News Archive - May 26, 2010

Students In D.C. Public Charter School Learn Arabic

By Kavitha Cardoza

There's been a decrease in foreign languages such as French and German taught in schools across the country, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. But there's been a growing interest in more non-traditional foreign languages such as Chinese. In...

Child Advocate Disscusses PG County Child Abuse Case

By Elliott Francis

Scott Smallwood, the 27-year-old Prince George's County school bus driver accused of child pornography is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing Wednesday. The case raises questions about how to detect an abuse problem.

The alleged abuse of the 7-year-...

VA Opts Out Of Race To The Top

By ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia doesn't plan to apply for the second round of federal Race to the Top funding for public-education reform programs.

Virginia Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle said Wednesday that Gov. Bob McDonnell...

Local Schools Urge Children To Turn The Volume Down

By Jonathan Wilson

Several schools in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia have dedicated this week to teaching children the importance of protecting their hearing.

There's something a little ironic about a musician telling children to turn down the volume in their headphones.

B...

MD School Board Backs Federal Funds Application

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Maryland's school board has unanimously approved an application to qualify for up to $250 million in federal education funds.

The school board voted Wednesday on the "Race to the Top" application, which includes changes in how teachers are tenured and evaluated in the ho...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Wednesday, May 26, 2010

(May 26-September 12) FILLING THE VOID The prolific but brief career of French artist Yves Klein is given its first major stateside retrospective in over 30 years in the exhibit With the Void, Full Powers at the Hirshhorn Museum on the National Mall through September. The show paints a picture of...

Protestors Storm D.C. Council Breakfast

By Patrick Madden

Activists stormed a D.C. Council Breakfast this morning, calling on members to spare cuts to the citys social safety net services.

The protest happened about an hour before the council was set to take up next year's budget. It was a rude awakening for the council mem...

Defense Authorization Bill Could Affect BRAC Plans In Northern Virginia

By Rebecca Blatt

The U.S. House is preparing to take up next year's Defense Authorization Bill, and it could affect the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure plan for Northern Virginia.

Congressman Jim Moran, of Virginia, pushed for language in the bill placing a limitation on a new...

MarylandReporter.com: State Roundup May 26, 2010

From the Maryland Reporter website:

SLOTS TRIAL An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge ruled that developer David Cordish's attorneys could not bring in a handwriting expert to testify that signatures on a petition to bring the issue of slots at Arundel Mills mall to referendum were for...

Latest Maryland Regional News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) State cabinet officials will discuss hurricane preparedness and the potential impact of the Gulf oil spill on Maryland at a tabletop drill in Annapolis. Gov. O'Malley is scheduled to host the cabinet level exercise this morning at the State House.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Lea...

D.C. Councils Prepares For Budget Vote

By Patrick Madden

Later today the D.C. Council will vote on a budget to close the city's more than half-billion dollar deficit. With revenues falling and services already stretched, it's been one of the toughest budget seasons in recent memory. Today the council will vote on next year's spe...

High-Tech HOT Lanes Coming To Beltway

By David Schultz

The new High Occupancy Toll lanes, or HOT lanes, on the Beltway in Northern Virginia are so high tech, a 30,000 square foot operations center is being built to support them.

Some people are calling them "Lexus lanes." But Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulova says t...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) The father of a Marine killed in Iraq says anti-gay protesters who showed up with inflammatory signs at his son's funeral in Maryland should not have their actions protected by the Constitution's freedom of speech guarantee. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case during its nex...

Memorial Day Will Mean More To Some Local Military Members

By Matt Bush

This Memorial Day will be extra special for a local group of active members of the military. It's because they're now naturalized U.S. citizens.

Jose Torres-Cubban is a private first class in the Army, stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland. His journey to the U.S. took time...

Maryland Prepares In Case Gulf Oil Reaches Chesapeake

By Sabri Ben-Achour

Maryalnd Gov. Martin O'Malley held a cabinet meeting to assess what the state could do if oil from the Gulf of Mexico made it to Maryland's shores.

The good news, according to experts advising the governor, is that in order for the oil in the gulf to reach Maryland...

Latest Virginia Regional News

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) Classes for middle and high school students in Blacksburg have returned to their regular schedule a day after a 13-year-old took two handguns and ammunition to school. Blacksburg police say the Blacksburg Middle School student was taken into custody after school officials fou...

Biden Delivers Commencement At Naval Academy

The president and vice president traditionally speak each year at commencement exercises at one of the service academies. President Obama addressed graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York on Saturday. Vice-President Biden delivered the commencement address at the...

Memorial Day Travel Expected To Be Heavy

By Matt Bush

Memorial Day travel in the D.C. region is expected to be up this year. More than 800,000 people from the area are expected to travel more than 50 miles this weekend, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Spokesman Lon Anderson says that's a 6 percent increase from last year.

"It...

Power Breakfast For May 26, 2010

Today the Secretary of Education and top Democrats in the House hope to drum up support for a plan to funnel 23 billion dollars to prevent teacher layoffs. Following a familiar logic that makes sense only in Washington, the method of choice is to attach the funding to a war spending bill. It's no...