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November 27, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) Some streets in northwest Washington will be closed Friday morning for the funeral of Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin.
The funeral services are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Washington Hebrew Congregation. Pollin died Tuesday. He was 85.
D.C. police say Macomb Street will be closed near the synagogue between Massachusetts and Idaho avenues. Also, 39th Street will be closed between Massachusetts Avenue and Newark Street.
A public memorial service will be held Dec. 8 at Verizon Center. Pollin built the arena, spurring development in a blighted section of downtown Washington.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 27, 2009 - BALTIMORE (AP) A man who was beaten and stabbed in 2002 and then died this past June at a nursing home is being added to Baltimore's homicide count. Larry Staton is at least the fifth person wounded in prior years who has died this year from medical complications.
LAUREL, Md. (AP) A 9-year-old Virginia girl found a bone at a dinosaur park near Laurel, and the fossil is now going to the Smithsonian Institution. Gabrielle Block found the vertebra from a raptor's tail while visiting with her parents and younger sister.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 27, 2009 - LEESBURG, Va. (AP) Officials say a growing immigrant population and the weak economy are major factors causing the booming school enrollment in northern Virginia. Loudoun County enrollment has topped 60,000 students, or double the enrollment in 2000. More parents, because of the economy, are also opting against private school.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) Old-fashioned all-wood guardrails along more than half the 460-mile Blue Ridge Parkway aren't much use at stopping cars. Officials say the older rails can't stop a car moving at 45 mph, and that many are too low to the ground. A $7 million replacement project is set to start next month.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Contractors are working to determine if more ancient artifacts exist on the site of a Richmond facility where archaeological treasures were unearthed 10 years ago. Artifacts were discovered showing the area had been a gathering and trading place for people as early as 3,500 BC.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
November 27, 2009 - The Capitol Punishment Volleyball Invitational is back in the D.C. area, after a year's hiatus, with nearly 30 teams from gay communities up and down the East Coast.
D.C. started hosting the invitational in the 1980s, as a qualifier for the national championship sponsored by NAGVA, the North American Gay Volleyball Association.
Ben de Guzman, a volunteer at this weekend's tournament, says he's glad the regional event is back. "I think there was sort of a lull, but there's a lot of energy for the tournament now. We've got new blood."
"New blood," including Jack Fleming, who moved to D.C. three years ago and is organizing the event. "I've made some great friends," says Fleming. "And I feel so much more invested in the community now."
The Capitol Punishment Volleyball Invitational kicks off Saturday Nov. 28th, at the University of Maryland College Park.
Ben de Guzman bumps the ball with some friends.
Courtesy of: Rebecca Sheir
November 27, 2009 - The notorious 'busiest shopping day of the year' seems like a good time to catch up on what Congress is doing with regard to hefty overdraft fees. The penalty a bank charges on a purchase or cash withdrawal that exceeds the available balance.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
November 27, 2009 - By Sabri Ben-Achour
Holiday shopping is a tradition in and of itself, but many Americans say they want to cut back this year.
At the Pentagon City Mall, in Northern Virginia -- one Holiday Shopper named Bob is thinking about his Holiday budget.
"We always set one, and we always go over it. I always go over what I tell my wife," he says. "There's always subterfuge in marriage, you have to have that."
Well, there are a few ways, according to experts, to successfully reign in holiday spending. Bill Hampel is with the Credit Union National Association. He says just verbalizing the intention to save will help.
"Among your family talk about what you plan to do, think a bit about what you do before going to the store," Hampel says.
Marshall Cohen is chief Retail Analyst at NPD group - a market research firm.
"Stick to the list - make it, check it twice, don't deviate from it," Cohen says. And if you're really looking to save money, don't buy for yourself while you're out there shopping for everybody else."
But those tips aside, there are times when you should buy. Inventories are low this year, so Cohen says: if you see a deal, grab it.
November 27, 2009 - By Rebecca Blatt
Several streets will be closed in Northwest Washington beginning this morning because of funeral services for the late Abe Pollin. Pollin was the long-time owner of the Washington Wizards and a beloved philanthropist.
The services begin at 11:30 at the Washington Hebrew Congregation at 3935 Macomb Street, NW.
Beginning at 10 a.m., Macomb Street will be closed to traffic between Massachusetts Ave. and Idaho Ave. NW. 39th Sreet will be closed to thru traffic between Massachusetts Ave. and Newark St., NW.
There will be parking restrictions on those streets until 2:00 p.m.
There will also be temporary road closures as the funeral procession travels through D.C. and over the Chain Bridge into Virginia.
November 27, 2009 - By Jonathan Wilson
Police are investigating the apparent suicide of an inmate in the D.C. jail. Josue Pena had been charged earlier this month in the shooting death of a 9-year-old -- Oscar Fuentes.
People in Oscar's neighborhood have mixed emotions about the latest news.
Wilfredo Gonzalez is watching his son Brandon ride a black and yellow bike in front of their apartment building in Columbia Heights. It's just across the street from where Oscar was shot.
Gonzalez says whatever happened to Pena -- will have little to do with the grief felt by Oscar's family.
"Their loss is too big. They lost a son," he says.
Danita Clark walks past Oscar's building on her way to work. She says Pena's sudden death may make it hard for those who loved Oscar to feel a sense of justice.
"He got off easy -- that's the only thing," Clark says. "He should have been punished for it, suffered for it, but he got off a little easy."
The Department of Corrections says Pena was in a special unit of the jail -- supervised by five officers -- for security purposes.
November 27, 2009 - By Jonathan Wilson
Jessica Townsend says this time of year is tough for animal shelters.
"A lot of times, late November, early December, people aren't coming in because they do like to pair the bringing of a new pet home with a special event like Christmas," Townsend says.
Townsend is hoping a Black Friday Adoption Sale will help. All adoptions are half price. normally the humane society charges 170 dollars to adopt dog, and 85 dollars for a cat.
Townsend says the shelter can help find a good fit.
"The pets we have here -- we do often know something about their background...we can do a fair bit of matching," she says.
The Washington Humane Society currently has dozens of cats and dogs, as well as birds and rabbits available.
November 27, 2009 - D.C. roots rockers, The Grandsons, are hosting their annual day-after-Turkey-Day party at the Barns of Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia on Friday, November 27th. And, as tradition dictates, they are also back on WAMU. Speaking with David Furst, the band talks about the show and plays a special song for Thanksgiving weekend.
November 27, 2009 - By Natalie Neumann
As unemployment rises, schools in the Washington area are feeding more students.
In Fairfax County one in four students qualifies for free or reduced-price meals this fall, up from one in five three years ago.
In Montgomery County, 29 percent of students were deemed eligible for meal subsidies in October, up from 26 percent in October 2007. In Prince William County, the eligibility rate increased from 29 to 33 percent, and in Prince George's County, from 46 to 52 percent.
Although poverty rates increased only slightly in Loudoun County in the past year, Guilford Elementary School Principal David Stewart tells the Washington Post the rate at his school rose sharply. Stewart says the school and community is responding with donated coats, shoes and backpacks for students.
November 27, 2009 - By Natalie Neumann
Starting Dec. 1, Virginia will join dozens of other states that ban smoking in restaurants. The new law is a major shift for a state where tobacco has been king since Jamestown was settled 400 years ago.
About 70 percent of Virginia restaurants have already banned smoking on their own. Restaurants in Virginia will be allowed to have a smoking area only if they segregate smokers into rooms with ventilation systems separate from those that heat and cool nonsmoking patrons.
A Virginia restaurant industry lobbyist expects only about 10 percent of the state's restaurants to retain smoking areas.
More than 20 states and the District of Columbia have laws that ban restaurant smoking.
November 27, 2009 -
(November 28) SPRING IN WINTER ArtSpring at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center hosts a Meet the Artists Afternoon tomorrow from 1 to 4 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The get-together gives audiences a chance to talk in-depth about the creative process behind the work on the walls. There's also a craft workshops for children Saturdays from 1 to 3.
(November 27 & 28) SOUND KAPTIAL Govinda Gallery hosts Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground in Northwest D.C. tonight and tomorrow. Matthew Niederhauser's raw and revealing photographs capture a slice of China's underground music scene in moving images.
(November 27 & 28) THE MUSIC OF THE MUSIC MAN National Symphony Orchestra Pops presents The Music of The Music Man . Marvin Hamlisch, a well-known music man himself, conducts songs from the Tony Award-winning musical, including "Seventy-six Trombones" and "Till There Was You," marching audiences from "Rock Island" to "Gary, Indiana."
November 27, 2009 - By Rebecca Blatt
Metro is spending $38,000 on a pilot program to address complaints that stations are too dark. Metro is testing a new bank of lights on the mezzanine level of the Judiciary Square station. The lights will be near the F Street entrance. Metro says that's one of the darker mezzanines in the rail system.
The new light fixtures are supposed to be energy efficient and easy to maintain. Metro is considering installing them at the Dupont Circle, Metro Center and Foggy Bottom stations.
The transit agency says architects originally designed stations with soft, indirect lighting to show off vaulted arches. But riders have since complained that it's too dark to read or sometimes to even see where they're going.
November 27, 2009 - Hundreds of friends and family members gathered this morning for the funeral service of beloved Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin.
At the front of the Washington Hebrew Congregation sanctuary -- bouquets of yellow flowers stood on either side of Poliin's plain wooden coffin. The room, which can hold 2300 people, was a little more than half-full. Pollin's granddaughter, brother and two sons spoke, along with Washington Bullets Hall-of-famer Wes Unseld. Unseld said Pollin had played a part of almost every important accomplishment in his life, and he thanked Pollin's family for sharing him with the rest of Washington.
After the ceremony dozens of cars accompanied Pollin's coffin into Northern Virginia for burial. A public memorial service for Pollin will be held on December 8, at 7 p.m. at the Verizon Center.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
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