Friday June 24, 2005
Week of June 20, 2005
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Riders on Metro's Red Line now have someone to take their complaints - or perhaps compliments - to directly. Metro has created a new position, a manager of the red line. Belinda J. Jones, who goes by BJ, has been on the job a little over a month. Her mission - some say it may be a "mission impossible" - reduce train delays and overcrowding, plus make sure Metro workers are polite to passengers. A Metro watchdog group says it hopes the red line manager has enough power to make a difference. Many riders still aren't even aware someone has been hired specifically to handle their concerns. WAMU's Lisa Nurnberger reports.
Most dads probably had a pretty great Father's Day...but Fred shares a different story: the life of one dad from Turkmenistan.
It's one of the most popular summer events in DC: the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which attracts more than a million people to the Mall for music, food, exhibitions, food, crafts, food, dancing - and did I mention food? There's always excellent food at the Folklife Festival and this year it's sharing the spotlight with the Forest Service, the mideast nation of Oman and Hispanic and Latino music of all kinds. I talked with some of the people who are putting together the big show - the Smithsonian's Joan Nathan, Jim Deutsch, Richard Kennedy and Olivia Cadaval.
Washington is a city that's over-stuffed with history. One of its more "recent" traditions - a 30-year long meeting of drummers on Meridian Hill - brings DC's history of civil rights battles and the growing pains of gentrification into one modern-day melting pot. Percussionists from all over the region come to beat the summer away every Sunday with African-inspired rhythms. The air is full of the scent of patchoulli and dust from stomping feet. WAMU's Stephanie Kaye spoke with Doc Powell, founder of the "Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers," a group that sprang out of an informal meeting of drum lovers in the 60s. He says the history goes back a ways...three decades to be exact...and there's plenty of controversy about the group, even now.
Aggressive drivers on Indian Head Highway in Southern Maryland, and the growing number of new houses being built along the old historic roadway, have inspired an Accokeek author to envision a future where African Americans are forced to live on reservations...and that's not all. WAMU's Jacquie Gales Webb reports on the latest book from Barry Barnett Keith and his inspiration.
You don't have to go far for breathtaking scenery. Travel editor Jim Yenckel shares some shady spots to hang out this summer, in the public gardens of DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Commentator Marvin Kalb has some thoughts about cars and bicylces -and why it's a good idea they should never meet on our already crowded local roads.
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