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 it was rocked by the east coast quake. now the first phase of repairs on the national cathedral are wrapping up but it could take years and millions of dollars to finish the job. plus another d.c. landmark is getting shorter. we take a look at the minor change that is making a big difference in the height of the washington monument. and they are known for their brawn on the ice, but this story will melt your hearts. we'll meet the dads of the washington capitals. but we begin with the new revelations and those recommendations after the smoke incident on metro just last month. the big headline metro's

ventilation system did not work the way that it was supposed to. instead of pushing the smoke out of the tunnel fans in the system pulled it toward passengers in those stalled train cars according to ntsb. now the train itself drew smoke inside because its ventilation was not turned off. the ntsb is now recommending that all transit agencies nationwide test their ventilation system. maryland governor larry hogan is proposing a bill that would eliminate state income taxes for veterans receiving military pensions. he detailed the plan during a gathering at the american legion post in green belt. the governor said the tax relief would be phased in over four years. >> that's my family in a lot of ways because it will give us more money to do some of the things that are important to us as far as paying other bills and taking care of other responsibilities college tuition and things of that nature. >> it's going to cost about $50

million for the tax exemption on military pensions. the governor is also pushing for tax relief for retired police officers firefighters and emergency personnel. all right, phase one, complete. it's done. but it's going to take many more years and a lot more money before earthquake repairs are finished at the national cathedral. news4's tom sherwood gives us a tour of the progress thus far and explains what's left. >> reporter: the earthquake three and a half years ago rattled our region and caused millions of dollars in damage to the washington national cathedral. headstone mason joe alonzo. >> we were probably one of the first ones in the building less than an hour after the quake. >> reporter: few people have ever seen this view more than six stories high in the gothic rafters of the washington national cathedral. up close looks at the towering stained glass and stone. >> every square inch of the

ceiling in the cathedral has been touched by human hands. no one has been up in that ceiling since 1917. >> reporter: national cathedral officials took the media on a tour of narrow ceiling passageways to show how they're wrapping up the $10 million first phase of restoring the cathedral. but the cathedral still needs to raise about $22 million more for the rest of the exterior renovations that are far from complete and could take another 10 years. >> we still have a lot more to do so we still have $22 million more to raise to finish all the work on the outside of the building. >> reporter: the cathedral plans to hold a ceremony after easter to celebrate the completion of this first phase while it looks for the money to finish the work. in the district, tom sherwood news4. an earthquake that lasted only a few short minutes, but years and years and lots of money for repairs. generally when we tell you police are looking for someone,

it's a suspected criminal. but arlington county police are trying to find a crime-fighting cabbie. police tell us last night two men stole merchandise from a stole at pentagon city. officer fitzgerald caught up with the suspected thieves. one took off running and officer fitzgerald followed but midrun he got some unexpected backup. >> a red taxicab pulled up and the driver kind of rolled down his window and said hop in. i hopped in the back of the taxicab, shimmied over to the passenger side. we pulled up right next to him, i hopped out. >> he wasn't in a cape. the 23-year-old suspect was cuffed and taken into custody and before officer fitzgerald could thank the taxi driver he had already driven off. he wants to find the cabbie thank him and pay his fare. right on budget and right on time. that's how donald trump described his upcoming luxury hotel downtown. trump's company is transforming the old post office pavilion on

pennsylvania avenue into a luxury hotel suites. it will include nearly 300 rooms and suites and a ballroom that trump tells us will be unlike any other washington has ever se >> and i think the ballroom is going to be used by everybody, even presidents that don't like me will use it. >> that's funny. the new trump hotel is expected to open sometime next year bringing in an estimated 500 permanent jobs to the area. how often do you take your kids to the theater? we're going to meet the director who is shaking things up on stage to draw that younger crowd. and she's just a dog. the honor being given to this coast guard pooch,

all right. new plans in the works to improve dulles international and several other u.s. airports to make the experience for international travelers just a

little more welcoming. the government plans to improve infrastructure by installing automated passport control kiosks. there will also be an effort to make everything more efficient, customs and that whole baggage experience and they want to improve airline communication to better explain costustom requirements to travelers. last year travelers spent $220 billion in the u.s. been to the theater lately? if so i'm going to guess you're probably over the age of 40. younger crowds don't usually fill those seats. the signature theater in arlington is trying to change all that. it has a young new director who's in charge who's bringing some edgier works to the stage in hopes of getting millennials a reason to show up. wendy rieger introduces us to matthew gardner. >> reporter: a theater director is like a chef. he's got to bring something different to the table these

days and still make you swoon over fried chicken. at signature theater, director matthew gardner is keeping it hot in the kitchen. >> i'm constantly aware of what i feel like i would want to watch on stage. >> reporter: gardner just got three helen hayes nominations for directing shows last year. sometimes visual classic, "sunday in the park with george." for a director who just hit 30 these are some high peaks. >> to a degree i feel like everything that i've done to this point has been a bit of an effort because everything that i've been doing has been sort of new to me. >> gardner is a bit of a protege. he was a teenager when he was discovered by signature's creative force, eric schaefer. schaefer was so impressed he hired gardner before he graduated from college. >> with matt it's great because he does -- you know he'll bring shows and say you should really look at this.

>> reporter: gardner had the foresight to produce "really, really" before the topic exploded on the front pages. >> that was about a rape case on a college campus. >> reporter: it provides the edge that schaefer is looking for. >> i never want signature to be routine. i want people to go now what are they doing, now what are they doing. >> reporter: gardner is homegrown, raised in college park. he spent most of his youth studying with the washington ballet and watching old movies. >> things were cinematic and how do you tell a story through movement. >> reporter: and choreographing a production menu that will bring a younger generation millennials, to the table. some theaters in new york are already doing it and gardner likes it. >> there's "here lies love" which you sort of entered the room and you're standing in a club environment. those are things that make a younger audience feel like they're a part of it. >> reporter: embracing the new without alienating the old, the subscribers.

they're the bread and butter of any theater's economics. gardner's task is directing that balancing act of modern theater. knowing when to be disruptive and when to send in the clowns. ♪ >> ah yes sending in the clowns. gardner has a busy spring. he'll be directing two musicals and corehoreographing a special. well a big day this week for a member of the u.s. coast guard. rosie is a mascot at the station in annapolis. she's a 10-year-old black lab and was honored with a special promotion to first class. officers cited her great attitude ten years in the service as they gave her a new collar and three bars. >> yes, yes, she's a first class now. i do take orders from the dog. >> attention! rosie can go home with crew members, but she spends most of her time at the coast guard station, which is manned around the clock.

well was there really a mill and who in the world is father hurley? melissa will answer those questions in a new "meet your street." and a sinking monument? not quite. the reason why the height of the d.c. landmark just changed, next.

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whenever you're driving, street names all over the place, don't you ever wonder where those street names come from? well if you've ever driven through montgomery county then you know the name veers is on the road and even on a church. the family still in the area nearly 350 years after the first veers arrived. melissa mollet takes us back in time in the edition of "meet your street." >> well we first came to maryland 1677. >> reporter: billy veers is an

11th generation marylander. a marylander who can drive through and see his name scattered about. veers paving veers insurance, veers mill road. it was his great, great great grandfather samuel clark veers a judge who built the mill the road is named for. >> there was a mill back in the 1800s. they employed i believe, about 100 people. >> reporter: over the years the family has owned several thousand acres in rockville. they ran the mill for 89 years. it's now gone but veers road is busier than ever. it's more of a path that once looked like this. >> it makes me feel proud. >> reporter: the question is why name this particular stretch veers mill road? well this actual route used to be used by customers in rockville and wheaton to get to the old mill. it's now bustling filled with houses apartments, stores and restau but no matter how prominent and

known around here -- >> as long as i can remember it was misspelled. >> reporter: for some the veers name is a little tricky. even street signs along the road have been wrong several times over the years. >> oh well. i feel like what can i do? >> reporter: no matter the spelling billy jokes there's a little change he'd like to make along the family road. >> i'm thinking about turning it into a toll road. >> good luck! >> yeah. >> e-z pass. >> reporter: north now to father hurley boulevard in germantown a name not familiar to some. >> maybe some going east or something. >> ding ding ding you've got it. good job. >> reporter: monsignor leonard hurley is now retired. he came here in 1973 started mother seaton catholic church. in 1986 just before he was reassigned to another parish

father hurley actually gave me my first communion. the church has expanded since and at the urging of parishioners germantown drive was eventually renamed father hurley boulevard. melissa mollet news4. >> have a street you'd like to meet? just send melissa a message on twitter @first4traffic. well the history surrounding the monument to our nation's first president is being rewritten. new numbers for the official height of the washington monument at 10 inches shorter than what's been in the books for more than a century. the original recorded height as 555' 5" but the latest measurement was 554' 7." the moniment is not sinking, it's due to the change made to the base guidelines for building measurements over the years. >> i was really surprised about that but i guess it makes sense since they measured it from a

different point. >> a little less than an inch has worn off the very top of the monument over the years. it's still the tallest structure in d.c. and the tallest free-standing stone structure in the world, world! all right. there's some tough guys who entertain us on the ice, but there's another side to these cap stars. the dads of the team open up next on "news4 this week."

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all right. when you think of rough sports you think of what football maybe mma fighting? but there is also rugby and hockey. well they are tough guys on the ice for us right here. we're seeing a different side of some of our washington capital players who are new dads. diana racini sat down with four cap stars and they let her ask anything that she wanted about >> who's king --

>> i think you're at 2300 pictures so that goes to show he's snapping a lot. >> he's got a little different face on that one so i can't delete it. >> have you become better husbands from all this? how do you divvy up all the time now? >> let's bring the wives in. >> they'll probably say we don't do a very good job. >> when you get home you've got to make sure you take the load off them because it's been ten days. >> they don't actually physically throw them but it feels like a throw. it's one quick motion. >> if you're not paying attention, he's going to the floor. >> you get dad strength. >> it happened to him in the gym this summer. yes. no it's true. you know it did. >> do you think this is in your head? >> honestly i think a lot of it is holding a baby. you hold them for so long and put the baby down and your muscles are sore. it gets really achy. >> carrying that car seat around to with the baby in it oh.

>> is there something that is difficult, that is hard to figure out? >> putting clothes on them. i feel like i'm going to break them. i just like getting their arm in there, i'm going to separate a shoulder. it's guarantee a shoulder must be separated. i take twice as long to put the clothes on. >> do you feel that it has changed your life? >> it makes things that happened at the rink or maybe a bad play that you make seem so small compared to other things that are going on. you go home and you just think about your kid. >> practice is over i've got half an hour to get home and see her before her nap. >> the first time i came back from a road trip she realized i was gone she ran up and gave me a hug and said "dad's home." you can't really explain that there's nothing better. >> great dads for sure. anyone with a little one running around you know you get in shape very quickly. check out nbcwashington.com where we have a photo gallery of those caps dads with their kids. those guys could give some tips

to rg3. the redskins quarterback announced recently that he is going to be a dad, and he posted the happy news on facebook on his own birthday. congrats to griffin and his wife becca. that's all for "news4 this week." i'm veronica johnson. we're going to leave you with a time lapse of the snow that we got this past week. a warmup on the way for the second half of the weekend, but don't get too comfortable, because another cold wave is going to be moving in and a cold trend for the first part of march. sorry. until next time be safe be kind, be happy, everybody.

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>> right now on news 4 today, we have had no days off from the record breaking snow. today will be no different. >> picking up a snow system that could unleash flakes on us and how long is this going to last? >> welcome to news 4 today. it is a weather ale day. >> we will turn it over to chuck bell who is timing out the snowfall and that's not the only tricky part of the forecast. >> not at all. nothing is falling out of the sky yet, but snow is on the way and this will start as snow and