In December, the county board approved a new rate structure that raises the fee from $135 to $160 for vehicles under 7,500 pounds. The lower fee had been in place since 2014.

A 2025 change in Virginia law allowed localities to charge a minimum of $135, and up to $210 for a trespass tow. In recent months, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties each set their rate to the new maximum.

County Board Chair Takis Karantonis called the $160 rate “fair market value” for the industry, adding that Arlington tow operators “do not have as far to travel as in many other jurisdictions with higher fees.”

How is the towing industry responding?

But some members of the local towing industry take issue with the “fair market value” characterization of the new fee structure.

Al Leach, who owns Al’s Towing and Storage, serves on the Trespass Towing Advisory Boards in Arlington and Fairfax counties. He told the board his company doesn’t operate in Arlington County.

“The reason why Al’s Towing is not in Arlington County is because we couldn’t give you professional services at those rates,” he said.

Michael Reynolds, of the A-1 Associates towing firm, said his company was forced to move out of Arlington prior to the pandemic “because it was too expensive to operate,” adding that Arlington now has only one towing business that does trespass towing.

Reynolds told the board that tow fees provide for many things, including real estate, location and cost, and hiring qualified employees.

“It’s too expensive for other companies to rent or buy a location in the county,” he said. “While it’s wonderful to see the proposal to increase the fee limit to $160, $160 is already outdated and insufficient.”

Gary Kauffman, of Henry’s Wrecker Service, told board members he agreed low towing fees discourage companies from doing business in Arlington. He said “realistic fee increases” help prevent predatory tow company behavior.

Kauffman said predatory towing is defined as the unethical and illegal practice by towing companies to exploit motorists for excessive profit, often through deceptive taxes, such as hidden fees and unwarranted charges, delaying vehicle release or towing without proper authority.

“When fees are unrealistically low, operators are pressured to cut corners, delay releases and seek revenue through questionable practices,” he said.

What fees were left untouched?

While the county board voted 5-0 to set the maximum tow fee at $160 for vehicles under 7,500 pounds, it left unchanged the $250 towing fee for vehicles between 7,500 and 10,000 pounds and $500 for vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds.

Surcharges ranging from $40 to $60 for vehicles towed at night, on weekends and holidays were left unchanged, as was the daily storage fee of $50.

Source

With the expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies, millions of Americans are entering the new year with far more expensive health insurance premiums.

Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey said he believes this issue has fractured the Republican coalition in Congress.

“The health care fight that came out of the government shutdown has been a real sign,” said Ivey, a Democrat who represents Maryland’s 4th District. “I think there’s a lot of cracks, not only in the Trump administration, but the Republican caucuses in the Senate and the House”

In December, four Republicans broke from House Speaker Mike Johnson and signed a petition, led by Democrats, that would force a House vote on extending an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy for three years that lowers health insurance.

It came in the aftermath of House Republican leaders rushing to pass a health care bill that didn’t address the rising monthly premiums.

“I think that Republicans have dug a very deep hole for themselves with the way they’ve mishandled Americans health care, especially with respect to their refusal to extend the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act so that people can afford to continue to have insurance,” Ivey said.

Ivey expects that Democrats will force Republicans to address the elimination of the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies in the next 30 days.

“I think we’re going to force them to do something to address the elimination of the Obamacare tax credits so that people don’t see their premiums double and triple,” Ivey said.

Ivey is also predicting Democrats will retake the House in 2026 and possibly the Senate.

“Because he can’t be counted on to do it himself, the only way to keep him in check is to have counterweights to him and Republicans in Congress are not willing to do it,” he said. “It’s got to be Democrats that do it.”

ĂÛÌÒÊÓÆ”app’s Tadiwos Abedje contributed to this report.

Source

To find out, ĂÛÌÒÊÓÆ”app turned to Terry Gerton, who began hosting the Federal News Networks’ “” earlier this year.

Before joining FNN, Gerton spent her career working in and with the federal government, including eight years at the National Academy of Public Administration, which assists government leaders in building more efficient and transparent organizations. Gerton also served in the military and in the departments of Labor and Defense.

To evaluate whether DOGE achieved its goals, Gerton said you have to start with the definition of efficiency. For some people, the bottom line is whether the government costs less — and it might be that in the short run, it does.

The General Services Administration terminated hundreds of building leases, so they’re not paying rent. Also, fewer people now work for the federal government, although most of those people drew their full salary for the fiscal year before the layoffs and departures took effect.

Additionally, agencies terminated many contracts, so there’s less money going out the door. But, Gerton said, many of those savings may be offset by legal costs challenging the terminations, and they may be reinstated with penalties.

But if the definition of efficiency is making government programs work more smoothly and achieve better results, then Gerton said the uniform consensus is, no, nothing right now is working better than it was in 2024.

Using data to make government function better

That’s not to say there aren’t opportunities on the horizon for new government efficiencies.

“A lot of experienced federal workers and good government groups have long argued that there are a lot of ways the government could work smarter and not harder,” Gerton said.

“And I think as we go into 2026, there actually are some opportunities to really improve government work.”

One option is using data better.

Laws and regulations have always prioritized data privacy over data sharing to prevent data breaches, but for better or worse, Gerton said, DOGE broke down all the data silos.

“As a result, there is now an opportunity to rebuild the government data system that works better for beneficiaries,” she said.

“And the program managers can use data better to understand the commonality among their beneficiaries, design programs to meet those needs, and to make that process work more smoothly.”

Gerton said government will still have to prioritized data privacy, but she believes there’s a real opportunity there, and that “people are really engaged in moving that forward.”

Artificial Intelligence vs. Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul

The other big opportunity is the deployment of artificial intelligence. AI has been in the background for a long time, and people have been talking about what will happen with it, but it’s happening now, Gerton said.

“Sometimes with guardrails, sometimes not, but it’s being tested in lots of different ways,” she said.

Given how much smaller the federal workforce is right now — somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 fewer people — Gerton said AI could streamline many processes that used to require humans and instead put humans where they really can make a difference.

One other positive that emerged in 2025 is the overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which regulates how the government contracts for the purchase of products and services.

Gerton said the FAR reform is getting good marks early on, although the formal rulemaking process hasn’t happened yet.

Acquisition, she said, is one sector where AI is being rolled out quickly, helping contracting officers design and evaluate proposals and helping contractors prepare their proposals to speed up the contract award process.

In 2026, there will be a lot of watching. Gerton said she will be keeping tabs on the planned reforms by the Office of Personnel Management to streamline the hiring process, many of which have been tried before without success, and checking the details of acquisition reform when they write the rules to see if they match the guidance.

“Perhaps the biggest thing to watch is what role Congress will play in all of this,” she said. “Will they start to legislate to stabilize the executive branch in the federal workforce?”

Gerton said there is hope that things will settle down into a new normal, but there are still so many decisions about what happened in 2025 to come, that much remains unresolved.

Source

The Capital Area Food Bank says 1 in 3 people across the D.C. area faces hunger year-round. This season, the program hopes to help stem some of those challenges.

“Please join us in the New Year by giving to the Capital Area Food Bank to help families with food insecurities,” Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke said . “We often say that Metro is the life blood of the community by getting people around the region, and the Fill-A-Bus campaign is another way that we can serve our neighbors.”

Metro will place buses at sites around the region, including locations like the Anacostia Station on Howard Rd, the Friendship Heights Station and the Pentagon City Station through the beginning of 2024. Locations and dates include:

• Wednesday, Jan. 3 
  • At Anacostia Metro Station on Howard Road from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • At Fort Totten Metro Station in Bus Bay K from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday, Jan. 5
  • At Friendship Heights Metro Station in Bus Bay K from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • At Silver Spring Metro Station in Bus Bay J from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Monday, Jan. 8 
  • At Pentagon City Metro Station near the Nordstrom entrance at 12th and South Hayes from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • At Tysons Metro Station in Bus Bay G from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Last year, the campaign raised enough food and collected enough money to create 32,0000 meals.

“This year, we aim to raise $15,000 and collect 5,500 pounds of food that will create 35,000 meals for families, seniors and those in need,” the agency said.

Metro employees and volunteers will spend their time unloading, sorting and packaging the collected food on Jan. 15, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

ĂÛÌÒÊÓÆ”app’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.

Source

The main concern will be a brief period of sleet or freezing rain, which could cause some icy spots on the road Thursday.

• More Local News
• ĂÛÌÒÊÓÆ”app ĂÛÌÒÊÓÆ”app 

That means it may be time to start thinking about de-icing responsibly.

Sodium chloride, also known as rock salt, will melt ice quickly, but, eventually, the salt washes into waterways where it can harm plants, soil and wildlife.

So what can you do to be environmentally responsible when it comes to using salt to de-ice this winter?

• Shovel first and then use salt.
• If the sun is coming out, let it do some of the work first.
• Use rock salt sparingly. Just 12 ounces of rock salt can treat a 20-foot driveway.
• Use traction materials instead, such as bird seed.

Source

Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been observed on Dec. 1 to show support for people living with HIV. It also honors those who have died from the disease. has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS and the stigma associated with a diagnosis from the beginning of the epidemic.

With four locations in the District, WWH is a nonprofit community health center with a special expertise in HIV/AIDS healthcare and LGBTQ+ health care. It has expanded services to include primary health care, gender-affirming care, dental and behavioral health services.

• More Local News
• More DC News

Dr. Randy Pumphrey, senior director of Behavioral Health at WWH, said he remembers the early days of the epidemic when very little was known about HIV. It didn’t even have a name yet. A friend who was an epidemiologist wrote to Pumphrey, warning him about a disease she was studying that was killing gay men in San Francisco and New York, and she urged him to be very careful.

“I remember that being such an ominous moment,” Pumphrey said, “because suddenly, I realized that we had already been living with discrimination and stigma, and now there was this other thing, and what would it mean?”

Today, Pumphrey said, the advances in treatment and technology have helped ease some of the stigma associated with an HIV diagnosis.

“If I’m personally living with HIV, and I’m adherent to my treatment, and my viral load is undetectable, then I can feel safe having sex with someone and not transmitting HIV to them,” Pumphrey said.

“And that’s a really significant thing, because it empowers both people, and it lowers that stigma barrier.”

Maurisa Turner-Potts works in public relations services to WWH, which provided treatment to her brother when he was living with HIV.

“My brother passed away in 2009 from HIV/AIDS,” Turner-Potts said. “It was during a time, as a Black male, that it was tough to not only recognize that you’re gay, but also living with HIV.”

Turner-Potts said her brother credited WWH for prolonging his life, providing the care he needed to live with HIV/AIDS for 22 years. She now sees her professional service to WWH and her attendance at the World AIDS Day vigil as ways to both professionally and personally honors her brother.

According to the , approximately 79 million people have become infected with HIV since the start of the epidemic, and 36 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

But the medical research and new treatments and technologies are helping to bring down those numbers. UNAIDS estimated 1.7 million AIDS-related deaths in 2006. In 2020, the number was less than half that, 690,000.

“I had friends who were about to die, who did not die and are still alive today, because of those discoveries. And that’s a powerful thing,” Pumphrey said.

Turner-Potts’ brother was diagnosed during the mid-1980s, during the time when stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS was still strong, and so she’s grateful that he was able to live his life for 22 years with the disease.

“Fast forward to now, there’s so much advancement in treatment and options for those living with this disease,” she said. “And I think it’s really important to share that people are living their full life.”

The majority of people dying from AIDS-related illness are in underdeveloped countries, where access to the new treatments is far more limited. Pumphrey said he thinks it is the mission of everyone “to reach out to human beings who are in less-privileged places to help them have access to these resources.”

The ultimate weapon against HIV/AIDS is a vaccine to stop the virus in its tracks, something which to date has been elusive.

On this World AIDS Day 2022, published early clinical trial results for an HIV vaccine candidate that induced an immune response in a small group of volunteers. The study’s authors say the Phase I clinical trial triggered broadly neutralizing antibodies in 97% of vaccine recipients. Further study and testing will determine how long the antibodies induced by the vaccine can last.

About the possibility of an effective HIV vaccine, Pumphrey said “I live in hope.”

Source

Originally founded in 2009 as Dreams for Kids DC, the nonprofit has just wrapped up its rebranding as .

“We wanted to create a new name that really captured the essence of how our programming has evolved over the last six, seven years in this area,” executive director Glenda Smith said. “What we’ve really done is transformed our programming to help youth with disabilities through not just the childhood years, but also through their transition to adulthood.”

The core mission of So Kids SOAR is to provide free, adaptive athletic, recreational and skill-building activities that empower youth with physical and developmental disabilities to Strive, Own, Achieve, and Realize their potential, Smith said.

When the nonprofit launched in the District, their flagship programming provided adaptive clinics for youth with disabilities ages 4 to 24, held once or twice a month. As So Kids SOAR, they will continue to offer these clinics.

“They range from 
 ice hockey with the Washington Capitals, to a prom, to more recently a STEM clinic,” Smith said. “So Kids SOAR also includes typically developing siblings, so the whole family can experience the program and no one is left out.”

• More Local News
• More Lifestyle News

The rebranding offers So Kids SOAR an opportunity to spotlight their program for young adults, Path to Success, which is a vocational building program where ten young adults with disabilities are paired up with mentors.

“Through a 10-week curriculum, they learn all about basic communication skills, digital communication skills, building a resume, networking, mock interviewing and really just building confidence to become independent and succeed in their lives,” Smith said.

The programs are always free to families, but So Kids SOAR relies on donations — of money and time — to carry out their mission.

Smith said the clinics cost an average of $200 per participant, although some larger clinics, such as their popular water skiing and tubing clinic, require more help.

“We work 100% off donations,” Smith said. “No donation is too small. Ten dollars will go a long way in our organization.”

The nonprofit will host an average of 12 to 14 clinics per year. Since the pandemic, Smith said, they also started posting one virtual clinic per month, as well as Path to Success and a holiday program — “all free, run by myself and an amazing board of directors, and volunteers who want to give their time.”

There are about 2,400 volunteers in the So Kids SOAR database, allowing them to offer a one-to-one ratio at all clinics and programs, but Smith said they can always use more. The kids build a sense of camaraderie with their volunteers, and “it’s really just lovely for them to make a connection with someone outside of their family unit.”

Through a partnership with the , So Kids SOAR is able to offer a number of activities featuring local professional athletes with the Washington Capitals and the Washington Mystics, who also volunteer their time.

Smith said it’s nice for the kids and their parents to see local leaders and athletes giving back their time and wanting to invest in their community as well.

The So Kids SOAR holiday program will give youth an opportunity to also volunteer during the season of giving.

“Our youth with disabilities will be wrapping presents for homeless children; they will be writing cards for veterans; they will be stuffing cotton balls for a local animal shelter,” Smith said. “So it’s all about teaching our youth that they can still give back to the community, even if they have a disability.”

Upcoming events, including the holiday program, are on the So Kids SOAR website, and parents or guardians can simply register for the clinics they’d like to attend; however, the vocational building program is a separate application process every spring.

As their rebranding effort is wrapping up, Smith said she is grateful to everyone who has supported So Kids SOAR in the past, because it helped them survive the pandemic. Now, she said, they are thriving and hoping to bring the So Kids SOAR mission to other cities in the next five years.

Source

with a private practice in Frederick, Maryland, , beginning with acknowledging your loved one’s presence and absence.

• More Local News
• More Lifestyle News

“It really is important to do something to acknowledge and remember your loved one,” Dr. Bomba said. “This can be done by holding a moment of silence, saying a prayer, sharing memories, arranging a place setting or lighting a candle.”

Dr. Bomba said children often come up with the best ideas, so it’s a good idea to include them in how we plan for these times.

“Children are often disenfranchised grievers, so we need to include them in our rituals and traditions, acknowledge them as grievers, and help them identify healthy outlets for their grief.”

It’s understandable to not want to disrupt a very young child’s holiday, but Bomba recommends utilizing the resources and supports available to you through extended family, close friends, religious organizations, or school community to accomplish all the work that goes into holiday festivities.

“Accept offers to babysit,” Bomba suggested. “You can ask for help with cleaning the house and preparing meals. Ask someone else to host the holiday party,” and task others with baking, decorating and gift wrapping.

Bomba said it’s also important to acknowledge that things are different now that a loved one has been lost. She suggests getting the family involved by talking about what traditions you would like to hold on to, and what new rituals or traditions you would like to create.

“Sometimes, when there’s been a loss in the family, people choose to go on vacation and get away instead of hosting the traditional holiday celebration. It’s just important to know that those are all OK options,” Bomba said.

People who are grieving during the holidays should prepare for social interactions, Bomba said. She recommends accepting at least one invitation to attend a social gathering, and give yourself permission to decline others.

Bomba also recommends giving oneself permission to decline engaging in triggering conversations by saying, “I’d rather not talk about that right now.”

And finally, Dr. Bomba stresses the importance of self-care.

“I recommend sticking to the basics,” Dr. Bomba said. “When we’re struggling, it’s really important to back to those basic survival skills: drink water, stay hydrated, eat meals regularly, take medications and vitamins as prescribed, leave the house, get fresh air, and prioritize sleep.”

Bomba also recommends giving yourself time to sit with your grief feelings, but also allowing yourself breaks from active grieving.

Not everyone who has experienced a loss needs to seek counseling or therapy. But, if you are struggling, Dr. Bomba said it can be helpful to talk with a therapist who specializes in grief counseling.

“A professional can help you process your loss, work through the pain and grief, and identify ways to maintain a connection with your loved one, while at the same time embarking on a new life.”

Source

“It’s a great day,” Moore said Thursday, “because this is an actualization of something that we’ve been talking about for a very, very long time. And we could not, frankly, think of a more appropriate place to be able to have this conversation and to make this announcement.”

• More Local Politics and Election News
• More Local News
• 2022 Virginia Election Results
• 2022 DC Election Results
• 2022 Maryland Election Results

Source

Domestic violence cases are trending up in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 2022, according to police.

New police statistics show calls about assaults on family members are up 20% so far this year, and nearly half of the homicides in the county have been domestic-related.

• More Local News
• More Fairfax County News
• More Crime News

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis sat down with , to talk about the county’s latest domestic violence statistics, and he also provided an update about a particularly high-profile domestic-violence case — the murder of Hannah Choi in Alexandria.

“So far this year, we have 19 homicides in Fairfax County. We had exactly 19 the same time last year, as well,” Davis said. “But nine of our 19 are domestic-related.”

Davis noted this number is not inconsistent with 2021, which ended the year with 21 homicides, seven of which were adult children, living at home with their parents, who they ended up killing in their homes.

Source

Ariel Cooper, 39, of Northwest D.C. was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed on Thursday.

The shooting occurred at 12:20 p.m. in the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and N Street NW, near Dunbar High School.

The victim was the driver, Sophia Johnson, 38, of Fort Washington, Maryland. She died at the scene.

• More D.C. News
• More Local News

In a court hearing Saturday, it was revealed that Cooper tested positive for phencyclidine, or PCP. Court records also state a cigarette and filter were found in the car, and that police claim it had a strong odor consistent with the drug.

Police arrived to find a single vehicle crashed into a telephone pole, across the street from a D.C. Fire and EMS station. First responders said that Johnson had no signs of life when they arrived.

Third District Cmdr. James Boteler said police believe the incident occurred while Johnson was stopped at a red light.

“As the red light turned green, we believe the gunfire erupted from within the vehicle. The vehicle then traveled through the intersection and, assumingly because she was shot, she crashed into the telephone pole. That’s our assumption at this point,” Boteler said.

The commander said police have witnesses that lead them to believe their theory is correct.

More than one gunshot was fired, Boteler said, and the vehicle sitting next to Johnson’s car at the intersection was also struck. The driver of that vehicle was not injured.

It was stated that as many as 11 shots may have been fired inside the car. The gun found in the car was a 9 millimeter, with a 13 round cartridge.

Cooper is being held without bond pending another hearing set for mid November.

Below is a map of the approximate area of where it happened:

ĂÛÌÒÊÓÆ”app’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.

Source

Volunteers with the Montgomery County Medical Reserve Corps were recognized for logging anywhere from 75 to 500 hours of service.

In total, volunteers clocked more than 82,000 hours throughout the peak of the pandemic.

• More Health and Fitness News
• More Coronavirus News

Sean O’Donnell, Montgomery County’s public health emergency preparedness manager, said the service organization — which was started after 9/11 — had a couple hundred volunteers considered active when the pandemic started.

As the first cases of the virus popped up, the phone started ringing off the hook at the county’s Department of Health and Human Services with concerned citizens looking for advice on what to do if symptoms came up.

O’Donnell said they started reaching out to volunteers and the next day, a couple dozen people showed up. O’Donnell said the numbers eventually grew to around 1,000 doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Volunteers worked at vaccination and testing clinics, food distribution sites and the COVID-19 call center. In all, they saved Montgomery County an estimated $3.1 million during this especially strenuous time.

James Chiu, one of two Montgomery County Medical Reserve Corps volunteers who logged over 500 hours during the pandemic recalled thinking, “I’m retired. I’m still healthy and I have the knowledge. I just thought that would be a good opportunity to use that time to be able to be involved.”

Before retirement, Chiu worked in vaccine development as an infectious disease doctor. During the pandemic, he worked at the testing sites and vaccine clinics, helping people understand COVID-19 while dispelling misinformation.

“Through this experience, I was able to meet other like-minded people working together for a common cause,” Chiu said. “That camaraderie — it’s really very, very meaningful to me.”

O’Donnell said teleworking opened opportunities for more to volunteer, many who came from a variety of backgrounds including emergency response, federal employees and biotechnology.

He recalled one volunteer who told him, “It was an opportunity for us to do something, when we were frustrated by this disease.”

Source

will depart from Wood Aces Elementary School on Cromwell Drive in Bethesda at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.

• More Local News
• More DC News

Riders will retrace the route Sarah took the day she was killed, past her crash site at 5244 River Road, and continuing to the lawn in front of Congress.

“We’re doing this to advocate for bide safety and pedestrian safety,” said Sarah’s husband, Daniel Langenkamp. “We’re going to be arguing for $200 million in federal funding for safe streets and safer trucking laws.”

Sarah was killed Aug. 25 when she was struck by a flatbed truck. Montgomery County police said both were traveling east on River Road when the truck turned into a parking lot while Langenkamp was in the bike lane.

“Ride for Your Life” is sponsored by Trek Bicycles, the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA), and other organizations and partners. Langenkamp expects at least 1,000 cyclists from bike clubs and advocacy organizations, as well as families and federal employees. Participants include riders from half-a-dozen states.

He also hopes to attract some members of Congress to the event.

“It is one of the first events, if not the first, that I’ve ever heard of going to Congress to advocate for safer streets,” said Langenkamp. “There are members of Congress who deeply believe in this cause, and we hope they show up and express their support.”

“Ride for Your Life” hopes to bring a message to Congress, urging members to provide full funding for the Active Transportation Infrastructure Improvement Program in the 2023 spending bill. Organizers say the funding would help communities build safe active transportation infrastructure, including protected and continuous bike lanes.

The campaign will also press the Department of Transportation to implement practical improvements to truck safety, including required emergency braking and blind-spot monitors on all commercial vehicles, minimum training requirements for class A commercial driver’s licenses and required use of side and front guards to prevent pedestrians or cyclists from sliding beneath truck trailers.

Montgomery County Council member Andrew Friedson, who represents District One, is backing Langenkamp’s efforts. He said he has been working in regular and constant communication with the District 16 state delegation, specifically on the stretch of River Road where Sarah died.

Friedson said changes are being made on Old Georgetown Road and other areas throughout the county to increase safety.

“Specifically on River Road, we are working with the State Department of Transportation and State Highway Administration on implementing immediate safety changes,” Friedson said. “And also for medium- and longer-term improvements, as well.”

Friedson said the stretch of River Road where Sarah was killed is just one of many area roadways that were not built for the way they’re being used today, with inadequate protections for pedestrians and cyclists. But Friedson said the needed infrastructure improvements will cost money and require policy changes at the local, county, state and federal levels.

Langenkamp announced the gift of $50,000 to WABA, which are proceeds from a .

Peter Gray is Maryland organizer for WABA and co-chair of the Montgomery County families for Safe Streets steering committee. The WABA-supported organization helps the families of victims, including the Langenkamps, but also advocates for safer streets. Gray said the association will put the gift to good use.

“For one thing,” Gray said, “we’ll be able to continue something that we started this year, which is to have a fund to be able to give money to other groups and other projects in the area that will encourage and create safer environments on the roads for people who walk and bike.”

Langenkamp’s emotions are still raw, and his voice sometimes chokes with emotion as he talks about the work he’s doing in his wife’s name, but he is resolved to bring about real improvements in pedestrian and cyclist safety on the roads.

“We can do something about this, and I hope this money will make a difference. I hope this bike ride will make a difference. But it’s not going to be the last thing that we do,” Langenkamp said. “We’re going to continue working on this issue.”

Source

The Virginia Department of Education launched a one-year social media campaign called “Become a Teacher,” which includes targeted ads on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. These ads highlight the teaching professions and the difference teachers can make in the lives of their students.

• More Virginia News
• More Local News

The ads direct users to an interactive quiz on the website. The quiz connects potential teachers with the path to a Virginia teaching license that is most aligned with their professional and educational backgrounds. Information includes career-switcher programs, license reciprocity with other states, and teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities.

The website also includes links for information about financial supports and incentives that are available for both aspiring teachers and current Virginia educators, as well as an interactive Virginia map where users can explore current teaching opportunities by region and school division.

The “Become a Teacher” campaign is part of the VDOE’s multiyear, multipronged “” strategic plan to address teacher shortages in the commonwealth.

“The ‘Become a Teacher’ campaign and Turning the Tide reflect extensive research — including interviews with teachers, career-switchers and students enrolled in teacher preparation programs — to identify state-level policies and best practices to strengthen the teacher pipeline and keep teachers in the classroom,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said in a news release.

“Our goal is to ensure that every child in the commonwealth is taught by a qualified teacher.”

The “Become a Teacher” campaign is supported through $1 million in federal pandemic relief funding awarded to Virginia for its efforts on recruiting and retaining teachers.

Source