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Saturday, March 20, 2010
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December 14, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama says banks have a greater obligation to help the U.S. economy recover because they received "extraordinary" assistance from the taxpayers. Following a White House meeting with the heads of the nation's top financial firms, the president said he urged banks to increase lending to small businesses.
WASHINGTON (AP) North American Aerospace Defense Command is planning exercise flights over the Washington area to begin around midnight and continue into the early hours of Tuesday. NORAD says people can expect to hear and see fighter aircraft, Civil Air Patrol aircraft, and Coast Guard helicopters.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
December 14, 2009 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Four police crime labs in Maryland will receive $1.2 million in federal stimulus funding. Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Monday that state police as well as police in Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George' counties will receive funding for their DNA crime labs.
OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) Maryland Natural Resources Police say two men were rescued from a burning boat off the coast of Ocean City. Police said 41-year-old David Catrino of Ocean City and 38-year-old Ollie Powell of Berlin were riding on Catrino's boat this morning when it caught fire.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
December 14, 2009 - ROANOKE, Va. (AP) A former executive who stole more than $42,000 from SunTrust Bank will spend eight months on home confinement. Douglas Calvin Powell of Roanoke must pay $42,805 in restitution and spend three years on supervised release when he completes his sentence.
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) Circuit Court Judge William Alexander is considering whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the families of two students slain in the mass shootings at Virginia Tech. During court hearings that began Monday, attorneys are also arguing whether any of the defendants should be granted sovereign immunity.
KING GEORGE, Va. (AP) Conservation officers are investigating the fatal shooting of a deer hunter by another hunter in King George County. A Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries spokeswoman says 27-year-old Carrie L. Loving of Fredericksburg was standing near another hunter's truck when she was shot.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
December 14, 2009 - By Meymo Lyons
A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge will issue a decision by Jan. 15 on whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the families of two students slain in the mass shootings at Virginia Tech.
Judge William Alexander said in court Monday that he will spend the next month preparing a written ruling on that question as well as requests for sovereign immunity for some officials.
The families of Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde are suing the state, Virginia Tech and university and mental health officials, claiming gross negligence. Their $10 million lawsuit also names as a defendant the estate of Seung-Hui Cho, the student gunman who killed 32 people before taking his own life in April 2007.
December 14, 2009 - By Patrick Madden
Now that Congress has lifted the ban on medical marijuana in D.C., the city council is trying to figure out how to implement the program.
It's been eleven years since residents in D.C. voted overwhelmingly to legalize medical marijuana. Since then, eight other states have approved similar measures.
"It's a program that has been adopted successfully by other states; we haven't seen the end of the world because of medical marijuana initiatives," says D.C. Councilman Phil Mendolson.
But Mendelson says implementing the initiative will be challenging. The city will need to figure out who can grow and distribute the drug, as well as which patients will qualify for the program and how much marijuana they can possess. Mendelson says that crafting those guidelines could take months.
The initiative also needs to survive congressional review. The measure will be sent to both houses of Congress once President Obama signs the city's spending bill.
December 14, 2009 - By Rebecca Blatt
The Naval Academy says there's not enough evidence to charge anyone with sexually assaulting a female midshipman, who says she was assaulted during summer training in Norfolk, Virginia.
A spokesman for the Academy says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigated the alleged incident. The commanding officer of the ship involved reviewed the findings and decided that there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone or take the case to military court.
The academy says it won't release any more details of the case.
Another female midshipman reported being sexually assaulted during summer training. That case remains under investigation.
December 14, 2009 - By Meymo Lyons
Every so often in the Washington Metro, a foot gets caught in an escalator. Usually, the culprit is a shoe lace or a flip-flop. On Monday, it was a bird's talon.
D.C. fire department spokesman Pete Piringer says rescuers were called to the Benning Road station in northeast Washington shortly after 8 a.m. Monday. A large bird of prey, possibly a hawk or a falcon, had its foot stuck in the escalator. Metro employees shut off the power, and a passer-by held the bird to keep it from injuring itself more. When firefighters arrived, they removed a portion of the escalator to free the bird.
Piringer says that despite a slightly injured foot, the bird flew to the top of a nearby gas station, where it sat for a while before continuing on its way.
December 14, 2009 - By Matt Bush
The Maryland speaker of the House says the state will be one of the first in the U.S. to emerge from the recession.
Speaker Mike Busch says Maryland's unemployment rates will be the reason why. "Right now the unemployment in this country is 10.2 percent," says Busch. "The unemployment rate in Maryland is 7.3 percent."
Lowering that rate even further will be a top priority during the upcoming legislative session, according to Busch. Lawmakers will convene in Annapolis next month.
"One of the proposals that will be put on the table by Governor O'Malley will be to offer a $3,000 tax credit for every business that hires somebody that is unemployed," says Busch.
"We believe we are going to commit at least $20 to $30 million to this program, which I think is to try to get people back into the workplace, and to take some of the pressure off businesses having to pay unemployment insurance many pay now," says Busch.
Paying for the credit could prove tricky, as Maryland is facing a budget deficit expected to exceed $2 billion for the next fiscal year.
December 14, 2009 - A former elected official from New York City, Adolfo Carrion Jr., now calls Washington D.C. home because President Obama named him director of the newly-created White House Office of Urban Affairs.
As Andrea Bernstein reports, many people who care about cities, including those here in the District of Columbia, are hoping Carrion will make good on Mr. Obama's promise to help the nation's cities.
Andrea is a reporter at WNYC, our partner public radio station in New York City...
Adolfo Carrión digs potatoes in urban Philadelphia garden.
Courtesy of: Andrea Bernstein-WNYC
December 14, 2009 - By Kavitha Cardoza
A new venture in D.C. tries to make it easier for charter school leadership to connect with potential board members. Tom Nida, who heads the D.C. charter school board, says in order to effectively govern a school, you need the right people to serve on it's board. And he says recruiting people is sometimes a challenge for charter schools.
"We have 57 different schools, which means we have 57 different boards. And if we assume that on any given year a certain percentage will turn over, we constantly have to help schools look for qualified, interested, talented people."
Nida says during his "day job" with United Bank he heard the same refrain from non profit leaders. After financial issues, finding qualified people to serve on their boards was the major challenge. So Nida helped develop the United Bank ServiceCorps, which he hopes will connect those who want to volunteer with area non profits, including charter schools. Nida says a charter school boards in D.C. are required to have at least five members.
Ideally members should represent a mix of backgrounds including education, finance, fundraising and legal expertise.
December 14, 2009 - By Kate Sheehy
The U.S. Senate has followed the lead of the House... by passing the D.C. Appropriations bill without any riders restricting how the city can spend its money.
The bill passed yesterday clears the way for the District to allow medical marijuana use, approved by voters in 1998 but subsequently banned by Congress. It also frees the District to spend local tax dollars to help low-income women pay for abortions.
A federal law bars the District and states from using federal money to pay for abortions, but states can use local tax dollars. Supporters of abortion rights say private donations have helped, but they say that many women were turned away from clinics because the District government did not have enough money.
The bill would also allow the city's needle exchange programs to continue.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is celebrating the passage of the bill...calling it "the biggest win for home rule in the District in decades."
President Obama is expected to sign the bill this week.
December 14, 2009 - (December 14) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY! Every December the Folger Shakespeare Library celebrates a special lady, Emily Dickinson, on her birthday. The annual poetry reading and discussion begins tonight at 7:30 at the Folger's home on Capitol Hill. And what's a birthday without cake? Dickinson's own special recipe for rum and fruit-filled "black cake" will be served in the Great Hall after the reading.
(Through December 20) CELTIC CELLULOID Celtic cinema comes to the fore with Solas Nua's Capital Irish Film Festival running through December 20th on screens around D.C. Forty-five films presented over 10 days showcase more filmmaking from the Emerald Isle than any other festival in the US.
(December 20) SCREWTAPE LETTERS Arrive early for a free forum on C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters at Washington National Cathedral this Sunday morning at 10, in conjunction with the show's run at the Lansburgh Theatre through January 3rd. Actor Max McLean, reprising a role he has performed around the country, discusses this story about a demon named Screwtape who's advising his nephew on securing the damnation of a British man's soul. Complimentary parking is offered in the underground parking garage, accessed from Wisconsin Avenue.
December 14, 2009 - By Jonathan Wilson
In Virginia, Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors is close to final approval for a special tax district in the Western part of the county.
Landowners holding a majority of the value of the proposed district have to agree to the special tax. Right now, the county says, landowners representing about 60 percent of the area's value have signed on.
Jeff Fairfield, represents the Launders Charitable trust, which owns 15 acres in the area.
He says a key to getting landowners to sign on, was reducing the burden of the tax early on, while the economy recovers.
"We have a stepped tax rate increase, beginning next year with only a nickel per $100 of valuation, and stepping up a nickel each year thereafter," says Fairfield.
The district includes the Route 28 corridor, Herndon and part of Reston, and is expected to raise $330 million.
Sharon Bulova, who chairs the board of supervisors, says without the agreement, "we would have, essentially, express bus service from Tysons to Dulles Airport."
Landowners have until December 21st, to change their minds.
Fairfax County is close to final approval for a special tax district in the western part of the county. If approved, the tax district is expected to raise $330 million.
Courtesy of: Jonathan Wilson
December 14, 2009 - By Elliott Francis
A recent report indicates that Fairfax, VA gets high marks for clean tap water.
The study conducted by the, 'Environmental Working Group,' ranks the Fairfax County Water authority 8th best, out of 100 large utilities in the U.S. in keeping pollutants out of drinking water.
According to the Washington Post, the report is more critical of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which serves Montgomery and Prince George's counties, ranking it 82nd out of 100.
The Washington Aqueduct, serving the District and Arlington, was not ranked.
A spokesman for WSSC says the system's water "Is perfectly safe to drink...and meets current federal standards."
A recent study gives Fairfax County's tap water a high ranking.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/Joe Shlabotnik
December 14, 2009 - By Mana Rabiee
The holidays can be a difficult time for people who are divorced or separated. At the Truro Church in Fairfax city, Virginia, prayers are read in Spanish in a music room. Upstairs, Donald Emery facilitates a group counseling session for people who are divorced or separated.
"Normally you'd spend the holidays with other couples and families and all of a sudden you find that people don't know which spouse they should invite. And so a lot of times you don't get invited to -- anything," says Emery.
Dr. David Kaplan is a counselor based in Northern Virginia who specializes in divorce. He says one of the toughest things about the holidays after a divorce is the loss of family rituals.
"Well, it's time for new rituals. What kind of new rituals can you set up now to celebrate the holidays in a different way?" says Kaplan.
Carol Randolph founded a support group for separated and divorced people -- with members throughout Metro D.C.
"Sometimes it can be helpful to just get out of Dodge. Go somewhere totally different where you don't have the pull of 'what was and what isn't' dragging you down," says Randolph.
Emery, Kaplan and Randolph all agree divorced people shouldn't stay home alone on the holidays.
December 14, 2009 - By David Schultz
Doorways for Women and Families is an organization devoted to helping victims of domestic abuse and homeless families.
It derives a large chunk of its budget from corporate donors - donors like the troubled mortgage lender Freddie Mac, which nearly went bankrupt last year before the government stepped in.
But Linda Dunphy, Doorways' director, says recently, something's changed.
"We saw a real shift last year when the economy was spiraling downward. And that was individual people in this community were looking to support charities in their own backyard."
With funding from Freddie Mac and other corporations drying up, Dunphy says her organization is trying to raise smaller amounts from more people.
"It's a matter of survival, as well as thriving."
Dunphy says many directors of other local non-profits tell her they're adopting the same strategy of trying to diversify their funding sources.
December 14, 2009 - By Mana Rabiee
A neighborhood in southeast D.C. may not get a long-anticipated rec center because of a controversy in the Mayor's office involving park contracts.
Chalaneet Balas pushes open the chain link fence that closes-off the once-busy Rosedale Rec Center. She's with the Rosedale Grassroots Organization which lobbied hard for a new rec center to be built on the site of the current one. It's just one in a bundle of contracts worth $86 million awarded to Banneker Ventures.
The city council is considering voiding those contracts as it reviews whether the firm's founder had improper contact with city officials before winning the contracts.
But Balas says the council's decision puts the rec center in limbo and made the site into a no-man's land. "They obviously need to rectify what the procurement process needs to be. The flip side of that is that our community along with many other communities in the city are going to suffer in the meantime," says Balas.
"I would say a brief delay for the sake of long-term success is better than rushing forth where people have done things wrong," says Council Member Harry Thomas, chair of the council's parks and recreation committee.
Thomas won't give details but says the council is close to deciding what action they can take in the contract dispute.
One southeast D.C. neighborhood may not get a long-anticipated recreation center because of a controversy in the Mayor's office involving park contracts.
Courtesy of: Mana Rabiee
December 14, 2009 - Dozens of lawmakers are still holding out hope of making it to the global climate conference in Copenhagen later this week.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
December 14, 2009 - By Natalie Neumann
The D.C. council is looking into creating "no-loitering" zones near schools, to ensure students' safety.
In the proposed "Safe Passage Emergency Zones" near schools, police could disperse or arrest people they believe are hanging around in order to commit a crime. The bill was prompted by a recent rash of violence outside Friendship Edison High School.
All 13 council members support legislation allowing the Metropolitan Police Department to establish the temporary, 1,000-foot safety zones outside public and charter schools, if police have reason to believe there is a threat against students, parents, or staff.
But D.C.'s Attorney General Peter Nickles tells the Washington Examiner the bill would be ineffective and has legal problems, and says he's crafting his own crime bill.
December 14, 2009 - By Mana Rabiee
As the holiday shopping season gets in gear, local and state law enforcement have targeted the D.C. area's illegal counterfeit goods trade.
Nearly 14,000 counterfeit items totaling $1.7 million worth of goods were seized in the D.C. area during a week-long crackdown called Operation Holiday Hoax. It was part of a nationwide effort by immigration and customs enforcement and other agencies spanning more than 40 locations.
The operation netted $26 million worth of counterfeit goods across the country. Most of the items were put on the black market for holiday shoppers. Special Agent John Torres heads the region's Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, known as ICE.
"We're very concerned with consumer product safety, especially this time of year when you look at Christmas ornaments, lighting which for example could be substandard, which could lead to a hazard such as a fire on a Christmas tree," says Torres.
Torres says the local operation focused on two locations: one in Woodbridge, Virginia and a farmers market in D.C.
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