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DC Embraces Graffiti

Some call it street art, others say it's vandalism. Whatever you call it, graffiti costs the city a lot of money when it's done illegally. The DC government spent nearly $800,000 removing graffiti in 2007, but this year there's $100,000 in the city budget to HELP graffiti artists produce murals - legally. Lagan Sebert speaks with local graffiti artists about the art form and its evolution from the streets to the gallery.

Graffiti at the Portrait Gallery

And while we're on the subject of graffiti... someone has tagged the National Portrait Gallery. Just inside the entrance, two twenty foot stretches of wall are emblazoned with hot pink and motor cross green signatures. And what's even stranger - curators are happy about it. It's all part of an on-going series called Portraiture Now. And the new exhibit opens today, "Recognize: Hip Hop in Contemporary Portraiture." The show features poetry, paintings, music and video. Oh yes, and graffiti. Andrew Hiller reports.

Fred Fiske - Primary Religion

Senior Commentator Fred Fiske considers the role religion is playing in the current primary season.

Hear Today, Hear Tomorrow

According to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, if you are 50 years old, there's a 12-percent chance that you suffer from hearing loss. By the time you're 65, that jumps to a 30-percent chance. And there's a really good chance that you won't do anything about it. Nancy King, with the radio program With Good Reason, has more.

Criticism with the Cappies

No, it's not a club of headwear fanatics. It's a nation-wide theater program that teaches student thespians how to be theater critics. The 'CAP' in Cappies stands for 'Critics and Awards Program.' Students put on shows to be judged and write reviews of performances at other schools around the area - some of which have been published in The Washington Post. Stephanie Kaye finds out more at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where Ken Johnson, chairman of the theater department, is getting the school's production of The Wiz ready for 'Cappies' review.

The Wiz is running at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts through February 15th.

Food with Tim Carman: M.E. Swing Coffee

Long before Starbucks came to town, DC was doing just fine in the coffee department. M.E. Swing opened its first coffee shop in 1916 - and with the smell of roasting coffee filling city streets it became one of the businesses that helped define downtown. These days, the roasting is done in Alexandria, and that's where we meet Tim Carman. Tim writes about food for the Washington City Paper.

Lynn Peterson Mobley: Election Day

The DC region is gearing up to vote in what some have called the most exciting presidential primary in recent memory. But for commentator Lynn Peterson Mobley, EVERY Election Day is a thrill.

Lynn Peterson Mobley is a writer living - and voting - in Great Falls, Virginia.