Local Leads: 10/19/09

News you need to know.

By CHARLIE BRAGALE

Updated 2:16 PM EST, Mon, Oct 19, 2009

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The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:

VIRGINIA'S BUDGET WOES
Virginia's cash picture continues to darken.The latest snapshot of state revenue collections shows that general fund collections dropped 7.5 percent in September compared with the same month a year ago. On a year-to-date basis, total revenues are off 7.4 percent. (Richmond Times Dispatch)

ICC TOLL HEARING
As work steamrolls along on the massive Intercounty Connector project, focus has shifted from the ongoing land clearing, digging and paving to proposed tolls for the highway that will bridge Prince George's County and northern Montgomery County. It's the cost of those tolls that has some critics already dubbing the roadway "Lexus Lanes." The tolls will be subject of public hearings scheduled in the two counties later this month. The state is holding public information meetings Monday at High Point High School in Beltsville and Wednesday at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring. (Gazette)

"MOST DANGEROUS"
New statistics show that the portion of the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County is by far the deadliest section of the roadway. Forty-two people were killed in crashes between 2006 and 2008 between the Virginia border and the interchange where Interstate 95 splits off toward Baltimore. During the same period, 18 people died on the rest of the highway. The numbers come from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. (AP/Baltimore Sun)

TEEN SEX OFFENDERS
Juvenile sex offenders will no longer be allowed to live at a residential treatment center in Rockville, a state agency ruled after neighbors said they felt unsafe in their own community. The state Department of Juvenile Services ordered Karma Academy, a 13-bed treatment facility, to remove any sex offenders it is treating by next month. Neighbors of the facility complained to elected officials after three teenagers escaped in September. Neighbors said they were concerned about a perceived lack of security and supervision at the facility and the fact they hadn't previously been told that convicted sex offenders were housed there. (Washington Examiner)

GEORGETOWN SHOOTING INCIDENT
A student was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department after a shot was fired in a McDonough Gymnasium bathroom during Midnight Madness. According to an MPD incident report, police Officer Sherice Clanton set down her purse, which contained her issued weapon, a black .40-caliber handgun, in McDonough Gymnasium. Clanton later noticed that the gun was missing from her purse and notified MPD personnel. “After further investigation by MPD it was found that [the suspect] had discharged the weapon inside the bathroom in the gym and fled the location,” the incident report said. Clanton was identified on a U.S. Park Police blog in June as a Park Police officer. The MPD report said the incident began at 10:21 p.m. and ended at 10:25 p.m. (The Hoya)