The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
LOCAL MAN ARRESTED FOR PASSING SECRETS
A scientist who worked for the Defense Department, a White House space council and other agencies was arrested Monday on charges of passing along classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said. The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law. (Baltimore Sun)
MARYLANDERS FAVOR ALCOHOL TAX
A statewide poll shows that 83 percent of Maryland voters favor a tax on alcohol to provide alcohol and drug treatment programs or services for the developmentally disabled. (Gazette)
H1N1 VACCINATION SHORTAGES
Maryland may receive just half its expected supply of the swine flu vaccine for October, state health officials said Monday as they scrambled, along with hospitals and other providers, to confront a projected shortfall. As H1N1-related hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise, people have flocked to health department clinics to get inoculated, waiting in lines that stretched several hours. Meanwhile, in Baltimore County, officials have canceled several clinics because of a lack of vaccine. (Baltimore Sun)
PUBLIC SAFETY ELIMINATING ROLL CALLS
County police have eliminated daily roll calls to avoid grouping officers in close quarters to prevent the spread of viruses through coughs, sneezes and handshakes. And instead of gathering at the district stations prior to their shift, officers now report directly to their assigned areas, said Major Thomas Wilson, commander of the Patrol Services Bureau. t's all part of the precautions local police and firefighters are taking to prepare for the worst as health officials say an H1N1 influenza outbreak is possible this flu season. (The Capital)
RETIREMENT REALITY
Most young adults think they’ll need to be millionaires before they retire, according to a survey by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation’s financial literacy Web site, themint.org. Visitors to the site were asked how much money they would need to have saved in order to retire, and about 85 percent aged 18 to 29 said they would need at least $1 million. Almost half (45 percent) said they would need at least $2 million. From July through September 2009, more than 1,200 respondents nationwide discussed their expectations for retirement. Only 60 percent of adults aged 30 and up thought they would need to save $1 million, and only 27 percent thought they would need at least $2 million. (Washington Business Journal)
FREE PARKING, I DON'T THINK SO
The days when free or at least cheap parking in the Washington suburbs was a right are waning fast. In an era of carbon footprints, greenhouse gases and crippling congestion, the goal of today's planners and politicians is maximum inconvenience for drivers. The District of Columbia is pulling up parking lots and putting in expensive meters and spots priced to move drivers out of their cars and onto a train, bus, bike or their feet. Montgomery County in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia are thinking along similar lines, considering changes to codes to reduce the number of parking spaces builders have to include. (Baltimore Sun)
