News Archive - May 19, 2010

Reading Problems For Some Local School Districts

About 63 percent of fourth graders at public schools in both Maryland and Virginia are reading below proficient levels, according to a new report from the non-profit Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The situation isn't much better in Fairfax County, Virginia, traditionally one of the nation's fla...

Latest Maryland Regional News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) The Board of Public Works is scheduled to vote on a settlement in a legal case the state lost relating to Maryland's alcoholic beverage pricing regulations. The board is scheduled to vote today on $200,000 in attorney's fees due to the plaintiffs.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) Fla...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Wednesday, May 19, 2010

(May 19) GOOOOAL! D.C. SCORES! The District's largest after-school program, DC SCORES, promotes athletic pursuits and poetry to keep kids positive. Art work inspired by these young poet-athletes will be up for auction tonight at the DC SCORES Inspired Art Gala at the Corcoran Gallery in Northwest...

Girl Outs Mother's Citizenship Status During First Lady's School Visit

By Matthew Stabley, NBC4

A second-grader may have unwittingly blown the whistle on her mother's citizenship status during Michelle Obama's visit to a Silver Spring school -- and right in front of Mexico's first lady.

Margarita Zavala joined Mrs. Obama for a visit to New Hampshire Esta...

Latest Virginia Regional News

BEDFORD, Va. (AP) A Bedford County man who admitted burning a cross in an interracial couple's yard will spend nine months in jail. Darrell Bruce Orange was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to burning a cross with the intent to intimidate. Attorneys on both sides say he has a history of...

D.C.'s Chief Judge Says More Authority Needed In Cases Involving Young Offenders

By Patrick Madden

D.C.'s juvenile justice system has come under scrutiny after several violent incidents involving young offenders. D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield says the courts need more authority to sentence young offenders. As he explains, juvenile cases are different f...

Police Make 5th Arrest In D.C. Principal's Death

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) A fifth arrest has been made in the slaying of a D.C. middle school principal.

Montgomery County police said Wednesday that D.C. police arrested 19-year-old Joel Johnson in southwest Washington on Tuesday evening. They say an arrest warrant issued earlier this month char...

Power Breakfast For May 19, 2010

The Senate votes today on whether to cut off debate and move on to final passage of the financial reform bill. And although Senator Bob Corker has had a lot to do with getting the thing this far, the Tennessee Republican has been noncommittal about this particular vote.

Elizabeth Wynne John...

Montgomery County Police Chief Talks Immigration Policy

By Elliott Francis

As police departments across the country re-evaluate their policies dealing with undocumented immigrants, the police chief in Montgomery County, Maryland has become a vocal opponent of aggressive crackdowns.

Chief Tom Manger says he's concerned about losing the trus...

Montgomery County Council Passes Carbon Tax

By Sabri Ben-Achour

In Maryland, the Montgomery County Council has become the first county in the nation to pass a carbon tax. The council voted 8 to 1 to pass the measure.

The tax is an attempt to put a price on carbon for major emitters like power plants. If carbon pollution costs m...

Metro: Man Found Dead Boarded Train Hours Earlier

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) Metro officials say a man found dead on a rail car had boarded the train five hours earlier.

Metro said Tuesday that the man boarded the red line train at the Twinbrook station in Rockville around 10:15 a.m. Monday. Officials say the train traveled to the Silver Spring s...

Pentagon: Virginia Offshore Drilling Would Interfere With Military

By Rebecca Blatt

The Department of Defense says drilling off the coast of Virginia would interfere with military operations, and is trying to place the vast majority of space being considered for offshore leases off limits.

In a new report the Pentagon says that approximately three-qu...

Number Of Transportation Improvement Projects Shrinks

By David Schultz

All local transportation projects that receive federal funding have to be approved by the regional Transportation Planning Board.

This afternoon, the board updated its ongoing list of projects under consideration. Several projects that were on the list last year were...

Scientists Oppose VA's AG's Global Warming Actions

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The Union of Concerned Scientists is weighing in on a state investigation into global warming research at the University of Virginia.

More than 800 faculty members at state colleges and universities have signed a letter protesting Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's investi...

Defense Jobs Are Leaving Arlington, But Will Workers Follow?

By David Schultz

In Arlington, BRAC, or the Base Realignment and Closure process, isn't an acronym. It isn't even a noun. BRAC is a verb.

At a career fair in Arlington for workers whose jobs are moving, the phrase "Been BRAC'd?" is emblazoned on blue tote bags.

Anita Friedman, a...

First Ladies Advocate Nutrition And Exercise In Silver Spring

By Jessica Gould

First Lady Michelle Obama helped her husband run for office. And she's still running. Today she jogged around a Silver Spring elementary school as part of her fight to end childhood obesity.

Students at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, Marylan...

D.C. Church Heads National List Of Endangered Sites

By Jonathan Wilson

A small, historically black church just blocks away from the White House sits at the top of this year's list of the country's most endangered historic places.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation calls the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church the...

Montgomery Community College Names New President

By Leslie Byford

There's a new president at Montgomery Community College in Rockville. Dr. DeRionne Pollard is being tapped to fix a system that has been plagued by controversy

Kenneth Massada, is a student member of the board of trustees. He says the appointment of Dr. Pollard comes...

Metro Suspends Train Operators In Body Discovery

By Meymo Lyons

Metro has suspended two train operators after a man was found dead on a rail car. Metro says that the man boarded the red line train in Rockville around 10:15 a.m. Monday.

An operator found him lying on the floor of a rail car around 3 p.m. when the train was being prep...

MarylandReporter.com: State Roundup May 19, 2010

LIGHT RAIL Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich says the state cannot afford two light rail projects -- Baltimore's Red Line and the Washington suburbs' Purple Line -- supported by Gov. Martin O’Malley, according to the Associated Press.

Here’s Baltimore Sun transportation reporter Michael Dre...

Chesapeake Sees Slight Improvement In Latest Report Card

By Sabri Ben-Achour

Water quality in the Chesapeake Bay is showing some improvement this year, according to newly released data.

The University of Maryland and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have given the bay a grade of C in terms of water quality for 2009. Not g...

Ambulance User Fees Get The OK In Montgomery County

By Matt Bush

After years of rejecting ambulance user fees, council members in Montgomery County, Maryland have now approved them.

By the narrowest of votes, 5-4, council members okayed the fees that will be charged to patients who need an ambulance to get to a hospital. Councilwoman D...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) The D.C. Council has decided not to move forward with a measure proposed by the mayor to increase fines and fees to close a budget gap. The measure was expected to raise some $7.5 million by increasing building fees, business license fees and ticket fines.

WASHINGTON (AP) On...

Battle Escalates Over New Hospital In Montgomery County

By Matt Bush

Adventist Healthcare is pushing back as its rival tries to build a new hospital in the upper part of Montgomery County, Maryland. This week, Holy Cross Hospital unveiled its plans to build a hospital on Montgomery College's Germantown campus. The proposal would allow the school...