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Save the Terrapins

"You can't have your mascot and eat it too." That's the slogan that helped convince many Maryland lawmakers to support a bill that would outlaw the harvest of diamondback terrapin turtles - the University of Maryland's mascot and the official "state reptile." The Maryland legislature is expected to pass the bill this session. But state fishery managers are concerned the public will think the commercial fishing ban is the cure-all. State officials say the terrapins may be up against a bigger threat. Metro Connection's Lisa Nurnberger prepared this report.

Anacostia Cleanup Crew

This weekend the Alice Ferguson Foundation hosts its 19th annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup - an effort involving thousands of volunteers spread out along riverbanks throughout the region. Last year, they collected some 207 tons of trash. But no one is less surprised by that number than the people on the front line every day: the National Park Service Ground Crew. Metro Connection's Sidsel Overgaard had the chance to spend time with a couple of workers in Anacostia Park and produced this audio postcard.

Commentary by Fred Fiske - First Women

Each year, thousands of Americans face the decision about what to do when a member of their families has an incurable disease - and there is no one correct choice about what to do that fits every situation, says Senior Commentator Fred Fiske.

On the Courthouse Lawn

According to data collected by the Tuskegee Institute, between 1882 and 1951 there were nearly three-thousand, five hundred recorded lynchings of African Americans in the United States. It's a chapter of recent history in this country that's nearly impossible to fathom. These were not isolated backwoods events performed under the cover of night by a crew of social outcasts. This was public murder and torture that took place, in many cases, in the full view of hundreds of "upstanding citizens." A new book, On The Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, brings the history home to Maryland, where two lynchings that occurred on the Eastern Shore in the 1930s are examined in detail. Author Sherrilyn Ifill is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. David Furst spoke with her in her Baltimore office about why she decided to focus on the Eastern Shore.

"Eubie!"

The guy has his name on a Silver Spring high school and his face on a US postage stamp, but it's safe to say that most kids these days don't know much about James Hubert Blake. "Eubie" Blake helped develop the sound of ragtime in the late 1800s. His career began at age eleven, playing piano in the bars and bordellos of Baltimore… he wrote Broadway show tunes in the 1920s, and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. The Olney Theatre Center in Olney, Maryland wants to resurrect the Baltimore native's music and is staging a revised version of the Broadway musical "Eubie!" for a new generation. Metro Connection's Stephanie Kaye spoke with director Tony Parise about the show, and Eubie Blake.

The Electric Possible

With band names like "Facemat" and "Spaceships Panic Orbit" on the bill, it's safe to assume that this is not the American Idol road show. No, this is about as far from Idol as you can stray: the 4th anniversary of the Electric Possible series. It's billed as DC's "mad monthly laboratory" of musical experiments. Electronic noise may not a big crowd pleaser but for dedicated fans and for anyone up to the challenge of something new, The Electric Possible delivers the goods.

We're joined by the man who runs the series, Jeff Bagato. He's the author of Mondo DC: An Insider's Guide to Washington DC's Most Unusual Tourist Attractions, and a regular contributor on Metro Connection.

Commentary by Reuben Jackson - Spring

With the National Cherry Blossom Festival kicking off, spring has 100% officially sprung here in the DC region. With the cherry blossoms hanging heavy on the tree branches, writer Reuben Jackson is a little on the giddy side.

Reuben Jackson is a writer living in the District. While you're out there strolling the streets of DC, listen for him whistling that impressive selection of springtime hits - at least until the mercury hits the high 80s.