welcome to news 4 this week. >> snow, snow, and more snow. a week ago today, we were getting slammed with one of the biggest blizzards we have ever seen. the problems the region is facing now that we've dug out. and what's a blizzard without a snow challenge? we take a look at how they came up with their cabin fever cure. have you ever heard of food insecurity? it could be impacting a whole d.c. community, and a local food bank is trying to tackle it one vegetable at a time. hey, everyone. i'm veronica johnson. welcome to "news 4 this week." things have warmed up over the last couple of days, and it's helped tremendously with melting. but as the pavement starts to

resurface, we're finding a whole new issue. boom! potholes. news 4 has a look at one of the problem spots in arlington. >> reporter: well, as we get into the freeze-thaw cycle, we're not only worried about this being on the ground. now we're worried about this. the actual road coming apart with potholes. that's what's happening right here on williamsburg boulevard. with every hit -- >> it's just really loud. like the whole house is shaking. >> reporter: christina thomas and her boys are feeling it. >> it's a little bit, yeah, there you go. you can hear it. >> reporter: her house is right next to these newly formed potholes at the bottom of the hill. as the temperatures go up and down, the road gives a little bit. drivers noticing the new craters. >> i didn't like them. >> reporter: and then there are the other challenges right now. lanes disappearing. bike lanes? what bike lanes? and the sidewalks. good chance that if you live in a neighborhood or in the city,

you're dealing with this on the sidewalk. not a single snowflake shoveled off of this sidewalk. we still have a ways to go, and it will require your patience. now as we go through tonight, the other big issue you're going to have to worry about is the big refreeze. and that means your driveway could be pretty slick tomorrow morning. use extra care as you get to your car. back to you. well, the snow challenge for 2016 is in the books, and we have a winner. the challenge, the best cure for cabin fever. well, the winner had a full house of kids to say the least. to keep them occupied, we called this one the cat burglar in training. now you've probably seen something like this in the movies. our pat collins travelled to warrington, virginia, to see how it worked in person. >> reporter: in this house in warrington, virginia, a cat burglary training course. this is how they beat the boredom of the blizzard. did it work?

>> it worked. everyone's happy. >> reporter: is everybody happy? >> yes! >> reporter: this is how they won the official pat collins snow stick. and this is how they weaved their way through this maze of red lines, trying ever so carefully not to touch anything. does it keep the kids occupied? >> yes, it does. >> reporter: and it teaches them some skills some >> yes. for our family burglaring business. >> reporter: which is going to blossom any time now? >> any day now. >> reporter: you see, two families here in this house. there are seven kids, four adults, and more than two feet of snow outside. and so they thought this would keep everybody from going bonkers during the blizzard. is this a fun thing to do? >> yes. >> reporter: is it hard to do? >> most of the time. >> reporter: do you like it? >> yes. >> reporter: keeps you out of mom's hair? >> yeah. >> reporter: is there a

competition between all the kids? >> not necessarily. but i timed myself, and i definitely got the fastest. >> reporter: you got the fastest time? >> yes. >> reporter: how long? >> like 45 seconds. >> reporter: once again, congratulations to the families. winners of the pat collins snow stick, in the snow stick challenge of blizzard 2016. and thanks again to everyone who entered the snow stick challenge. there was a lot of creativity, a lot of imagination, and a lot of fun. can't wait until the next one. i'm pat collins, news 4. >> our pat collins, always a lot of fun. there's quite a lot of cleanup to be done in ocean city. wind and strong surf took a toll on the iconic fishing pier. the damage is similar to hurricane sandy in 2012 when a significant portion of the pier was swept away. right now, you might be wondering what to do with all of that food in your house. i know you stocked up. tons of food and supplies for

the blizzard. and now you're left with, well, just a whole lot of stuff that you probably don't need. money experts call it panic shopping. news 4's consumer reporter susan hogan has tips to keep you from going overboard next time. >> reporter: retailers get us all caught up in that black friday frenzy shopping. bad weather can do it to us too. here's four money-saving tips for the next big storm so we all don't go broke. take stock of what you have before you head out to the grocery store. do you have the essentials already? write a list and stick to it. because once you get to the store, you're going to be tempted to grab stuff off the shelves because you think you need it. be sensible. do you really need six loaves of bread and gallons of milk, four pounds of ground beef? if the power goes out, that milk is useless. if the power doesn't go out, now you're stuck with sour milk. don't panic. don't get caught up in the mob

mentality. trust me, these people do not know something you don't know. >> because the fact of the matter is even with the blizzard that we had, even though some of us may have been stuck in for four days, you cannot tell me that you can't live out of what you have in your house for four days. >> there is really nothing wrong with being prepared to be stuck in your home for a few days. but you also don't want to be stuck with sour milk and a low cash flow because you got caught up in this frenzy. back to you. >> so true. a dream is starting to become a reality at the national harbor. the signature hotel with the new mbm casino is taking shape. bureau chief tracy wilkins has an update on when everything will be finished and a look at some of the fine dining you'll find inside. >> reporter: it was a vegas-like celebration on the side of mgm national harbor. marked by a tree being hoisted to the top of the new hotel,

assembled at the highest point of the 24-story building is complete. >> i have seen this property from the, you know, start of it now to actually seeing it raising. so it's really exciting. and i think it's a long time coming. >> reporter: he is especially excited. he and his brother have a restaurant going inside the 300-room luxury resort here in his home county of prince georges. >> we lived in bowie for a while. it's like coming home. >> reporter: it's featured on shows like top chef. and, yes, this will be another steakhouse at mgm. >> it will be a world class steakhouse. we're both sons of chesapeake. we both grew up in maryland and this area. certainly we'll be looking to this region, in the chesapeake water shed for ingredients. >> reporter: the first amenity named by mgm, as they promise

spas, restaurants, high end shopping and entertainment in the theater that cost $100 million more than we expected >> we'll bring in world class boxing, ufc, great concerts. >> we expect that restaurant to be somewhere on the first floor of this hotel. we're now being told this casino is expected to be complete possibly by the end of this year. at national harbor, tracy wilkins, news 4. >> oh, my gosh. that's amazing how fast that construction is going. so many people cannot wait. mgm has announced they have reached a 38% inclusion rate for minority business participation in the casino project. there's still a federal suit pending in prince george's county challenging minority participation. well, we weren't the only ones keeping you posted on conditions during the blizzard. this little cutie pie, this little girl giving you updates throughout the weekend to ellen, throughout the weekend to ellen, and it's earned her a

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for a local mom and her daughter, an adorable blizzard update turned out to be a ticket out of all of this snow. they got a huge surprise on the "ellen" show. >> we're snowed in from the back. >> so i want to get you out of the cold. whenever you can get out of the driveway, we want to bring you to california, linda, so you can come see my show. [ screaming ] >> so excited. you heard it. linda and her 5-year-old daughter ursula are going to los angeles. sunny los angeles. they live in chantilly, virginia, and they came to the talk show's attention over the weekend when linda posted videos of ursula giving ellen weather updates. they describe themselves as ellen's biggest fans. well, we have some sad news to report on a story that we brought you a few weeks ago. a virginia mother with cancer

who inspired a local beer died last weekend. cory rose was battling stage four stomach cancer. her husband works in lorton. other breweries teamed up to create a brew in her honor. you can still buy the special brew starting next friday. proceeds will help cover all those medical bills. we have a list of locations on our nbc washington app. well, it's being called the trip adviser for women in the workplace. we take a closer look at a website that allows d.c. women to help each other find the right fit. and making food fun and healthy. we visit a local food market that is helping an underserved community find the joy in community find the joy in cooking. (elephant sound) there's a big difference between making noise, (tapping sound) and making sense.

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well, it's no secret a gender gap exists in the workplace. men typically make more money

than women, and hold more leadership roles. now there's a new website that scores employers on how they treat women. it's a plant form based in d.c. but growing in popularity. >> reporter: for almost 20 years, sally abby was living the life in new york city, leading a wildly successful career as an executive at several major magazines. then, her husband got a great job offer in washington. >> so we jumped at the opportunity, but it was a huge career risk for me personally. >> reporter: almost two years later, sally is still looking for the right job. he's also become a mom. >> hello. >> reporter: which has changed what she wants from work. >> prior to having a child, i could devote myself to my job. i could work whatever hours i needed to work. now my mind is a little more split. i can focus on work, but i also need to focus on my daughter. >> reporter: it was her search for that flexibility that

brought her here, to in her sight, a website that allows women to anonymously rate where they work. >> it's super helpful for what i'm going through right now. >> reporter: the founder calls it the trip adviser of women in the workplace. a site that scores employers on female friendliness and makes it public. >> it's women helping women figure out where they are going to be successful at work. >> reporter: on in her sight, they rate employers on a range of top beiictopics. maternity leave, flexible hours. >> companies really want to do well. you know, they are not happy unless they have a score four or above. >> reporter: with more than 5,000 workplaces in its databases, in her sight says tech rates the highest in the d.c. area. along the lowest, companies in manufacturing, construction, and education. there's no real oversight on

who's posting what, but she says for the most part, reviews are balanced. back at home searching with sally -- >> it's one piece of the puzzle for me. >> reporter: it's just another source, a starting point at this point in her life that keeps in mind what matters most. in addition to ranking companies, in her sight also plays matchmaker. online, you'll find a tool that connects women to companies based on their individual needs. back to you. >> okay, ladies. something to check out. thousands of children in d.c. struggle with food insecurity every day. they don't have access to enough food to live a healthy life. a local organization, though, is bringing good food directly to the kids' schools so that parents can feed their families and build healthy habits. we go now to one of these joyful markets in the southeast. >> reporter: when dell rich per uses fresh produce options he considers what to feed his four

children for dinner. >> four oranges, four bananas, and four apples. >> reporter: but he's not shopping at a grocery store. it's a market set up at his son's school in southeast. >> you can take this and start. >> reporter: once a month, d.c. nonprofit martha's table in partnership with the capital area food bank brings these joyful markets to 12 d.c. elementary schools in underserved communities, offering free fresh fruits and vegetables to families who don't have easy access to fresh food. >> you know, every nugget helps. >> my youngest child gets out at 4:15. i have to wait around. and then we have to go home and cook. so when they have this, it really helps out. >> reporter: there are only three full service grocery stores in all of ward seven and ward eight east of the ancostia

river. they also have the district's highest poverty rates. >> we view it as another opportunity for us to come in and provide fresh, high quality food in a meaningful way and dignified way in a way that celebrates healthy food. >> we're going to make our own. >> reporter: at joyful market, cooking lessons come with the shopping experience. >> you take a little bit of onion. put some in here, okay? >> reporter: doctors also answer questions and offer tips for a healthy lifestyle. >> did you know that this is part of being healthy? >> reporter: the american academy of pediatrics recommend that doctors screen children for food insecurity at their annual checkups. they say hunger can lead to decreased academic performance and poor health. >> you have poor health. increased risk of obesity, increase risk of heart disease and diabetes because the food that you're able to get oftentimes is of lower quality and has low nutritional value.

>> reporter: martha's table is helping families put healthy meals on their own tables and teach children to find joy in healthy eating one vegetable at a time. >> he's eating greens and onions. i just need to get this recipe. he's attacking these greens. >> reporter: news 4, washington. martha's table is amazing. it is working to have a joyful market in every d.c. public charter and parochial elementary by 2018. the markets are run by volunteers. for more information on how to get involved, check out an yang's facebook page. her neighbor dug her out after finding out she could give birth any day. when we return, we meet the blizzard baby who benefited from a simple act of kindness.

if you run over somebody, it's usually because you were driving too fast or you didn't look before you turned or you didn't stop for someone in the crosswalk. always be alert. pedestrians don't come with airbags. okay. you may remember seeing this story earlier in the week. some neighbors in south riding

shoveled their own street after finding out two women on their block were expecting. well, on wednesday, one of the women we talked with, christina burs, gave birth to a baby girl. meet eden storm burse. they were already considering that middle name, storm, but considering the situation it seems quite fitting. i think it's very cool. storm. that's all for news 4 this week. i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us. we leave you with some of our favorite time lapse videos from the storm. until next time, be safe, be kind, be happy. ♪

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cough! it works on his cough too. mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs for 12 hours. let's end this. right now we are watching a developing story out of asia. the scramble to find survivors is under way in taiwan after a powerful earthquake sent several buildings tumbling. plus, emotions running high at a prince george's county elementary school. remembering the life of a teacher who was murdered with her2-year-old daughter. cold start on this saturday morning. we're sub-freezing. a look at our next chance for snow is coming up. news 4 today starts now. it's saturday morning, everybody. the