Today’s NewsTalk replay contains two good interviews.

In segment one, we talk with Ilir Zherka, head of DC Vote, about the challenges city leaders and voting rights advocates face in dealing with the new Republican-controlled Congress.

And in segment two, Dr. Gary Weitzman, CEO of the Washington Animal Rescue League, tries to allay some of the concerns many people have about adopting a pit bull or pit bull mix. (Spoiler alert: the puppy he brought with him is adorable.) 

Both of these segments will re-air today at 4pm and 6pm on TBD on NewsChannel 8. (The 4pm replay can also be found here) 

We also talked today with Josh Lopez, the man behind the Fenty write-in campaign and a candidate for DC Council. Lopez, a DC native, is running in the April 26 special election to fill the seat that became vacant when Kwame Brown was elected chairman. If elected, he’d become the first Latino member of the DC Council.

We asked him why he’s running – and about the $18,500 fine that the DC Board of Elections and Ethics leveled against the write-in effort. Check out this excerpt from our interview:

We also talked today with state Senator Jamie Raskin (D-Silver Spring) about the measure, introduced today in Annapolis, that would give gay couples the right to marry. Advocates believe this is the year the legislature will approve gay marriage. Here’s that interview in its entirety:

Wednesday at 10am: Politico’s David Catanese talks about George Allen’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate. Also, the latest on the region’s housing market.