Metro Briefs

DISTRICT

Boeing donates to King memorial

The Boeing Co. said it donated $1 million to help build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

The gift was announced Thursday, the 45th anniversary of the civil rights leader’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

The foundation working to build the memorial on the Mall said it has now raised $100 million for the effort. Earlier this month, the group announced it must raise an additional $20 million to complete the project.

The memorial will be an enduring reminder of King’s legacy of inclusion, hope and freedom, said James Bell, Boeing’s corporate president and chief financial officer. Also Thursday, Clear Channel Radio stations across the country held an all-day radio-thon to help complete fundraising for the memorial.

Ford’s Theatre chairs to be sold

As Ford’s Theatre undergoes a major renovation, the public will have a chance to own a piece of its history.

The infamous and uncomfortable wooden chairs that have lined the hall since 1986 are being replaced with plush new chairs. The theater is offering up the old ones for donations to raise money for the $50 million renovation.

The wooden chairs will be sold for tax-deductible donations of $150 each or $500 for a set of four.

The 145-year-old theater where President Lincoln was assassinated is scheduled to reopen Feb. 12, 2009, the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.

MARYLAND

BALTIMORE

Lawmaker seeks bridge review

An Eastern Shore lawmaker is asking state officials to commission an independent safety examination of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

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