in bethesda, jane watrel, news 4. >>> thousands of people in the d.c. area will be a little warmer this winter thanks to the generosity of news 4 viewers. people lined up outside the salvation army in northwest washington this week where they were donating -- passing out 17,000 donated coats. they are part of the 20th annual share the warmth coat drive. hundreds of our viewers and local businesses spent all of last month cleaning out their closets to give to those in need. more than 460,000 coats have been collected since the program started. [ cheering ] >>> these kids from northeast washington are performing a cyber safety rap that they wrote. they were filming a video at the door of the charter school. it was part of an anti-cyber bullying campaign sponsored by the department of homeland security. >> normally hear on the radio almost every morning, and we just started putting rhyming words together. >> i think it was a really important song because maybe, like, children who are cyber bullying other people, maybe they would, like, think over it and ma

in springfield, jane watrel, news 4. >> that's right. news 4 contacted a spokesperson and they are currently looking into the matter. >>> there is a newman at the helm of public safety at loud on county. mike chapman is the new sheriff in town and while he just started the job, he has big plans in store. news 4's julie carey has more. >> day on the job and new loud on county sheriff mike chapman found himself in front of the board of supervisors advocating for a substation. he defeated the sheriff in november and has already brought in a new leadership team that includes administrators from both the dea and fbi. chapman himself is a special agent. >> i wanted to establish a dynamic team. i decided to have a blend of the institutional knowledge we have in the department and bring in outside expert who is personally i will work with. >> worry former federal agents in tope pogsz, the department will work cooperatively with federal law enforcement to attack the top problem in the county. drugs. >> you integrate effort and talent, but when yo

news 4's jane watrel has more from the campus. >> reporter: it's been a somber day on the penn state campus as the community continues to react to the death of former head coach joe paterno. here at his statue a steady stream of mourners dropped by to light candles and leave flowers. earlier tonight a kamdlight vigil was held on campus. thousands gathered at the steps of old may to pay tribute to joe paterno, who died sunday morning at the age of 85. >> to be honest, i'm in a little bit of shock. it's been a lot of days that went by when joe paterno was always at penn state. and you know, it's just rough. it's hard to imagine he's gone. >> reporter: the winningest major college football coach of all time was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after penn state's board of trustees fired him in november. critics say paterno didn't react quickly enough in the child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant jerry sandusky. >> the toughest part has been people who don't go here and they don't understand. like they don't -- they don't get the way that we feel about joe paterno. >> report

jane watrel reports. >> reporter: they're an eye sore along virginia's streets and highways. bags littering the landscape. >> you see it everywhere in the parks and in the streams and it's just dirty and ugly and a big problem. >> reporter: but some virginia lawmakers want to change that, proposing a 20-cent plastic bag tax four times that of the district and montgomery county. supporters say it is not about raising money. >> i don't think asking people to pay a small fee to use a plastic bag is a big sacrifice for people to make. >> reporter: the bag tax breakdown would go this way. a nickel would go to retailers. 15 cents to the cleanup of the chesapeake bay. but there is also stiff opposition. two previous attempts failed in richmond. and while shopper kelly maldonado already uses recyclable bags she too opposes the tax. >> i think in poorer neighborhoods it will hurt people. the idea behind it is good but i don't think it is a good idea to charge people 20 cents right now with the economy the way it is. >> reporter: other shoppers say it would do what proponents are pushi

jane watrel reports now.trend is a matter of national security. >> reporter: cleaning up after his two children is a never ending chore for jeremy. he's an air force spouse who gave up his career in the navy to belong to a select group, less than 5% of military spouses are male. >> the squadron my wife is at, there's one guy. we are both brand-new. it's nice talking to another guy. we are few and far between. >> reporter: he shares something many military spouses had to deal with. conflicts wind down. unemployment. the military lifestyle is almost impossible for two careers and often, it is the spouses career that has to go. >> we moved approximately over the last nine years six times. those six times, every time you have to restart, looking at different jobs. >> i personally moved nine times in 14 years. >> reporter: jeremy has an advocate. she's held down five different jobs. her mission now is to help military spouses get jobs. >> military spouse employment stands at about 26%. there's, i think, a 42% wage

jane watrel has her story. >> mr.the president of the united states. >> reporter: it was a night for president obama to lay out his vision for america, including many pats on the military. >> when you put on that uniform, it doesn't matter if your black or white, asian, latino, native american, conservative, liberal, rich, poor, gay, straight. >> reporter: words that resonated with air force colonel ginger wallace, an openly gay officer. wallace's presence underscored the september 20th repeal of don't ask, don't tell, a policy that banned homosexuals from openly serving in the armed forces. >> it was just unbelievable to represent obviously thousands of gays and lesbians who serve, who served and who will serve in the future, under much better circumstances. >> reporter: wallace and her partner were guests at the white house and got to talk to mrs. obama and jill biden with their support for military families. she believes the repeal of don't ask, don't tell has been seamless. >> i think for the military, it has been

jane watrel has the story. >> reporter: it is a labor of love for phillip blevins.s building this ecofriendly tree house with his sons. after the air force family transferred from colorado. >> we contacted the county and said we're at building a tree house in the backyard. and they told us that for a tree house, unless it was going to be something extravagant, that we didn't need any permission or paperwork to go along with that. >> reporter: two months after finishing the tree house, blevins was deployed as part of operation enduring freedom. someone anonymously brought it to the county's attention saying it was too close to the fence line. denise blevins called the zoning official and asked for a delay. >> i said there is nothing i can do. my husband is deployed. what am i going to do? he said that he would just talk to his supervisors and see if we could delay any action on it. and he did. >> reporter: but on friday, the family got a court sum onss saying the tree house has to be moved or torn down. and has 21 days to comply. this is the second time a military fa

jane watrel has our report. >> reporter: barbara zimmerman is on the hunt for a job, any job. until recently she was caring for her wounded husband. now it's time for the army spouse to re-enter the work force. >> i was out of work for three years and i was focused mostly on his recovery and it has been a struggle to get back into the work force. because there is an empty slot on my resume. >> reporter: she is not alone. many spouses here have gaps in their resumes as well that are hard to explain if you're not in the military community. with an unemployment rate that is four times the national average, news 4 has teamed up with the u.s. chamber of commerce and others to help an often forgotten segment of the military. this army wife and spouse of a va secretary addressed the crowd and could feel the excitement among military spouses. >> i became almost emotional as i watched their faces. you know, there is almost a sense of disbelief that this was a hiring fair just for military spouses. and it's so well deserved. >> reporter: in addition to career counseling and makeovers, d

jane watrel has our report. >> reporter: her blog may be called the domestic under achiever.ever, susan thomas is anything but. the army spouse has a masters degree in english and a firm grip on what it's like to move a military family four times in ten months. while dealing with a civilian world. >> the phrase that i hear the most is i just can't imagine. i just can't imagine. i think people don't understand how really tough we are and i'd love it if somebody would try to imagine it for just five minutes. >> reporter: thomas's blog is an outlet for her writing skills and has turned into a portable career. something many military spouses she knows have had to do in order to cope with stretches of unemployment. >> they want to maintain their skills, use their brains, do all of these things. the difficulty is obviously the moving. employers are reluctant to inve have an uncertain timeline of how long they will have them. >> reporter: at the u.s. chamber of commerce kevin smeegetrying . the retired marine is on a mission to partner military spouses with major u.s. employers. >>

jane watrel who is also a military spouse is live with more on what's going on there. jane? >> i'm a proud navy spouse. a military spouse for over 20 years. there are over 1,000 other men and women down here at the convention center joining me for this military spouse hiring fair. it is not always easy being a spouse because you often move from place to place. they are uploading their resumes so they can have experts go over them with them and help them become more employable because as i said, one of the problems about being a military spouse is that you have to pick up and move and employers are willing to hire you. up on stage right now is patty, her husband is the va secretary. a part of this hiring fair was her idea. and as 3 million men and women are still serving in harm's way and their spouses are home. so right now people are with military spouses are with people who understand their value. >> you have ns translated for military spouses. >> reporter: a close knit community comes together to help one of their own. air force very rans has set up a military spouse ment

. >> i'm jane watrel.ginia lawmakers are considering a bag tax fee that would be four tim >>> d.c. officials are reminding residents about their safe haven law after the tragic death of the abandoned little baby infant two weeks old or younger can be left at hospitals and fire stations and other places designated as safe havens. the parents will not, will not face criminal charges. the reminder comes just days after a man found a little girl on the steps of a home on channing street in northeast washington. the infant was wrapped only in a thin towel and died a short time later. >> it was a tragedy that a mother or father who clearly was in great distress was not aware that there are safe havens designated throughout the city. >> city officials say there are also services available before a child is born for expectant mothers who feel they are not equipped to care for a baby. >>> a bethesda mother is charged with leaving her child alone in an apartment while she went grocery shopping and attended a kick bo

jane watrel, news4. >>> thank you for joining us. we'll see you next time.

in springfield, jane watrel, news4. >>> the blevins say they don't believe they can appeal the summonsoning board because the matter is already in circuit court. turning to sports, the caps are on a winning streak. >> yes, we are. at 3 we are. they're going to try to keep it going against the flames. dan has more. >> reporter: trying to keep that winning streak rolling into the new year. the guys have won three games in a row. that's the strongest winning streak under new head coach dale hunter. they'll also get a boost because mike green who has missed 23 games is going to be back in the lineup. nick backstrom hasn't missed a game the entire season. we caught up with him a bit ago and asked if the team is finally back on track. >> i hope so. i have a good feeling in the team. and we're playing good lately. except the two first periods against columbus. i think we've been playing good and hopefully we can keep doing what we're doing. >> reporter: do you think in the long run, i know it might be hard to see the forest through the trees here. but it could be a good thing that you guys ha

the long-time penn state coach died yesterday as jane watrel reports a lot of people on campus today felt the scandal involving the football program should not over shadow his legacy. >> reporter: the memorial to joe paterno continues to grow around a bronze statue of the former penn state football coach. 84-year-old naomi brought roses. >> the family is wonderful. our youngest son and their oldest son, dave, went to school together. >> reporter: despite his long association with the university, paterno also had strong ties to the local community. many businesses showed their respect for the coaching legend who lived here for 61 years. tina hay is editor of the alumni magazine. >> he was a humble guy. this is a guy who lived in a ranch house on mckee street whose phone number was in the book. >> reporter: local bus driver william bishop says it was that humbleness that won his admiration and respect. >> what he has done for this area and the people that play for him, the young men that played for him, the library and everybody that that's touched, that's not going to go away. >> repo

jane watrel, news 4. >> washington, d.c. has the largest population of military spouses in the nation. >>> monday is martin luther king day and after eight years the mlk day parade is returning to southeast d.c. the parade begins at 11:00 on monday. festivities kick off at the friendship public charter school and end at lekie elementary school. boxing champ lamont peterson will serve as one of the grand marshals. they going to have good weather on monday? >> on monday. it's in the forecast and, yes. i think better weather is coming on monday. monday is looking all right. a little bit warmer for sure. >> you would be who? >> oh, yeah. doug kammerer nbc 4 chief meteorologist. i got this today at a career fair. i was down at herndon intermediate school, middle school where i went to school as a kid and they invited me out to talk to the kids out there. didn't realize i had that on. two ms one r. >> just so you know who i am. >> a little confusing. >>> i want to say hi to all of those kids. they all gave me names to say. sorry.

jane watrel, news4. >>> thank you for joining us. we'll see you next time.ady. [ female announcer ] hamburger helper stroganoff. beefy. creamy. stroganoffy. helpers. forty dishes, all delicious. gives us the most nutritious of gifts. but only when they are ready to be given. that's why green giant picks vegetables at their peak. ...and freezes them fast, locking in nutrients ...for you to unwrap. ♪ ho, ho, ho. green giant guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. sunday morning ideas made easy. here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy.

as jane watrel reports many on campus today felt the scandal involving the football program should not over shadow his legacy. >>> it was a gloomy day on the penn state campus following sunday's death of former football coach joe paterno. >> this is how everyone feels pretty much today. the weather is pretty sad. >> reporter: the rain adding to the dampened spirits as the winni winningest coach in division 1 football died from complications from lung cancer. at the bronze statue of paterno a blue and white scarf hung from his neck. mourners left flowers and other mementos. >>> joe paterno is penn state. there is no words to describe how much he means to every penn stater. people can say what they want about him and what's happened in the last three months. >> reporter: paterno was fired in november after criticism he did not do enough to stop alleged child abuse by former assistant coach jerry sandusky. many students are angered with critics who are not familiar with the legacy. >>> everyone is bashing -- the guy just died. have a little more respect for him. he did a lot of great thin

. >>> i'm jane watrel. from a reston shopping center to the russian ballet, i'll have the story of a local dancer who is now going to be seen on an international stage. >>> and food trucks are everywhere these days. but it could soon be a lot harder to find your favorite truck in the distr [ female announcer ] these are the crescents you love on a holiday. and these are the ones you'll love on a school night. pillsbury ham and cheese crescents. with just a few ingredients, you have an easy dinner. pillsbury ham and cheese crescents. school night ideas made easy. here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy. >>> we have some wintry weather ahead tonight. the salt sheds are stocked and trucks are out right now. they're putting down a salt brine solution which prevents the first snow from sticking. plows are on stand by to make sure the roads stay clear. official

in bethesda, jane watrel, news4. >> 11:41 is our time. still ahead, starbucks is offering a new flavor. plus what are your fingernails looking like? they say a lot about your general health. we [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. mom, we're dying. no you're not, you're just hungry. make some totino's pizza rolls. we don't have any! front... left, totino's. [ male announcer ] well done mom! less drama, more fun! totino's pizza rolls. >>> today starbucks is offering an even lighter roast coffee. the new blond roast, not just for blopds, brewed in stores around the country and will be available at packaged coffee stores places where they sell the packaged coffee. the new roast comes in response to more than 50 million americans who answered a starbucks survey saying they want a lighter roasted coffee. >>> if you are a

jane watrell reports. >> reporter: a concrete fortress at ninth and pennsylvania. the fbi has been headquartered here for four decades. but the g-men have outgrown the building and must relocate. fairfax county is rolling out the welcome mat. supervisor jeff mckay, pitching the 70 acre warehouse site yard from the station. >> i have a dinosaur of a warehouse next to a regional center. >> fairfax county officials know this is very early in the game. that's because trying to get the fbi to relocate its headquarters from 9th to pennsylvania out to the virginia suburbs isn't a slam dunk. this warehouse site out in springfield has been pitched before, by fairfax county officials, to the base realignment and closure commission. several years ago it was rejected. even though this site is owned by the federal government. instead, the folks chose to relocate the workers, defense department workers to the mark center. at metro there are mix read actions. >> i don't know what it is going to do to traffic probably is not going to help. >> fairfax supervisors believe it will sa

jane watrel has our report. >> reporter: rainy foster shows the small desk drawer where she kept some of her late husband's personal effects. >> a draw where i kept bill's wallet. >> reporter: bill foster died two years ago this week in a small plane crash in connecticut. the former nasa rocket scientist and energy lobbyist was only 50 years old. >> he was really on the brink of something wonderful at the time of his death. i was very proud of him. >> reporter: dealing with the loss of her soul mate has been difficult, but she said she was comforted by a short video she took of bill holding a family cat. >> i watched it all the time. i watched it all the time. because it was three days before his death. >> reporter: but the flip cam, similar to this one, containing the priceless video, was stolen from the desk drawer when burglars broke into their home in late december, stealing electronics, jewelry and other personal items. >> they at least could have taken the pouch but they left the pouch. it was adding insult to injury. >> reporter: rainy is working with police. three other homes

news4's jane watrel is at the university and will have more on how the people are remembering the long-timeach on news4 later today and throughout the week. >>> let's see how wall street is shaping up as we begin this workweek. let's go live to cnbc's jackie deangelis. good morning. >>> good morning, joe. the futures have turned positive this morning after a mixed session on friday. but an overall positive week for wall street with the dow, nasdaq, and s&p 500 all closing up 2% or more. the cloud of europe's debt crisis is still hanging over the markets. most of asia is closed today for chinese new year. japan fell overnight, and europe is mixed at the moment. there's no economic data today, but investors will be watching several events this week including a fed meeting. president obama's state of the union speech and a first look at fourth quarter gdp numbers. >>> the price of a first-class stamp went up sunday to 45 cents. the first hike since 2009. the increase comes as the postal service is trying to stem the tide of red ink and as contract talks with two unions representing 242,000 mai

jane watrel is here in the studio with more. >> reporter: he was invited by the obamas to highlight the loifgt don't ask, don't tell, allowing military members to reveal their sexual preference without retribution.ifting of d tell, allowing military members to reveal their sexual preference without retribution. it was a night for president obama to lay out his vision for america, a vision that included many pats on the back for the military. >> when you put on that uniform, it doesn't matter if your black or white, asian, latino, native american, conservative, liberal, rich, poor, gay, straight. >> reporter: words that resonate with air force colonel ginger wall, what an intelligence officer and lesbian, who was invited to sit with the first lady tuesday night along with other citizens and dignitaries. wallace's presence underscored the september 20th repeal of don't ask, don't tell, a policy that banned sexuals from openly serving in the armed forces. >> it was just unbelievable to represent obviously thousands of gays and lesbians who serve, who serve offed and who will serve in the f