News Archive - December 10, 2009

McDonnell Names Va. Lt. Gov. "Job Czar"

By Bill Redlin

Virginia Governor-elect Bob McDonnell is making the state's lieutenant governor part of his cabinet. McDonnell is appointing Bill Bolling the job czar in his administration.

The Republican who will soon take-over in Richmond also appointed retired Fortune 500 CEO Bob Sl...

Power Breakfast for December 10, 2009

The health care debate continues in Washington. Meanwhile, climate change is being discussed in Copenhagen.

And on the hill, members of the Joint Economic Committee will be talking job-creation today.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...

D.C. Looks To Close Digital Divide

By Patrick Madden

The District is trying to close the so-called 'digital divide' between residents who have access to high speed internet and those who don't.

The city's new chief technology officer says he wants to use federal stimulus money to open as many as 70 public computer stat...

Report Shows Montgomery County Lacking In Bioscience

A task force report says Montgomery County, Maryland needs to do more to attract bioscience companies.

Matt Bush reports...

State Troopers Create Scholarships Honoring Murdered Virginia Tech Student

By Bill Redlin

The American Association of State Troopers is giving 171 scholarships in memory of a Virginia Tech student who was murdered, along with her boyfriend, in Jefferson National Forest.

Heidi Childs had once applied for a $500 scholarship from the troopers' association. The...

Music Class Offers Lesson On Activism

By Jessica Gould

At a District elementary school, music students are learning to be the instruments of change. Students at Shepherd Elementary School in northwest D.C. are practicing their rendition of Old Man River, from the musical Showboat.

Every year, music instructor Ken Giles te...

Congress Poised To Lift Ban On Medical Marijuana In D.C.

By Patrick Madden

Congress appears ready to lift the ban on D.C.'s medical marijuana law. Eleven years ago, voters in D.C. overwhelmingly approved a referendum to legalize medical marijuana. Congress immediately blocked the provision and for more than a decade, federal lawmakers have attach...

Peanut Corporation Managers Seek Funds For Legal Costs In Salmonella Cases

By Bill Redlin

The president of Peanut Corporation of America and three former managers want part of the $1 million corporate insurance policy for legal costs that arose from an outbreak of salmonella.

The outbreak made about 700 ill, and it has been linked to at least nine deaths thr...

School Funding Issue Could Split Montgomery County Leaders

A major school funding issue in Montgomery County, Maryland is threatening to split county leaders. The issue is over a school funding formula called maintenance of effort.

County council members want the state legislature to issue a waiver for this year, so that the county can spend the mo...

Latest Maryland Regional News

BALTIMORE (AP) A Maryland state trooper has been convicted of double-dipping by working private security jobs while on the clock. Attorney General Douglas Gansler announced today that 36-year-old Andrew Mohan was convicted of two counts of felony theft and five counts of misconduct in office.

...

Local Non-Profit Creates Happily-Ever-After Proms

By Rebecca Sheir

You wouldn't think holiday sweaters and prom dresses have a lot in common. But a local non-profit has brought them together, to help underprivileged teenage girls in the D.C. area.

You know that sweater your Aunt Ethel gave you, the one with the sparkly snowflakes, th...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Thursday, December 10, 2009

(December 11-13) SUGARLOAF SWEETS Sweet as sugar, the Sugarloaf Craft Festivals have been showcasing work from the finest artisans for 30 years. Opening tomorrow in Chantilly, Virginia, the festival provides a venue for exceptional local crafts at the Dulles Expo Center through Sunday. The eclect...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. House has voted to let the District of Columbia use city money to fund abortions for low-income women, implement a medical marijuana law and continue a needle-exchange program. Because the city is under federal control its budget must be approved by Congress, which has lo...

Local Muslims React To News Of Students' Detention

By David Schultz

Johari Abdul-Malik is the imam of a mosque in Falls Church, Va. and he leads a coalition of local mosques.

He says Muslims in the D.C. area are reeling, especially because the students are known to be bright and involved in community service.

"Secretly, our own...

Conversations...Michael Cottman Speaks With Author Cathy Travis

As part of our continuing series, "Conversations," reporter Michael Cottman speaks with Cathy Travis. She's the author of "Constitution Translated for Kids," a simple translation of the entire U.S. Constitution written on a 5th grade level. Travis worked on Capitol Hill for 25 years writing speec...

Latest Virginia Regional News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell has appointed lieutenant governor Bill Bolling his administration's new jobs czar and made it a position in his cabinet. McDonnell also appointed retired Fortune 500 CEO Bob Sledd to be his commerce secretary and named longtime aide and adviser Janet Po...

The Importance of Copenhagen

The climate change summit in Copenhagen is generating headlines. But commentator Fred Fiske says discussion about the real impact of climate change is taking a backseat to debates over e-mails.

Search For Answers In Case Of American Muslim Terror Suspects Continues

By Jonathan Wilson

The search for local clues in the case of five American Muslims from D.C. area recently arrested in Pakistan continues.

Ramy Zamzam, one of the men arrested in Pakistan, lived in the Murraygate Village apartment complex with his parents and younger brother.

Ma...

Firefighters Receive Influx Of Ballou High Calls

By Natalie Neumann

The District says firefighters have been called to Ballou High School at least 40 times since the school year began.

The high occurrence of calls means firefighters have come to Ballou more than twice a week on average. The fire department says that volume of calls...

Free Counseling Offered to NOVA Woodbridge Students After Shooting Scare

By Jonathan Wilson

Classes will resume at Northern Virginia Community Colleges Woodbridge campus for the first time since a student reportedly fired a high powered rifle at a teacher there Tuesday.

Jessica Gilbert says she was in the classroom where 20-year-old Jason Hamilton reported...

World's First Peep Store Opens At National Harbor

By Sabri Ben-Achour

Amid the down economy, the National Harbor development in Maryland is welcoming business generated by a new arrival: a Peeps store, catering to fans of the sugary, marshmallow treats.

John Peterson is senior vice president of the Peterson Company, the company who b...

NORAD Training Exercise Planned For Today

By Kate Sheehy

If you see more air traffic in the skies over the D.C. area tonight, it's likely due to a flight training exercise planned by the North American Aerospace Defense Command. After several delays NORAD says it will have planes in the sky tonight for a training exercise.

Th...

Metro GM To Testify About Increased Federal Oversight

By Patrick Madden

The general manager of Metro is expected to testify on Capitol Hill today as the federal government looks to take greater control over subway and light rail systems across the country.

The Obama Administration is asking Congress to give the Federal Transit Administra...