WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Maryland's "Flush Tax"

Working to improve the Chesapeake Bay one flush at a time - ground has been broken for the first sewage treatment plant in Maryland that will be built with revenue from the state's new so-called "flush tax." The governor and legislature agreed to add an extra two dollars and thirty cents a month to residents' sewage bills to pay for state-of-the-art technology at all Maryland sewage treatment plants. The goal is to reduce the amount of nitrogen the plants discharge into Chesapeake Bay waterways, nitrogen that is blamed for robbing the bay of oxygen and killing aquatic life. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should mandate that plants in all states around the bay adopt the new technology. And this week, the group filed suit to try to force the issue. WAMU's Lisa Nurnberger reports on the state of waste water treatment in the Chesapeake region.

Working Hard, Falling Short

A report by the Working Poor Families Project says about one out of every four American working families now earns wages so low it's tough for them to survive financially. Janitors, cashiers, security guards - they have jobs but the low pay makes it almost impossible for them to get ahead. The Working Poor Families Project involves 15 state non-profit organizations. Brandon Roberts is one of the researchers who helped prepare the study called "Working Hard, Falling Short - America's Working Families and the Pursuit of Economic Security." We look at the study today as part of WAMU's series on the low wage work force. Speaking with WAMU's Sam Litzinger, Brandon Roberts defined a “low wage worker” this way....

Commentary by Fred Fiske - the Medium is the Message

WAMU Senior Commentator Fred Fiske can't seem to get a certain election off his mind.

Metro Scapes

Last week on the show we visited the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria where we stumbled across an exhibit called "Metro Scapes," a collection of paintings that portray the diversity of life on D.C.'s metro rail system. The artist, Phyllis Furdell, has been painting Metro scenes for nearly 20 years. And her work manages to capture strangely private glimpses into the lives of passengers riding on a very public transportation system. David Furst spoke with Claire Hushel, Director of the "Target Gallery" where the paintings are on display at the Torpedo Factory.

Artist Phyllis Furdell's exhibition "Metro Scapes" will be at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria through November 28th.

D.C. Glass Works

What do you like to do with your free time? Watch TV? Jog? Play with molten-hot glass? Well, that last option might not be as unusual as you think. Apparently, glass-blowing as a hobby is catching on. A group of glassblowers on Capitol Hill had to relocate their studio to a larger space in Hyattsville, where they create art to the sounds of live music and hold classes on the finer points of blowing glass. We traveled to the new "D.C. Glass Works" headquarters in Hyattsville where anyone can stop by for lessons. Glass sculptor Graham Caldwell, and founding member of D.C. GlassWorks Dave D’Orio, explained their fascination with the art form. The piece was produced by WAMU's Stephanie Kaye.

Gardening with Dr. Cathey

This is traditionally the time of year when many gardeners finally stop digging in the yard and actually come inside occasionally. But they can't just give up for the winter. Instead, they bring the garden inside with them. Here with some ideas for indoor gardening during the colder months is Dr. Mark Cathey, President Emeritus of the American Horticultural Society.

Commentary by Liam Callanan - Yalies

And finally...just when you thought election news was starting to die down commentator Liam Callanan is here to stir things up with word of a vast conspiracy. A vast, BLUE conspiracy, no less.

Liam Callanan is a writer and teacher. And despite being a Yale grad himself, he has never, to the best of his knowledge, been president. His first novel, The Cloud Atlas, has just been released in paperback.