world's largest skyscraper. no surprise here. it is in dubai. it is a half mile tile. it has 160 stories. it cost $1.5 billion to build. and it has been dubbed the virtual city. see you next time. welcome to "news4 this week." >> hi, everyone. we're going to show you some of the most interesting local stories making news this week. among them, you may not want a shot but you can you stop the flu on your own? we'll look at some popular recommendeds. surgery success, the incredible story of a baby in need of a heart transplant. how a new procedure is saving lives. and we'll visit a vineyard taking orgic wines to the next level in going green. but first, a marriage proposal in front of the hundreds who showed up for a public hearing at the d.c. counsel chambers it was. you a hearing on whether to legalize same sex unions in the district. out of all the council hearings he's covered, this was a first. >> that it was going along as scheduled monday. witnesses using their three minutes argued for or against it whmpl suddenly, there was a real proposal. >> i hope to love, honor and cherish andy. i hope to care for him in sickness and health on. this historic occasion that meenlz so much to so many, i would like to take a huge step in my own life. >> andy? you've changed my life. >> with that, andrew and andy made local history. >> has there ever been a marriage proposal? >> i don't believe there ever has been. i think that's the first. it was very touching. obviously, from the heart. and really, it really matters to have the issue defined in those terms. >> i'm confident the city will pass the legislation and support it as a human and civil right issue. >> the two men spoke with report betters the proposal idea. >> you know the people that propose in the ballparks and do those big things on the scoreboard. they're proud, they're excited, they want to share. >> did you know? >> no, i didn't. i had a little bit of an inkling that it might happen but i didn't know for sure. >> what was your thought? >> my thought you was i was praying that you it was happening. >> opponents of same sex marriage were not moved by the incident. >> between a male and female, a man and a woman cannot be obedie. >> i guess they want to dramatize the issue of marriage about you the church is very clear. we love you. you have a right to do whatever you choose to do. but as far as the church is concerned, a marriage is between one man and one woman. >> tom sherwood, news 4, washington. >> it expected to easily pass the bill you but it could face road blocks when it goes for congressional reyou view. while the winter olympics are happening in canada, the big countdown started near d.c. the torch will be lit in vancouver in less than 100 days you now. pat was there as the clock started ticking. >> reporter: outside the canadian embassy, people were rocking to the rhythms of one of the hottest pop stars. cc came to washington to celebrate the 100-day countdown to the 2010 olympic games. and to officially mark the countdown to vancouver, the unveiling of the 100-day countdown clock. >> it is great to have a little vancouver right here on pennsylvania avenue. so it makes it real for all of us as we count down the 100 days. >> reporter: joining the canadian ambassador was the president of the company dubbed the olympic official timekeeper since 1932. >> we had about 30 stop watches if you will at the time. today we have over 400 tons of equipment. hubs. time keeping professionals and thousands of volunteers. it has evolved quite a bit over the years. >> reporter: while the clock is ticking, the excitement is will building. >> what are you looking forward to? >> all the games. it will be really cool. >> i love ice skating. >> reporter: meanwhile as the athletes train, their vancouver village is getting its finishing touches. so are the convenient you use where it will take plays. >> by february 12, it will have visited over 1,000 communities, touched three oceans. >> reporter: now the olympic spirit has officially spread to the nation's capital. >> it is good for the community to see what's going on in canada. >> reporter: pat law schoolson. first lady michelle obama helped kick off a program to help young people in our area. the first lady kicked off a white house leadership and mentoring initiative. tenth and 11th grade girls from our area are getting paired with senior officials at the white house. they'll follow their female role models to learn things such as life skills and career development. the goal is to make a positive impact on young people so they'll pursue their dream. this first phase of the initiative is all female. a young man's version starts soon. inhe past weeks, wefl seen thousands of people line up for hours in hopes of getting the swine flu vaccine. not everyone is swearing by the shots or the mist. in fact, there is a large population relying on home remedies. jackie benson has that story. >> reporter: don't count on the onions you heard about in that chain e-mail to keep you from getting the h1n1 virus. people are worried. the h1n1 vaccine is hard to get. so is antiviral medicine like tamiflu. some are turning to home remedies like the one that claimed sleeping with an onion neer your bed absorbs the flu virus. others are exploring alternative medicine. >> the ones that actually have dead viruses in them -- >> reporter: at the washington institute of nat natural medicine in northwest d.c. says people have been asking her about preventing the flu. both h1n1 and seasonal. >> they're totally dead viruses and a very minute form. and the theory is it helps build the body's immune system and helps the body fight off the organisms itself. >> reporter: even natural food stores are feeling the effects. they're getting lots of requests for products that will boost the immune system. shelves are filled with products like echinacea, essential oils with antiviral properts and herbal products that claim to help ward off the flu. but family medicine physician dr. tiffany lucas points out that flu prevention can be as simple as and as cheap as soap and water to wash your hands. >> i notice a lot out there about using different herbal remedies or garlic and onion and so forth. and i typically tell people, putting an onion across the room won't hurt you but i'm not sure it will help you either. >> reporter: advice to remember for those still waiting for a flu shot. jackie benson, news4. still to come, they're stylish and sleek but they may have a smelly secret. washing up with some new home facing tough budget decisions which means residents could be facing higher taxes. they expect a deficit of up to $100 million beginning next july. there are some proposals on the table that could raise taxes by about $5 a month for the average arlington homeowner. residents may also face a number. service cuts, and county employees may be laid off. residents can have their say in the budgeted decisions during public hearings in marchith a final vote set for next april. some new home appliances are being touted as money savers. plenty of consumers are buzzing about front loading washing machines themselves sayhey are efficient and energy saving but also stinky. liz has more on how to avoid this smelly secret. >> reporter: this is wash day for virginia. the day she washes her washing machine. she fell in love with a fancy front loader. they're energy efficient, use less water, less electricity and they're beautiful and smelly. >> what happened first was early in the summer when the humidity is peaking outside, i started to notice that no matter what did i with my towels when i would start to dry off with them after they had been washed, i would smell this mildewy smell. >> reporter: about the same time her husband and son began having allergy symptoms so she, an oncology nurse, typed moldy smelly clothes into a search engine. >> itopped up with many websites about people complaining about the mold in front load washers. >> reporter: so she inspected her front load washer and found you it was filled with hidn mold. >> it is all in here? >> yes. >> when i pulled back the gasket -- >> reporter: the mold grows here behind the gas death. >> this is where you put in the detergent and bleach. mold you was growing throughout this entire unit and behind. >> reporter: she is not alone. consumers across the country are complaining about their smelly front loaders. at consumers union, the publisher of consumer reports magazine, david butler says -- >> based on the anecdotal evidence we have from consumers, this is not limited to one brand or one type of front loading washing machine. it seems to be a problem with many different models. >> reporter: it has become so common a problem that washer manuals mention it sort of. her manual phrases it sta areas. >> stained areas themselves use the word mold? >> no, they do not. >> reporter: her washer come with a special cycle just to clean the washing machine itself. but that didn't put a dent in the mold. she says there is only one way to do that. >> i pull back the gasket and i actually to have remove all traces of water and wipe it down with the bleach solution. >> reporter: after she washes her washer, her cloth looks like this. >> oh, it's black. >> it's gray, black, purple. typical mold colors. >> reporter: she says she does this every time she launders, 20 minutes of extra washer washing. when she is done, she must keep the washer's door open to help it dry out. she's even purchased this cleaner which is made specifically to clean smelly washers. virginia says she stopped three friends from buying front loaders and there is no question what she would do if she had a front loader doover. >> i would stick with my old top-loading washer. >> reporter: the association of home appliance manufacturers say like all household appliances, washers require regular cleaning and maintenance by the consumer and allashing machines have the potential for some odor, mold and mildew after a period of use. coming up, the amazing story of one baby's you don't need to see deer crossing signs to know there is also need for caution. deer are running rampant in our area and one encounter could lead to a serious accident in the blink of an eye. here are some tips. >> reporter: no question, they're cute. at this time of the year, they're downright frisky. the deer seem to be everywhere, and if you're not careful, bambi could end up inside your car. >> you start the vehicle, the left front of the vehicle. broke the left head lamp. destroyed the left front fender. >> reporter: auto body shops are very familiar with the damage deer can cause. this repair will cost about $2,800. last year there were 1.5 million reported deer-car collisions nationwide. and many more went unreported. as the weather turns chilly, deer activity heats up. >> october, november, are the height of the mating or running season for deer. >> reporter: while not all accidents can be avoid, there are things you can do to cut down our o'your chances to be slammed by a deer. here are four of them. first of all, be observant. take note of the places deer hang out. slow down andaaa recommends you remove your foot from the brake before impact. this will trays front end of the car so the deer will hopefully go under the vehicle rather than through the windshield. never swerve. you could you lose control or hit something else. and remember, deer travel in groups. >> a lot of times when you're driving, you may see one deer on the roadside or crossing the road and you you want to keep in mind, there are probably more deer in that same location. in fact, deer often follow one another single file across a road. >> news4. >> you won't just find deer on back roads or neighborhoods, deer have been known to jump out in front of vehicles even on the highways. if you watched "the biggest loser," you undoubtedly spotted some familiar scenery as the show went on the road this week. >> washington, d.c. >> what's up? >> they came to washington for the biggest workout ever. as part of the challenge, they ran all over the city to recruit washingtonians to take part in the workout. they also made a special visit to the white house kitchen for lesson in healthy cooking, using vegetables straight from the white house garden. one contest attend is on his seco season of the show. he told news4, the emotional struggle is as hard as the physical one. >> the hard part is going through it again. bob and gillian use the workouts, they break you down so they can build you back up. the second time is the hardest thing i've been you through so far. there are layers that i get through with every 50 pounds i take off that i never you knew i had. >> the contestants went to capitol hill and met with senators to push for more health and nutrition education in schools. now to news for your health for sgaebz transplants. these procedures can be bitter sweet. in many cases, a child needs to die for another child to get that life saving organ. now they are giving children a better chance to live. >> you it was devastating. >> reporter: three days after alexandra was born, she underwent her first heart surgery. >> there was actually no connection between her heart and go lungs. >> reporter: doctors at joms children's center were able to reconnect the two organs but then six weeks later, they found she had taken turn for the worse. >> she was going into heart failure. we didn't know. >> reporter: her little heart was stopping. no one you knew if it was as a result of the heart defect she was bo with or something else but doctors were sure that she would need a heart transplant if she was going to survive. >> she was hanging on. not looking very well. she was fighting form so long and she was starting to lose that. >> she needed to be on the ventilator. she was very sick. she had been not gaining weight, not getting nutrition. she was quite ill. >> reporter: you but johns hopkins pediatric cardiologist said trying to get a you n heart for an infant is risky. >> many children will be on the heart transplant list and will not get a heart i time. sometimes it is close to % don't get hearts on time and die waiting on the list. >> reporter: the pediatric heart surgeon decided they couldn't afford to wait for a perfect match so they would try something you new. >> we have to basically bite the bullet and do our first. compatible heart transplant. when you're against the wall, you're against the wall and you fight. >> reporter: an abo incompatible transplant means the donor's blood type doesn't match the recipient's. it is relatively new science but they are finding it can work in very young children. that's because babies younger than 14 months have undeveloped immune systems and very few antibodies, so they don't always reject the donor organ. >> what happens is the immune system is immature. and it has not been primed to react to a fornl anti-jen. >> reporter: one study finds survival rates for babies who got incompatible heart transplants were the same as those who got organs from matching donors. you it was the morning of christmas eve when the lindsey family got the phone call that would turn out to be their greatestift ever. >> it was found, one of the nurses said she was really happy to tell us that they think they found a heart for her. >> reporter: the donor you was blood type b. alley is type a. the surgery was a success. and now nearly a year later, alley is home and smiling. >> that's the greatest thing to wax her enjoy something. anything. >> that was doreen reporting. doctors expect the baby's heart to grow with her through the five vineyards take organic wine making to a higher powerful wendy went to one vineyard in california where they believe you can't make good wine without a good earth. >> reporter: it's harvest in the vineyards, early october, the grapes are low on the vine. workers are tearing through you the roads. in wine country they call this crush but it might also be called rush. >> how you are you today? >> reporter: this is the vineyard in the area of northern son open. a it is name after the region in sicily where his father was born. >> the berries are nice and small. really loose clusters and just producing fabulous fruit. >> reporter: he grows the grapes. his wife lisa makes the wine. both are former i.t. special ifrts who bought the vineyard in 2001. the land had been farmed commercially with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. they decided to make it biodynamic. >> it is the way my dad used to farm. >> reporter: they you view the land as a whole organism, respecting everything from the soil to the bugs. >> think first and foremost, we look at the earth as a living organism, as opposed to a rock with things growing on it. >> reporter: it feeds the soil with organic matter. the weeds, the bugs, they have their purpose and they're controlled naturally. >> we have sheep that we keep in the vineyards to help keep the grasses low. >> reporter: and the moon. biodynamic farmers believe in guidance from the faces of the moon. >> you almost have to make a leap of faith that it really does have an effect. and this is one large ecosystem that we need to become one with. >> reporter: biodynamic farming is taking root in wine country. featured on the cover two years ago you was the first to get the biodynamic certification. their specialist helped them. >> it took like three years to recover from the shock of steroids withdrawal, as i like to call. i. >> reporter: she turns these biodynamic grapes into a ward winning. >> you're trying to capture the sunlight, camden you a sunlight, capture the special place that we have here and bring that all into the wine. >> reporter: so will a biodynamic wine taste better? not necessarily. you but they are producing those that get a 90 from robert parker. more importantly, their vineyard isn't polluting the workers or the land. just the opposite. they're allowing their corner of the earth to evolve naturally and harness the power of nature for their creation. >> when somebody drinks a glass, i want them to remember our mountainside vineyard. i want them to remember our rocky soil. i want them to remember our native grasses and the fact we are biodynamic. that's all for "news4 this week."