THE REGION
Veterans Day Lunch Planned for Homeless
Homeless veterans in the Washington area will be honored on Veterans Day with a sit-down lunch and be given an opportunity to call loved ones. The meal and free use of cell phones and directory assistance will be provided from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Central Union Mission, 1350 R St. NW.
U.S. VETS, an organization formed to help homeless veterans, has partnered with Sprint to provide free cell phone access for the veterans. It estimates that veterans account for 23 percent of America's homeless population, including about 6,500 in the Washington region.
"This holiday meal and accompanying phone call could very well be the catalyst needed for homeless veterans to reconnect with their family and friends," the group said.
Caterpillars Have First Word on Winter
A Maryland almanac points to the woolly bears in making a prediction for a winter that will be milder than usual.
The black-and-brown markings on about 100 caterpillars inspected by the staff of J. Gruber's Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack indicate that the first half of winter in the mid-Atlantic states will be merely average, while the second half will be more like spring, Gerald W. Spessard, the publication's business manager, said yesterday.
Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted below-normal temperatures and near-normal precipitation this winter for the mid-Atlantic states.
THE DISTRICT
Pair Pressure Ridge on Hazmat Shipments
D.C. Council members Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) yesterday called again on Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to reroute rail shipments of hazardous materials away from the nation's capital, saying that Saturday's derailment of six CSX Corp. freight cars carrying gravel in Northeast underscored the danger.
"Anything short of a permanent ban fails to recognize the status of this city as a 'high threat' community and the readiness of terrorists to use weapons at hand at any time," they wrote Ridge in a letter dated yesterday. They promised to take up council legislation Nov. 9 that would permanently bar local shipments if Ridge does not act.
If the derailed cars had been carrying chlorine, the lawmakers said, D.C. emergency workers "would have been dealing with an evacuation and mass casualties." The Homeland Security Department confirmed Sunday that CSX has been diverting certain dangerous cargos from Washington since March.
VIRGINIA
Catholic Charities Gets $2 Million Grant
Alexandria-based Catholic Charities USA said yesterday that it has received a $2 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund its 40 housing counseling programs, including a program operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Catholic Charities' 10-year-old National Housing Counseling Program advises the homeless, people with disabilities, refugees and low-income individuals on buying and renting homes.
