WASHINGTON, DC., (WUSA) -- At the Eleanor Ford Reading Center in Prince George's County, putting words together is like taking a final victory lap around a track.

"You guys are doing really great with your reading," says Robin Bruce, the director of the center.

This...more center operates thanks to dozens of books from a literacy organization called Reading Tree.

"This pushes the skills over the top, having these books for them to read," says Bruce.

Some of those books come from blue bins, like the ones you see in this Virginia parking lot.

They are marked with words like "books for charity" and "donate books, CD's and DVDs."

"Because I'm a Friends of the Library volunteer, I suppose you could say I'm extra sensitive to the appearance of this box," says Pamela Chin.

Pamela Chin is bin skeptic.

The library volunteer, and Reston resident, wanted to know more about the boxes that she says resulted in a 20

 
From Robert Marus: Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced the re- formation and leadership of a task force that will help him shape a comprehensive housing strategy for the District of Columbia.
 
“The goal of the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force is to help city leaders...more ensure the creation of more affordable housing for residents of the District of Columbia,” said Mayor Gray. “While I believe that every D.C. resident deserves a decent, safe and affordable place to live, I also know this goal can prove challenging to reach in dense, fast-growing cities like ours. The work of this Task Force will help us make these efforts more achievable for all of our residents.”
 
Mayor Gray named Harry Sewell and Deborah Ratner Salzberg to co-chair the Task Force.
 
Harry Sewell is Executive Director of the D.C. Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) and he has more than 30 years of public- and private-sector housing experience. Mr. Sewell has served as Executive

This weekend, I took a break from the DC tour of homes, and The Cribline House Pick of the Week, and I went South to Rappahannock County, VA the home of the Inn at Little Washington (Washington, VA) and Sperryvillefor the President’s Day weekend.
There are no cell towers out there, so I...more was disconnected for 2 solid days. When was the last time your smartphone was useless? No email, no texts, no mobile phone.
I went out with a couple friends and I made a reservation at the wonderful and friendly Hopkins Ordinary bed and breakfast in downtown Sperryville… with some of the best chocolate chip cookies around btw… great rooms, great hospitality… only the reservation was for the wrong night. So, just when I thought we were stuck without a place to stay, my good pal Jimmy, a local resident, put me in touch with his friend Pam who was just putting the finishing touches on her newly restored and impeccably decorated rental cottage. It was available. What for a moment seemed like a

 
From Monica Hernandez:
(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will close the eastbound lanes on the Southeast/Southwest Freeway between 11th Street, SE and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE for an estimated two hour period starting at 10 pm tonight.  The 9th...more Street, SE entrance ramp to the eastbound Southeast/Southwest Freeway will also be closed during this time.
 
The westbound lanes on the Southeast/Southwest Freeway between 11th Street, SE and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE will be closed overnight on Wednesday, February 22 and Thursday, February 23 from 9 pm to 5 am the following morning. 
 
These closures will allow DDOT to perform work over the Southeast/Southwest Freeway for a new freeway bridge.
 
During the lane closures, signed detours will be posted. 
 
DETOURS:
×         During the eastbound Southeast/Southwest Freeway lane closures, motorists will be detoured to South Capitol Street, then onto northbound

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA) -- Two pieces of legislation now winding their way through the Virginia legislature are getting an awful lot of attention these days.

Not surprisingly, both bills deal with abortion.  The first bill, the so-called "personhood bill," would, in effect, outlaw...more abortion by declaring that a person's rights begin at the moment of conception.  The second bill would require that a woman have an invasive ultrasound before having an abortion.

Opponents of the two bills, both of which have now passed the Virginia House of Delegates, say, if enacted, the bills would be a major step back for women's reproductive rights.  

In a statement, Delegate Charniele Herring, chairperson of the Reproductive Health Caucus said, "HB 1 the personhood bill and HB 462 the trans-vaginal ultrasound bill represent an attack on women the likes of which we have never seen in this modern era."
But supporters of the two bills, including Carol Tobias, president

Looking to kick back a few Hurricanes for Fat Tuesday? Check out our top picks for DC area restaurants, bars and clubs participating in Mardi Gras activities!

 
From Karen Sibert:
DC Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown arrived to work this morning to a healthy breakfast delivered by students from Kimball Elementary School in Ward 7. He was joined by Ward 3 Member Mary Cheh, who organized the event, and Councilmembers Phil Mendelson (At-Large)...more and Yvette Alexander (Ward 7). The students served a wholesome meal of wheat French toast, turkey sausage, fruit, and milk before the start of the Committee of Whole meeting.
 
Earlier this month, the Council unanimously passed the “District of Columbia School Breakfast Recognition Resolution of 2012,” which officially recognized the District of Columbia Public Schools and Public Charter Schools, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and DC Hunger Solutions for achieving the highest school breakfast participation in the nation and for substantially improving the quality of school breakfast meals.
“We know the tangible health benefits of eating breakfast, including

Thanks to our caring community, we found the foster homes needed and then some for the dogs who were temporarily displaced during a renovation project at our New York Avenue adoption center. We can’t thank our friends and supporters enough for stepping in to help animals in need. In an effort...more to provide a better environment for all of the animals in our care, major improvement projects continue at our New York Avenue facility, and this time, it is our cats who are looking to their community for help.

The current construction project will displace numerous cats from their temporary homes in our adoption center – once again, as the only open access shelter in Washington, DC, this impacts us tremendously. WHS takes in an average of 30 animals every day and we never turn away an animal who needs our help. We hope we can count on you to help by providing short-term emergency foster care, or by spreading the word your families, friends and communities.
 
Foster

Target Corp. will host free in-store reading events at all Target stores nationwide this Saturday, February 25 from 9 a.m.-11 a.m., in celebration of the National
Education Association’s (NEA’s) Read Across America program. Each event will include a reading nook inspired by Dr. Seuss’ “The...more Lorax,” a reusable Target
bag filled with activities for children, readings by Target team members, and more.
 
Since 2003, Target has supported the NEA’s Read Across America program, which calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on or around
March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss. As a result of its support of programs like this, Target is on track to give $1 billion for education
by the end of 2015.
 
Click here to find the Target store in your community.

This event comes to us from Pål Brekke:
Wednesday, Feburary 22 there will be a spectacular multimedia presentation on the dynamic Sun and the Northern lights down at the National Museum of the American Indian in the Rasmuson Theater.
Here you find one of the best digital projectors and...more large curved wide screens in town. Experience the world best footage and time laps movies of the spectacular light show on the night sky taken by the best photographers in the world.
Together with the amazing images of the Sun from NASAs flagship Solar Dynamic Observatory this will be a life time experience for the entire family
Find out more information an about this event and ticket prices here.

Washington, DC-- February 19, 2012. It was a cold Sunday morning with snow on the horizon on the Howard University campus but inside there was a glow of positive youthful energy and talent thanks to the Xi Zeta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. 2012 Black History Youth...more Oratorical and Arts Contest.
The annual contest competition is designed to encourage DC area students to celebrate and embrace the contributions of African-Americans, past and present. Participants learned about the efforts of African-Americans and also had an opportunity to display their oratory and artistic talents in the categories of visual arts, music, the written word, and public speaking.
Proud parents looked on as their students took the stage and recited everything from Maya Angelou to vocal and instrumental performances to even unique displays of artwork with figures like Thurgood Marshall and President Barack Obama.  Check out the article video clip to hear more from

 
Take a look at these photos, courtesy of the Washington Humane Society, of dogs currently available for adoption at the WHS Georgia Avenue location.
To find out more information about the Georgia Avenue shelter or more information about any of the dogs you see above, visit the Washington Humane Society's website.