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June 11, 2010 - By Kavitha Cardoza
First lady Michelle Obama told graduating seniors of Anacostia Senior High School in southeast D.C. to soak up the moment and pat themselves on the back.
Looking out at more than 150 graduates in dark blue gowns, Ms. Obama told them to work hard and dream big.
"Perhaps there were those that wanted to write you off; maybe because of assumptions they made about you, or your school or your community," she says. "But everyday you're proving them wrong. You're proving it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about you or what you can achieve. The only thing that matters is what you think about yourself."
The first lady's speech was punctuated by shouts of "we love you Michelle!" She choked up while thanking family members for supporting the graduates.
"I remember my parents sacrificing for us," she says, "pouring everything they had into us. Being there for us, encouraging us to reach for a life they never knew. And it is because of the support I got from teachers and mentors that I am standing here today."
Ms. Obama's words are particularly meaningful for this school. Last year, only about half the students graduated and 20 percent had college acceptance letters. Since then, a charter school group took over management. This year almost 80 percent of students graduated, of those almost all have been accepted into college.
June 11, 2010 - WASHINGTON (AP) D.C. officials celebrate the high school graduation of a dozen youth from the city's juvenile detention center today. A Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services spokesman says the commencement will be held for students who have earned their high school diploma or GED from the Maya Angelou Academy at the New Beginnings Youth Development Center in Laurel, Md.
WASHINGTON (AP) Michelle Obama will address graduates of a Washington high school. The first lady is to speak this morning to the senior class of The Academies at Anacostia at the commencement ceremony.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - BALTIMORE (AP) The wife of disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff says he's at a halfway house in Baltimore. Pam Abramoff declined to name the specific location during a brief telephone conversation yesterday with The Associated Press.
BALTIMORE (AP) Prosecutors say a federal criminal complaint has been filed against a man arrested this week on charges that he forced a 12-year-old girl to work for him as a prostitute. The complaint against 42-year-old Derwin Smith of Glen Burnie charges him with sex trafficking of a minor.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A Richmond man who pleaded guilty to wounding a Virginia Union University student in an on-campus shooting will spend eight years in prison. Jimar Lee Jewell was sentenced this morning. He had pleaded guilty in March to malicious wounding and a firearms charge.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) Environmental activists angry about the Gulf of Mexico disaster are mobilizing to keep oil rigs off of Virginia's coast and to push for renewable energy. The Sierra Club, Oceana and other organizers are heading to the coast on June 26 for ``Hands Across the Sand'' a human line in the sand against drilling. A similar event was held on Florida beaches.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) Longshoremen at Virginia-owned marine terminals in Newport News and Portsmouth have rejected proposed wage and benefit cuts. Union and port officials said the cuts were needed to attract more bulk cargo to the state-owned terminals and to put more longshoremen to work.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) The Virginia Aquarium is releasing a dozen Kemp's ridley turtles rehabilitated in Virginia and Massachusetts to make space available for any turtles affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The turtles will be released at 11 a.m. Tuesday off Cape Charles.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - It may seem strange to focus on snow as we approach the start of summer, but in Virginia, Arlington County's Board is expected to decide on a new snow removal ordinance this weekend.
The ordinance would require all homeowners and businesses to clear their sidewalks 24 to 36 hours after a snowfall, or face a $100 fine.
County Board member Mary Hynes says on Saturday the board may decide to lower the fine and whether to grant waivers to the elderly or residents with disabilities.
"The real goal for us is safety and mobility," says Hynes. "We're such a walkable community, and when we get a little snow, people rely on their feet a little more than their car."
Hynes says the tricky part is finding an ordinance that works for record-breaking snowfalls like the one experienced in February, and also for storms that leave sidewalks covered with just a few inches.
June 11, 2010 - STERLING, Va. (AP) The U.S. Postal Service says its top official in the Washington region has departed after accusations that he assaulted a manager at a processing center in Sterling.
Jerry Lane had served as vice president of the Postal Service's Capital Metro Area since 2006.
Lane is scheduled to appear in Loudoun County General District Court next week to respond to charges filed against him by the manager of the Sterling facility, Kathleen J. Michaels.
The two allegedly got into an argument June 1, and sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call. Michaels filed misdemeanor assault charges two days later.
A spokesman would only say that Lane "separated" from the agency and would not say whether he resigned or was fired.
Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Maryland flags are lowered at half staff today in honor of an off-duty state trooper who was shot and killed.
The Maryland Governor's office says state flags are being flown at half staff in honor of the slain state trooper until sundown the day of his funeral.
Gov. Martin O'Malley said Friday that police are working tirelessly to capture the suspect in the shooting of 24-year-old Trooper First Class Wesley W. Brown.
Brown was shot early Friday in Prince George's County after he escorted a disorderly customer from a restaurant where he was working security.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) A former federal prosecutor is running for Anne Arundel County state's attorney.
Eric Grannon says State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee has been in office too long. Weathersbee is running for a sixth term.
Grannon says the status quo in Anne Arundel includes lenient plea deals, probation for repeat offenders and not enough cases going to trial. Weathersbee disputes the suggestion that he's too lenient.
The 38-year-old Grannon lives in Davidsonville and is a partner with White + Case in Washington, specializing in antitrust issues. He's a former assistant attorney general for the District of Columbia.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - LAUREL, Md. (AP) For the second time this week, police have arrested a man at a motel in Laurel who's accused of kidnapping a young woman and forcing her into prostitution.
Anne Arundel County police say 23-year-old Gabriel Dreke-Hernandez of Hyattsville was arrested Wednesday night. Officers found the 19-year-old victim, who told police that Dreke-Hernandez had kidnapped her from a party in Prince George's County and forced her into prostitution. She says he assaulted and threatened her.
Police say there's no evidence that the woman had worked as a prostitute before her encounter with the suspect.
Police also found a 16-year-old girl at the motel who had been advertised on the Internet as a prostitute. Dreke-Hernandez is charged with human trafficking and related counts and could face additional charges.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
June 11, 2010 - By Matt Bush
More garbage trucks will start running on natural gas rather than diesel in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The county has set a goal of 2012 to have all of its garbage and recycling trucks running on natural gas. The first are now in use.
Jerald Boyd is with Unity Disposal and Recycling, which operates garbage trucks for the county. He says they are seeing financial benefits already, since compressed natural gas costs 15 percent less than diesel.
"Financially we have a lot of costs savings. But, environmentally, and just our customer service to the community savings are much greater," says Boyd.
Boyd also notes the garbage trucks may become less noticeable to residents.
"The natural gas engine is considerably quieter than the diesel engines," he says.
County leaders say the natural gas trucks will reduce smog causing pollution by 80 percent.
June 11, 2010 - SCRIPT:
I’m Elizabeth Wynne Johnson of Capitol News Connection. This Week in Congress...
Sometimes a bill is just a bill. Sometimes it reflects larger truths about where things stand in Washington. Politically, financially--sometimes even personally.
This week’s case-in-point: a $24 billion Medicaid proposal. States and the federal government share the cost of Medicaid. As part of last year’s stimulus package, the federal government picked up a larger share to help states weather the economic crisis. The current proposal would extend that help through June of 2011. Colorado Senator Mark Udall is in favor of spending the $24 billion.
UDALL: It’s a form of stimulus spending, which helps maintain the social safety network. I think it’s important in tough times.
The Colorado Democrat says he does worry about piling on to the deficit. So does Senator Tom Coburn; when the Oklahoma Republican adds it all up, he comes up with a different answer.
COBURN: We can’t do anything right now. We don’t have any money.
House leaders had scrapped the Medicaid proposal from a tax and jobs-related spending package. So the uphill battle moved to the Senate.
AMB (squabbling) Boy: "Listen to those Congressmen arguing. Is all that discussion and debate about you?"
Bill: "Yeah..."
This is not a straightforward Republican-Democrat thing. There’s plenty of anti-deficit angst within the fiscally conservative wing of the Democratic Party – "Blue Dogs" like Mississippi Congressman Gene Taylor.
TAYLOR: If it was a stand-alone measure I would do it in a heartbeat. The problem is they keep piling it in with a bunch of unnecessary spending.
This is the price Democrats pay for coexisting under the proverbial ‘big tent.’ By the end of the week, Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer sounded downright pensive.
BLUMENAUER: There is a human dimension that is interesting. I mean, literally at lunch today with two thoughtful members – friendly, same state, same party – and just diametrically opposed.
Speaking of things that are contentious in Washington...The ongoing energy policy debate hinges in part on calculating the true cost of fossil fuels. This week the Senate geared up for a Thursday vote on a "Resolution of Disapproval" that, if passed, would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate carbon emissions. The effort was led by Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski.
MURKOWSKI: This resolution is about protecting the economy and preventing agency overreach. It’s as simple as that.
To Murkowski’s left, figuratively if not literally, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham.
GRAHAM: Clean air is a noble purpose for every Republican to pursue. The key is to make it business-friendly.
Utah Republican Bob Bennett tried to retrace the arc of the debate – starting from when the House passed its energy and climate bill.
BENNETT: It was very clear there were not the votes to do a cap and trade bill in the Senate. And the whole process was going to die. Then we got the oil spill. And all of a sudden there is some connection between the EPA and the oil spill!
Recent calamities involving coal mines and deepwater oil rigs have indeed been gasoline on a rhetorical fire. Though for many lawmakers, the connection didn’t require much of a leap. Such incidents give rise to costs not reflected at the pump.
BENNETT: I’m solidly in favor of getting there, but the bridge to that promised land of complete renewable energy is built out of fossil fuels!
In Congress, bridges are built out of bills. So are fences.
The Senate will resume debate on its tax extenders-and-assorted-related-spending bill on Tuesday.
That was This Week in Congress. I’m Elizabeth Wynne Johnson, Capitol News Connection.
June 11, 2010 - By Natalie Neumann
The Capital Area Food Bank is distributing 5 million more pounds of food than two years ago. But the need for food continues to grow.
Volunteers sort through donated food and medical supplies at the Capital Area Food Bank in Northeast D.C. In another part of the warehouse, local agencies and pantries are gathering food for their communities.
Lynn Brantley is President of the Capital Area Food Bank. She says more people are turning to them for help.
"This is a very tough economy. I have been working on hunger issues 37 years and I have never seen a time quite as rough as now," says Brantley.
Today, the consulting firm Deloitte will release a study showing where food is most needed and plan to help the food bank distribute where need is high.
Linda Solomon is a consultant with Deloitte. She says the study shows that specific wards in D.C. continue to have high concentrations of working poor who are hungry, but there are new concentrations in rural areas of Prince George's County in Maryland and Prince William's County in Virginia.
"The challenge is that there are not many agencies, mainly food pantries to serve those communities," says Solomon.
Solomon will meet with the Food Bank's management to devise a plan to reach out to those areas.
Demand for food and medical supplies from the Capital Area Food Bank continues to rise.
Courtesy of: Natalie Neumann
June 11, 2010 - By Rebecca Blatt
Fortune-telling for a fee is protected as free speech, according to a ruling from Maryland's Court of Appeals that overturns a fortune-telling ban in Montgomery County.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2008 by a man who had been denied a license to open a fortune-telling business in Montgomery County. A Montgomery County court supported an ordinance banning fortune-telling for money.
But the Appeals Court said that while fortune-tellers may sometimes deceive their customers, it's not up to the court to pass judgment on the validity or value of their fortunes. The court said the county could enforce fraud laws in the event that fraud occurs.
In the dissenting opinion, Judge Glenn Harrell Jr., argued that the ordinance is limited in its application to fortune-telling for compensation, and that the ordinance restricts no more speech than is necessary to prevent fraud.
June 11, 2010 - By Jonathan Wilson
In the wake of several incidents of violence against women on college campuses in Virginia in the past year, a high school senior in Fairfax County is making sure she and her classmates are prepared to protect themselves.
A group of 30 young women from Westfield High School are learning how to fend off an attacker. They're taking cues from a self-defense instructor from the Fairfax County Police Department, but they wouldn't be here without the initiative of a fellow student: graduating senior Amanda D'Urso.
Earlier this Spring D'Urso got into her dream school, University of Virginia, and soon asked her school resource officer here at Westfield to set up a self-defense seminar for classmates heading off to college.
When she heard about the murder of UVA lacrosse player Yeardley Love, it just reinforced her desire to learn how to learn self-defense techniques.
"Girls should feel like they have a tool with them to do what they can to survive," says D'Urso.
Instructor Beth Myers uses "stun and run" as her motto, she says the goal isn't to win a street fight, it's to get away.
Lou Munoz, the school resource officer at Westfield, says he hopes to repeat the class for next year's seniors.
June 11, 2010 - By Rebecca Sheir
It's been almost 40 years since D.C. boasted a vibrant drum-and-bugle corps scene. Alumni from the city's only all African-American group are trying to bring back the band.
In the VIP Drum and Bugle Corps, Edward Dalton played the bugle.
"The biggest bugle ever made," says Dalton. "Contra-bass is what they call it."
Robert Jackson played the tenor drum.
"I was on the drum line!" says Jackson with a fond laugh.
Joining them were at least 7-dozen other African-American youth who learned diligence, dedication and discipline, says former VIP chaperon Michael Hawkins.
"The group taught them how to be young men and young ladies," says Hawkins. "That is some of the things that is missing in our kids today."
That's why a handful of VIP alumni have formed the non-profit VIP Group, to re-establish their beloved Drum and Bugle Corps.
A white priest in Southeast D.C. founded the VIPs in the mid-1960s, to get inner-city youths off the streets. The VIPs went on to win national competitions despite racial backlash from their mostly white rivals.
The VIP Group says it will take several-million dollars to launch the group, but Shirley Lathern, a member of the VIP color guard, says it's worth it.
"Some of the kids today, they're missing something," says Lathern. "We have so much pride in what we accomplished, that we feel we can offer that again."
The VIP Group hopes to start recruiting by next year.
Alumni from the VIP Drum & Bugle Corps of the 1960s hope to bring the group back to DC.
Courtesy of: Robert Jackson
June 11, 2010 - She's an international opera star but Denyce Graves grew up in Southwest Washington, where she says the sounds of opera were seldom heard. Graves is taking a moment between performances in Turkey, Poland and England to make a stop near home on Sunday, June 13th, the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Stephanie Kaye speaks with Graves at her home in Bethesda about growing up in D.C.
June 11, 2010 - It's Friday. Time for a little morning introspection with one Representative Earl Blumenauer.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports.
June 11, 2010 - It was a busy start to the week, with primaries in Virginia and the announcement of an investigation of D.C. School's Chancellor Michell Rhee.
WAMU's Stephanie Kaye talks with Washington Post Columnist Robert McCartney about the week's top stories...
June 11, 2010 - By Kavitha Cardoza
A high school in the District is getting a high-profile graduation speaker this morning, First Lady Michelle Obama.
I’m at the corner of 18th and C Streets Northwest where, in just a few hours, excited graduates and families of the Academies of Anacostia will be getting ready to graduate. First Lady Michelle Obama will deliver the commencement address. She’s visited the school in the past as a mentor.
The public school is now managed by Friendship Public Charter School for the District in a bid to improve students’ academic performance. Before the change, less than 20 percent of students could read and do math at grade level and only about half the students graduated. Now, even though the most recent test results aren’t out as yet, teachers say attendance is up and behavior problems are down.
June 11, 2010 -
The region presents plenty an opportunity to have a theatrical time this weekend.
(June 11-13) AIRY FAIRY You can take off to a fantastical island in the Shakespearian sun in The Tempest, playing at Baltimore’s Theatre Project on Preston Street today through Sunday. Three actors, ten characters, and one disembodied spirit congregate to bring the Bard’s romantic dramedy to life.
(June 11-20) THE LOVING PROJECT And the full panoply of romantic possibility is par for the course in The Loving Project: E-Race, playing at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, Maryland this weekend and the next. The production explores interracial marriages and nontraditional partnerships in historical and present-day contexts, while uncovering aspects of partnership that make cross-cultural unions viable.
(June 12-13) SEE THE LIGHT And George Mason University’s Theater of The First Amendment re-establishes the right to act out this weekend with its 10th Annual First Light Discovery Program. New productions by professional, student, and community playwrights take over TheaterSpace on Mason’s Fairfax Campus Saturday and Sunday.
June 11, 2010 - By Matt Bush
Police in Maryland are continuing to search for a suspect who shot and killed an off-duty state trooper early this morning in Prince George's County.
Trooper Wesley Brown was working as a security guard at an Applebee's restaurant when he was shot around 12:40 this morning. Earlier, he had escorted a patron out of the restaurant who had refused to pay a bill. State police superintendent, colonel Terrence Sheridan, says officers do have a description of the suspect.
"African-American male, five foot six, five foot eight, 135 pounds. Last seen wearing a light blue Hugo Boss type jacket. Short hair, dark complexion, and a little bit of a beard," says Sheridan.
Sheridan says the suspect shot Brown as he was on the phone. The 24-year-old had been a trooper for a little more than three years, and had just gotten engaged to be married.
June 11, 2010 - From the Maryland Reporter website:
Lots of coverage of the race for governor, which a new poll shows is very tight; the GOP raises money as Mitt Romney comes to town. Plus taxes, pensions and delegate's 'sweetheart' deal.
CAMPAIGN SPIN Aaron Davis and John Wagner of the Washington Post take a close look at how Gov. Martin O'Malley and his rival, former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, create unfavorable histories of each other's fiscal policies.
GOP FUNDRAISER Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele urged 700 party faithful, "My friends, don't screw this up." He was referring to the November elections at a fundraiser that headlined former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and featured former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, the Post's John Wagner reports.
MITT Before keynoting Thursday night’s GOP fundraiser, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a once and possibly future candidate for president, stopped at an Arnold ball park where ex-Gov. Bob Ehrlich was watching son Drew’s baseball game. “I’m just a scout for the Red Sox,” Romney joked, before endorsing Ehrlich's re-election bid, Len Lazarick writes in MarylandReporter.com.
TIGHT RACE A new Rasmussen poll shows Maryland gubernatorial rivals Martin O'Malley, the incumbent, and Bob Ehrlich, the former incumbent, tied at 45% each. Five hundred people were surveyed for the poll, Adam Pagnucco blogs in Maryland Politics Watch.
Barry Rascovar in his Gazette column takes a look at Ehrlich's business proposals. In a Gazette op-ed, Laslo Boyd examines the difference between Ehrlich and O'Malley on higher education.
REDRAWING DISTRICTS Whoever wins the Maryland gubernatorial election in November will have a strong influence over who runs and who wins elected office since he'll get to shepherd through the redrawing of congressional and legislative district lines, so writes Douglas Tallman at Gazette.net.
BUSINESS CLIMATE The people who sell Maryland to the country and the world spent part of this week debating whether the Free State’s brand is competitive in today’s marketplace, Len Lazarick writes in MarylandReporter.com. On the plus side, Maryland has a “great quality of life” and a highly educated workforce, said economist Anirban Basu. On the downside, it has high taxes and a perceived bad attitude toward business.
Scott Dance in the Baltimore Business Journal looks at the record of O'Malley and Ehrlich on small business.
BARTLETT Del. Joseph Bartlett had the state pay his girlfriend $30,000 over the last three years to put him up in her Annapolis home during during legislative sessions, Katherine Heerbrandt reports in the Gazette.
PENSIONS The state is trying to recoup $73 million from its former actuary, Gary Haber reports in the Baltimore Business Journal.
TOUR DE MARYLAND State officials and cycling enthusiasts are trying to bring a seven-day bicycle race to Maryland in 2012 that could generate as much as $40 million in annual spending, reports Liz Farmer in the Daily Record.
TAPPING RESERVE FUND Comptroller Peter Franchot says it would be unwise to raid a local income tax reserve fund if Congress does not approve an extension of Medicaid spending, rejecting a budget tactic backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly. Sean Sedam of the Gazette writes.
CONTRACT QUESTIONS The Carroll County Board of Commissioners questions how agreements with contractors are handled after it was revealed that one firm will be the only subcontractor for the county’s Weatherization Assistance Program and could benefit from more than $800,000 in stimulus money. See Adam Bednar's story in the Carroll County Times.
HEALTH CARE Marylanders need better access to primary care doctors and more information about their medical choices, according to a group of doctors and nurses, insurance companies, and business groups advising the state about how to implement federal health care reform legislation. Erich Wagner has the story in MarylandReporter.com
HEALTH INSURANCE Fewer businesses are offering health insurance, Scott Graham reports in the Baltimore Business Journal.
CITY TAXES A Baltimore City Council committee backs $15 million in new taxes, announced a deal to raise $20 million more over six years, but delays action on a applying the energy tax to industries, writes Andrea K. Walker and Julie Scharper in the Sun.
PENSION PROTEST Despite union protests, a Baltimore City Council committee unanimously backed a controversial bill to alter the pension plan for police and firefighters pension plan — and, officials say, avert a financial disaster for the city. Julie Scharper reports for the Baltimore Sun.
CASINO OPENING The state's first casino, being built in Cecil County, is set to open four weeks ahead of schedule, the owner of the parlor announced. Read Hanah Cho's piece in the Sun.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS A Blue Ribbon panel of the Catholic Archdiocese has announced more than 50 recommendations to help curb dwindling enrollment, make education more consistent, more affordable and more accessible to children, reports both Liz Bowie in the Sun and WBAL-TV.
TAXES Most counties have avoided property tax hikes for the coming year's budget, but the same might not be true next year, Erin Cunningham writes in the Gazette.
RICE for COUNCIL Del. Craig Rice plans on running for Montgomery County Council, according to Erin Cunningham in the Gazette.
GANSLER ON EPA Attorney General Doug Gansler sees the federal Environmental Protection Agency as a partner in cleaning up the Chesapeake, Sean Sedam reports in thE Gazette.
NOTEBOOK The Gazette Reporters Notebook includes items on the very late Gov. Martin O'Malley, gubernatorial candidate George Owings and environmental endorsements.
GRADUATION RATES The Montgomery County Public School system has the highest graduation rate of the 50 biggest school districts in the country. Baltimore County Public Schools come in No. 26, Anne Arundel County Schools rank No. 46. Adam Pagnucco posts in Maryland Politics Watch.
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