "But it wouldn't have been [that way] if they had paid their condo dues."
The condo owners say they stopped paying dues only after Jenkins stopped responding to their complaints.
For his part, Jenkins says he has done no criminal wrongdoing.
Nick Majett, with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, says Jenkins might be right. Slumlord-laws only apply to apartments.
"If you have a tenant," Majett says, "You have to provide heat to the tenant. If you're owner occupied you don't have to have any heat."
Even if the city doesn't get involved, Jenkins will still have to appear in court. Several of the condo owners are suing him for fraud.
Renee Sampson points out peeling paint underneath a stairwell at their condo building in Southeast D.C.
Courtesy of: David Schultz
View more images from this gallery.
November 23, 2009 - Typically, during the week of Thanksgiving on Capitol Hill, one could roll a frozen turkey down the long hallways of the office buildings without hitting a single Senator. This week, a few folks are sticking around to get a jump on the next phase of the health care overhaul process.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
November 23, 2009 - By Cathy Duchamp
Jury deliberations resume this morning in the theft trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Jurors had the weekend off after two days of deliberations. Dixon is facing charges of theft, embezzlement and misconduct.
She's accused of going on a personal shopping spree with gift cards a developer donated to needy families. She's also charged with taking gift cards from a children's holiday event run by the city.
Attorneys for Dixon say she did not intend to steal because she thought the gift cards were given to her to use however she saw fit.
Dixon would be forced to leave office if she was found guilty on any of the charges.
The trial stems from a state investigation that began in 2006.
November 23, 2009 - By Natalie Neumann
The Baltimore City Council is expected to approve a bill to require pregnancy clinics that don't perform abortions or distribute birth control to put up signs saying so.
City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake introduced the legislation after meeting with abortion rights advocates, who say some clinics provide inaccurate information, including claims that abortions are connected to breast cancer and other problems.
But abortion rights opponents say the bill is unnecessary and unfairly targets them.
The Baltimore City Council voted 12 to 3 to move the measure forward and is expected to approve it today. It would then go to the mayor.
The Baltimore Sun reports since Rawlings-Blake introduced the bill last month, a similar proposal has popped up in Montgomery County.
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