WAMU: Local News

Fairfax County Awaits Proposals For King's Crossing Strip Mall

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 13:16:49 -0400

Residents in southeast Fairfax County are about to see some major changes to an area known as King's Crossing. At the Penn-Daw Shopping Plaza, opinions are divided about what the planned redevelopment should look like.

Books-A-Million manager Jamillah Scott says customers that come into this suburban-style strip mall talk about the proposed redevelopment.

"Every day. There's not a day that goes by that someone doesn't ask, 'Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard? What's going on?'" says Scott. "I mean every single customer. And what we say is we don't know. It's a waiting game for us."

That wait may soon be over. Last month, the Fairfax County Planning Commission cleared the way for developers to file applications for much larger developments than currently exist at this site. Instead of a one-story strip mall with a large parking lot, the redevelopment would be five stories of residential units and ground-level retail.

Southeast Fairfax County Development Corporation communications director David Ben acknowledges there have been some concerns about the new project.

"The community was concerned a little bit about traffic, and how redeveloping this site could potentially cause more traffic, but that's one of the beauties of going through a comprehensive plan amendment process," Ben says.

County officials plan to ask developers to improve the dysfunctional intersection at King's Crossing, where Richmond Highway -- or Route 1 -- intersects King's Highway. That's where a Walmart opened across the street, frustrating many neighborhood residents who were pushing for an upscale mixed-use development. Instead, they got a suburban big box store with a large parking lot.

"We were hoping for something a little bit denser than that, and that's what's proposed here at the Penn-Daw Plaza and what's been approved here," Ben says.

Inside the bookstore, Scott says customers have a variety of opinions about the proposed redevelopment.

"Some are happy. Some would like something better," Scotts says. "A lot are not. They are upset. They more say so about our store. Because once this goes down, there will be no bookstore anywhere near or on Route 1."

Now that the comprehensive plan has been amended, county officials say they are expecting a development application in the next few weeks.

Crash On Baltimore-Washington Parkway Kills Two

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:38:57 -0400

Two drivers are dead after a head-on collision on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at Greenbelt Road early this morning, according to NBC Washington.

Part of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway between the Capitol Beltway and Powder Mill Road was shut down after the fatal accident; all lanes were reopened by 11:30 a.m.

The accident happened at around 6:30 a.m. Investigators tell NBC a minivan crossed the median and hit an SUV. Both drivers were killed; there were no passengers in either car.

Police have not released identifying information about either victim. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Obama, World Leaders Tout Economic Growth After G8

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:35:02 -0400

At the end of the G8 summit he hosted at Camp David this weekend, President Barack Obama reached agreement with leaders of other top economic powers to call for some economic stimulus in Europe, even while the Eurozone continues its commitment to reducing debt, according to a report from Associated Press.

Leaders acknowledged that the solution might be different for each European nation, given their different economic realities. The officials issued a joint summit statement after Saturday's talks that emphasized the urgency with which all Eurozone countries must contain the current financial crisis.

In remarks at the end of the summit, President Obama emphasized the importance of economic stimulus; something he deployed in the U.S. in 2009 to fight the foundering economy. "As all the leaders here today agreed, growth and jobs must be our top priority," the president said in prepared remarks. "A stable, growing European economy is in everybody’s best interests — including America's."

The statement also dealt with oil reserves and putting pressure on Iran; leaders agreed to a release of oil reserves if necessary to counteract a disruption in supply that could occur as a result of tough new sanctions expected to be imposed on Iran.

The Group of Eight summit includes leaders of the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.

Historic Sledgehammer Installed At Marine Corps Museum

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 08:36:57 -0400

A piece of American history handed down by one family for generations is now on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia.

The item is a sledgehammer used by U.S. Marines during the raid on Harpers Ferry led by radical abolitionist John Brown in 1859. Brown's raid targeted the U.S. arsenal at what was then Harpers Ferry, Va. in an attempt to get weapons, arm slaves, and initiate a revolt throughout the South.

He and his supporters barricaded themselves in the arsenal's Engine House, taking hostages. At one point, Marines — under the command of then-Col. Robert E. Lee — used sledgehammers to try to break down the doors.

Brown was ultimately apprehended after Marines successfully broke down one of the doors using a ladder.

In the aftermath of the raid, a bystander picked up one of the sledgehammers. It eventually ended up in the hands of the Rissler family of Charles Town, West Virginia. It had been in the family for nearly a century before it was donated to the museum, where it is now part of the "Defending the New Republic" gallery.

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is in Triangle, Va., near the Quantico Marine base.

District Leaders Head To Las Vegas With An Eye On Retail

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 07:58:17 -0400

District leaders, including the mayor and council chairman, are in Las Vegas for a convention where they hope to drum up new business for the city.

Mayor Vincent Gray, Council Chairman Kwame Brown and several councilmembers left late Saturday for the annual International Council of Shopping Centers convention.

The District lawmakers plan to meet with retailers and retail investors, including representatives of big-box stores and grocery stores. In the past, this convention has helped city officials secure deals with retailers such as with Walmart and Home Depot. Some observers say the District's commercial real estate market is regarded as one of the hottest in the country.

More than 30,000 people are expected to attend that convention, which runs through Tuesday.

Virginia Activists Celebrate New EPA Carbon Standards

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 07:46:11 -0400

Public hearings are scheduled for next week by the Environmental Protection Agency to address the EPA's proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for new, coal-fired power plants. Supporters of the standard celebrated the regulations at a small gathering in Richmond last week.

One supporter, Jamie Towns, is the mother of four. Although her children are healthy, she says has concerns everyday that children are exposed to life-altering doses of pollution emitted by industries.

"As the weather heats up, and the kids let loose for summer, we know that there are some children who are going to have to wake up and check the air quality before they are able to go outside and play," Towns said. "All children, I must say, have the right to be able to go outside and play every day of the summer. But their rights are currently being taken from them because large, polluting industries currently have no limits on the amount of carbon pollution that they release every year."

This is the first of the agency's proposals to place carbon pollution restrictions on all new industrial plants that begin construction. They are expected to utilize some of the same clean air technologies that power companies are adopting to minimize carbon pollution.

G8 Summit Protesters Gather In Maryland

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sun, 20 May 2012 03:56:26 -0400

Activists from various movements descended upon the small town of Thurmont, Md. near Camp David to protest the global economic summit taking place there this weekend.

Beth Emmerling is with the Occupy Baltimore movement, and said she's disappointed that the economic summit will not include participation from those hit hardest.

"I have friends with Ph.D's who are living on food stamps," said Emmerling Friday. "We have more boarded-up homes than any city I've ever been in. So yes, we've been hard hit by the economy."

She and a handful of other protestors are gathered on Main Street in the small town of Thurmont, which is the closest they could get to this weekend's G8 global economic summit being held 15 miles away at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

Thurmont resident Dylan Brown said the outlook in his town doesn't look much better than in Beth's. "I went to college for two years, then I went out looking for a job, then I got a job at McDonald's for two years," said Brown.

Brown also runs a small business selling t-shirts out of his basement. He says he hopes the world leaders will devise a plan to help small business owners like himself.

President Barack Obama hosted the leaders of the top eight industrialized nation to discuss ways to fix the worlds finances.

I'll Have Another One Step Closer To Triple Crown

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:26:19 -0400

I'll Have Another, the race horse that won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, waited a little longer to catch Bodemeister in the stretch this time, and now that he's done it twice in a row it's time for a Triple Crown try in the Belmont Stakes in three week.

With a breathtaking closing rush, the smooth-striding colt won the Preakness Stakes by a neck at Pimlico Race Course on a sunny Saturday, a dramatic finish that topped his win two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby, according to the Associated Press.

The race unfolded the same way as the Derby, with the speedy Bodemeister moving to the lead under Mike Smith, with I'll Have Another hanging back in fourth in the 11-horse field. The early fractions were slower than the Derby, but when it came time for Bodemeister to hang on, I'll Have Another found another gear under young jockey Mario Gutierrez and ran down trainer Bob Baffert's horse in the shadow of the wire.

"We're thinking Triple Crown, baby,'' an elated trainer Doug O'Neill said. "He's a special horse. We'll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we're heading to New York, baby.''

It's been 34 years since Affirmed swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont and became the 11th and most recent Triple Crown champion. Since then, 11 horses have won the first two legs only to come up short in the Belmont. The most recent try came in 2008, when Big Brown was pulled up around the turn for home and did not finish. Before that, Smarty Jones was run down in the final 70 yards by Birdstone in the 2005 Belmont.

If margins are an indication, perhaps I'll Have Another has a Triple Crown in his future. Affirmed won the Derby by the identical 1.5 lengths over Alydar, and then beat his rival by the same neck margin in the Preakness.

"I didn't feel confident we were going to get there until 10 yards from the wire,'' owner J. Paul Reddam said.

I'll Have Another, sent off as the second choice at 3-1 over 8-5 favorite Bodemeister, covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.94.

The Preakness, which is the second stop of the Triple Crown, is Maryland's biggest horse racing event of the year. Ladies were out in their finest dresses and elaborate hats, and men were in donning Sunday's best.

The event is a bright spot for an industry has been struggling in the state as gamblers have moved away from horses and on to casinos. The revenues from the Preakness are vital to horse racing's annual budget, and officials reported Saturday that numbers are up, which means cash for the embattled sport.

Henry 'Box' Brown Remembered With Marker

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:47:20 -0400

A historical marker making its debut in Mineral, Va. recognizes the remarkable story of Henry "Box" Brown.

Brown escaped slavery by mailing himself in a wooden box to Philadelphia and later lectured on the evils of slavery across New England and in Great Britain. Brown was born enslaved in Virginia and married his wife in Richmond. He resorted to his unique escape after his wife and children were sold in 1848 to another slave trader and sent to North Carolina. Despondent, Brown conspired with a free black man to hire a white shoemaker, who constructed a wooden box 3 feet long and 2 feet wide.

Brown was then shipped as dry goods by steamboat and train to Philadelphia.

Today, he is being honored with the formal dedication of a historical marker issued by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Active-Duty Military Can Enjoy National Parks For Free

WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:17:59 -0400

Active-duty members of the military and their dependents will soon be able to enter every national park for free.

The Interior Department says annual passes will be made available to members of the military free of charge starting Saturday, which is Armed Forces Day.

The America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass ordinarily costs $80. It provides access to more than 2000 national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands.

Military members must show a current, valid, military identification card to obtain their pass. It can be picked up at any national park or wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee, and at certain other sites.