WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Friday March 28, 2008

Contact Metro Connection

Week of March 24, 2008

Your purchases from the NPR Store support WAMU 88.5

What's this?

Beleaguered Bi-valves

For nearly four centuries, oyster was 'king' of the Chesapeake Bay - supporting an industry and a way of life on Virginia's Eastern Shore. But by the 1980s, disease and pollution had nearly wiped out Virginia oysterbeds. Nancy King, with the radio program With Good Reason, reports that while much of the news is bleak... there is a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered bi-valve.

More on Chesapeake Oysters

The story of the declining oyster population is hardly restricted to the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Joining us with more on the latest is Bill Goldsborough, Director of the Fisheries Program with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Fred Fiske: TV You Have to Explain... and Explain to Kids

Senior Commentator Fred Fiske considers sex on TV and the wall-to-wall coverage of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal.

Youth Voices: Students Vs. The SATs

Each year, the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, commonly known as the SAT, strikes fear into the lives of about one and a half million high school students who take the exam as part of the college application process. An SAT score is used by universities as a predictor of how well a student will perform as a college freshman, but many students say the test carries too much weight. Youth Voices Reporter Tirhas Kibrzghi has more.

Our Youth Voices series is produced by Deborah Bolling.

High Tech Hot Dogs

It's late at night. You're at work. Nearby restaurants have been closed for hours. The cafeteria's shut. And you're hungry. You head to the vending machines. Fine for chips and candy, but if you wanted a freshly cooked hot dog you were out of luck. Until Baltimore-based inventor Leon Leykin came along. Out of his own late-night hunger pangs, the LHD Hot Dog Vending Machine Company was born. Stephanie Kaye reports on the man and the machine.

The DC Improvisers Collective

Somewhere between the worlds of acoustic jazz, punk and the spiky discord of art rock bands like King Crimson, members of the DC Improvisers Collective are following their own musical path. April 1st is the official release date for the Collective's new CD, Triangulation. Guitarist and composer Jonathan Matis joins us to talk about the project.

April Gardening Tips with Kathy Jentz

Spring cleaning is NOT just a phrase we use to describe getting rid of old, unwanted items in your HOUSE - it applies to the GARDEN as well. Here to help us get started is Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine.

Jenny Rough: Signs of Spring

Springtime isn't all blue skies and cherry blossoms. As the saying goes, April showers bring... commentator Jenny Rough.

Writer Jenny Rough lives in Alexandria.

Subscribe to the Metro Connection podcast