hi, everyone. we're going to show you some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. among them, a washington couple's warning about a hidden hazard. >> you try do everything you can. we cry ever day. it was an unthinkable loss. now they want to tell every parent abo the hidden danger that cost them their baby life. it is a problem of dynamic proportions. what's to blame for the racial divide in the water? and the legend of triple

crown winner secretariat. it set records that still stand today. we begin today with a parent's worst nightmare. the death of a child from an accident at home. back in march, a 10-month-old straled by the cordof her baby monitor. the family lives around the corner from mayor adrian fenty and his security deet tried to help save her life. tonight the child's parents issued this warning. liz crenshaw has their story. >> reporter: this is savannah. happy, healthy, the week before he10-month life was cut short. >> we spent a lot of time with her outdoors, in walks, picking flowers with her andrying to teach her about butterflies and bugs. >> reporter: like all parents, her parent bought all the equipment to keep a baby happy and healthy. toys, high chairs and most important for safety, they thought, a baby monitor similar to this one to listen and watch

her when she was in her ib. >> it's natural for parents to want to have whatever technology is available to help them better assure the safety of their child. >> reporter: savannah's parents knew the monitor had to be placed where she could not reach it. but close enough to hear and see her. what they didn't know was that fateful day, savannah had learned to pull herself up in her crib. >> she was in her crib. and somehow the accident happened. she had reached a milestone in her life, apparently, where she suddenly lrned how to stand. and that washe end of her life. >> reporter: her parents believe savannah grabbed the monitor, pulled it into her crib and was strangled by the cord. safety experts at the u.s. consumer products safety commission say six children in the past six years have died just this way. to demonstrate, it placed these monitors too close to a crib.

>> babies change from day to day. one y they may be ill mobile. the next dayer up. what can happen here is that the child can easily grabn to this. it is so close and the baby can strangle. >> reporter: they are issuing this alert to remind parento keep all video and monitors away from cribs and out of children's reach. >> what can th commission do? is this a recall situation? >> we are investigating monitors to see if there are adequate warnings on them so the parents and caregivers know that the cords can be a strangulation hazard to tir babies. >> just shocking. you try to do everything u can. this is ironically called a video safety monitor. >> reporter: savannah's parents want other parents warned. they surround themselves with memories of her short life. photos, her sneakers on the

mantle. >> i would give up my life to have her back. we cry every day. she was -- you're always going to cry. >> savannah's pants have set up a fund in her memory to provide financial assistance to families struggling with infertility but who cannot afford treatments. we have a link to the fund and more safety information on baby monitors on our website. nbcwashington.com. just search baby monitors. if you were in deep water, would you be able to save your own life? sadly in some minority communities,he reality is no. news4's aaron gilchrist reports on a racial divide when it come to swimming. >> reporter: hollywood brought to life a moment of pride in 2007 with the feature film by

that name. but it couldn't ignore a real life problem. black kids not hesitant to get into the water but not knowing how to swim. >> push. just li that. >> reporter: this summer prince george's county enrolled 350 kids in make a splash, a national effort to reduce drowning among minority kids through free swimmg lessons. sarah run the aquatics program in prince george's and work to combat the stereo type that black people don't swim. >> unfortunately it is a joke in our community. but it is very serious. we've lost a number of youth d adults in our community for lack of knowledgend experience in the water. >> reporter: back in july, the 12-year-old drowned in an upper marlboro pol. his uncle jumped in to save him and drowned too. in early august, six black louisianan teens died after a swimming party turned into a deerate effort to save one another from drowning. thr parents stood on the banks of the red river unable to swim. unable to help.

a study conducted by the university of memphis for the usa swimming foundation offers starting statistics. nearly 70% of black kids have little or no swimming ability. 58% of hispanic kids fall into the same category. >> despite knowing that swimming is a life saving skill, the experts will tell you there is a long list compelling reasons some people don't learn how to swim. >> reporter: dr. sparks a professor of american studies at the university of maryland. >> what happed in t united states is that african-americans have been divorced from swimming. that slave masters forbad them to swim. >> reporter: in the 60s, blacks were segregated out of communicate pool open mainly to people of means. in today's urban centers, there are other issues. reputation. >> certain sportsthat give you school credit. basketball gives you a lot, football gives you a lot, other sports like swimming may not give you as much. >> reporter: more commonly though, dr. parks sid it is access. >> there are pools in a lot of what were historically black

schools that are not being used. that are empty, dry. there are some individuals going around trying to rehabilitate them. they need support. they need funds. they need help. >> reporter: the usa smming study points to access and other hurdles, lack of parental encouragement, personal appearan, i.e., what chlorine does to black hair, financial constraints and t overwhelming predictor of swimming inability, fear. >> i panic. i can't do it. >> reporter: fear keeps her out of the water. but sheenrolled her 6-year-old john in the make a splash program. >> because i have a fear. i didn't want him to have a fear. and his older brother swims so he naturally wants to swim, too, even though he doesn't know how. >> reporter: experts say parents have to realize learning to swim isn't for rreation or to trai the next olympic champion. >> both in physical education and health education say you need to get to the moms. you need to say this i a way to save yourbaby. >> reporter: aaron gilchrist, news4, laurel. >> prince george's county offs

imming classes for free. you can check with your local y or community center. hispanic business ownership is surging in our area. that's according to a newly released census figure. craig melvin has a look at the type of busisses booming and why. >> reporter: despite a down economy, business has never been better for them. last year the d.c. based construction company made about $25 million. >> we're looking to keep growing. >> reporter: the business is hispanic owned and nearly all of the 150 employees are hispanic. >> a lot of fellow latinos come from their home countries here with backgrounds in construction. i thinke're also just natural. if you fixer-uppers. >> reporter: it is not just construction. there are more hispanic owned company, waste management company as well. part of the growth can be explained by the increase in the

hispanic population in our area. but there's more. >> and their education. so in these areas, we have the combination of two factors that is highly educated hispanics. and growing population of hispanic clients, or hispanic customers. >> reporter: from 20 to 2007, a number of hispanic-owned businesses in d.c., southern maryland and a part of west virginia increased nearly 54%. the number of other businesses increased over 21%. gross revenue for hispanic owned businesses was also up a whopping79%. the $7.6 billion. the company says this project at 14th and park street norwest is an example of another trend that has triggered growth. key stone is working a larger company to replace the facades on about 13 businesses. they than ad city contract and say group like the hispanic

chamber of commerce helped them. >> these are our resources. the only way they'll come up is ife keep supporting our own community. that's what we're here to do. >> the hispanic entrepreneurs, it is a culture thing. i believe the hispanic-owned business there's continue to grow. still ahead on news4 this week, a local retirement community is helping residents live longer. plus, the workout routine isn't easy. what they're doing to stay sharp. and one of the most incredible athletes of all time has new fame on the big screen. lindsay czarniak traveled to virginia's horse country to hear the real story rule the tweet.

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the older we get we want to slow down, right? for one group of seniors in maryland, they believe they found the seek to staying young and active. for these senior citizens, the

fountain of youth is exerse. doreen gentzler has the story. >> i don't think i've ever been in better shape than i am right now. >> reporter: anthony will be 77 years old ts month. but he doesn't act like it. >> usually we'll bike over here eay in the morning, about 7:. and exercise for a little while. then go out biking for another 40, 50 minutes. >> reporter: 74-year-old janet and her husband harold say their workouts keep them strong and energetic. >> i don't feel good if i don't exercise. >> i want to live as well as i can right up until the very end. >> reporter: these senior residents at asbury methodist village say they spend more time pumping iron and sweating at the gym than a lot of people half their age. it is part of this retirement community's health ability program which helps residents stay fit so they can lve longer. >> if you cannot get out of bed in the morning and get up and go do thing that are important to you, then you're sort of stuck.

>> walking on heel. >> reporter: the health ability program focuses on fitness by offering seniors personalized exercise program depending on their ability level. so while some could be splashing around in the pool working on their cardio -- >> use your arm! >> reporter: others e focusing on strength and balance, a big issue for many seniors. david denton is the executive director. >> i think strength training, particularly in the lower extremities, is critical for older adults to prevent fall. >> reporter: since this program began a year ago, denton says on erage, participants have experience ad 20% improvement in arm strength. a 14% increase in endurance, and a 9% improvement in balance. >> and i think that the number themselves demonstrate the work we're doing has made a significant difference in the lives of the residents we serve. >> reporte phyllis and michael are both 78. they say maintaining their fitness has meant spending more

preciousime with their granddaughter. >> i probably wouldn't be able to do some of the thing that i do now like chase a 6-year-old granddaughter. >> that will keep you busy. they look great. these senior citizens at asbury methodist village are very lucky that where they live has ability-in fitness program. therare plenty of local community centers though. even gyms that offer program focusing on seniors. one of the most popular movies in theaters right now is "secretariat." the first horse to be the tple crown winner in 25 years. it is about an extraordinary athlete, a determined woman, and an industry that would 97 be the same. asynn eight czarniak tell us, this legendary tale began in our own backyard. >> she leads it by a lend.

>> reporter: the story of the triple crown winner secretariat is well known but what people don't know is that he was a virginia house. the director said he wanted to convey this. this is where he found it. meadow farm, 100 mile from washington, d.c. >> matilda or something royal. are we all in agreement? >> repter: by lsing a coin toss to determine who got first choice between two foals about to be born, penny lost the chance to tone horse everyone wanted. she was left with the horse she believed could one it all. >> you had an exchange. >> reporter: lynchburg native wallace tells the tale of the 1973 triple crown winner by focusing on the woman who took over her father's horse business in a time when only men were owners. >> she was one of the first to stand up and say in a very

polite but umistakable manner, that's not going to work for me. >> reporter: this is meadow farm. the real penny chenery playground. 360 sprawling acres. she sold back in 1978 and moved to denver. but there are signs of secretariat everywhere. >> have you ever seen that? >> what? >> a colt stand up that fast. >> reporter: the shed where secretariat was born in may of 1970 still stands, as does the training barn. the jockey's wardrobe and magazine covers hang inside the manning that replaced the cheneries' original home that rned down in 1984. those who know th real story know secretaria may have never run had it not been for its owner. >> we looked at it and said that was an amazing performance. when you see it in this movie and it sinks in, you realize, no horse s even come close to

doing this. i'm talking about in the world. not just in virginia. it inspired me even to see it again. it inspired mto go out and say, you know, maybe i cod pull this off. maybe i could be penny sometime. in a certain way, i feel in making the movie, i needed to be penny's voice and i needed to be secretariat's voice. i ow that sounds horribly pretentis and i'm sure i'm the first director ever to have his ego out of control and be pretentious. >> we should probably ground you a little bit. very funny. >> reporter: lindsay czarniak, news4. >> the feel-good flick of the year. still to come, destroyed by fire. now three years later, an historic local landmark has been restored and we're giving you your first glimpse inside. plus, they're in your windows, your car, even in your clothing. stink bugs!

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the historic georgetown library was destroyed in a fire over three years ago. noafter a $20 million renovation, hit will reopen this week. tom sherwood reports. >> we lost the whole collection in the fire. the fire started just above this children's room. >> reporter: the d.c. chief librarian is giving a tour of the library gutted by fire in april 2007. >> you know, that was an amazing day. i've been a librarian for more than three years and i've never seen anything like that fire that day. my clothes smelled of smoke. it was an amazing thing. luckily, no people were hurt in that fire. >> reporter: it is thr floors of room are now nearly ready for new generations of children and adults looking for books, new technology, 40 new computers, and video after a $20 million

renovation. >> and this is the place where you check your book out. >> reporter: a rent vague that preserves the historic look of the library and spacious room when it reopens to citizens on monday. >> i hope they will still recognize the library they have loved. and many people tell me that they used this library whehey were children and they're still very happy to be here now. we have meeting space, the likes which of we've never had before. we had a meeting room before. now we have a real lovely space for library programs and community meetings. >> reporter: from the driveway to the first ever wheelchair ramp outside, to new fixtures and a modern fire alarm system, the library is rushing to have everything just right for monday morning. and to continue the 75-year history of the georgetown gathering place. >> thought stuff will be ne. >> yes. we'll be ready for monday. >> it looks nice. after the break, they're ly, smelly, they won't go away.

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the stink bug has landed. this is the time of year whe the ugly little critters invade our homes looking for a warm and cozy place to spend the win. to make matters worse, the rece warm weather had confused th little pes to coming out of the wood work again. darcy spencer talked to some local residents about their close encounters. >> reporter: for some folks, it feels like an invasion. the creepy stink bugs are seemingly everywhere. they're trying to get in our home, in our cars, in our offices, even in our clothes. tell us your worst stink bug story. >> we were at dinner eating outside because of the beautiful weather. one flew aty daughter's mouth. she was able to spit it out quickly and good thing she recovered really ll. >> reporter: what happened when you were on the slide? was ere atink bug there when

you went on the slide? >> yes. it was in my ear. >> reporter: was that scary or kind of gross? >> gross. >> repter: entomologists say the bugs have no natural predators except maybeeople who are doing everything they can to keep them out. and do they really stink? you betcha. >> if this was smell-o-vision instead of television, i would get the stink bugs, you would know pretty quickly why they're called stink bugs. >> reporter: bug experts say they release a defensive chemical not only when you kill them but when you're about to kill them. they say the best defense is to weatherize your home so there are no tiny openings for them to crawl into. >> eliminate them as best you can. then once they get indoors, get out that vac or the shop vac and vacuum as many as you can and then annihilat them. >> reporter: experts stay bug are trying to get inside to find a cozy place to spend the winter. that happens to be your home. darcy spencer, news4, washington

that's all for news 4 this week. thanks for joining us. we'll see you next time. [ male announcer ] the turn changes everything.

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