WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Homeland Security

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As early as next week the White House will announce the temporary location of the new Department of Homeland Security. At least 15000 federal workers in the DC region are expected to be absorbed by the department, though not all of them will work in the new headquarters. The US Customs Service for example will keep its offices in the Reagan Building downtown. Aside from the question about LOCATION funding for the department remains an issue. Congress still has to complete spending bills from last year. WAMU's Jim Rosenberg has this update on what's happening with the new department and what it means for the region's economy.

Commentary by Fred Fiske

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It's a New Year's tradition. For 364 days of the year WAMU Senior Commentator Fred Fiske watches TV and listens to the radio, and gets annoyed. And every time he hears an example of bad grammar he jots it down in his little notebook. Hmmmm. Now I'm getting nervous. Anyway. Radio announcers? TV hosts? Look out. Fred has another year under his belt. And it's payback time.

Nightlife with Eric Brace

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This is Metro Connection I'm David Furst. Up next traditional Dixieland jazz explodes out of DC's Brookland neighborhood. But before we get to that. For the past six and a half years Eric Brace has been the Nightlife columnist for the Weekend section of the Washington Post, keeping us up to date with the latest DC area nightlife trends. And for the past FIVE years he has also been our regular Nightlife correspondent here on Metro Connection. Sadly this will be his last week with us as he prepares to leave DC behind and move on to a brand new world of nightlife in Nashville. Eric welcome back.

Federal Jazz Commission

Guest host: NULL

One place where area nightlife is alive and well is at the corner of Monroe and 9th in Northeast DC. There are lots of special gathering places in our region - spots where people have met for years on a regular night to share a meal and chat with long-time friends. In DC's Brookland neighborhood Colonel Brooks' Tavern has been a gathering place for fans of Dixieland jazz for twenty years. Every Tuesday night a loyal group of revved up senior citizens take over the place to cheer on a band known as the Federal Jazz Commission.

The band is called the Federal Jazz Commission because the original members were all federal workers. The six-piece band plays the New Orleans style of jazz that flourished in the 20s and 30s -- Dixieland. And while the driving rhythms occasionally grab the attention of new patrons it's the regulars that own Colonel Brooks' Tavern on Tuesdays. For them jazz isn't just fun, it's more of a secret formula for health and happiness. WAMU's James Jones tried to figure out what all the excitement is about.

Music

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For a quick demonstration of the wide range of music you can find here on the DC scene we jump back to an interview from one year ago, with a woman who has been writing and performing in the Washington area for over 20 years. Debi Smith is a member of the Smith Sisters, she's one-quarter of the Four Bitchin' Babes, and at the time of this feature she had just released a new CD called "Red Bird Red." She brought along her guitar and joined us in the studio to talk about the disc, and first had to explain why after previous album titles like Bluebird, Mockingbird, Roadrunner, and A Canary's Song, she had to use a BIRD name again.

Food - "Crummy but Good"

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It's time once again for another expedition with our expert on "Crummy But Good food" Donovan Kelly. He has a stomach of pure steel and a never-ending appetite for culinary adventures in those roadside dives that may look less than pretty from the outside, but offer surprisingly good food on the inside. This time Donovan takes us for some "Crummy But Good" food at the Mandalay Restaurant and Cafe, located right on Route One in College Park.

Commentary by Jim Helein

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It's another new year and another holiday season is mostly over and done. But commentator Jim Helein says he's sure this past Christmas will be one to remember. And not just because of the once-in-a-lifetime holiday snow. No it will live in his memory for an entirely different reason. And he has the bloodied fingertips to prove it.

Commentator Jim Helein would have supplied a longer tag for me to read here but it hurts his fingers too much to type right now.