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May 29, 2008 - According to a report released today by the Brookings Institution, the DC region has the twelfth-largest carbon footprint in the nation.
David Furst reports...
May 29, 2008 - A field of trees and brush used to sit across from Cooper Middle School in McLean, Virginia. Now, it's a V-DOT construction site. The field will be used as a staging site for the Capital Beltway HOT Lanes project, meaning trucks will be heading in and out when construction starts. Cooper principal Arlene Randall says so far the agency has been a good neighbor. Many in the nearby community off of Balls Hill Road were not as happy with V-DOT, claiming the agency wasn't clear about what it was doing on the land. V-DOT did apologize and will build a road to allow trucks to access the site off a Beltway exit ramp, so they stay off of Balls Hill.
Matt Bush reports...
May 29, 2008 - (May 29) INTERNATIONAL YOUNG SOLOISTS The International Young Soloist(http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showEvent&event=ZIVPE) concert kicks off at the Kennedy Center May 29 at 7:30 p.m. The performance, featuring emerging international musicians with disabilities, showcases a classical pianist from Montana and hip hop from Senegal. A dessert reception sweetens the scene when audience and artists meet & greet after the show.
(May 30) WNO IN CONCERT The Washington National Opera(http://www.dc-opera.org) brings orchestral masters to the Kennedy Center Opera House May 30 at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, or "Rustic Chivalry," depicting life in an old world Sicilian village where love, betrayal and integrity converge in a single act.
(May 30) SINGLES WANTED If you feel like making music of your own, take a stab at singles night(http://www.thingstododc.com/eventframed.php?show=121) at Ultra Bar May 30 from 7:00 to 10:00. Whiz through a dozen speed dates as hopeful romantics rotate after four-minute intros. Take note of your favorites, then send them invitations to extend the magic. This huge singles party ends with an open bar reception and dancing.
(May 30 & 31 @ 7:30; June 1 @ 3:00) SPEAK OUT ON STAGE Imagination Stage hosts "Speak Out On Stag"(http://www.imaginationstage.org) at Studio Theatre off Auburn Avenue in Bethesda, featuring matinee and evening performances tomorrow and throughout the weekend. A junior ensemble of 8- to 10-year-olds present an original musical production, "Below the Horizon," an important lesson on the power of cooperation and the urgency of saving the environment.
(May 30-Jun 29) WAITING FOR... Scena Theater's "Waiting for Godot"(http://www.scenatheatre.org/) opens at the Warehouse Theater tonight at 8:00. This final production ends their 20th Anniversary Season. The company is renowned for its repertoire of experiments in existentialism, closing out with this rousing revival of Samuel Beckett's modern classic.
May 29, 2008 - When many locals hear "National Aquarium" they may think immediately of Baltimore. But DC's own - and oldest - aquarium is making up for some lost time, and attention.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
May 29, 2008 - A General Assembly oversight panel that monitors Virginia's transportation spending and improvements has been exploring alternative ways to fund and build roads and transit instead of plowing billions of public dollars into more construction projects every year.
Anne Marie Morgan has more...
May 29, 2008 - A proposed revamping of standards for some candidates wishing to enter the DC public school system draws public comment.
It's no secret that many DC public schools are underperforming. In an effort to better educate students, the DC State Board of Education is proposing to change some of the current standards for candidates seeking to be principals, assistant principals, directors and other school operating officers. One of the changes would require an advanced from an accredited institution in higher education or a license in educational administration.
Board Member Sekou Biddle wonders if too many requirements will deter candidates.
Richard Trogisch is principal at the School Without Walls. He says that without an increase in standards students will suffer.
Public comment ends June 23rd.
Jessica Golloher reports...
May 29, 2008 - In Virginia, the Grand Old Party is preparing for a big weekend. Friday night in Richmond Vice President Dick Cheney will be the keynote speaker at a Republican Party of Virginia fundraiser. That kicks off a busy weekend for the G.O.P. in the commonweath. Republicans will decide which candidate, former Governor Jim Gilmore or Prince William County Delegate Robert Marshall, will be the nominee in race for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Members will also pick a new party chairman this weekend - either John Hager or Delegate Jeffery Frederick.
Pat Brogan reports...
May 29, 2008 - The Washington Nationals are attracting fewer fans than anticipated this year. The District predicted in 2005 that the Nats would draw 39,000 fans per game in its first year, but so far attendance has averaged about 29,000 fans. The Districts Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi says average attendance could drop to as few as 10,000 spectators without affecting the citys ability to pay -- in part because of a baseball-related sales tax and because ticket prices have been 20 percent higher than expected.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
May 29, 2008 - They're young Americans in their first years of the "workaday" world and although they've followed all of the "rules", they may be the first generation to see the rewards of their hard work fall short of what their parents have enjoyed.
Nikki Gamer reports…
May 29, 2008 - A man who slashed his wife's throat with a knife is being held without bond in Maryland's Prince George's County after a jury found him guilty yesterday of attempted second-degree murder.
Jeffrey Canty, 44, attacked his wife, Felicia Smithers, during a domestic dispute last November. The argument turned violent after the couple began discussing divorce. Their children interrupted the attack and called police. Smithers was found in a pool of blood but survived. Canty argued his actions came in self-defense, but the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. Glenn Ivey, the state's attorney for Prince George's County, says Canty did not have a history of violence against Smithers. But he emphasizes the widespread threat of similar abuse.
Canty faces up to 30 years in prison and is schedule to be sentenced in July. Prosecutors say they will push for a strict sentence given the brutal nature of the crime.
Rebecca Blatt reports...
May 29, 2008 - In Maryland, the family of a Frederick man who died after being subdued by a police taser has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
Twenty-year-old Jarrell Gray was killed last November when a sheriff's deputy show him with a taser gun twice in 23 seconds. A grand jury ruled earlier this month that deputy Rudy Torress was justified in using the taser, but now Gray's family has filed a $145 million lawsuit against Frederick County, the county sheriff's department, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, and Toress.
The local NAACP chapter has called for a congressional probe into the Taser incident.
Patrick Madden reports...
May 29, 2008 - Supporters of the proposed Purple Line Metro extension in Maryland say skyrocketing gas prices help prove that the project is needed. With gas prices now climbing over $4 a gallon, backers of the proposed rail line say the need for it is growing more urgent. The Purple Line would cross Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, running from Bethesda to New Carrollton, with stops including Silver Spring and College Park. The Maryland Transit Administration now says people would likely take 68,000 rides a day on the Purple Line, 20,000 more than previously estimated.
Gene Kuleta was on hand as backers made their case outside the Silver Spring Metro station...
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