Local Leads: 10/29/09

News you need to know

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

MARC PASSENGERS, PREPARE FOR SECURITY CHECKS
MARC commuter train passengers soon will need to give themselves extra time to board their trains, as random security screenings start Friday. Federal air marshals will be conducting the screenings initially to train Maryland Transit Administration police in screening techniques and in using the equipment, said MTA police Maj. Fred Damron. (Gazette)

DC PARKING METER COMPLAINTS
The nearly 142,000 meter-related calls walloped the previous year's record total of 116,354. The average for 2009: a staggering 389 grievances every day. No other area of DDOT responsibility, from street repair to traffic signals and trees, topped 10,000 complaints. The total number of calls includes duplicate complaints about the same meter, John Lisle, DDOT spokesman, said in an e-mail. Some meters break down several times a day. Some even fix themselves, so that a person who parks at a "broken" meter returns two hours later to find a working meter and a parking ticket on their windshield. (Examiner)

NEW SCHOOLS TO MONTGOMERY
Montgomery County would build two new schools and expand nine others in an effort to address overcrowded buildings under a $1.49 billion, six-year plan issued Wednesday by Superintendent Jerry D. Weast.  Weast's proposal, which requires approval from the county Board of Education, would build an elementary and middle school in Clarksburg, one of the county's fastest-growing areas, and expand Clarksburg High School. Eight other elementary schools would be expanded. (Washington Post)

TEEN SAFE DRIVING PROGRAM
A graphic program showing the physical and emotional consequences of traffic crashes would be offered in public high schools statewide as part of a new partnership of trauma specialists and highway safety advocates. The University of Maryland Shock-Trauma Center and the Maryland Highway Safety Foundation will announce their joint effort tonight at Gilman School before a presentation of the driver safety program. The partnership is aiming to expand a program that Shock Trauma has been offering at private schools to the state's public school systems. The effort combines the expertise of Shock Trauma with the financial muscle of the foundation, which has attracted support from some of the state's most influential business leaders. (Baltimore Sun)

LAPLATA GOES WIRELESS
La Plata and public library officials are working on a project that will bring wireless Internet service to a portion of the downtown area to make it easier for people who live, work and shop in town to access information about events and download public documents with ease. (The Independent)

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