welcome to news 4 this week. >> hey, everyone. i'm chris lawrence. we're going to show you some of the more interesting local news stories making news this week. have you ever been ripped off by a contractor? the news 4 iteam shows how you can get as much as $20,000 back but you have to do one thing before you sign on the dotted line. the d.c. council member has come up with a way to keep dirt bikes off the streets of the district and are you creating your summer bucket list? we introduce you to some worth the trip. but first there are nearly 83,000 service members that died in wars overseas but are still listed as missing. they're

of the families and this week one of the servicemen return home to maryland 75 years after pearl harbor. we were there as his family held a funeral. >> it's very touching and i think this is the send off he deserves. >> ronny always knew she had a cousin killed at pearl harbor. he had wanted to be a sailor since he was a boy. he enlisted in the navy during world war ii. >> he was in boise, oklahoma at the time. >> hayden and 428 others on board died. most of the bodies were never identified. like so many others killed at war. they were buried in a mass grave. and using state of the art technology and began the task of

identifying each one. >> 75 years after his death his remains came home. nearly 100 relatives who never knew hayden gathered to give him a hero's send off. he helps hayden's family arrange for his remains to be brought home. >> it's just unbelievable. >> in the past year, the military have identified nearly 100 service members. >> the wounds may be sealed over and healed but it doesn't ease the pain of what happened to them in afghanistan or vietnam. and beaches of normandy it's still a family member that perished and this is right. >> albert hayden was laid to rest next to his mother and father. >> beautiful ending to a wonderful story here. >> news 4. >> hopefully more will be located veryn.

dip on the rails and buses. compared to the same time period last year. it's 12 million fewer trips which is about 5%. one of the big causes is the january blizzard that forced them to shutdown for two days. that cost the transit system nearly $7 million in fairs and parking fees. a local church is breaking ground on a unique health and fitness center. it cost $20 million to build but could have a huge impact on communities in prince george's county. ♪ >> the first baptist church held a ceremony to start construction. the family life center will get half it's power from the new solar farm and by the end of next year it will feature basketball courts, fitness rooms and indoor track and wellness programs for kids and seniors. >> when i have a

ability to help people's health be better. >> the church has more than 11,000 members and raised all the money up front. >> you know, there is just so much to see and do in this area so first four's melissa is picking up on a little jaunt. perfect for summer long getaways with family and friends. she shows us a few spots in virginia vishlg that are really worth the trip. >> a perfect sunny day, the country side of loudon county is as beautiful as it gets. who needs napa when dozens of award winning wineries are here. along route 15 it's an antique buyer's dream and then you can head to leesburg for lunch. lots to do all over virginia. 160 miles from the metro area is totally do able in one day. lined with adorable shops and restaurants. the american shakespier

rumored to be haunted tower. later rest your legs on the trolly. >> 400 million years in the making, just a 90 minute ride from washington. the red and yellow magical and the throws of summer. imagine a spot close to my heart just off the parkway and here at bradley point. >> the roaring jets overhead thrilling for kids. >> they fly over us. >> and the little kid in you. >> they're so close you can almost touch them. >> next reagan national airport is perfect for picnics and pictures. >> we sent grandma home so we're watching her take off. >> were arriving along the mt. vernon trail. >> just rest for a little bit before i go back. >> rainy day. i want to stay in the shade. you can look just like me and i fly here. perfect for both of those things and the

skydiving. >> they gave you through training some reassurance and up the wind tunnel. >> the perfect family spot. who doesn't love laughing at your screaming parents. >> you'll never see your parents do anything remotely close to this so to see them laughing, their hair is going crazy, it's awesome for little kids. >> wow. >> all of these virginia spots are definitely worth the trip. >> if you know some place that's worth the trip i want you to tweet your pictures and ideas to @first 4 traffic and check out more day trips in our nbc washington app. just search worth the trip. this one is for the coffee lovers. imagine a cup of joe coming to you. it's happening in arlington as long as you like your brew on ice. and it's going to be the

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>> now to an nbc washington exclusive. you have seen our stories about problems with atv and dirt bike riders and now a d.c. council woman and the district are discussing a park to give them a safe place to ride. also ward 8 council member is looking at potential sites, dirt bikes and atvs are illegal on defendant d.c. streets. to learn more, open our app and search dirt bikes. the board of supervisors will vote next month on whether to inlewd a new male tax provision on the november ballot and then they'll decide whether to add a

and other males sold in places like deli's and grocery stores. if it passes the tax could generate $100 million for the county. a new coffee service launch this week in arlington. they are showing up in various locations throughout the county. cold brew coffee is not the same as iced coffee. it is steeped overnight, filtered, and then served on a nitrogen pressurized kegs. the real time locations can be found at the twitter account @common wealth joe. we knew it was coming and now you can officially mark your calendars. "hamilton" will begin a 14 week run at the kennedy center starting in june 2018. the best way to guarentee a ticket is to buy a subscription for the 2017 season and renew that for 2018. it's one of the most devastating things a homeowner can go through but the pss

cleaning up from a house fire can be even worse. the news 4 iteam and one thing you need to know to protect yourself from being ripped off. a lifestyle maven with a message. bee smith and her hus ♪ what are you doing? sara, i love you, and... [phone rings] ah, it's my brother. keep going... sara, will you marry... [phone rings again] what do you want, todd???? [crowd cheering] keep it going!!!!

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she says she feels cheated by contractors she hired to rebuild her home after a fire. there's help available from an unexpected source but only if you make sure to do one thing after a fire. >> her home is piled full of boxes and furniture, waiting for her home to be fully repaired. >> basically everything was just burnt and hanging or melted. >> patterson received $62,000 from her insurance company. soon after a man showed up at her door. >> he said well i know you don't want your

soon as i get that contract i'll get that repard. >> she hired him to fix the fire damage in 2010. >> he didn't begin the work. i cancelled the contract. and then he in-turn sued me. >> patterson says he sued her because she didn't formally decline his services within the three day period specified on the contract. she is now counter suing. >> i think i got ripped off. yes. definitely. >> instead of waiting, patterson said she paid a second contractor that only ended up doing some of the work. six years later you can still see smoke damage on her windows and patterson says she's out of money. >> never pay them all of their money before the work is finished. >> maryland's home improvement commission director agrees. >> we don't want the money to get ahead of the work. >> he says they get about 2,000 complaints like patterson's a year and wants

licensed contractor because they pay a fee that goes into a fund you can access. if something goes wrong with your project. >> it's there to financially compensate the homeowner in case a contractor is taking advantage of him. >> he says that they can give you up to $20,000 that they find wrong doing by a licensed contractor. otherwise you're on your own. >> or patterson did file a complaint with the state's home improvement commission. she is waiting to hear what will happen next. we have a checklist on what you should do before hiring anyone to work on your home in the nbc washington app. tap on investigations. tisha thompson, news 4 iteam. >> it started with a call to our tip line. if you have a story idea call 202-885-4444 or e-mail the team at tips@news 4 iteam.com. bee smith is a n

celebrity chef and more. she is also one of the millions of americans diagnosed with alzheimer's. dan has been her loving husband and business manager for more than 20 years but now dan has assumed a much more critical role. jim vance has their story. >> you are now bee's caregiver. >> i'm a single parent. what i am is -- you know, it changes your life in so many profound ways. >> changes indeed. three restaurants, tv and radio shows, speeches appearances, it all came crashing down with a diagnosis. one test after another after another. >> they said well this is a leading indicator that she has alzheimer's. >> nobody wants to hear that or accept it. >> once you go through that

you realize it's there, you go through all of the signs of not believing. you go through anger and disbelief, denial. >> the five stages. >> the five stair steps to reality. >> the reality for them now is first raising awareness. >> it's a tsunami out here. and they're two to three times more likely to have it because of the cost of care. >> the other mission is to light a fire under congress for more money for research. >> right now congress needs metamucil. they have to move. they have to make something happen. i hear people talking about we have too much government or we need too little government. what we

what we need is to understand that this is a problem that is not going to go away. >> dan's passion for more funding is not born in anger. this, after all, in essence, is a love story. >> i wish it was me. i really wish it was me. i love her more than i love anything or anyone ever. i'm looking for a hail mary. if that doesn't happen, we'll spend the most time we can together. i'm going to love her as hard as i can. >> i'm jim vance. news 4. >> dan sort of eluded to this but it is estimated that more than 5 million americans are living with alzheimer's and baby boomers age that number is going to explode. as of today there is no cure and really not even an effective treatment. you may have heard of dogs that can help kids with special needs but this is an entirely different animal.

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a unique classroom visitor is helping local kids with special needs. the students are able to find a comfort to open up and find confidence. our northern virginia bureau reporter has the story from sterling. >> as the shoes echo through the halls. >> she loves the attention. all about her. >> all eyes on little miss popular. >> all in all she's great. >> thank you. >> this is fiona. fiona fudge. a mini horse. >> what do you think she's doing. >> at first, these students each dealing with different special needs aren't quite sure how to approach fiona. >> are you willing? >> no. >> fiona likewise hesitant and

behavior that allows for this. >> very nice. slowly you can hold your hand up so they can say hello. >> suddenly a connection. much of it flows from her tender approach with the students. >> it's perfect. >> she loves kids and her horses. >> and to have the opportunity to kind of have my two passions combined, it couldn't be any better. >> she found the project horse in 2008 to help those coping with a variety of needs. and the volunteer sees the impact. >> joy. lots of joy. >> a graduate of parkview high school, amber says this program changed her life. >> i seemed to open up a little more. i was able to cope with my anxiety better. >> it's amazing and i don't think we were quite sure when we first started what might happen. >> she sees the change in her students too. >> they're more competent. they work better

>> in sterling, virginia, news 4. >> cool stuff. finally one of the most popular videos on our facebook page and it comes curtesy of shavari stone. she stopped his car during his morning commute and started directing traffic to help the geese and their goslings cross a busy road. he was even out there trying to tell the birds where to do. 70,000 of you have watched that video and i can see why. that is all for news 4 this week. i'm chris lawrence. thank you for joining us. we leave you with some incredible video from the international space station. have a great week.

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at 6:00, break out your raincoat and umbrella. you'll be soaked if you leave your house without them. storm team 4 tracking a wet and socky start to the weekend, and the pockets of time you can get outside. a chaotic scene outside the white house. what we're now finding out as a suspect fights for this life. and making your metro ride safer. how the transit agency is reaching out to teens in hopes of stopping violence. as we get the 6:00 hour going, first, though, we mentioned it before, it is going to be a wes weekend. good morning, everybody. i'm