Local Leads: 12/10/09

News you need to know

The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
 
MONTGOMERY COUNTY SUES SALAHIS
The organizers of a polo fundraiser match in Poolesville who are in the spotlight for allegedly crashing a state dinner at the White House last month are being sued by the county for failing to pay their liquor bill for the event. The America's Cup of Polo, hosted at the Capitol Polo Club's polo grounds on Hughes Road in May, was touted as a star-studded event but was plagued by low attendance, disorganization and no-show performers. (Gazette)  

ALEXANDRIA WATERFRONT FIGHT
Alexandria officials are closing in on the final details of an ambitious plan to reinvent the historic city's long-neglected waterfront. But their efforts face hazards from residents worried about turning their beloved city into a tacky tourist trap, a swanky boat club at the heart of the development, and decades-old federal litigation over ownership of the Potomac's banks. (Examiner
 
TOM TOM CONGESTION REPORT
Speed limit signs seem to mock you when you're crawling so much slower than what's posted. A ranking of roads where drivers tend to go 70 percent less than the speed limit lands five local areas on a list for the nation's worst traffic.  Tom Tom ranks Montgomery County the fourth worst behind Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago.  The most congested "corridor" is between Baltimore and D.C. About 37 percent of that area's roads, largely in Montgomery County, are congested, Tom Tom says. D.C. is No. 7.  (wtop.com)

BALLOU HIGH SCHOOL FALSE ALARMS
40th times, firefighters had been called to Ballou High School since the academic year began Aug. 24, officials said. That's an average of more than twice a week. School and fire officials said they have met to discuss the situation and are forming a fire prevention team that will be led by Ballou administrators and the D.C. police officer assigned to the school. There have been no injuries, but the fires, most of which happened after lunch, triggered evacuations that disrupted the school day, shortening instructional time at the school, where just 24 percent of sophomores read at proficiency levels, according to the 2009 DC-CAS standardized test results.  (Washington Post)

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