welcome to "news 4 this week." >> hi everyone i'm veronica johnson. we're going to show you some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. among them a wild goose chase. why dogs running free on the national mall are helping to protect some national treasures. plus what were you doing at 19? we introduce you to a local student who's graduating college early, and that's just the beginning. and talk about shattering the glass ceiling. a woman with flying with her blood becomes the first blue angel and sits down with angie goff. first, parallel parking, you're either really good at it or just terrible. it's been a staple of driving tests for years, but that's all

changing here in maryland. news 4's transportation reporter adam tuss is in bethesda with the story. >> reporter: for a lot of us learning to parallel park is a time honored tradition. but now maryland no longer requiring you to pass a parallel parking section of the road license test. here's a news flash. it's not required in d.c. or virginia either. so is the art of parallel parking being lost on some of our younger drivers? >> i tapped a couple of cars. >> it's really difficult. it took me a while to learn how to do it. >> you're not a good parker? >> no. >> why not? why? >> because, i don't know the angles. >> reporter: word that maryland is now eliminating the parking process from the road test not sitting well with some. >> parallel parking should not be taken out. >> reporter: tom is head of i drive smart driving school. >> it just doesn't measure parking, it measures space management control of the vehicle at low speed. >> reporter: now check out some

of the response we got on twitter. andy mcmiller says soft. andy o'brien says i guess there are a ton of 16-year-old kids rejoicing today, but is it really that difficult? time to take a test for ourselves. let me just say this i personally consider myself one heck of a parallel parker but i learned there are some things i could brush up on. >> when trying to back i feel very confident. >> see how far you are away? we'd tell you to get closer. >> reporter: yep, too far away but on the second attempt -- >> nice recovery. >> nice recovery? >> nice recovery. the only thing is you forgot your parking brake. >> reporter: how about best two out of three? in bethesda adam tuss news 4. >> adam i'm going to get you. you forgot your parking brake. oh that's too funny. no he did a good job. another big change is coming for marylanders when it comes to taxes. if you pay income taxes in other states you may be getting a refund. the supreme court upheld a lower court's decision that ruled a

tax in the state unconstitutional. the tax allowed maryland residents to deduct out of state income but did not apply that deduction to taxes for local governments. maryland argued the tax paid for services like public schools. the court's decision could cost the state about $200 million in refunds. if you've been down to the national mall you know that this region attracts a whole lot of canadian geese. now, they may look cool but they're an environmental mess when it comes to geese droppings. tom sherwood reports on how the national mall has called in the geese police. >> reporter: this is the guy with the dog whistle. this is the border collie one of several now on duty on the national mall. and this is the reason way too many canadian didn't he say. -- geese. the collies disrupt the geese, who to put it mildly are making a huge poop mess on the mall.

>> a goose on average drops a pound and a half of droppings, waste, every day. >> reporter: a pound and a half a day? >> a pound and a half a day. if you start doing the math that's a lot. a dump truckload every week. >> reporter: the park service spent $32 million restoring the lincoln reflecting pool with its 4 million gallons of water. but the new filtration system can't handle geese poop from thousands of geese a year. plus all that waste stains the new walkways and it can be dangerous. >> it is slippery. people aren't paying attention. >> reporter: tourists at first don't see a problem. >> so do you like the geese? >> love the geese. i think they're beautiful. >> but not too many. >> reporter: some of them up to three pounds of waste a day. >> oh no. >> reporter: they're busy. the geese police d.c. will have dogs on site at least a year to disrupt the nesting patterns but dogs? they kind of leave a mess too, don't they? >> who cleans up after the dogs? >> that's my responsibility.

it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. >> reporter: on goose patrol in the national mall tom sherwood, news 4. they displayed extraordinary courage beyond the call of duty. this week they were honored for it. the department of homeland security presented valor awards. jae johnson took part in the ceremony. back in november williams was driving over the woodrow wilson bridge and noticed a woman sitting on the railing about to jump. >> i gained her trust and she started to talk. she attempted to jump three times but i had to grab ahold of her. i was holding her from jumping. >> william was also honored for pulling a woman out of a burning car after it crashed on the bw parkway last year. he's a sergeant for the secret service. well we're getting a look

at the progress that crews are making on the capitol dome restoration project. this image courtesy of the architect of the capitol shows workers making repairs to the iconic dome. the capitol hasn't received a full makeover in more than 50 years. we've got a lot more pictures on the project. all we've got to do is go to our nbc washington app and search capitol dome. d.c. makes a lot of lists but this one is good for your health. why experts say that living here could rip you into shape. and it's long been a man's world, but not anymore. we sit down with the first woman to fly with the blue angels, next.

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buy a new smartphone. stop by or visit us online. and save without settling. only on verizon. she started at george mason university when she was just 13. now at 19 paige epler is this year's youngest graduate and is graduating with a 4.0 gpa. she studied premed biology with

a passion for cancer research. it seems that she's always been years ahead of her time. this is her at the age of 2 reading the encyclopedia. she is certainly used to hearing the question "how old are you?" >> i remember some people when i first started out thought i was the professor's kid. >> paige also plays the violin does archery and flies airplanes all in her spare time. she hopes to get another bachelor's degree and then move on to get her m.d. and ph.d.. well crowds who have seen the blue angels flying over annapolis this week were witnesses to history. news4's angie goff introduces us to the first woman to ever pilot for the prestigious military group. >> reporter: 1946 the blue angels are born created to boost navy morale and made up of all men, who by the way, had to be bachelors. fast forward 69 years. those daring acts the twists the turns, still take our breath

away. but the team's biggest move yet, not obvious from down here. you've got to get in the cockpit when marine corps captain katie higgins, the first female pilot in blue angels history. >> i was shocked a little bit at first because i was totally expecting a no. i saw that as a far-off dream kind of but i was encouraged to apply and i did and i made the team. it's been a wonderful experience ever since. >> captain katie higgins from maryland. >> reporter: the history maker is also a hometown girl. >> i definitely miss crab cakes. >> reporter: with aviation in her blood. >> i'm actually a third generation pilot. my father was a navy pilot, hornet pilot actually which is awesome because that's what our jet guys fly on my team. >> reporter: as for her bird it's hard to miss. the c-130 affectionately named fat albert is a transport plane with its own tricks and is no doubt a big part of the show. >> don't get me wrong, the f-18

is an awesome aircraft and i give my guys the utmost respect. i'm so in love with my airplane i'll fly it every day for the rest of my career if they'll let me. >> it's your baby. >> it is my baby. >> reporter: the blue angels go city to city flying shows all over the nation. for captain higgins, the stop here annapolis is special. it's more than an honor, it's homecoming. >> my heart is here. >> reporter: feel good to be back? >> it's wonderful to be back. >> reporter: it was here in a class that the then midshipman got her shot at taking the controls. >> i knew at that moment there was no other profession for me. that being a pilot was definitely what i was made to do. >> reporter: it's something women have been doing in the military for more than 20 years, but not for the blue angels until now. >> i get chills run here. >> reporter: fellow naval academy grad and the team's commander, captain tom frosh is one of the officers who brought higgins onboard. >> why do you think it took so long? >> you know we have 17 officers

on our team 130 people and we spend so much time together. you don't get as many females to apply to the team and ayou're always looking for the right person. it's not just about the skills it's the right person. >> reporter: for higgins, being a good fit has turned into the ride of a lifetime. it's also lifting others. >> i didn't come to the team to break any barriers to you know shatter any glass ceilings. it's a universal message that we can send across the genders that hey, whatever you put your mind to you work towards it and you can achieve it. >> reporter: in annapolis, angie goff news4. >> higgins az great role model. whether it's running, biking hiking or kayaking for a second year in a row our city is tops when it comes to the fittest in the country. minneapolis and san diego rounded out the top three with indianapolis ranking at the bottom. the american college of sports medicine uses a variety of factors, like smoking, heart disease and access to fresh fruits and veggies for its

annual rankings. d.c. got high marks for its access to public parks. >> if you walk out onto the washington mall at noon tourists can't get around because there's so many people exercising, so many people walking and jogging. >> that is true. the report found that d.c. spends an average $287 per person on city parks, compared to $27 per person in indianapolis. you're going to want to see this before you get away. our news4 i-team went looking to find out if there are any hidden dangers when you head to area beaches. plus we join some of our nation's brightest minds, as they complete an annual rite of passage.

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this weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. yay! well for many of us it's time to hit the beach, but whether you're headed to inland locations or to the bay or aiming for those big waves on

the coast, you need to check out what tisha thompson and the news4 i-team made for you so that you can know what's in the water. >> reporter: with her red bucket and her stick -- >> i've actually been out there. >> reporter: you might not notice cindy this summer. >> i'm checking the water. that's pretty good. >> reporter: until you hear her laugh. her laughter is infectious and she has a lot to be happy about. >> the best ever. >> reporter: every monday and tuesday this summer you will see cindy trying not to get wiped out by the waves in ocean city. she says it happens. >> a few times. >> reporter: but she's beach bound for a very serious job. for the last 26 years, she's been using the same broom handle to dip little bottles into the surf collecting bacteria samples to see if what's in the water could make you sick. the news4 i-team took the results of cindy and dozens of

other scientists like been collecting over the last five years to make this map, showing you what they found and how often our local beaches have swimming advisories. maryland and delaware have some of the cleanest beaches in the nation. delaware averages one advisory a year typically at rehoboth but didn't have any problems at all last year. in maryland they do have an occasional swimming advisory along the chesapeake bay, but maryland's ocean beaches stretching from fenwick island have never had a swimming advisory in the history of the program. this is cindy's boss bob mitchell. >> the ocean is free of any problems here. >> reporter: he credits a combination of how ocean currents sweep away dirty water and how they work to prevent runoff from spilling into worcester county's waterways along with monitoring their sewage treatment plant. >> it takes a heck of a lot of care on their natural environment here on the beach. >> reporter: this is kathy

brohan. she runs the federally funded beach program for maryland's department of environment. >> in maryland we no longer have any beaches near where what's called combined sewers where the storm water and the wastewater are in the same pipe. that doesn't occur in maryland anymore. so most of our beaches are very clean and they're not contaminated by sewage. >> reporter: she says by eliminating overflows into the water, they're getting rid of one of the main sources of human waist carrying nasty stuff like salmonella and norovirus. >> when you get submerged where you have the opportunity to swallow is when youin inin gest bad water, it can make you ill. >> reporter: that's why cindy keeps dipping where the waves can knock you over forcing you to take an unexpected eded gulp of water. the only unexpect had thing you

can catch here is her laughter. >> the experts say if we have a big storm around here with heavy rainfall, everything that's on the land that was left behind by dogs birds, other animals ends up in the water, so they say just give it a couple of days so that it can clear out before you head in. well we did map out all of the monitored beaches in virginia as well and you can see them all by going to our nbc washington app. just click on investigations. well it's the epicenter for some of the biggest events in the region but soon you'll have to call it something different. details of a major name change, next. ♪ (music throughout) ♪ sfx: (smash) sfx: (roar)

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sure it takes teamwork to get to the top. the freshman class at the naval academy in annapolis calls it a rite of passage tradition dating back to the 1940s. check out the mids climbing to the top of a 21-foot monument that's graced with a lard.

the goal is replacing the dixie cup head with an upper class man's hat. the capital gazette says this year's class did it in just over an hour and a half. well the washington redskins are lending a hand to a major renovation project at a local elementary school. redskins alum doug williams took part in a redesign of the library at capital heights elementary school reechblgtcently. it will include a news anchor desk microphone ipads. each student will get to take home four books for their own personal collection. one of the most recognizable buildings in d.c. will soon be getting a new name. verizon says it will not renew its naming rights for the deal for the verizon center. the washington business journal first reported the news. the deal ends in 2018. the venue hosts the capitals wizards, mystics and countless

other concerts and events. it opened as mci centering and has long been nicknamed the phone booth. that's all for "news4 this week." i'm veronica johnson. we leave you with more of the blue angels flight. until next week remember be safe be kind, be happy, everybody.

. right now on news4 today, the manhunt is not completely over. investigators think the suspect in a quadruple murder in d.c. had help. the clues show daron wint did not act alone. memorial day in full swing. cars on the roads right now. you may get caught off guard by some changes. we get you covered on the delays. first your memorial day weekend forecast and we want to say good morning to you. i'm angie goff. >> and i'm adam tuss. chuck bell is the man of the weekend. we've got a big three-day weekend coming up. what can we expect?