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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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January 27, 2009 - David Lee Foltz is being charged with one count of abduction with intent to defile, but police believe he is connected to a series of other sexual assaults that took place a year ago in Falls Church and eastern Fairfax County.
Fairfax Police say Foltz allegedly was in the middle of attacking a woman in Falls Church when they apprehended him last February. Police detectives had been tracking him with the use of a G.P.S. device they had attached to his car.
Foltz's lawyers do not dispute the fact that an assault took place. But they are arguing the incident was not sexual because Foltz was trying to grab the woman's purse.
If convicted, Foltz would face an automatic life sentence because he has a previous conviction on a violent sexual offense. In 1990, Foltz was convicted of rape and served seventeen years in jail. His trial is set to wrap up at the end of this week.
David Schultz reports...
January 27, 2009 - Officials in Maryland are looking to the federal economic stimulus package to help repair the state's water and sewer infrastructure.
Representatives of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission say there were more than 500 water main breaks and leaks in the past month, including a break that flooded River Road in Bethesda and trapped motorists.
The recovery package calls for about $113 billion to fix the nation's infrastructure, including highway and bridge construction, water and environmental projects and transit and rail systems.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., says the investment will contribute to public safety and create jobs.
Patrick Madden reports...
January 27, 2009 - The issue of D.C.'s drinking water is being raised again, after hundreds of children were exposed to dangerously high levels of lead in 2001.
Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh was already planning to hold a roundtable on the environment. But after a study, obtained by The Washington Post, revealed hundreds of children were exposed to dangerous levels of lead, Cheh says she and Council Member Jim Graham, who oversees the D.C. Washington and Sewer Authority, will hold a joint hearing.
In 2001, WASA says a new type of chemical used to disinfect water caused pipes to leech high amounts of lead.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
January 27, 2009 - The first television ads in the race for Virginia governor are on the air, more than four months ahead the primary election. Democrat Terry McAuliffe ran the first ad, which is airing in the Hampton Roads media market. He's in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination with State Senator Creigh Deeds and former Delegate Brian Moran. The winner of the Democratic primary will likely face Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the only Republican running.
Matt Bush reports...
January 27, 2009 - Residents of D.C. packed a House committee hearing on the Voting Rights Act of 2009. Even though the effort for representation in Congress is more than 200 years old, the issue remains both very personal and political.
Yolanda Lee is a captain in the D.C. National Guard and recently received a Bronze Star for her service in Iraq. Lee says the Iraqi elections were seen as the most important sign that democracy had come to the people of that country but she couldn't vote in her own country. Several others testifying called the fact approximately 600,000 residents don't have representation in Congress "repugnant," "inexcusable" and pure "discrimination."
Kavitha Cardoza reports...
January 27, 2009 - (Jan 28 & 29) FRAGILE Artist John K. Lawson conducts a two-day, after-school Mardi Gras Bead Workshop at the Honfleur Gallery in D.C.'s historic Anacostia, tomorrow and Thursday afternoon at 3:30. For kids 12 and up, the hands-on creations are part of the exhibit Fragile, works that Lawson created from salvaged Mardi Gras beads and ruined photographs from his home in New Orleans. There's also a closing reception for "Fragile" on Friday evening, from 6 to 8, when you can meet the artist.
(Jan 29-Feb 22) THE BEST JUDGE For cut-throat politics with an Iberian flair, GALA Hispanic Theater presents The Best Judge, the King by one of the master playwrights of Spain's Golden Age, Lope de Vega. This tale of violation and abuse of power resonates today, as a King looks for ways to bring morality, justice and love to bear. This rarely-produced classic is partnered with free events at the Shakespeare Theater in downtown D.C., including a pair of audience discussions on "Loving Lope".
(Jan 29) ALASKA'S 50TH The National Archives and NASA celebrate the 50th anniversary of my home state - Alaska! - with a program about the Northern Lights at the Archives' McGowan Theater in D.C. Thursday at noon. Astrophysicist Dr. John Sigwarth leads the half-century celebration of the 49th state, exploring the Aurora Borealis...that shimmering, ethereal phenomenon that dances in bursts of color across the Alaskan sky.
Actors portraying cut-throat politics with an Iberian flair at GALA Hispanic Theater.
courtesy of: GALA Hispanic Theatre
The work of master playwright Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio, 1562-1635, from the Spanish Golden Age is on stage at GALA Hispanic Theater.
courtesy of: GALA Hispanic Theatre
Get the scientific side of the northern lights, like these photographed in Alaska by Dick Hutchinson, just in time for Alaska's fiftieth year as a state.
courtesy of: Dick Hutchinson
January 27, 2009 - Of the quarter million people who voted in the presidential election in D.C., roughly 3,000 had their votes rejected because they weren't registered. Hundreds of those had tried to register through the Department of Motor Vehicles, but somewhere along the line their applications were lost.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
January 27, 2009 - Strictly in terms of money, the Inauguration was a net loss for area governments. Vendors don't pay sales tax, and while hundreds of thousands of inaugural visitors dined in the District, hundreds of thousands of commuters who'd otherwise have been down town didn't.
Estimates of how much the city may have made run in the very low millions, but that pales in comparison to the costs. Early projections put that number at $50 million. Before he left office President Bush declared the District a federal emergency area, allowing it to receive more funds to cover costs. The District will submit a formal bill to Homeland security within a week.
Sabri Ben-Achour reports...
January 27, 2009 - Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton testify in a Judiciary subcommittee on the latest version of the D.C. Voting Rights bill. Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee hears from witnesses on how the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority missed the signs of a Ponzi scheme being perpetrated by Bernard Madoff. And President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates visit Capitol Hill.
Todd Zwillich reports...
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