News Archive - March 17, 2010

Latest Maryland Regional News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Maryland senators have endorsed requiring school attendance until age 18. Senators voted 31-16 today to increase the dropout age from 16 but made the change contingent on the governor funding the initiative.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) Leading environmental groups are seeking a...

D.C. Council Wants City To Stop Releasing Inmates Late at Night

By Patrick Madden

Lawmakers in District want the city stop to stop releasing inmates late at night. City law states prisoners must be released before 10 pm. But last year, D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said the law was unconstitutional because the cut-off forced the jail to hold some...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) Several groups are offering St. Patrick's Day revelers free taxicab rides home to help curb drunken driving. The nonprofit organization Washington Regional Alcohol Program is making its SoberRide service is available to residents in Washington and the counties of Montgomery, Princ...

Hands-On Program Gets Students To Love Their Broccoli

By Rebecca Sheir

This week marks the one-year anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's White House kitchen garden. But nearly four decades before Mrs. Obama began her push for healthy eating, organic gardening and environmental literacy for children, a group in Washington was doing just t...

Latest Virginia Regional News

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) Virginia transportation officials say they will use an emergency maintenance fund to operate several highway rest areas that had been shuttered by then-Gov. Tim amid deep recession. Gov. Bob McDonnell took part in reopening one of the areas today on I-85.

RICHMOND, Va. (...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Wednesday, March 17, 2010

There are plenty of ways you can display the green this Saint Patrick's Day...

(March 17) BATT AND MAURA BURNS Husband and wife team Batt and Maura Burns. The duo has crossed the pond for a night of witty jokes, storytelling and jolly jams in the Irish tradition at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Cen...

Report On Trips Taken Daily Per Person

By Matt Bush

Older people in the D.C. region are driving more, while younger people are driving less, according to a report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

The report analyzed two previous surveys of the number of trips each person takes per day. Those 65 year...

Free Taxi Rides Available During St. Patrick's Day

By Kavitha Cardoza

As St. Patrick's Day celebrations get underway, police are cracking down on drunk driving, and some groups are reminding revelers there are free taxi rides available to help get them home safely.

Almost every person arrested for drunk driving says they wished they h...

Advisory For Recreational Use Of Upper Potomac

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Maryland Natural Resources Police are advising against recreational uses of the upper Potomac River and its creeks and streams through Friday.

Natural Resources Police say recent rains have made river levels hazardous on the entire main stem of the upper Potomac from Kit...

Power Breakfast For March 17, 2010

More fiscally responsible than thou?

Senate Republicans meet late this afternoon for some tough talk - amongst each other - on earmarks.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports.

Irish Organization Pushes A Different Way To Celebrate

By Natalie Neumann

Some celebrate St. Patrick's Day by sporting green clothing and kicking back a few green beers. But one group is pushing people to celebrate differently.

Outside of the Dupont Circle, Linda Murray coaxes passersby to grab a free book.

"Would anyone like a free...

Maryland Considers Banning A Common Flame Retardant

By Sabri Ben-Achour

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced it will take a closer look at a common fire retardant called Decabrominated Diphenyl Ether (DecaDBE). It's one of a family of flame retardants called Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers. They're commonly used in household plas...

Baltimore May Take Middle Road On Bag Bill

By Sabri Ben-Achour

A plastic bag bill being considered by Baltimore's City Council is taking a middle road in the debate over how to deal with litter from grocery carriers.

A Baltimore City Council committee opted not to follow the example of D.C., and rejected a bag surcharge. Inste...

Fairfax Leaders Meet For "Snow Summit"

By Jonathan Wilson

This weeks Spring-like weather may seem an odd time for something called a snow summit. But leaders in Fairfax County, Virginia want to make sure lessons learned from this winters storms don't melt away.

Representatives from Virginia's Department of Transportation s...

MarylandReporter.com: State Roundup Mar. 17, 2010

From the Maryland Reporter website:

Today we've got renewed coverage of sex offender bills, slots discussion heats up as the state considers rebidding Rocky Gap and the legal battle over slots at Arundel Mills continues. And Bob Ehrlich tests out a possible campaign message.

SEX OFFEN...

"Hall Of Human Origins" Opens On Anniversary Of Museum's Origins

By Stephanie Kaye

One of the Smithsonian museums turns one hundred years old today. And along with a birthday party, the Museum of Natural History will unveil a new exhibit at the exact time its doors first opened.

Although museum director Christian Samper wasn't there, he says he can...