welcome to "news4 this week". >> hi everyone i'm veronica johnson and we're going to show you some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. among them, a free range debate. a silverspring family sparks a nationwide conversation about how young is too young to let your kids walk alone. plus, delayed again, why d-dot says they aren't putting anymore deadlines on the long awaited d.c. streetcar. and a get away that's been off limits for decades is slowly opening for travelers. local travel agents give us an idea when you might be able to hop a flight to cuba. but we begin with a new era of politics in maryland. republican larry hogan is now the state's 62nd governor. at his inauguration, hogan said

it was a beginning of a new spirit of bipartisan cooperation in annapolis. news 4 was there for the snowy ining a ration and has reaction from both political parties about maryland's future. >> i lawrence hogan -- >> reporter: as snow fell over annapolis, larry hogan took the oath of office, becoming the 62nd governor of maryland. >> during the time of my acting as governor. [ applause ] >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie was invited to introduce the inaugural address because he believed his fellow republican larry hogan would win in maryland. known as a heavily democratic state. >> governor larry hogan, who is ready, willing, and able to lead this state into a bright new future. [ applause ] >> reporter: governor hogan

pledged to put partisan politics aside. >> let us sit down together and come up with real bipartisan common sense solutions to the serious problems that face us. that's what the people of maryland voted for. it's what they want and it's what they deserve. >> reporter: montgomery and prince george's county executives attended the inauguration inauguration hoping governor hogan will keep state funds flowing for local needs. >> the reality is what happens with the budget. certainly, the hospital is the start, but also school funding. we're in desperate need of funding for the maintenance of our schools, but also for the building of new additional schools. >> reporter: governor hogan ended his inaugural address saying that 100 years from now he hopes citizens look back and say, this is when the maryland renaissance began. reporting from annapolis, chris gordon news 4. >> well maintenance crews made quick work of changing the signs around maryland to reflect the change in the governor's mansion. this sign was being changed in

the parkway near the d.c. line as snow fell. governor hogan is already behind a plan that would give students more time at the beach and less time in class. it's the idea behind a new petition started by comptroller peter francho, calling for schools in the state to start classes after labor day but still end in mid-june as usual. before his inauguration hogan added his name to 13,000 signatures supporting the idea. >> i think any time that you can have family spend more time together it's a good thing. when it's not just a family issue, it's an economic issue. it brings in a tremendous amount of economic activity brings in tax revenue, and there's no cost to the taxpayers. >> montgomery and prince georges county school systems say the start of the year is a local decision and should stay that way, but students and parents we talked to say that they like the idea of a longer summer break. thumbs up. martin

o'malley prepared to leave office this week he said he seriously is considering a run for the white house. o'malley also said he'll join johns hopkins university as a visiting professor next month, focusing on government business and urban issues. o'malley's second term in office finished wednesday, the same day as larry hogan's inauguration. well don't hold your breath for the start of the streetcar service in northeast washington. d-dot says it will not set arbitrary deadlines for the launch of the long awaited streetcars. the new line along h street in northeast is still undergoing safety inspections by the state safety office. city of transportation officials say they won't announce an official start date until after that agency has completed its regulatory review. former mayor vince gray promised service up and running by this past week, but that hasn't happened. for the first time in years, there are new opportunities to

travel to cuba but local travel agencies tell us not to make plans just yet. northern virginia bureau reporter david culver looks at the potential timeline for you to book that trip. >> world travel annette, how may i help you? >> reporter: more than 30 years of professional travel planning. >> is this going to be for business or vacation? >> reporter: annette mccormack admits it's rare to discover a new destination. today you walk into a travel agency like omega, pull up a brochure on the caribbean, notice it ignores the largest island cuba but these could soon be updated. >> the book is being written even as we're standing here. >> reporter: americans no longer need special permission to visit the island nation that is if they qualify for one of 12 exemptions, including cultural exchanges, education and family visits. that doesn't mean open travel for all. >> there's a lot of curiosity, you know people want to go down

and they want to experience something and they want to be the first to get down there and enjoy, you know everything that cuba>> reporter: but for those who do qualify for the new rules, such as students with an educational focus on cuba it's a significant step. here on the campus of george mason university, one professor telling me it should be simpler now for her and her students to travel to cuba. >> north american students often think of cuba as an inaccessible and prohibited place. >> reporter: professor charlotte rogers has traveled there twice, in 2012 she brought along a group of students but that required special licensing. >> it's a great opportunity for students to find out that cuba is not just about cigars and rum and communism, but that it has a very vibrant and active cultural life. >> reporter: annette and her fellow travel agents want to tap into that vibrancy but warns it could take some time. >> early 2016, realistically will probably be the first as far as a u.s. citizen flying out

of the united states into havana and going to a beautiful resort. >> reporter: in fairfax, i'm david culver news 4. >> that will be amazing. well it's the number one crime in the county but also the most preventable. that's the message police in prince george's county tried to send to drivers at the gas stations. officers handed out flyers reminding everyone to lock up at the pump and hide their valuables, even when standing right next to your car. you've probably seen the surveillance videos of thieves grabbing belongings through unlocked passenger doors while drivers have had their backs turned. >> it's happened here before unfortunately, so i do try to prepare and carry my wallet in my pocket when i do need to pump gas. >> police say that thefts are down 30% so far this year but they want to see that number drop even further. well, talk about an eventful trip to work. some commuters may have witnessed a baby being born right on the side of the highway, and maybe they didn't

even know it. plus an old friend of ours received one of d.c.'s highest honors whe

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♪ it's one of d.c.'s highest honors in this town washingtonian magazine honored nine people this week as washingtonian of the year. among those honored during a lunch at the willard hotel downtown prince george's county executive baker, as well as former news 4 movie campbell. washingtonian publisher katherine merrill williams says the magazine honors people from the metropolitan area each year whose, quote, good works and generous spirits make washington a great place to live. well when morning rush hour this week featured a distraction not often seen a baby was born on the beltway. it happened on the outer loop near braddock road exit. the woman was headed to inova

fairfax hospital when she called 911 and said that she was going into labor. paramedics responded and got the woman to the ambulance, but before they could make it to the hospital the woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl right on the side of the highway. fire officials say they were concerned for the safety of the woman and crew. >> safety on the side of the highway, that was a concern. but also the weather, because it was cold and she was not wearing a great deal of clothing. >> the fairfax county fire department says the mom and baby they are doing well. well when is it okay to let your kids walk home alone? that question has led to a huge debate on nbcwashington.com. our facebook page now silver spring family that sparked a discussion is talking about their so-called free-range lifestyle. news 4 reports. >> reporter: at this neighborhood park the topic of

free-range parenting comes up a lot for debate. >> it's kind of split. most of the parents feel that you know it's okay at some point. >> reporter: but no confusion for the family the children enjoy playing here with or without their parents watching over them. 10-year-old raffi and his mom danielle are reading e-mails of support. >> kids can be trusted. they can go outside, they can have autonomy they can find friends down the street to play with and, you know come back when it's dinnertime. >> reporter: it all started when raffi and his 6-year-old sister walked home from a park close to their home without an adult. someone called police and now child protective services is investigating the silver spring parents for neglect. >> i'm amazed. i had no idea that this was going to touch such a nerve. >> i like the freedom. i think it's really fun to be

independent. and that we really are old enough to do it. >> reporter: not so according to maryland law, which prevents a child under the age of 8 from being unattended unless a reliable person who is at least 13 years old is with him or her. >> my little guy? he's 6 years old. i think when he's 9 years old, 10 years old, let him go he'd be fine. >> reporter: next week the family face child protective services and they will get their chance to argue their side of the story. the mother danielle tells me she is much more terrified of the possibility of her kids being taken away than she is over the danger of allowing them to walk home alone from a park like this that's just a couple of blocks from her house. in silver spring news 4. well revolutionary technology is transforming a common medical ailment. we take a look at the benefit of 3d printed knee replacements.

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for your health this week we're seeing 3d printers being used for everything from creating car parts to iphone cases. well now some doctors are using them to heal a common medical condition, knee replacements. details on how 3d printers are helping doctors create a new type of implant that's giving patients the movement that they need to do the activities they couldn't do before. ♪ >> reporter: 72-year-old christina star says dancing is what keeps her feeling vibrant. >> it's like brushing my teeth every day. every day i take class. it really keeps me alive. >> reporter: but a few months ago, doctors told her she might have to retire her ballet shoes. her knee could no longer handle

those moves, the result of an accident nearly six years ago that demolished the ligaments in her knee. she'd been getting cortizone injections but they stopped working. a traditional knee replacement wouldn't give her the range of motion she needs to >> the impact that they had, prevent you from turning and twirling and twisting. >> reporter: determined to continue dancing, christina searched for an alternative, and when she got her fourth opinion, she found some hope. >> there's a large portion of the population who have had knee replacements that say that it doesn't feel normal to them. >> reporter: an orthopedic surgeon with the washington joint institute. he says traditional knee implants have helped millions of people but since they only come in a fewsizes, the surgeon must make it fit into the patient's knee and that can limit motion. so instead, he is creating what he calls patient-specific implants meaning the

replacement joint is custom made for each patient. >> what we're looking at with this particular design and this type of implant is to create that implant or create that knee replacement that really feels more natural. >> reporter: patients undergo a c.t. scan that takes extensive measurements of the knee joint. >> front to back side to side and really looks at all the principles in the way the knee moves. >> reporter: that scan is sent to a manufacturer who uses a 3d printer to create a mold of the knee which is then used to cast an implant that should be an exact match to the patient's own anatomy. right now, there's very little research on these patient-specific implants but doctor says he's seeing big improvements for the patients he's treating. >> we are seeing these incidents where patients are up and active and getting range of motion faster. >> reporter: christina star says she was back to the ballet bar just six weeks after her surgery, and her pirouettes feel

stronger than ever. >> oh my god, i'm so excited. what a miracle. >> well she does look amazing. insurance is covering this type of knee replacement, even though it does cost a bit more and once doctors collect enough data they hope they can use the same technology for other types of joint replacements including hips and shoulders. well mom knows best so we asked kevin durant's mom if the basketball superstar will ever come back to d.c. hear what she had to say next on "news4 this week

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one of the area's biggest basketball success stories, prince george's county native kevin durant. he returned to the nation's capital this week not for good but just for a game. but there are plenty of people who would love to see him play in washington and since mama knows best our jason pugh caught up with durant's mom,

wanda pratt, to see what the future may hold. >> home is home. there's no place like home of course but oklahoma city has welcomed our family with open arms. warmly kevin has taken to that area to the team to the organization so it is two homes in two parts of the country, so we really do like that. >> reporter: and i'm sure -- >> yes, this is home. i love the d.o.d. there's no place like it. >> reporter: you know fans around here basketball fans sports fans they want to see kevin durant come home free agent summer of 2016. what are your thoughts what do you think he would decide when it's time to make that decision? >> well i think -- one of the things that i know about kevin is he's really focused on the season that he's in. he hears the talk we all hear it but he doesn't allow himself to be overly concerned with that because the time is not time for him to make that decision so right now he's focused on this year. so they are focusing on trying to get to the playoffs now.

>> well, maybe mama pratt can work some magic. you can see jason's entire interview with kevin durant's mom on our website, nbcwashington.com, including her reaction to his emotional mvp speech in which he honored her. hey, that's all for "news4 this week," i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us. we leave you with some amazing time lapse video from the international space station. until next time remember be safe, be kind, be happy, everybody. ♪ release a devastating avalanche

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waking up to a winter weather advisory in parts of the area. take a look at the radar. rain sleet and some pockets of snow. we have live team coverage plus we're tracking how much snow we'll get with a second weekend storm. also d.c. is pushing back against metro's explanation of communication issues during this month's underground emergency. what a new report says metro was warned about. p. >> but first, good saturday morning to you. >> welcome to "news 4 today". so this morning we want along that