Local Leads: 11/04/09

News you need to know

By CHARLIE BRAGALE

Updated 2:45 PM EST, Wed, Nov 4, 2009

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

ROUTE 7 WOES
Construction activities along Route 7 in Tysons Corner will intensify in coming weeks, and the work won't let up until the new Metrorail stations are complete. "2010 is going to be the heaviest impact construction year," said Marcia McAllister, a spokeswoman for the rail project. Over the next six to eight weeks, the service roads that parallel the highway will close for good, eliminating a popular method of traversing the congested corridor. (Fairfax Times)

WORKFORCE HOUSING SHORTAGE
A shortage of housing near D.C.-area employment centers persists despite lower-than-usual home prices and the shortage will continue to grow, according to a new report by the Urban Land Institute. The study looked at the availability of home ownership and rental opportunities within a 20- to 30-minute commute of downtown D.C., Reston and Herndon, Alexandria, Tysons Corner, Bethesda and Rockville — six areas that account for more than one third of the total employment in the area. (Washington Business Journal)

WALDORF MAN A "HIRED KILLER"
Calling a Waldorf man "essentially a hired killer," an Anne Arundel County prosecutor told a jury Tuesday that Jerold R. Burks shot a pregnant Crofton hairdresser in the head last year to clear a $400 drug debt with her married boyfriend, who had wanted her to have an abortion. In his opening statement, Assistant State's Attorney Crighton A. Chase said Burks, 22, "could not keep the terrible secret of what he'd done" and told friends he was worried that Jodi Torok, who survived the Oct. 27, 2008, shooting, might be able to identify him. (Baltimore Sun)

NAKED TEEN HIT BY TRAIN
A young Stafford man was arrested last night in connection with an incident during which he was running around naked and got hit by a slow-moving train, police said. Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy said the subsequent investigation revealed that the 18-year-old suspect had eaten magic mushrooms prior to the bizarre incident. (Fredericksburg.com)

SPIES LIKE MONTGOMERY COUNTY
If Stewart Nozette is put behind bars for espionage, his life may also get put under glass. The Chevy Chase Village resident arrested Oct. 19 on charges of attempted espionage has caught the attention of Thomas Boghardt, the sole historian at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. Boghardt, a Bethesda resident, has a global knowledge of espionage activities — but he isn't such an international man of mystery that he overlooks his own neighborhood. (Gazette)