WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Posing as Lawyers and Preying on Immigrants

Navigating America's complex immigration system can be intimidating. Many times, new arrivals turn to consultants in their own community to help with the paperwork. In Spanish speaking communities, these brokers are known as notarios - and often pose as lawyers. While it is legal for them to help fill out some forms and translate documents, it is against the law for these agents to prepare legal documents or give legal advice. Notarios rarely have any legal training, and, as Patrick Madden reports, their mistakes can be costly.

Silver Spring - World in a Zipcode

Silver Spring is being used to demonstrate how communities can confront a spectrum of issues including diversity, redevelopment and gentrification - and not only cope, but thrive. The Council on Foundations Philanthropy Summit was held in the District this month and more than three-thousand philanthropic leaders and grant-makers attended from around the world. A field trip to the Maryland suburb was part of a day-long focus on the National Capital Region. Faryl Ury tagged along on a tour entitled "Silver Spring: The World in a Zipcode."

Around the World Open House

With gas prices high and the dollar low, international travel is a costly proposition these days. Cultural Tourism DC has a solution. It's the 'Around the World Open House.'

Starting at 9 am on Saturday, May 17th, 24 embassies ranging from Ethiopia, Indonesia and Pakistan to Japan and Serbia will open their doors to the public. It's a free event with bus shuttles running all day. We speak with Linda Harper, Executive Director of Cultural Tourism DC and Ambassador Humayun Kabir, with the embassy of Bangladesh.

Chesapeake-Friendly Gardening

Your garden might be having a big impact on the health of the Chesapeake Bay - at least when taken along with the millions of OTHER gardens in the region. Experts with the Maryland Department of Agriculture say it's time for homeowners to follow some 'best practice' methods. They're hoping to inspire gardeners to consider issues like soil erosion when they're planting petunias. Kavitha Cardoza has more on a program that encourages gardeners to adopt techniques used in agriculture.

Gardening with Kathy Jentz: An Obsession With Tomatoes

It's time to plant! And time to grow the best crop of tomatoes we've ever grown. For some it's an obsession. Here to help us sort out our tomato issues is Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington gardener Magazine.

Spidey Hits the Library

A donation of super proportions has the Library of Congress buzzing. An anonymous donor gave the institution original drawings of the first appearance of Spider Man in the world of comics. The pen and ink illustrations made by creator Steve Ditko in 1962 are now available for Spidey-scholars to peruse. Sara Duke is Curator of the graphic arts division of the Library. Stephanie Kaye speaks with Duke, as she opens the long, flat archive boxes these Spider Man images now call home.

Lynn Peterson Mobley: Finding Your Voice at 50

Commentator Lynn Peterson Mobley says she has come to realize that the unsung benefits of reaching middle age... really do need to be sung.

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