right now on "news4 this week," easing the congestion. the plan to shorten the commute on one of the area's highways. and a university tries to make a good deed out of a bad one. what it took to track down the descendants of slaves so the school could apologize. and how to beat those allergies. hey, everyone, i'm chris lawrence. we want to start with a multimillion dollar plan to improve i-270 in maryland. news4's chris gordon tells us when construction will start and how long we could be waiting to see the benefits. >> rep

seem like a >> right where 495 and 270 come together, it's impossible during rush hour. >> reporter: to what do you do about it? ci cies. >> i drive around different ways, if i can. >> reporter: relief is coming. governor hogan unveiled a $100 million plan to relieve congestion on i-270. the state will add traffic signals and entrance ramps and build a new interchange at watkins mill road to serve gaithersburg. the governor acknowledges more needs to be done to fix all the problems with 270. but he says the state is spending as much as it can right now. >> this is an immediate solution, that in perhaps a matter of months can cut an hour off your drive time. we've got to chip away at the drive time. >> reporter: ike leggett says the investment is a good start. >> we need traffic relief now and this plan starts to relieve e

>> reporter: construction could begin by late summer or fall. >> each one has a different construction duration. some of them are several months. things like signals, those types of things are much quicker. but you should start seeing some benefit, hopefully this time next year. >> reporter: the amalgamated transit union wants to play a part in planning. >> with bus transit, designated bus lanes, there are smarter solutions to transportation as well. we would like to be a part of that process. >> reporter: chris gordon, news4. >> let's hope it works. alumni who come back to georgetown university won't recognize the names on two campus buildings. they've been renamed to honor slaves sold for profit by the school. news4's derrick ward shows us why this is not the end of the georgetown 272. >> today the society of jesus, who helped to establish georgetown university, and whose leaders

sold your ancestors, stands before you to say that we have greatly sinned. >> reporter: that apology was presented to the descendants of 272 men, women, and children owned and sold by the jesuits at georgetown university in 1838. the sale, to slaveholders in louisiana, raised money to settle university debts. >> today's events are a beautiful gesture recognizing or acknowledging an ugly past. >> reporter: sandra green-thomas says these stories were there in her family's history and recollections from the eldest. the project, she says, represents a beginning of sorts. >> we've been working with the university, having meetings, trying to collaborate, hopefully establish a relationship in collaboration where we can actually get some things done for people of african descent and also to make people in general more aware of this history.

sanders-prater says she would like to see an endowment at the university. >> elevating the quality of life for the descendants of the g 272. >> reporter: she was thankful to the administrators and students behind this effort. there is an irony here too, as d distasteful as the sale of human beings may be, they were meticulous in their recordkeeping. >> all the bills of sales are written down, and the names of the people who were sold are written down on those contracts. >> reporter: immensely important when btrying to link the past ad future like this. for mary williams-wagner, finishing it will be an effort. >> we still need to discovery all of the descendants. >> reporter: derrick ward, news4. if you suffer from allergies, we don't have to tell you, the last few weeks have

been as bad as it gets. pollen every. news4's shomari stone went to the doctor. >> hi, how are you? >> good, how are you? >> reporter: scott keller is getting an allergy shot at the institute for allergy in chevy chase. >> it's crazy. i can feel it. >> reporter: tree pollen is bad this week. >> i want to rip my eyes out of my head, my teeth feel like they want to come out of my mouth. >> reporter: you've probably seen the yellow, greenish powder covering outside tables, cars, and suvs. allergy season peaked over the weekend. and it looks like the pollen isn't leaving anytime soon. just ask news4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> this is the time of year we have our average highest pollen counts. this is when the trees are producing all their leaves. >> house doors and windows closed is always a good thin

recommends you avoid outside air asthma and severe allergies. he shows us how to use nasal inhaler properly. >> right there, you're pointing to the middle of your nose. this is exactly how you don't want to be doing this. >> i've been doing it like that for years. >> that's a common mistake. point towards the ear, toward the back, and slightly up. perfect. >> reporter: and of course the eyedrops. >> one drop each one for this particular eye drop. >> reporter: scott keller hopes it rains soon, to cleanse the air for both of us. >> it can give my car a wash. there's pollen all over my car. >> reporter: tell me about it, scott. but it's pointless to get your car cleaned because as soon as it's cleaned, more pollen will likely fall on it. the doctor recommends that you drive with your windows and sunroof closed and turn on your air conditioning. in northwest dc, so marc shomar,

and a woman her drug addiction. now she's making sure at perdue, we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. like putting oregano in their water. it has natural antioxidants and we don't have to use antibiotics in their diet. perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever.

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it's part of our 100% veggie diet and helps support their immune system. perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever. it's apparently the place to be. we've learned more than 10,000 people have visited the clock tower at the top of trump hotel since it opened in february. that's despite the fact it's only open four days a week. the national park service is in charge of tours. we're told they will run every day starting in june. soon you'll be able to use your phone in more underground metro stations. the agency says 30 underground stations will have free wi-fi by the end of the year. that includes nearly every red line station from union station to medical center. right now, only six downtown stations have free wi-fi. metro hopes to have all underground stations online by next year. when we come back, dealing with the growing opioid crisis. we'll introduce you

to help the real life lesson middle school students are getting about sexting and what can really happen after they get sent.

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she was homeless, running from the police, and losing her will to live. but she pushed through, overcoming her drug addiction and now wants to give back to the people who helped her. news4's darcy spencer reports there's one thing that keeps her going. >> the disease of addiction took me to my knees. god did for me what i couldn't do for myself. >> reporter: coretta beat her addiction to drugs. it almost took her life. >> i lost my relationships with my daughter, lost relationships with my family. i get really emotional when i talk about this. i was homeless. >> reporter: it was back in 2001 th

house, a residential treatment program in anne arundel county that serves women in maryland. and they can bring their children. >> i came here with shackles on my feet, on my hands. and when i walked through the door, they told me they was going to love me until i learned how to love myself. >> reporter: the number of woman dying from painkiller and heroin overdoses is rising across the country, according to the centers for disease control. drug overdoses among women were five times higher in 2010 than in 1999. >> there is lots of pressures just in our communities today, across the country. we're going through a lot of social change, a lot of financial crisis for persons. and so they bear that burden more. >> reporter: the facility is fielding dozens of calls a day from women looking for help. they provide treatment, counseling, job skills, and parent development. there is also a day-care center right onsite where they take care of the children from 8:00 to 4:00 while the moms are in treatment.

then she thinks about about her grandson. >> when i have those thoughts, i pick up this picture. i can't fathom my daughter telling me i can't see him because i made a decision to use heroin and crack cocaine. >> reporter: she returned to countrieshrysalis house in 2005 receptionist, not a patient. she worked her way up to program director. >> one of my best gifts, when a woman walks in here, i give her a shot of hope. >> reporter: and another gift. the daughter she neglected, now praising her mom. >> she told me i'm a hero. >> reporter: in anne arundel county, darcy spencer, news4. >> see all of our previous coverage on the opioid epidemic in the nbc washington app. search "drug crisis

we've obtained this video police responding to the sixth bomb threat there in four months. this week, the montgomery county council approved more than $200,000 for security such as installing more surveillance cameras and reinforcing windows and doors. >> these are prudent expenditures to make sure that our jewish community, our muslim community, our sikh community, all of our communities feel safe in montgomery county. >> and that money should offset some of the extra cost the centers have incurred to keep their members safe. engineers say wheel problems caused a roller costar car to get stuck at six flags america. firefighters had to use long ladders to rescue two dozen people from the ride. six flags says technicians have fixed the problem. the ride opened earlier this week and was put back into

service. rememberoffenbachers? it had a lot of stores in our area before it went out of business last year. this week we learned it's making a comeback with a new name and owner. home escapes has purchased the company and opened two new stores called the new offenbachers by home escapes. one is in northern virginia, the other in rockville. offenbachers started out 45 years ago as a pool maintenance company but close incod in octo because of competition if big box stars. a group of students took a trip into the courtroom to learn a lesson about sexting. northern virginia bureau reporter reports from manassas. >> reporter: it looks like we've dropped into a trial in this prince william county courtroom. you've got the prosecutor, the de

>> the dendant is charged with one count of producing child pornography. >> reporter: this is a mock child with a real world lesson on sexting. >> and i think they really need to understand the dangers of doing so. >> here you go, your honor. >> reporter: along with the assist ant county attorney, they press these eighth graders for their roles. >> these are your props, okay? >> one of the things we tell them when we first start the tour is, this is real life. this is not a tv show. >> all rise. >> reporter: the fake trial focuses on an underage teen who sends a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. he in turn shares it with a buddy. jackie plays one of the three suspects. >> we would just share them. i didn't think it was a big deal. >> reporter: three of the students acting as defense attorneys. >> therefore we will ask that you find ms. woods not guilty. >> reporter: the rest of the class watching from the audience. >> do you swear

>> reporter: after the testimony and evidence is presented, it's a verdict time. but first -- jackie calls time out. >> people in the audience, do we understand what the three charges are? >> reporter: just to make sure they're following along. >> guilty of solicitation and child pornography. >> reporter: all three found guilty. with the mock trial over, a real judge and prosecutor speak. >> the only way to prevent yourself from becoming a victim and private pictures being spread and sent to others is simply not to take them and not to send them. >> reporter: the judge warned of friends that will lead you astray and won't back you in court. >> they won't come in to say, this is a good person, this is my friend. they're running and hiding. just remember that. >> reporter: all those involved hoping this mock trial experience will be the only sexting case these students ever take part in. in manassas, virginia, david culver, news4. >> david says about a dozen

courthouse tour. the prog trasir children out if they prefer, but the schools are worried that high school is far too late for this type of education. when we come back, the spring tradition going strong for more than a century at the national zoo.

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good news for seafood lovers. there are about to be a lot of blue crabs in the chesapeake bay. marine officials tell us they're seeing a record number of female crabs, the highest ever in the 28 years they've been surveying the population. you may remember there were so few female crabs in 2014, officials enacted harvesting caps to protect the crabs. officials say this year's harvest should be substantial. the monday after easter is a popular time to head to the national zoo. and this year is no different. dozens of families are spending the day with the animals. news4's tom sherwood

it's a spring tradition that goes back a century. >> lions. >> zebras. >> reporter: this gaithersburg dad had put an ponc poncho mome before. how many are you dying? >> three. three for the kids and one for my wife. >> reporter: just let the kids get wet. >> oh, no. >> reporter: it was a relaxed but wet day for easter monday, a family day celebration that began 100 years ago with african-american families. >> your zoo is the favorite place for families with children here in the washington, dc area. we welcome everybody. >> reporter: a few years ago, obvious police security presence was stepped up after a couple of disruptive incidents. they haven't been repeated. big crowds attend each year. >> and we've found that that's a great way to invite people to come in and have a great time, at the same time not to bring in things that might cause

>> reporter: the only troub per light rain. >> it's itwet. we're going to enjoy ourselves anyway. we've got to keep ourselves moving and dry. >> reporter: the $3.50 ponchos were selling fast. >> the adults are white and the child are yellow. >> reporter: the cleanup crews kept up with the crowds. the popcorn was hot and fresh. all in all, a day of wonder and excitement at the zoo. tom sherwood, news4. >> never a bad day at the zoo. that's all for "news4 this week." i'm chris lawrence. we'll leave you with pictures from the white house easter egg roll. thanks for joining us. have a great week.

clearasil rapid action begins working fast for clearly visible results in as little as 12 hours. but will it stop this teen from chugging hot sauce? ...oh jeremy. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen things.

and we start with heavy rain and wicked wind. right now on "news4 today," storm team 4 is tracking heavy showers as neighbors, as you can see there, are cleaning up from the first round. marching for science. thousands call for a day of action in d.c. and around the world to prove their points to the president. now it's over to orlov and score! >> the caps win in overtime. they take the