News Archive - December 15, 2009

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) Three streetcars for Washington, a city that has not had that mode of transportation since 1962, have arrived in the area. Transportation officials say the three streetcars arrived over the weekend at the Port of Baltimore from the Czech Republic.

WASHINGTON (AP) A man who s...

Virginia Schools Hope To Fill Jobs

By Pat Brogan

The call is out in Fairfax County for a whole list of jobs for its public schools.

Virginia's largest school system is in need of teachers, counselors,social workers,physical therapists and psychologists. Two instructional job fairs are set for early next year,but candid...

Latest Virginia Regional News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The Virginia State Crime Commission heard options for making "sexting" a crime but refused to recommend legislation, calling the issue a "minefield." Most commission members said the issue was best left to the state's 120 elected prosecutors.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Children's...

General Assembly To Drive Down Interest Rates

By Bill Redlin

A legislative panel will continue its work in hopes of reaching a compromise on how to regulate car title lenders before the general assembly returns Jan. 13th. The lenders are unregulated in Virginia. They operate under the open-end credit law, which allows them to charge un...

WSSC Using New Technology To Detect Future Main Breaks

By Matt Bush

One year ago next week, a broken water main flooded River Road in Bethesda, forcing rescuers to airlift out stranded motorists. In the past year, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has focused on using acoustic technology to determine and prevent breaks before they hap...

Arlington County School Pulls Taliban Assignment

By Kate Sheehy

A principal in Virginia's Arlington county has called off a debate assignment that asked students to represent views of the Taliban.

As part of a mock United Nations debate, students at Swanson Middle School were asked to represent different sides of various world confl...

Montgomery County Still Awaiting Word On Fines Over School Funding

By Matt Bush

Montgomery County executive Isiah Leggett is stepping up his attacks regarding the possibility the county could be fined by the state board of education.

The county faces fines that could top $40 million for underfunding a school funding formula last year. Leggett didn't...

Va. Received 7,900 Doses Of Recalled Vaccine, But Safety Not A Concern

By Jonathan Wilson

The Virginia Department of Health says the state received some of the doses of the H1N1 vaccine now being recalled by the manufacturer.

Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, initiated the recall after ongoing...

Power Breakfast for December 15, 2009

Far from Copenhagen, this morning the Senate's energy committee convenes to talk nukes. Three bills are pending that would boost funding for research, and lay groundwork for more nuclear power in the U-S energy "mix." Support for building more nuclear plants as one step toward energy independence...

Northwest D.C. Bar Offers HIV+ Bar Night

By Rebecca Sheir

A bar in northwest D.C. is offering what organizers are calling the district's first weekly bar night for HIV-positive men.

Its called POZ: thats P-O-Z. Its creator, a party promoter named Jacob Pring, has himself been POZ for six years, and says dating can be difficu...

Wilson High School $110 Million Renovation To Begin January

By Kavitha Cardoza

Students from Wilson High School in Northwest D.C. will move to nearby university space while their building undergoes a multi-million dollar renovation.

At a ceremonial groundbreaking, Principal Peter Cahall called the existing structure a "third-world building." H...

Festive Mood At Same-Sex Marriage Rally On Eve of Vote

By Jonathan Wilson

Supporters of same-sex marriage in D.C. gathered at a rally last night, and with the council expected to pass the bill today, the mood was mostly festive.

More than 400 people showed up at the Kennedy Recreation Center Monday night.

As music blared from the so...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Tuesday, December 15, 2009

(December 17) TAKE FIVE! While the weather outside is frightful, the Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum is feeling the heat. Take Five!, the museum's Third Thursdays jazz series, presents Krewe'tet from 5 to 8 p.m. Montgomery College trumpeter Alvin Trask is joined by an ens...

D.C. City Council Votes To Legalize Gay Marriage

Washington D.C.'s City Council has voted to legalize gay marriage in the nation's capital.

Patrick Madden reports...

Conventional And Green Energy Team For Solar Power System

By Elliott Francis

The largest solar power system for a private school in the D.C. area is the result of a partnership of old and new technology.

Maryland based, green power provider Clean Currents installed the 540 solar panels on the roof of the Blair Center, on the campus of the Bu...

District Owes Movie-Maker $1.4 Million

By Meymo Lyons

Six months after filming ended for a major movie set in the District of Columbia, a $2 million filming incentive agreement remains largely unpaid.

An agreement between Columbia Pictures and the district government was signed in April to lure filming of the James Brooks...

The D.C. Council Prepares For Medical Marijuana

By Patrick Madden

Eleven years ago District voters approved an initiative legalizing medical marijuana. Congress blocked the program each year - by attaching a series of riders to the city's spending bill. Those riders have been removed.

If President Obama signs the spending bill into...

Latest Maryland Regional News

BALTIMORE (AP) Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld is frustrated after the second police-involved shooting in the city in two days. Bealefeld says something needs to be done to put "maniacs" with handguns in jail and keep them there.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) The Maryland Department...

$1.5 Million In Counterfeit Goods Seized At Popular D.C. Farmers Market

By Mana Rabiee

Law enforcement officers say a seizure of counterfeit goods at a popular farmers market in D.C. is just the start of an "unprecedented" crackdown on the illegal retail trade.

A farmers market may not be the typical location for organized crime activity but that's just w...