WAMU 88.5 Contributors

Martin Austermuhle

Web Producer

Austermuhle joined WAMU as a web producer and reporter in April 2013. Prior to that, he served as editor-in-chief for DCist.com. Born in Switzerland, Martin lived throughout Latin America before coming to the U.S. to attend Penn State University and later Georgetown University, where he received a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies. He lives in Columbia Heights with his wife Carolina, a school teacher, and 105-pound yellow lab, Santi.


Articles Written by Martin Austermuhle

WAMU 88.5
It's been three years since Capital Bikeshare's iconic—if bulky and somewhat slow-rolling—red bikes started appearing in the region, and the bike-sharing system is continuing its expansion in D.C. and the surrounding areas. When it was launched in September 2010, Capital Bikeshare boasted 400 bikes at 49 rental stations in D.C. and Arlington. Three years on, the system i...
WAMU 88.5
Washington, D.C. has a reputation as the sort of place that's hyper-educated and overly engaged in all things policy; for every happy hour where people speak about sports, there are probably five where they're chatting about the federal deficit or foreign aid. ...
WAMU 88.5
The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region announced today that it has created two funds in the wake of Monday's Navy Yard massacre that left 12 people and the gunman dead. The first fund, ...
WAMU 88.5
An Idaho man accused of firing shots at the White House two years ago has pleaded guilty. Oscar R. Ortega-Hernandez, 22, fired eight shots into the second and third floors of the White House in November 2011, though no one was injured. Neither President Obama nor First Lady Michelle Obama were home at the time of the shooting, which left five bullet holes on the outside of t...
WAMU 88.5
With just under two months until Virginians head to the polls to elect a new governor, it's a statistical dead heat between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli. According to a new poll from Quinnipiac University, McAuliffe leads Cuccinell...
WAMU 88.5
Walmart and other large retailers won't be required to pay their employees a "living wage'' of at least $12.50 an hour in the District of Columbia — at least not right away. The D.C. Council failed to override Mayor Vincent Gray's veto of the wage bill on ...
WAMU 88.5
The Metropolitan Police Department has named the last five victims of the Navy Yard shootings that took place on Monday. The victims were listed as: Arthur Daniels, 51, of Washington, D.C.; Mary Francis Knight, 51, of Reston, Va.; Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria< Va.; Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale, Va,; and Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster, Md. Seven other victim...
WAMU 88.5
If one D.C. legislator has his way, marijuana will soon be legal in D.C. D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) announced today that he will introduce a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate the sale and possession of marijuana. The bill will be introduced next Tuesday at the Council's first legislative session after its two-month summer recess. Under t...
WAMU 88.5
Washington, D.C. is thousands of miles away from El Salvador—1,887 miles, to be exact. But in May, that’s how far Salvadoran presidential candidate Norman Quijano found himself from the country he one day hopes to govern. Quijano was speaking to supporters from D.C., Maryland and Virginia, hoping to turn their suppor...
WAMU 88.5
Walmart Location Planned Opening Date 5968 Georgia Ave. NW Late '13, early '14 99 H St. NW Late '13, early '14 Riggs Rd. and South Dakota Ave. NE '15 ...
WAMU 88.5
A large group of motorcyclists is riding through D.C. this morning, despite having been denied a permit to do so. The group, Two Million Bikers to D.C., said it plans on riding through the city to commemorate the victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001. It requested a permit in late August, though the National Park S...
WAMU 88.5
D.C. won't be getting taller anytime soon. A recommendation to leave intact a 1910 law that limits how tall buildings in D.C. can grow will be presented at the National Capital Planning Commission meeting tomorrow. The Height Act places limits on the height of buildings in D.C., allowing them to grow relative to the width of the street in front of them. Under the law, build...
WAMU 88.5
Type Of Filer Number in 2011 Change from 2001 (Number/Percent) Single 208,176 +57,647/38.3% Married 62,266 +10,301/19.8% ...
WAMU 88.5
Feeling an urge to get some body art in D.C.? You may soon have an extra day to mull it over. A set of regulations for tattoo artists and body piercers unveiled today would mandate a 24-hour wait between when a customer requests a tattoo or piercing and when they can actually get it. "The licensee or operator of a body art establishment shall ensure that no tattoo ...
WAMU 88.5
Big news from the National Zoo this morning: the baby panda born to Mei Xiang close to two weeks ago is a girl! Officials at zoo also announced that a DNA swab of the baby panda had determined that its father is Tian Tian, the National Zoo's resident male panda. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminat...
WAMU 88.5
Previous Marijuana Coverage Fifteen Years After Approval, Medical Marijuana Finally Goes On Sale In D.C. How Do Medical Marijuana Laws C...
WAMU 88.5
How soon is too soon to start testing students in D.C.'s public schools? And what should those students be tested on? Those questions are fueling a debate over a plan proposed by the D.C. Public Charter School Board to assess student progress in preschool and pre-kindergarten programs. Over the last year, the board, which governs the city's 36,000-student charter school syst...
WAMU 88.5
Capital Bikeshare is a hit in Washington. But Washington state? That's where Tracy Clayton, a D.C.-based photographer, recently found one of the iconic red bikes, locked up to a street sign in Seattle. "D.C. hide yo kids, hide yo bikes...Someone has rode a Capital Bikeshare all the way to Seattle," he wrote on his Instagram ac...
WAMU 88.5
D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department introduced their newest recruit today, and he's got a nose for the job. Sam is kinda short, a little lazy, and he smells. But that's the point: he's a bloodhound, the police department's first, and he's been brought on to help find missing people. It's a task Police Chief Cathy Lanier says he's perfect for. "When people ask me ...
WAMU 88.5
The woman charged with defacing the Washington National Cathedral with green paint has been admitted to a psychiatric ward. Jai M. Tian, 58, was set to appear in court today for a status hearing. That hearing has been postponed. She stands accused of defacing portions of the Washington National Cathedral with green paint, and police say that she may be linked to other incide...