Washington Post Dot Com Tour

The Washington Post.com tour took us on a journey into vast open spaces and corridors complete with empty desks and chairs in its Arlington County, Va office.

The website’s news desk is the center of news operations here. Produces monitor and update news around the clock. At their desks are monitors that automatically stroll through competitor’s Web sites to ensure they aren’t missing breaking news somewhere. A designer is always on duty to troubleshoot problems as well as make changes to the homepage if needed.

Ed O’Keefe, who is a breaking news producer for the Web site, walked the class through his typical day at the office. The 2005 American alum says he arrives at the office around six in the morning to read through the paper. At 7 A.M. he heads to morning meetings and then work at the news desk until about noon. “After that point I’m usually working on special projects” before calling it a day around 3:00 or 3:30, O’Keefe said.

The Web site actually has two homepages. One for the local audience and another with a national focus. The main newsroom is divided into two parts: local, which focuses on the stories in the D.C. metro area such and crime, traffic and sports and non-local, which handles such areas as business, world, technology and national politics. The newsroom is subdivided further into sections like multimedia, entertainment and production.

Conference rooms are named after familiar places in the area like Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, Great Falls and Annapolis.

Overall, the tour helped us to see how newsrooms tend to be operated and organized around a single goal—to get the news out.

Media Credit: Troy Donte' Prestwood

Photo Caption 1: Washington Post.com editor and class professor Chet Rhodes discusses different operations of the newsroom with the digital storytelling class.

Photo Caption 2: A TV bank tuned to broadcast news outlets such as MSNBC, FOX NEWS and CNN hang from the ceiling in the main newsroom.They allow staff to monitor news events around the clock.

Las Vegas Excursion Helps Recharge Batteries

Stressed and exhausted from juggling work and graduate studies, I had to get far away from D.C. as possible. A change of pace and scenery would be a welcome antidote. So a week before school resumed for the spring, I decided to pack up and fly to Sin City—Las Vegas Nevada. Better known for its themed hotel casinos and scantly clad showgirls, Vegas as it’s often called, surprisingly has a less-risqué side to show tourists looking to get away

One sure way to know you’re in Vegas is the row of slot machines that great you as soon as you step off the plane. But I had plans to head to top of the Stratosphere—hotel and casino that is. It sits perished at 1,149 ft. making it the tallest observation tower east of the Mississippi river. It’s a bit isolated on the north end of the Vegas strip, but what it lacks in convenience to other spots, it makes up with affordable rooms, thrill rides that dangle you over city streets and Vegas shows.

Speaking of shows, there seem to be one playing everywhere at every second of the day, so I couldn’t help to see a couple of them during my stay. One in particular is “American Superstars,” which features performers imitating celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Britany Spears and Tim McGraw. Of course no celebrity imitator show would be complete without a surprisingly good Michael Jackson, complete with pale white skin and an altered noise along with the perennial Elvis look-a-like. impersonator. It plays at the Stratosphere.

Located in a basin surrounded by mountains in the Mojove Desert where temperatures in the summer can top 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, I apparently picked the perfect time to visit Vegas during the month of January with manageable highs averaging around 55 – 60 degrees.

If I were up for the drive, about five hours to the west would have taken me to Los Angeles while five hours to the east would take me to Grand Canyon. I didn’t have the patience to wait in traffic so I hung out at two themed resorts, the Venetian and New York-New York.

The Venetian Hotel is a high-end resort and casino with a quarter-mile long canal complete with gondola rides and singing operators. And the New York, New York hotel and casino makes a good effort at recreating the skyline of the nation's largest city. It has mid-size sky scrapers, a scaled down Brooklyn bridge and a 150-foot Statue of Liberty. On my next trip I think I will stay here.

I enjoyed this trip. Yes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But in my case, everything Vegas had to offer was just what the doctor ordered.

To learn more about visiting Las Vegas, including travel packages as well as shows and attractions check out these links below.

The official Las Vegas Website
Stratosphere Hotel and Casino
The Venetian
New York-New York

Community Meeting Connects Residents with Services

The opening of a new credit union and techniques for resolving disputes with utility companies, were among the topics on the agenda at a Ward 7 community organization meeting Thursday night in Southeast D.C.

About two-dozen residents and community activists came out to the East River Family Strengthening Collaborative on Minnesota Avenue for the nearly two hour-long information session. Speakers from the U.S. Attorney General Office, HEW Federal Credit Union and the D.C. office of Corporation counsel spoke about the services they offer to residents of Ward 7 and throughout the city.

Donnie James, vice-president of HEW, which will open a new branch in the neighborhood this spring, says expanding to Ward 7 was a natural fit. “Most of the members live east of the Anacostia. When we looked into where we wanted to go we knew Ward 7,” James said.

James says he hopes his credit union will steer residents away from places that charge absorbent fees for basic services like cashing checks. He says the only requirement to join is to be a D.C. resident and make a deposit of five dollars to get started. “We are different from commercial banks and way different from checking cashing places,” he said.

A person facing disconnection or in a billing dispute with a utility company learned about a D.C. government agency that could mediate on their behalf. Phillip Harmon of the D.C. office of the Corporation Counsel talked at length about the rights of customers in the District.















“If you are a utility consumer of PEPCO, Washington Gas or Verizon, and can’t work out bill disagreements, we can work it out on your behalf,” Harmon said, adding that he has helped several customers receive thousands of dollars in refunds due to billing errors along with customers who were days away from their service being disconnected. “Years ago you could flip the switch and you didn’t have to worry. Now the companies look at you as a cash cow.” Harmon said.

One of the poorest Wards in the city, the East River Family Strengthening Collaborative mission is to prevent neglect and maltreatment of children in Ward 7. It provides hands-on programs like fatherhood classes, youth intervention services, financial literacy and housing assistance. Liz Whitlow, community engagement coordinator for the family organization says it’s main goal is to “help strengthen families and communities here where we live,” she said.

All Photos by: Troy Donte' Prestwood

Links:

East River Family Strengthening Collaborative
HEW Federal Credit Union
D.C. Corporation Counsel
U.S. Attorney General's Office

News Program Crowns Local Grocer No. 1 in health inspection violations

Safeway grocery stores are redoubling their efforts to ensure that company policies and procedures for food safety are in place, said a company spokesperson in the wake of a television news magazine report last week on supermarket cleanliness.

Safeway topped NBC Universal’s “Dateline” list of grocery store chains with critical violations, where according to the news program, the chain had the highest number violations with 25 for every 10 stores. A critical violation is classified as something that could make a person sick such as improper food temperatures, rodent infestation or unclean food contact surface, according to several health inspectors interviewed for the report.

“We were very disappointed to see the results of the ‘Dateline’ survey,” said Greg TenEyck, director of publicaffairs for Safeway Eastern Division. “They took a small sample of stores and drew what we think is an inaccurate conclusion about our company overall.” TenEyck says Safeway has a great safely record and works with local inspectors to ensure stores exceed safety standards. “When a critical violation is cited, we take immediate action to correct it and determine what procedural, training or policy actions are required to prevent a recurrence,” TenEyck said.

The supermarket survey compiled data from health departments in all states and the District. It used violations from 2004 because it is the most recent year data is complete, according to “Dateline.” Producers used hidden-cameras to document store violations and appearances. For the Safeway segment, the producers took a hidden-camera to a store on Capitol Hill in Southeast where it recorded missing light fixtures, wires hanging from the ceiling in sections of the store, water on the floor and missing or dirty floor tiles. The reporter said the store appeared to be in disarray and said the deli clerk sold producers fried chicken that was below the proper hot food holding temperatures.

In fact, District health inspection reports for the Capitol Hill store as recent as five days after the “Dateline” story aired and dating back to February 2004, reveal a pattern critical violations, including rodent infestation, unsafe food temperatures and even an expired business license. There were also a number of spot inspections generated by numerous complaints from shoppers who said they became ill after consuming food brought at the store.

Safeway officials say “Dateline” wasn’t completely honest in their story about the conditions at that store. “The store is clearly undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation, which should be completed by April,” TenEyck said. There are signs that say pardon our construction. The people who live in the area understand what is happening with the store,” TenEyck said.

“Dateline” spokesperson Jenny Tartikoff acknowledged work was being done on the store, but “the violations that ‘Dateline’ reported were not a result of that construction. The store had food and grime splashed on the floors and walls of the salad bar area and a dirty floor by the soup area,” Tartikoff said. She also said producers visited the D.C. store twice “and on neither occasion did we see any signs announcing that the store was under renovation,” Tartikoff said.

The remaining top five supermarket chains in the “Dateline” story with the highest number of critical violations were Albertsons, Publix, Kroger and Winn-Dixie. None have stores in the Washington area.

Media Credit: Troy Donte' Prestwood

Links for Story:

Dateline Full Report
D.C. Department of Health
Safeway
Alberston's
Publix
Kroger
Winn-Dixie

“Glory Road” is paved With Good Intentions

Disney’s “Glory Road” takes moviegoers back in time to a not so friendly place to show how a men’s college basketball team overcame significant hurdles to become history makers.

The film is based on a true story out of Texas Western College in El Paso Texas. It follows the journey of an integrated Division-1 team overcoming all odds to end up in the NCAA championship tournament in 1966. But the road wasn’t easy as deep racial divides that existed in the country during that era almost derailed the team’s chances at victory.

The film starts with Coach Don Haskins, who is white along with his assistants doing serious convincing to school administrators and basketball boosters that having an integrated team would help them win games. The coaches had an equally hard time selling the southern school to black recruits who were concerned about the racial climate in the south. In fact, during the movie, we see how players were often subjected to racial slurs and acts of violence and vandalism because of its black players. Even the coach wasn’t immune as he and his wife constantly received death threats.

In the end, the coach’s controversial decision have a mix team and to start all black players in the big tournament was vindicated when the team beat all-white No. 1-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 72-65 and became national champions and heroes.

“Glory Road” is a fascinating story about adversity and triumphs that will leave moviegoers wanting to see and learn more about the players and coaches who rose to the challenge and helped change college sports forever. It is rated PG for racial issues, including racial epithets and mild language.

Media Credit: Photo by Frank Connor © 2005 Courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Links for Story:

The Official Movie Webpage
Texas Western College's page on the team

Lockheed Martin to Sponsor Disney Film

Bethesda Md. based Lockheed Martin says it will team up with the Walt Disney Company and become the sole sponsor of Disney's latest film "Roving Mars" said a press release from the technology and space company.

We are pleased to work with a company that believes as we do that space exploration “speaks to the fundamental human desire to understand the nature of our universe," said G. Thomas Marsh, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin in the press release.

The film chronicles the building and launching of two robotic explorers, Spirit and Opportunity, and the tons of images, video and information gathered over the last two years from the red planet. The film also follows lead scientist Steve Squyres and the team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory setbacks and ultimate success in getting the rovers to the Martian surface.

”Roving Mars” was produced in IMAX technology, which includes high-resolution images and digital sound projected on screens up to five-stories high. It will premiere in Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum's Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater in the District on Jan. 26 before debuting a day later on IMAX theatres nationwide.

Photo Credit Courtesy of NASA JPL.

For more information on the Mars Rovers and movie, check out these links.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/rovingmars/

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/images.html