pepco outrage -- they checked their meters. he was being overcharged. >> he said they were using the wrong meter since day one when we opened. >> he thought the problem was over until he received another bill from pepco, for now i'm thousand dollars. it was a mistake. pepco said it would remedy the situation. -- the bill was for $9,000. >>> 6:44 is your time, 58 degrees. >> swine >> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington," with doug mckelway, alison starling, meteorologist brian van de graaff, weather, and lisa baden, traffic. this is "good morning washington," on your side. >>> 6:47. time for a check on the top stories. >> we begin with the raging wildfires in california. low wind it is helping a bit. at least eight wildfires are burning. the biggest blaze is threatening thousands of homes in the los angeles foothills. >> it was the deadliest month on record in afghanistan. a new strategy is needed. this situation is serious but the war is winnable. 47 u.s. troops were killed there last month. >> four men were shot

pepco said there would remedy the problem immediately. still, you open those bills, you lose a couple of years of your life. >>> just about 5:48 on a tuesday morning, but the first day of september. >> there is a touch of fall in the air. >> it is silly. typically we're in the mid mid n. take it while you ca e wenekday weekend isooki l good, too. than c alwayslabor ay labor miar emorial day are ll. ll. look cumberland, up 48. westwe virginia, 46. let's go over to the big picture and i will show you what is happening. clouds are still lingering down to our south and east. we were worried because it would be ever so close to our area. high pressure is kind of slamming it down. clouds are thinning out overnight. the moisture down in the carolinas. nothing but clear skies overhead. our forecast today, and dry, pleasant, plenty of sunshine. cool and very comfortable conditions. typically, but temperatures should be in the mid 80's. this afternoon, mid 70's. kind of crisp to start off. you might need a jacket this morning. it is downright brisk

wasu, pepco, washington gas and horizon. pepco says it will likely help over 8,000 people. >> it appears there will be an increase. last year we had about 8,000 residents that came in seeking assistance. 11:30 last night we had people camping out to get in line in order to be first for energy assistance. >> to help me pay my bills and teaching me how to use the energy in my home to stay warm in the winter time. >> the discount runs until 7:00 tonight down at the convention center. pepco tells us as of 3:00 this afternoon this he already helped about 5,000 people. many may be eligible for the low-income home energy assistance program. so far this year, the d.c. government has given more than $20 million in energy assistance. >>> while many in this region struggle to make ends meet, a lot of areas residents are flush with prosperity. washington has most young people making six-figure incomes than most big cities. we are home to 50 counties with the more 25 to 30-year-olds earning more than $100,000. they have the highest perce

. >> combine that with a federal tax credit and a contract with pepco. >> if you produce more than yous back to the grid and you get credit from pepco. >> not to mention savings on energy bills. >> my last bill was half of the original bill. >> it is solar, it is good for the environment and people that have it. >> reporter: both aspiring to make the ultimate solar statement. brittany morehouse, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> the average installation cost for mount pleasant homeowners is in

don't forget you can visit the pepco power cast. have any power outages due to the wind there is an interactive map at pepco.com and shows where the issues are. helpful tool. here's the frontal boundary slicing through west virginia and western virginia. behind it, later in the afternoon, it is in the east and we have gusty west to northwesterly winds today, tomorrow and wednesday. seven-day forecast is up, everybody. take a look. put down your lunch. plan your week. after today we don't have to worry about much in the way of rain but we keep it chilly around here. especially with winds tomorrow and wednesday. i'm going with friday for the pick of the week, mississippi and 71. heading to the weekend looks like we may split the difference with a couple of showers possible by sunday with a temperature of 72. the show is not over. we want you to stay with us. the time is 12:21. 74-degree unless the nation's capital. you are watching 9 news now. ♪ ♪ golden morning, family smiling ♪ ♪ gonna be a special day ♪ for the perfect start to the

utility companies washington gas and pepco are looking into possible causes. >>> here is what's happening today, september 28th, alley will encourage people in maryland to get the seasonal flu vaccine by receiving the shot himself. he will do that at a clinic this morning. elijah cummings is set to host an hiv aides symposium to promote awareness of the disease. millions of people around the world are celebrating yom kippur, this is the holiest day of the year for religions jews. >>> the first family went sightseeing in their own backyard yesterday. they spent time at the jefferson memorial, washington monument, the first lady the couple's two daughters and extended family came along. the president's half sister and family are visiting from out of ton. what do you do you you show them around. look at the sites. >>> that is neat. it looks like the number of women who go to baseball games regularly is actually shrinking. >> strategy was let's figure out how to integrate women into baseball and baseball into their lives and make it fun. >>> how a couple of almost a dodger fans are getting mo

. >> washington gas and pepco shot off the utilities to roughly a dozen businesses and the gas company is in the process of closing off the gas line. fire officials say the gas readings inside the build things were extremely high and there could have been a repeat of the may explosion. how close were we okay having another catastrophe? >> probably very close. >> it is a little bit concerning. i don't know what to say. they should have checked everything when that happened down there. i mean, at this point we'll have to wait and see what happens next. >> we have an update just about within the last ten minutes. mark brady from the fire department said they've been able to isolate the gas line and shut it off so gas is no longer coming into the buildings. as you can see the businesses are clouds. i'm told -- closed and they will remain closed for a number of days while this investigation continues. darcy spencer, news4. >> thanks. >>> still ahead on this broadcast tonight, famous fugitive caught! roman polanski skipped out on bail and fled the country 30 years ago. today he was arrested.

the utility companies washington gas and pepco are looking into possible causes for both gas leaks. >>> a billboard featuring a gay soldier was ripped by vandals in memphis, tennessee. the billboard was part of a campaign for national coming out day which takes place october 11th. now police have not said weather there are any suspects incus deem the memphis gay andless bee an community center plans to rally. the billboard was meant to understand issues affecting the gay community in the mid-south. >>> police arrested 76-year-old roman polanski when he arrived in switzerland saturday. he is being held based on australia arrest warrant pending extradition proceedings. the warrant was issued in 1978 accusing him of sexual acts with a 13-year-old girl. the director of chinatown who won an oscar for the pianist fled the united states before sentencing. he has lived in france. the victim is 45 years old. she says she wants the case to be dismissed >>> we know finding the one is not easy. so forget the internet or speed dating, everything out there. how about good old-fashioned match make n

. >> combine that with a federal tax credit and a contract at pepco. >> if you produce more than you're using, it goes on the grid you get credit. >> reporter: not to mention the money saved on energy bills. >> my last bill was almost half my previous bill. >> reporter: you get a financial statement that pleases two teens. >> people don't like throwing their money around. >> it's solar, it's just the environment, it's good for the people who have it. >> reporter: both aspiring to make the ultimate solar statement. >> britney morehouse, 9news now and wusa9.com. >>> the average installation costs for mount pleasant homeowners is in the range of $20,000. they estimate a pay back after roughly seven years. >>> a quick check now of our weird news files. >> an amazing new product that just might save your life, the survivable. >> today we're launching balls across america. >> they call it couture for climate cry calamity, it's a stunt by a group calling itself a yes man, an ironic name since they launched anticorporate products. they made an assault on the united nations, one of the yemen was

brady says the shopping center will remain closed tomorrow while the washington gas company and pepconk you, lindsey. >>> a local woman doing yardwork at her residence was killed when a tree fell on her this evening. the 63-year-old woman was doing yardwork in front of her house when a large tree fell on top of her. the woman's husband came outside to find her trapped beneath the tree and called 91. >> when fire rescue units arrived on the scene we found a 63-year-old female underneath of an approximate 10-inch caliper tree. it appeared to be dead and possibly with the rain we have received in the area was uprooted. >> the woman was taken to the hospital where she died. her name is being withheld tonight pending notification of the rest of her family. >>> a crash in tampa, florida, closing lanes. it happened just as football fans were leaving a buckaneers game. witnesses say it all started when a charter bus rear ended a car. >> it happened so fast you don't have time to be scared. most scary is when i got out to get my wife out of the car. >> at least five people were taken to tampa

. >> reporter: the washington gas company and pepco are working to resolve the problem for good today> time for another living smart report and jessica doyle is back and she's thinking of holiday travel. i like your thoughts. >> never too early to plan for vacations. good morning. if you are planning to fly around the holidays in november and december you want to budget some more money. the st. louis dispatch reports that several big airlines this week have added $10 sure charges for ticket on travel around thanksgiving and new years. the airlines adding fees for holiday travel are american, united, u.s. airways and delta. an analyst says the airlines probably added the charge rather than raising base fare prices but holiday fares are up to 20% cheaper than last year, at least for now. >>> big job losses in the spike of retirement claims will force social security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in the next two years the deficits won affect payments to retirees but will add to the federal deficit. >>> do you have a problem with your roof? a lot of people in the w

today is the anniversary ironically enough of isabelle and at one time that left us with 1.4 million pepcoustomers without power on this date in 2003. the swift boats will come out and make sure everybody is safe but wow, that is a mess. >> they knew what to do then and now know what to now. >> the good news is it is not winter so no one will be expose to cold. >>> looking at a nice evening and nice weekend. the next three days right out of the gate, sunshine tomorrow and 76 for the terps. sunshine and 78 for the skins and nice for the children's festival at wolf trap, both days. 80 on monday, dry but warm. for tonight, partly cloudy and cooler. low 50s to mid-60s. northeasterly winds at ten. lows 58 great falls. 59 tysons. low 60s bethesda and silver spring. downtown in the mid-60s. temperatures right now, pretty uniform in the 70s. frederick keeps having an erroneous reading of 71. tomorrow partly cloudy and cool. breezy. 50s and 60s. by afternoon, mostly sunny and delightful high 74 to 78 and winds northeasterly at ten. satellite picture and radar combined. we talked about it being a sl