News Archive - December 17, 2009

Latest Maryland Regional News

BALTIMORE (AP) A free downtown Baltimore shuttle service is slated to start next month. That's about six months later than originally planned, but officials say the delay will save the city $3.1 million.

BALTIMORE (AP) The Maryland Transportation Authority board is expected to approve toll...

Sec. of Education Introduces Cybersafety Booklet at D.C. Junior High

By Jonathan Wilson

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is introducing a new resource to help adults talk to children about cybersafety.

Some students at Jefferson Middle School in Southwest D.C. got a sneak peak.

Duncan came to Jefferson to unveil a new free booklet called...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) The District of Columbia's chief financial officer is projecting a $17 million shortfall in the current fiscal year and estimates the city will fall $600 million short over the next four years. The projections are based on lower tax collections, unemployment and weakness in the co...

Bill Would Bring $300 Million For BRAC Traffic Adjustments

By Rebecca Blatt

A Defense Appropriations Bill pending Senate approval would allocate $300 million for roadway improvements around new military medical centers in Bethesda, Maryland and Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The funding is intended to help relieve the two communities as they prepare...

Latest Virginia Regional News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The Republican speaker of Virginia's House of Delegates and its chief budget writer are pressuring Democrats senators to oppose the Senate health reform bill. The conservative pair also say the measure is unpopular in Virginia and ask them to "urge caution among their colleague...

Legislation Seeks Healthier D.C. Schools

By Jessica Gould

A bill before D.C. Council would radically transform health and nutrition at city schools.

It's chicken nugget day at Hearst Elementary, a public school in Northwest D.C. But not for Selena Smart's sons. She's making sandwiches.

"I've made here ham and cheese wi...

Prince George County School Cuts

By Kate Sheehy

Schools in Maryland's Prince George County face major spending cuts under a new proposed budget.

The budget calls for $42.5 million less in spending than this year's plan and the elimination of 490 positions. Seventy-five new jobs would be added though to staff four new...

Green Business Certification Program Announced In Montgomery County

By Matt Bush

Businesses in Montgomery County, Maryland can now receive a certification for going green.

Recycling and energy reduction are two of the criteria. Water conservation and carbon footprint reduction are the others.

The new certification program will put Montgomery Cou...

Bruce Allen Takes Over As Top Redskins Executive

By Rebecca Sheir

Now that Vinney Cerrato has resigned as executive vice-president of the Washington Redskins, Bruce Allen will become top executive of the franchise his father once led to the Superbowl.

The team's owner, Dan Snyder, made the announcement with just three weeks left in...

Highway Fatalities Down In Virginia

By Rebecca Blatt

Highway fatalities in Virginia are sharply down compared to last year. Governor Tim Kaine's office says there were 98 fewer traffic deaths in the first 11 months of 2009 than there were in the same period last year. That's a decline of 13 percent.

Last year there were...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Thursday, December 17, 2009

(December 19 & 20) KWANZAA DANCE Kwanzaa is kickin' it at Dance Place in northeast D.C. with a Kwanzaa Celebration this Saturday and Sunday. Coyaba Dance company adds some spice to the holiday cider with regional dance from West Africa.

(December 19, January 9, 16) MONTPELIER MOVIES The...

ICC Tolls Rates Approved: Will Be Among Highest In U.S.

By Jonathan Wilson

Maryland's Intercounty connector roadway, an 18-mile stretch between Gaithersburg and Laurel, will have some of the highest tolls in the country when it opens in the Fall of 2010. Maryland's Transportation Authority approved the plan today.

Today's vote means two-ax...

Power Breakfast for December 17, 2009

The Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to vote this morning on the re-confirmation of Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. But yesterday, Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders placed a hold on the nomination.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...

Arundel Slots Fight Intensifies Before Crucial Vote

By David Schultz

On Monday night, the county council is scheduled to decide whether or not to allow slot machines at Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover.

Tom Chukas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, says if the council allows slots there instead of at Laurel Park Race Track, the state...

Democracy Is Coming

Senior Commentator Fred Fiske has lived in the D.C. area for over six decades. He says he's still waiting for the day when the District's residents enjoy the same rights as other Americans.

Water Main Break Floods Baltimore Street

BALTIMORE (AP) Baltimore public works officials say a break in a 42-inch water main is flooding a street in a residential neighborhood.

Public Works spokesman Kurt Kocher says the broken main in the 1600 block of Argonne Drive has caused severe roadway flooding and damage. Crews are also ch...

Halloween Attack in Northern Va. Linked to Serial Rapist

By Jonathan Wilson

Police in Virginia say DNA evidence links a Halloween-night sexual assault in Woodbridge to a string of assaults stretching to New England over 13 years. Now they're asking for the public's help.

This isn't the first time police have asked for help finding this susp...