welcome to news4 this week. >> hi everyone. i'm veronica johnson and we're going to show you more interesting loikem stories making news this week. among them taking recycling to a new height. the unique apartment building stacking up in d.c. plus washed away, an art project that's run out of gas before it got started. and could she be meerks america's first ninja warrior? the local woman conquering incredible fetes of the strength. and the metro has a new line opening for the first in 20 years just how different will it

look? we tagged along as a d.c. commuter drove from her her home to office in tiesanysotysons. >> reporter: 8:00 a.m. and it is a peaceful start to her day. but the start is about all that's peaceful. having lived in the d.c. area for some ten years nadia is used to seeing a lot of red. >> does this frustrate you or are you used to. >> i'm used to. >> reporter: but that doesn't mean she's not eager for a another way. >> at least on a rail you can sit down and relax. driving you can't really do that. >> reporter: i joined her. about to 20 minutes to get out d.c. then interstate 66. >> it's.

>> at first all looked smooth. >> we might be lucky today. >> but that quickly changed and we sat and sat. >> it gets frustrating when it is not really moving and you stay on one spot for like ten minutes. >> which is why she wants to change from this to this. a look on board the new silver line. she's willing to test it out. her commute will look something like this. taking a bus to columbia heights, switching to the silver line and winding out the the greensboro station in tysons. back to the road trip. after 40 minutes we made to it route 7 getting closer to her workplace. >> finally. >> alas she makes it to work. >> does it feel good when you come to this point? >> yes. >> total time in the car. >> 1 hour 8 minutes. >> i'm david culver, news4. >> yeah she'll be getting a lot of books read maybe on the

commute. construction on maryland eats newest casino. the council voted 8 to 1 to move the plans ahead for the new casino and resort. just two years after the county voted in favor of gaming and a casino. some have complained about the proposal saying it lax a good transportation plan and it wasm time for the 2017 presidential

inauguration. >> we will produce one of the great hotels anywhere in the world. it is the most exciting location, right between congress and if white house on pennsylvania avenue. it is going to produce many, many jobs, both in construction. and then a year and a half later, in operating the hotel. >> and off he goes. the old post office tower with the famous 360 degree view will remain open to visitors during construction. well they are cheap, durable and popping up all over the country. shipping containers getting a new lease on life. recycled into stores, restaurants and now even homes. tom sherwood takes us to a project stacking up near catholic university. >> reporter: next to catholic university a whole complex of new condos apartments stores and restaurants is emerging on monroe. many long time neighbors are pointing to something different on 7th street.

>> i still think it is a fascinating concept. >> the first of 18 six on the shipping containers being stacked on 7th street to make apartments for mostly student housing. lead architect travis price says the project doesn't need special zoning and the ten foot high containers are perfect for small apartments. >> the ground floor underneath will be apartments and six times three. three story, three across. it is structural. everything about these structures is that they are exactly what you would build a standard house out of. steel, glass, wood epts. we're just taking the structural capacity and using it to our advantage and a mass production. >> the container complex replaces a 100-year-old house that had fallen into disrepair. matthew grace, a 2005 graduate lived in and for six years owned

the old property. >> it came to a point where we needed major repairs after this winter. pipes burst and other things so either over haulr do something different. >> his fiancé, fellow grad kathy davies is a architect. they met in school and intend to get this project finished before their wedding and without straining their relationship. >> come hell ore high water we are getting this done before we go away. police can no longer arrest you in d.c. for having small amounts of marijuana. the decriminalization of an ounce or less went into effect this week and while you can't be ar arrested, you will get a ticket and yes you will have to pay $25. police have printed up small cards with the dos and don'ts of the new law. the main thing they want you to know is that marijuana is still illegal. >> you can be arrested if you smoke it in public, consume

marijuana, have more than an ounce of marijuana or sell marijuana. >> what is unclear is how long the law will be in effect. a republican congressman is working to defund the law with an amendment to a house spending bill. a diamond ring donated to a local good will was sold for more than $11,000. employees at the branch of the thift store were amazed when they found the ring with some other jewelry last month. a 3 k diamond with a light brown hue and a gold setting. the winning bid online was 11,6$11,600 the buyer just like donor, anonymous. why people and pets are being warned to stay out and away from montgomery county park.

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a dinner party unlike any other you have been to and it's coming to d.c. the flash mob style dinner enbraung blanc. will take place september 4th. the location secret until the last minute. 1200 dress in elegant attire, bring their own table and chairs and picnic dinners to the event. start some 25 years ago in paris. registration is full but you can sign up on the waiting list if you are really interested. a gas station you will never be able to use now controversy. we told you about this art project last month would have put a mock gas station right in the middle of the river. now fngro to be move. mark segraves explains why. >> reporter: it is part of a

districtwide art project called five by five that will place art in neighborhoods across d.c. when it was first announced promoters said the sinking gas station was meant to bring attention to environmental issues. >> it will light up and will be a very exciting illumination of a makeshift gas station that brings to focus a very important issue, environmentalism, the rising tides in the world. a very real and timely issue. >> reporter: but after the art project became public, environmental groups and local leaders cried fowl. >> the artist is trying to start a conversation around climate change and impact what we take issue with is location i'm's bad location. >> reporter: given the many years of community investment and hard work to clean up and change the negative perception of the river there could hardly be a worse public message than sinking an entire mock gas station there. >> there is no way you are going

to see a gas station sunk in a river and not have a negative connotation. >> announced they were pulling back on the plan. after further consultation with the district's department of environment regarding the city's ongoing efforts to clean up the river, dccah is working to relocate the temporary projectout of the an costia river and vicinity. the five by five art project will still go on across d.c. and gas station will be part. it is in the clear yet where it will be placed. mark segraves news4. speaking of the water there is a woorng to stay out of the water in a popular park. microsis tin has been found in lake kneadwood. the toxin is in blue-green algae. make sure your pets don't swim in the lake or drink the water.

boating right now still allowed. reversing years of the stig that when news4 returns. effort to change minds in the hispanic community. and battling

well there is a stigma that surrounds mental illness in all communities. but it is particularly strong in the hispanic community. news4's richard jordan takes look at the new initiative in montgomery county attempting to change minds. >> edith knows the stigma. at 27 salazar's daughter was chronically depressed, isolated and anxious. a psychiatrist explained why. >> they say she has bipolar disorder. >> severe depression is prevalent. latinas in high school are 70% more likely to attempt suicide than white girls of the same

age. and like in many communities, there is a reluctance to reach out. >> our home country when somebody has some mentally illness problems they used to spend long time in the hospital and probably have like a label like they are crazy. >> reporter: nami the national alliance on mental illness is working to debunk that painful perception. this woman doesn't want to be easily identified. she knows the struggle firsthand. her family has a history of mental illalness and she's seen how others judge something that victims can't control. >> people don't get and it the most important thing i would say is have compassion and try to understand. >> reporter: even some mental health professionals don't understand. it is hard to find spanish speaking thpspeak

ing therapists. >> really should be the person's primary language. >> reporter: now edith is that resource. he works with those in the same position she was in. >> i realize it is important to help another family with the same problem. >> reporter: and the personal connection helps to open the lines of communication and trust? montgomery county richard jordan news4. a new suicide prevention help line is seeing results. now accepting texts from people in need of help. the group points to stats that show 97% of american adults have a cell phone, including 75% of teenagers. teens text an average 60 times a day and 85% of teens say technology is their primary means of communicating. >> they may feel more comfortable that it is even more confidential than by telephone. it may just be as know, again, this is the way most

teens prefer to communicate, is by text. so we are reaching out to them in the way they prefer to communicate. >> the number for the new crisis text line and links to the services that they are offering are on our website nbc nbcwashington.c nbcwhico aercai l of resources as well as a treatment finder to tell you where to find help in your own neighborhood. well she is shattering the glass ceiling. coming up next, we're going to look t the incredible run of a

>> first woman ever to complete the qualifying course. >> we have a champion, that's right, a champion american ninja warrior in our backyard. catanzaro, the first woman ever to make it to the second round.

he moves on to las vegas where she will go head to head with dozens of other finalists in the country. for the record for the past five seasons of the nbc show, no contestant has ever made it all the way through to the final round. go kacy. >> if you play sports you know your eyes can be the tools to either make or break your career. if you lose the sense of sight you would think your career is over. for one athlete, losing his sight actually made him better. jason pugh has the story of bruce hooper who found the help he needed to keep playing golf was right there by his side. >> reporter: 17 years ago a visit to the eye doctor changed bruce's life forever. he still remember what is the doctor's told him that day about his vision. >> it was gone in my left eye

and it was going to be in hi right eye. i have no central vision, no detail. if i raise the curtain i can see little detail but you are using your peripheral vision and that is not very dependable. >> after losing his sight he soon lost his passion for the game he's always loved, golf. >> he was too talented not to continue to play. we knew we had to find a way to play together and keep it going. >> reporter: that is when judy and bruce discovered had blind golf association. >> and i remember thinking how in the world could anybody even play without being able to see? and i think the answer is my wife. >> we play several championships a year and meet people in our same situation that also put a lot of effort in reconstructing their lives. >> the second annual shot in the dark golf tournament is helping those visually impaired or blind do just that, live out that you are dreams. >> i feel very lucky in some ways. i always think what are the benefits of losing your sight? one of them is that i get to be

a national champion. which i would have never been in a sighted world. >> jason pugh, news4 sports. that's amazing. that's all too for news4 this week. i'm veronica johnson. as always thanks for joining us. until next time, remember be safe, be kind, be happy and come back right here.

uncle craig, what's the deal? oh...you can't record that many shows at once. why? you can't save every single cartoon. why?

you know you can't pause the tv here and play it in another room. why? it's time for fios quantum tv. store up to 200 hours in hd. record up to 12 shows at once. pause and play live tv, room to room. plus, watch live tv on the go with the fios mobile app. redefining what tv can be.

woah, this kitchen is beautiful! give him the tour. let me show you! soft-close drawers, farm sink! where's my room?

we had to take just a little bit for the kitchen. because your kitchen dreams can be big. ikea has it all. later today you can ride metro's silver line for the first time. it opens in six hours. we'll take a look at how the new line could change your daily commute. good morning. i'm kristen wright. >> glad to be with you today. welcome to news4 today. it's saturday, july 26th. >> it is. and we're hoping for a nice weekend. meteorologist chucll joins us now with what's going on out there. >> weekend off to a fairly quiet start. there are some clouds to deal with, and a passing rain drop or two this morning. risks of thundershowers back by