i am tim tooten. >> i am nicole killian. >> i am nicole killian.

coming up on the next half- hour -- >> i am tim tooten outside the almost new dunbar high school. >> researchers begin new tests on the swine flu vaccine. the latest details coming up. >> it feels much cooler and drier outside. we are ending august with a taste of fall. details coming up in the insta- weather forecast. >> moving ok on the major roads. we will tell you a few things we will tell you a few things you need to know >> live, local, late-breaking. this is wbal 11 news. >> go

reporting from east baltimore, tim tooten. >> thank you. back-to-school coverage continues later in the newscast with advice for parents and students experiencing separation anxiety. there is continuing coverage on our website. for advice on striking a balance between your studies and extracurricular activities, go through wbaltv.com under " education. the new school year brings welcome news to administrators at wvpt or its high school. the state has taken the school of its "persistently dangerous" list. last year the federal labor department gave the school a $3.5 million grant to address the problem. >> with the money and with our partners and parents and staff members committed to the students in this building, we are no longer "persistently dangerous." >> the funding also helped create a paid internship program for students at baltimore companies. maryland state police have arrested a registered sex offender accused of kidnapping and assaulting a woman in harford county parikh paul townsend jr. be a woman while driving their from aberde

now 2 tim tooten at dunbar high school. a lot of excitement over there. >> absolutely. 82,000 students are going back to the classroom in baltimore city. a special excitement for those attending paul laurence dunbar. the city has pumped in $32 million for renovations. students and staff will find a new cafeteria, classrooms, libraries. plans had been in the works since 2001. later this morning gov. o'malley, the mayor, ceo, and others will be on hand for ribbon cutting ceremony. the reason why the dunbar project is key to the community. >> it needed some work. many of our schools do. but dunbar, with its proud history and tradition, was sorely lacking in a lot of the more modern amenities with respect to its mission in terms of educating kids in the sciences and in technology. >> the project has been on the drawing board for two years. students are going back to find this on their first day. the new entrance is on orleans street. the students will return here for the pres day back in their new building. reporting from east

tim tooten, wbal-tv. >> a boy is back home with olympic gold. he is the junior olympic engineered jump rope champion. -- olympic a jump rope champion. he is back home. congratulations. >> we continue to deal with problems on east of i s seven a. you will find the list -- on eastbound i-70. we will continue to monitor that for you. number one parkway, there is a lane closure due to the water main break repair. not sing in a volume-related delays. drive * indicated that as well. seven minutes on southbound i- 895. some intermittent delays on -- in the white marsh area. once you get onto the beltway northbound, it looks good as well as the west bound direction. here is a look at the forecast. >> we will be hot early on this morning today. we have a chance of showers and storms tomorrow night as well as this afternoon. 87 degrees-91 degrees. the winds will not ube out of te west today in the southwest. back to you. >> coming up, could we see what would have been the final performance for the late king of pop? find out more about the possibility of a

tim tooten explains. >> what you're going to see right now is part of a larger unit and environmentalce related to a fish kill. >> welcome to high-tech learning tween at chesapeake high school. it is a virtual classroom equipped with 10 high-dev nation 72-inch tv monitors and computers with joy sticks that resemble a play station. >> at the end of every test you take you answer questions, so every class will be interactive with this. >> jen is navigating through this virtual recreation of the environment. >> baltimore county was able to launch its virtual classroom with help from lockheed martdwrin and johns hopkins university replied -- applied physics lab. >> they will monitoring data and making zisses based on the data they receive. >> with more opportunities we push youngsters in a position they learn by doing. obviously the spogs stronger. the military has been -- >> the universal classroom will help improve the math and science curriculum and may help improve students for a high-tech future. >> we cannot hire enough u.s.-born engineers to complete the work that we have. it is pe

tim tooten has that story. >> it was only fitting that the end of graduation ceremony was held outsideit capped off six weeks of park projects along with hiking, camping, and canoing. it was a chance for participants to learn more about the outdoors, responsibility, and themselves. >> this program keeps meck me focused on one thing -- getting up in the morning, going to work, staying a good person and helping the community. >> the civic justice community padded in -- modeled after the old civilian conservation corps which began as part of the new deal under president roosevelt. >> we look at it as a prevention program. this is not so much a second chance as it is for a lot of these kids a first chance. >> and for some of those who took part, the corps was their only chance to stay on the right path. >> it really kept me out of a lot of trouble. [unintelligible] >> how many of you believe that you can positively impact and change the world around you? >> lieutenant governor anthony brown issued a challenge for graduates to take what they have learned and make a difference in their commu

tim tooten is alive in the newsroom. >> howard county school officials say the start date was always tentative. it will be long before students crowd the hallways and schools across howard county, but some students and parents had already marked their calendars to come back for august 24 only to learn that the first day of school is actually a week later on august 31. that was news to this howard county parent. >> it helps me get ready for school for them. it gives me more time. >> school officials say the august 24 start date was never in stone. >> as we began working on the calendar development for this upcoming school year, we realized we were going to have some confidence -- some of conflicts in the way we were scheduled. >> parents still welcome the later start date. >> it gives us an extra week with the kids to get them ready for school. and ther>> the reaction was mix. >> i was excited. >> i don't know. >> do you like to start a little bit later? >> yes. >> why? >> i don't know, staying longer with my mom. >> others plan to get the word out by way of newsletters and e- mail no

. >> you can always get more on the first days of school from our education reporter tim tooten on 11 news at 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. uncertain scans be creating too much radiation? >> we will get benefits and risks during pregnancy. >> major roadways are running smoothly so far. we will update you coming up. >> 76 degrees downtown. a mouse start again. the sun will be up half past the hour. -- tha mild start again. the sun will be up half past the hour. men 7's in the mountains of western maryland today. it's like to ask for it than this -- mid 70's in the mountains of western maryland today. there may be a slight chance of a thunderstorm. bill >> is in the medical alert, the number of ct scans has quadrupled since the past and is raising concerns about too much radiation. close to 7% had undergone -- 70% had undergone some sort of test. most scans to not pose a risk to the health of patients. some studies suggest that at least 2% of cancers are linked to this type of exposure. researchers want to do more studies to see if it this affect the outcome of patients. >> some organizations

. >> tim tooten wbal-tv. >> if you have questions, and you can call this number. lines will be open from now until september 4 from 7 a and to 5:00 p.m.. you can also e-mail them. you can log onto our website at>> what is on the minds of wbaltv.com the address and more information. >> one man was license -- was sentenced to life in prison for a bombing. he is terminally ill with cancer. he is expect -- expected to be sent back to libya on compassionate grounds. the obama administration and the parents of the victims are curious about the decision. >> [unintelligible] i think they will stimulate him as a hero returning home. >> there will be complete coverage on the "today show." that brings us to our watercooler question of the day. do you think a scottish court shouldrelease the man convicted of the 1988 pan-am bombing, so he can die surrounded by his family? email us your response to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> coming up, the university of pittsburgh denies a gift from someone. >> and one man who tried to take his own death as largest state. >> here is a live loo

. >> tim tooten, wbal tv 11 news. >> we all get some pesky calls but ahead the new rules that could beplace to stop the calls. and what is the will mean for you? >> coming up in sports, we will preview the ravens versus the panthers. >> good morning, everybody. a short turnaround occurred on sunday. a similar situation for the ravens in the preseason. they have to play tonight after playing on monday. the kicker's cannot complain. this player has been perfect so far this preseason. he is gaining the upper leg on the rookie. >> i am pretty smart about focusing on yourself before you focus on the competition. if you focus on someone else, lost track on what is important. >> you can see the game tonight. pre-game is at 7:30. if the ravens are going to pull the trigger on a big move, the price may have gone down for the broncos receiver. he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. if the trade for marshalls, a denver has to version some aspirin because he may be a huge headache. the cow piboys -- one punt hit e of the monitors. when it happens again, the referee will reset the cl

. >> tim tooten, wbal tv 11 news. >> something for everybody to keep in mind.ing up, we will take you to boston. >> and the final preparations that are getting under way for the funeral services for senator edward kennedy. >> and michael jackson's death is ruled a homicide. we will have more coming up. >> good morning, and welcome back to 11 news saturday morning. >> president obama will be delivering the eulogy for senator edward kennedy. >> our family was lucky to see his passion, self discipline, and his generosity apart every single day. >> democrats and republicans spoke of kennedy's unique ability to forge for and shipped across the aisle. >> we agreed to make progress for the country on important issues. he was the best ally you could have. >> tens of thousands filed past his casket. the line stretching into the distance. many said they could not stay away. >> ted kennedy was my inspiration. i would never not be here. >> members of the kennedy family approached waiting warners to offer thanks for the outpouring of support, carrying on the spirit of the m

tim tooten has the details. >> the near manchester valley high school was built to wildebeest bought -- was built to prevent overcrowding at a nearby school. members of the new student body have wasted no time becoming familiar with their new home. >> we are hoping to set up this. we need help setting up. >> these all have to be in order. >> they have been helping to stock the shelves and offer support around campus. they are taking in the new site. >> it is big. very big. >> have you had a chance to walk around? >> i like the stairway. i like the chandelier. >> it has grown, more than 1200 students. it will open its doors this fall with half that number leaving plenty of room to grow. >> it is unbelievable. everybody is getting excited as we get closer. this is a testicle. >> the decision to build it was made in part by the district school superintendent. but we felt we needed another high school. we did not have room to bring them to other schools because they were overcrowded. >> it will have various programs. wbal-tv. >> is a beautiful school. >> it is gorgeous. >> students in ca

tim tooten, wbal-tv. >> good morning. we have one problem spot, but overall we are still doing well. up to speed on most of the area roadways. a delay and the northeast corner. 58 miles per hour. a check on a lot of view of traffic started with the white marsh area. we are seeing a bit of back up on southbound i-95 just off the white brush area. once you get to the fort mchenry, you are doing ok. the disabled vehicles found on the red. that is the latest. overview a few sprinkles out there. -- over to you. >> a few sprinkles out there. more cloud and the more refreshing. it'll be in the mid 80's for the rest of the week with a stalled out front. 85 degrees over the weekend. upper 80's by next week. more coming up. >> coming up, we told you about demand a wanted to fly his homemade aircraft across the uk. we will tell you how he did. >> we are still taking answers to our watercooler question of the day. the day. i eat anything that i want. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ... yeah, every ni

education reporter tim tooten is live with that story. >> this was another sign that the school bells were about to ring, but today the focus was upon those who drive progress in the classroom. it was a peptalk and planning, but the focus went well beyond goals and objectives, to city school students who shared the stage. >> have no fear. i am ready for a great school year. >> the district continues to ride on the momentum of rising test scores, but progress cannot stop there. >> it is a critical moment. we have made tremendous progress. we came from a place where we had to make extraordinary progress. now, we are at a point where we can truly become a model for the nation as a whole. >> mayor sheila dixon also praised the district and promised more help from city hall. >> some do not have some to say, " good morning, had a good day, the stay focused in school." >> it was evident with students. >> i believe in me. do you believe in me? >> it the city's schools ceo just two years on the job made sure he showered credit on many. >> we seem to have something going. it is making people pa

tim tooten tells us that fewer teachers are returning. >> some are new to teaching and someone new totimore county. >> i am from fort worth and i love life here in baltimore. >> this new group of teachers is familiar with baltimore county. " i went for the baltimore county school system. i loved the experience that i have. i know the curriculum. it was an easy decision to determine which county to teach in. >> those numbers are likely to change even more. the teachers' union is digging for answers. >> we want to look at what causes teachers to lead. right now people cannot retire. they compare baltimore county across the state, and we have a high turnover rate. >> it is very exciting to see all of these young people and some that are not young that are coming from other areas. baltimore county is a great school system. they will make it even better. >> summer sang better with the support of a superintendent. >> you're always -- some are saying better with the support of a superintendent. >> you're always excited. there is great talent here. >> more than 4000 teachers were hired across

tim tooten has more. >> it was only fitting that the end of the graduation center was held outside.it capped off six weeks of park projects along hiking, camping, and canoing. >> we are focusing on one thing -- being good people and helping the community. >> it is modeled in part after the conservation corps which began under the new deal with franklin d. roosevelt. >> you can look at it as a prevention program. you can look at it not so much as a second chance as it is for a lot of these kids, a first chance. >> and for some of those that took part, the corps their only chance to stay on the right path. >> it kept me out of trouble. i was going -- [unintelligible] >> how many of you believe you can positively impact and change the world around you? >> lieutenant brown issued a challenge for people to take charge of these issues. >> if your mind is busy and your hands are busy, you don't have time to get yourself in trouble. >> you can do something if you put your mind to it, and that's how we're doing it. >> there's already evidence that the civic justice corps is becoming popular.

. >> tim tooten with the story on new virtual education. >> what you are going to see is part of an environmental unit related to a fish kill. >> welcome to high-tech learning twine -- 2009 at chesapeake high school. it has 72-inch tv monitors and 30 work stations with joy sticks which resemble a play station. >> at the end of every step you take, you have to answer questions. so every class you take will be interacted with this. >> navigating through had virtual education of the environment. >> johns hopkins university applied physics lab. >> they will be collecting data, critically analyzing that data, making decisions based on the data they receive so that they know what the next step is. >> more opportunities we put youngsters in a position where they can learn by doing, obviously their potential will be a lot stronger. the military will be use -- has been using this for years. >> the new virtual classroom will help improve the math and science program and may go a long way to help preparing students for a high-tech future. >> one of the things we have seen today, we cannot hire enough u.s.-b

tim tooten joins us with details. >> city school officials say this is the one-stop phone line set up to help deal with parent concerns, everything from registration to transportation. they're tucked away on the third floor of headquarters. close to a dozen staff members with on-the-spot answers to many of your pressing back-to-school questions. >> is there any other information i can give you at this time? >> this is a cross-functional effort. we have folks from academics, student support, transportation, food and nutrition. this is a real team effort for the district and hopefully any issue that a parent has, there's someone that can answer the question. >> we do have that information for you. >> around this time of year, telephone calls seem to come in by the hundreds as students get set to return to the classroom. >> are you a student? ok. >> what's on people's minds so far? >> everyone wants to know about transportation. parents who have students with special needs want to know about special education. student placement is a big one. what school will i be going to? >> i'm looking

we want as many calls as possible. >> tim tooten, wbal-tv 11 news. >> 443-984-2000.he link is on the screen to e-mail. you can also get it from the education page of our web site, wbaltv.com. >> harford county goes to school on thursday. john, we have a good weather week for back to school? -- looking at john's forecast, we have a good weather week for back to school. >> my daughter is starting kindergarten. >> world cup games underway. find out what's making baltimore such a viable site. >> coming up in sports, checking on one nagging injury from training camp. plus a look at the world defending world champions in d.c. (announcer) back to school means back to busy mornings. that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm, flaky, pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two bonus box tops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. so i always have totino's pizza rolls. big pizza taste in a bite size roll that my kids can't resist. plus i get two bonus box tops for their school. totino's pizza rolls. the pizza way to sn

tim tooten has that story. >> health officials and educators are joining forces to persuade more parentsto take time for student imization records. >> students who show up for school will be turned away that first day of class. >> monica has firsthand spernings. that's why she brought her daughter hope to caroline street so get the rest of her shots. >> i haven't been able to sign her up yet, because she doesn't have her shots. i brought her down here a month and a half ago. >> local school systems will be the first to tell you, they are making progress. even so, health officials say in light of yearly imization changes, there is more to be done. >> 12th graders are required to be fully up to date on hepatitis b and chicken pox shots. in prior years we have pulled into compliance the rest of the kids, and this really is the wrap up up for those two shots. >> and the reason the h1n1 scare has put health officials on alert is because of the way it could affect children. >> we want to make the public aware, educate, communicate to the public the importance of getting imizations. in times li

tim tooten, wbal-tv news. >> party at the spen -- espn zone.y encouraged kids to get a healthy start when they went back to school. that means maintaining good hygiene. they also got a back pack full of school supplies. 150 kids there. they also ' a chance to win laptops, ipods, and other special prizes. >> stay with us. there is more news coming up. >> movies coming to a theater near you this weekend. >> i'm pete gilbert. coming up in sports, we'll check on the orioles. tiger woods, he takes all challengers. third round of the pga straight third round of the pga straight ahead. when morning comes in the middle of the night... rooster crow. ...it affects your entire day. to get a good night's sleep, try 2-layer ambien cr. the first layer dissolves quickly to help you fall asleep. and unlike other sleep aids, a second dissolves slowly to help you stay asleep. when taking ambien cr, don't drive or operate machinery. sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully awake with memory loss for the event as well as abnormal behaviors such as being