News Archive - May 27, 2010

Montgomery County Budget Officially Adopted

By Matt Bush

Montgomery County Council members officially adopted a new budget for the next fiscal year amid one final protest.

Police packed the council hearing room as the final vote was taken to protest furlough days they must take. All unionized workers except those who work for c...

Silver Line Construction Project Moves Into High Gear

By David Schultz

Drivers traveling in Northern Virginia this Memorial Day weekend may notice a small army of cranes, concrete and construction workers. They'll be hard at work building the silver line, the new extension of Metro out to Dulles Airport.

The multi-billion dollar project...

Field Fund Set-Up In Memory Of Slain University Of Virginia Lacrosse Player

The family of the University of Virginia lacrosse player who was beaten to death, has set up a fund to build a turf field at the high school where she played the sport. Yeardley Love was a senior at UVA whose body was found May 3. Her family has created a memorial fund at Notre Dame Preparatory...

Obama: Gov't. In Charge Of Oil Disaster Response

By JENNIFER LOVENAP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama moved aggressively to show his government is in charge of the Gulf oil spill on Thursday, calling the spill an "unprecedented disaster" and blasting a "scandalously close relationship" between oil companies...

CDC Director Meets With Delegate Norton On The District's Water

By Natalie Neumann

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and D.C.'s Delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, are trying to reassure District residents that their tap water is safe. The two are working together to confront uncertainties after the latest controversy about the...

MarylandReporter.com: State Roundup May 27, 2010

From the Maryland Reporter website:

OIL SPILL Gov. Martin O’Mallley was given a lesson in oil spill cleanup and the state’s readiness in the the event an accident were to occur near Maryland shores, according to Annie Linskey for The Sun’s Maryland Politics blog. The Associated Press is rep...

Group Says Highway Safety Laws Save Lives, But Only In Some States

By David Schultz

The group Advocates for Highway Safety studied the effects of some of the laws states have passed in the previous two decades. They found that laws mandating seat belt use were some of the most effective, saving almost 25,000 lives since 1990.

But, not all states have...

Gray Told To Reduce Fence, Move To Property Line

WASHINGTON (AP) City officials say D.C. Council Chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent C. Gray must reduce the height of his fence or move it to his property line.

Gray faced fines for not filing a public-space permit application for a 6-foot-high aluminum fence he built around his house in...

Latest Maryland Regional News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) The head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is applauding President Barack Obama for deciding to extend a moratorium on new deepwater oil wells. Obama announced the new steps today in the aftermath of the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) FirstEner...

D.C. Council Passes Budget

By Patrick Madden

D.C.'s budget now awaits the signature of Mayor Adrian Fenty. The city council has passed the spending plan for next year, but it wasn't without some twists and turns. Even the council's breakfast, a traditionally laid-back affair, was interrupted when activists burst thro...

Metro Passes Fare Hikes

It's official: fares are going up on Metro trains and buses. The agency's board of directors voted to approve the hikes at a meeting this afternoon.

David Schultz has details from Metro headquarters...

Latest D.C. Local News

WASHINGTON (AP) The Watergate Hotel is under new ownership after its former owner defaulted on a $40 million loan and the hotel was auctioned off last summer. The new owners have plans to reopen the posh hotel made famous by the 1972 burglary that led to Richard Nixon's resignation.

WASHING...

Travel This Weekend Expected To Increase Throughout Region

By Matt Bush

Travel this Memorial Day is expected to be up across the D.C. region. AAA Mid-Atlantic says the number of people from the area expected to travel more than 50 miles this weekend will be 6 percent higher than last year. While the recovering economy is one reason for that, AAA sp...

Preserving Nature In Arlington

By Cathy Carter

Only about 4 percent of Arlington, Virginia is still considered natural land, and city officials are working on a plan to take care of what's there.

This is not a story about stopping development. Arlington's already developed to the hilt. It's about protecting the res...

Latest Virginia Regional News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) AAA Mid-Atlantic expects more Virginians to travel this Memorial Day weekend. The auto club says about 941,500 Virginians are expected to travel 50 miles or more this holiday weekend, a 7.1 percent increase over the 2009 Memorial Day period. A spokeswoman says the numbers are d...

Students Say Learning Arabic Helps Them Confront Middle East Stereotypes

By Kavitha Cardoza

Approximately 75 students at Washington Latin Public Charter School in Northwest D.C. are learning Arabic and they say the language has helped them confront stereotypes about Middle easten cultures.

14-year-old Guy Wilson is learning Arabic as part of an after-schoo...

Decision To Cancel Virginia Drilling Draws Applause, Criticism

By Sabri Ben-Achour

President Obama has canceled a proposed lease sale that would've opened Virginia's coast to offshore drilling. Virginia's governor is not happy with that decision, while environmental groups are heralding the move.

Will Baker is president of the Chesapeake Bay Foun...

Power Breakfast For May 27, 2010

It’s B-P-palooza on the Hill today. With hearings in House Energy and Commerce, and in the subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports.

Oil Is No Stranger To Maryland's Shores

By Sabri Ben-Achour

Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley says his state is preparing for the remote possibility that oil from the Gulf of Mexico could find it's way there. Oil is no stranger to Maryland's shores.

The state of Maryland actually maintains 13,000 feet of boom to protect a...

Severe Weather Watch Tonight For Washington Region

By Keosha Johnson

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. for D.C., 12 counties in Maryland and 18 counties in Virginia.

NWS also issued a flash flood watch from 5 p.m. until late tonight for parts of Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia.

...

Six-Year Transportation Plan Worse Than N. Va. Leaders Expected

By Jonathan Wilson

When it comes to road projects, primary roads get the headlines. It makes sense, primary roads are the ones large and heavily trafficked enough to get numbered by the state, like Route 29.

But at Wednesday night's public hearing before Virginia's Commonwealth Transp...

"Art Beat" With Stephanie Kaye - Thursday, May 27, 2010

(May 27-June 2) HOLA, MEXICO! Washington's E Street Cinema hosts the second annual Hola Mexico Film Festival tonight through Tuesday in Northwest D.C. You can celebrate the charming complexity of Mexican cinema with contemporary cuts, classics, shorts and documentaries.

(May 27) BRIGHT AND...