The View from Berlin

Slideshow: Seven Days in Berlin

Wiccan Soldier's Widow Petitions for Recognition

Over here you can listen to a recent report by RBM on efforts to recognize the Wiccan pentacle as a government-approved burial marker. The feature aired on NPR's All Things Considered. An excerpt from the lede:

The widow of a Nevada National Guardsman killed in Afghanistan wants her husband's Wiccan faith recognized. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs permits 38 religious symbols to adorn headstones and memorials, like the one commemorating Sgt. Patrick Stewart's unit. That list includes the Christian cross and even a symbol for atheists, but the government has not yet approved the Wiccan pentacle.

Ward One Gentrification

Over here you can listen to a recent WAMU 88.5 F report by RBM on changes coming to some of Washington, DC's most densely-populated neighborhoods. An excerpt from the lede:

if you throw a dart at a map of the district, you're not likely to hit Ward One. It's not only the city's smallest ward, it's also the most diverse. Perhaps it's no wonder, then, that life in Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, and Adams Morgan is changing. As WAMU's Raul Moreno reports, gentrification is having a profound impact on Ward-One schools, especially those serving DC's Latino community.