y right now on news 4 this week, crumbling bridges. cracks, shaky, potholes. what crews are doing to make sure your drive is safe. overtime costs skyrocketing in the d.c. fire department. costing taxpayers millions of dollars. now we're learning it's happening at the same time some members are getting bonuses. billboard fight. the mayor finds herself in the middle of a growing advertising struggle in the district. welcome to "news 4 this week." >> we'll start with spiking cost of overtime in the d.c. fire department. it has doubled in just one year. and costs taxpayers millions of dollars. now we're learning as those overtime costs were going up, several members of

top staff were getting bonuses. mark seagraves has our report. >> reporter: d.c. fire chief gregory dean says he approved over $20,000 in inn bonuses this year. it's the first time he's given bonuses since taking over the department. >> i gave bonuses to four sets of chiefs and one civilian. and that was for work that had been done. we've been working very hard the last year and a half, two years. i felt that it was -- i needed to acknowledge the hard work they did. >> we're in the midst of contract negotiations. so if they're giving bonuses for hard work and good work, remember the members that do the work daily. >> reporter: each assistant chief given a $5,000 bonus. the civilian employee received about $1,300. >> i rely on seasoned managers like chief dean to make the right personnel decisions at his department. if that's his judgment, i support it. >> reporter: the bonuses came as the department saw a spike in overtime costs. overtime jumped from $1

in fiscal year 2015 to $23 million in fiscal year 2016. in the first five months of the current fiscal year, overtime costs are already at $9.5 million. >> we haven't hired for eight years. so that has had an impact on our ability to continue to staff 349 people on duty every day. >> reporter: at least two paramedics made an additional $114,000 each in overtime last fiscal year. in 2015, mayor muriel bowser approved a 50% increase in the amount firefighters are paid for overtime. in the district, mark seagraves, news 4. the bridges drivers drive across every day may be in need of serious work. cracks, shaking, even holes have opened up in some bridges. that includes the i-95 bridge over the creek in dale city. transportation reporter adam tuft takes a

>> reporter: we have thousands of bridges in our region and most are in good shape. but there are some that need immediate attention. in northern virginia, vdot has 36 bridges deemed structurally deficient. in the state of maryland the state highway administration has 69 bridges deemed structurally deficient. in the district ddot has five. one bridge that's getting plenty of attention right here on i-95. this is what happened on the niabsko creek bridge on 95 not long ago. a friday afternoon in october. a hole opened up clear through the bridge deck. scary. and now the patch that was put in place over that hole not holding up so well. >> we think that maybe there was a problem with the original construction, that the concrete wasn't what it should have been. >> reporter: the original bridge built in the 1960s, gary runco, vdot bridge and construction engineer in northern virginia, says there are other issues

like some of them are discontinuous. because of that the deck tends to vibrate a little more than it should at the joint. that's where it's falling apart. >> reporter: are we feeling that vibration right now? >> yes. >> reporter: an emergency contract actually going to be awarded to fix the bridge deck and long-term this structure needs a complete rehab or needs to be replaced. runco says this bridge, like so many others, can't be forgotten. >> frankly we've been underfunding it and it needs to change. >> reporter: with this bridge, safety changes will be coming soon. adam tuft, news 4. back in the district, there is a fierce battle going on right now over allowing large outdoor video screens on buildings in d.c. a court order is keeping some from being turned on, but it started a political fight over video billboards. tom sherwood reports the mayor is right in the middle of it. >> reporter: outdoor

popping up in recent months. but never turned on. city inspectors filed stop work orders against owner digimedia saying the signs lacked permit. the court has agreed with city lawyers to bar their use. in a political twist news 4 learned digimedia representatives are urging mayor buse irto get involved, to issue an emergency rule to allow the signs. that could undercut the city's lawsuit. monday the mayor was polite but avoided citizens urging her not to intervene and not to allow the signs. >> the electronic billboard -- >> thank you. i know. >> it's breaking our hearts. >> okay. all right. thank you. >> reporter: bowser suggested to nbc 4's mark seagraves she was undecided. >> i don't know the details of any lawsuit. but we can change the rules at any time. >> are you looking to do that? >> i don't know that we are. >> reporter: a competing company, clear channel, has a

government contract with the district for digital ads on bus stops. it pays millions to the city. in a letter to the mayor obtained by news 4, clear channel says the city would lose millions of dollars in tax revenue if she allows digimedia to dilute the market. the mayor's spokesman declined comment because of the lawsuit. but attorney general carr was seen on wmau radio friday, saying there's no reason for the mayor to get involved. >> the emergency process, right, means that a rule or regulation becomes effective immediately without the public's input. okay? don't shut the public out. >> reporter: digimedia told news 4 it believes it will win the lawsuit and turn the signs on. in the district, tom sherwood, news 4. >> we'll keep an eye on that. still ahead on "news 4 this week," our first status update from our favorite giant panda cub bao bao. barbara harris sits down with supreme court

bader ginsburg, finds out how the 83-year-old stays healthy after all these years.

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he's got a killer backhand. when it's time to get organized for retirement, it's time to get voya. it's still the newest gambling attraction but the mgm national harbor can no longer claim the title of the most lucrative, at least not for the month of february. mgm slip the to the number two spot, pulling in just shy of $46 million. a few hundred thousand less than maryland live. and the mgm is staying busy though. the resort told our news partner wtop it's drawing an average of 22,000 visitors every day. this week we got our first update on how bao bao is doing in china. handlers tell us she's eating well, adjusting nicely, and seems really happy. an expert at the giant panda research center says bao bao's blood tests show no parasites or other health complications. she's s i

could meet the chinese public soon. check out a gallery of bao bao's time in d.c. on the nbc washington app, search bao bao. still ahead, we'll explain the new changes that could lead to new breweries popping up in northern virginia. one on one with the notorious rbg. barbara harrison asks her about her famous nickname, her love of theater, and how she stays healthy.

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y29phy y16fy fans of craft beer can rejoice. it just got a little bit easier to open breweries in fairfax county. zoning rules were eased for distilleries and wineries too. bureau chief jewelry carey investmented some of the original brewers who had to set up shop the hard way before the rules were changed. >> reporter: fair winds brewery celebrated its second anniversary. this canning day means their award-winning beers can be found at the gce

one of just seven breweries in the county. that is less than half the number in neighboring loudoun. one reason until now, the zoning regulations in fairfax county made it tough to open. >> our zoning ordinance didn't actually have breweries listed in it. so when you would go to the county and try to explain what you were doing, there was a bit of a look of confusion. >> reporter: but last week the fairfax county board approved zoning amendments designed to make it easier to open breweries, distilleries and wineries. >> i think what loudoun did, which is get behind breweries. >> reporter: a key change. before, breweries could only locate in heavy, industrial areas. witness fair winds' location, far from shops and restaurants, next to a train track. new, new smaller breweries focused on tasting rooms will have access to certain commercial areas. matt greer is the co-owner of caboose brewing in vienna. >> fairfax county, i the changes that were recently made are going to be

county and to brewers alike. you know, i think we're going to see a lot more smaller breweries opening up. >> reporter: how do these veterans view the brewing newcomers who will have an easier path to opening their tabs? >> deep within my heart i do have a bit of resentment. we spent a lot of money to get this going. >> reporter: both greer and casey jones at fair winds say more breweries, likely to help their bottom line too. >> if people want to come in and they have a great product, we are right there to help them. i think we're all one big happy family at this point. >> i don't know if you noticed but the supreme court has a new york city block. three of the eight justices grew up riding the subway, all three of them are women. one of them is ruth bader ginsburg. off the bench the notorious rbg as she is is affectionately called loves the theater. news 4's barbara harrison caught up with the justice this week. >> reporter: ruth bader ginsburg

is no stranger to the limelight. she certainly earned her spot on the list of most-recognized americans. and while opera diva is what she dreamed of being as a teenager, there's another moniker. a nom due guerre. a warrior's name young fans have given her. do you know they call you the notorious -- >> the notorious rbg. when that started a few years ago and people said what do you think about it? and i said, the notorious b.i.g., the rapper, and i have something in common. we were both born and bred in brooklyn, new york. >> reporter: she says it started in 2013 when a student at nyu law school was angry over what she saw was the supreme court's weakening of the 1965 voting rights act. >> i had written a strong dissent. she took my bench announcement of my dissent and put it up. anat

shauna kinishnik, put it on tumblr and has kept it alive with thousands of fans checking in. >> you look a little different. >> reporter: denyce graves joined us in the russian lounge of the kennedy center after her performance in the opera "champion." "champion" is one of two contemporary operas appearing at the kennedy center now. they both deal with current issues. "champion" with homophobia. "dead men walking" with the death penalty. in an upcoming night at the kennedy center, "justice at the opera," justice ginsburg will talk about current legal issues that were in some of the oldest operas performed like "carmen." >>er on iconic role. i describe that as the ultimate plea bargain. here's carmen, and she is being carted off to jail. and she negotiates a

don jose. >> had you thought of that? >> hadn't thought of it in those terms but that's exactly what happens. >> do you know that there is an opera, a one-hour opera, called "scalia ginsburg." and it will be produced this summer at the glimmerglass festival. >> reporter: she says the composer, derek wang, now a lawyer, was in law school when he came up with the idea. >> he's reading cases in constitutional law with ginsburg on one side, scalia on the other. he decides this could make a very funny opera. at the libretto, there are words that are straight out of our opinions or our speeches. and the composer's also a librettist. he's trying to portray two people who have very different views on very important things. and yet genuinely like each other. >> reporter: justice antonin scalia, who died suddenly last year, was her friend with whom she shared her love of

and opera always makes a lively conversation with her friend denise, who is now, as the justice was once, a working mother. >> i am seeing recently, i saw her when she was about 8 or 9. and now how old? >> she's 12. but she looks a bit older. >> yes, yes. she's very tall. very thin, very tall. >> reporter: ruth and martin ginsburg raised two children. had grandchildren. and before his death, they had lived a 56-year-long love affair. she says her daughter, a lawyer now, is also a good cook like her father was. >> she wants to make sure i'm properly nourished. she comes once a month, fills my freezer with individual dinners. >> reporter: family, friends and her many, many fans want ruth bader ginsburg to stay healthy and have a long, long life. >> very good advice.

eat, eat, cab. >> wonderful woman. justice ginsburg says she's very committed to staying fit. she told barbara she sticks to a regular exercise regime twice a week. when we come back, white house tours resumed this week. some guests get a special

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(voand exceptional customerity pre-ownservice,les... head t to your neiborhood enterprise car sales and let the people who buy more vehicles than anyone... flip your thinking about buying your next one. white house tours resumed this week and people lined up to be one of the first to get a tour during the trump administration. and some got a special surprise when the president himself was there to greet them. >> reporter: not a bad day to wait in line. cloudy skies and gentle breezes kept vitters cool as the buzz built up. courtney lynn and her family of five hail from arizona, eager for their 8:30 amateur. our interview got cut short. >> i'm so excited. yes, i'm so excited. >> the

donald trump administration. welcome to the white house. >> reporter: the first tour began at 7:30 a.m. janay and her friends were there. >> you would think that, oh, getting into the white house -- you know what i mean? it's amazing that we actually got a chance to go in. >> reporter: and others got a surprise visit from the president himself. adding to the buzz, many tourgoers got late word their visits were granted. historically, there are becauses in white house tours once administrations change hands. so many like barbara johnson planned their d.c. trip and then lucked out. >> i want to see the paintings, the rooms. i'd love to see the oval office but i don't think that's part of -- >> no, it's not. >> reporter: at a time when politics have become a hot-button topic, to many year the white house remains a symbol of our nation's union. >> once you step into those doors and you see that house, you know that this is your house. this is the people's house. no matter who is

one day they'll leave and there will be another one who will take their place. >> reporter: and of course the president can't make every tour, but if you want to book your own, reach out to your congress person or senator, wait times can go from weeks, also up to months. for more information, just check out our nbc washington app. make sure you look up "white house tour." in northwest, i'm justin finch, news 4. >> take that tour, you never forget it. that's all for "news 4 this week." i'm chris lawrence. we'll leave you with a look at the tidal basin. pink blue pushed back march 19th through the 22nd. thanks for joining us. have a great week.

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oh, yeah. winter's back and, boy, are you going to feel it today? storm team 4 tracking bitter cold temperatures and how soon flakes are going to start flying. and forced out in the cold. the dangerous fire that tore through a home leaving more than a dozen rushing to safety. and how to get around today as thousands dash to the finish line. 6:00 on the dot this morning. i'm adam tusk in for david. >> and i'm angie goff. let's just take a moment to admire this gorgeous sunrise behind us. isn't it wonderful in. >> capitol building right there and the clouds. just absolutely gorgeous. but the