The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
WHAT VIRGINIA NEEDS, MORE TRAFFIC
Rush hour is about to get a lot more hectic on the city’s West End, where more than 6,000 employees are expected to show up for their first day of work at the Washington Headquarter Service. If the Virginia Department of Transportation decides to adopt either of the two proposals that were approved by the Alexandria City Council last weekend, commuters on Interstate 395 could find themselves in the midst of a colossal traffic jam every morning. (Alexandria Gazette Packet)
WRONG VACCINE
A Lincoln Elementary School first-grader accidentally received an intranasal vaccination for swine flu that was meant for another child last week. The child's mother, Felicia McLean, said her daughter, Amari Anderson, received a seasonal flu shot Dec. 5. When Amari went to school the next week, she instructed her daughter not to take the intranasal vaccine for H1N1 flu -- also known as swine flu -- at school when the doses would be administered. (Frederick News Post)
MORTGAGE RATES CLIMB
Mortgage rates have moved higher for two consecutive weeks. Freddie Mac says a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.94 percent in the week ending Dec. 17, up from 4.81 percent last week. A year ago, 30 year mortgages averaged 5.19 percent.
(Washington Business Journal)
PREVENT HOLIDAY ATTACKS
Dominique Foster went to bed Saturday night feeling empowered and safer than she did when she woke up that morning. Foster, 25, of College Park attended the third women's self-defense seminar held Saturday at Full Circle Martial Arts Academy in Glenn Dale, sponsored by Elite Personal Safety Systems, an online community working to educate women about personal safety. (Gazette)
HIGH SCHOOLERS WORK ON DOGS
Being at school on a Saturday morning is a bummer for most students. But for some enrolled in the Edison Academy's Animal Science program, it's a chance to help animals in need of homes.Once a month, students enrolled in this two-year program give up their Saturday mornings to bathe and groom dogs in foster care at area shelters and rescue centers. (Fairfax Times)
