Local Leads: 12/13/2009

News you need to know

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

CUBA DETAINS BETHESDA-BASED CONTRACTOR
U.S. diplomats are trying to figure out why the Cuban government arrested an American citizen.  The State Department says the American, who was detained on December 5th, does do not work for the U.S. government. The person's identity has not been released because of federal privacy law.  The American is a contractor, who works for Bethesda-based Development Alternatives. The company released a statement saying, “Our prime concern is for the safety, well-being, and quick return to the United States of the detained individual. We have been working closely with the State Department to ensure that the detainee’s safety and well-being is given top priority.”  Charges against the contractor are not public yet, but under Cuban law, a citizen or a foreign visitor can be arrested for nearly anything under the claim of “dangerousness.”  A source told the Washington Post  that the detained American was “working with local organizations that were trying to connect with each other and get connected to the Internet and connect with their affinity groups in the U.S.”
(NBCWASHINGTON.COM)

RANKING THE WATER YOU DRINK
A report by an environmental group says that the Fairfax County Water Authority is among the best in the nation at keeping pollutants out of tap water -- and that a utility serving Montgomery and Prince George's counties is worse than average.   The report, released Saturday by the Environmental Working Group, ranks Fairfax Water eighth out of 100 large water utilities for its success in eliminating trace-level chemicals from fertilizer and pesticides and chemical leftovers from the water-treatment process.   It ranks the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission 82nd, saying tests had shown higher levels of these chemicals. The group did not rank the Washington Aqueduct, the utility that provides water to the District and Arlington County, saying it had provided incomplete records.   At none of these utilities did tap water violate Environmental Protection Agency standards. And all of them said there is no reason for customers to worry or to filter their tap water before drinking it.
(WASHINGTON POST)

SECOND VOTE TUESDAY ON GAY MARRIAGE
The D.C. City Council will cast a second vote on legalizing gay marriage next Tuesday, after approving it two weeks ago. This vote is basically procedural, but it is needed to make gay marriage legal in the city. If that happens, the Washington Archdiocese has said it will have no choice but to cut back on some of its charitable work in the city.  Still, Council Chairman Vince Gray is hopeful for common ground. "There are a couple of solutions out there," Gray said. One would be to follow the lead of San Francisco and Georgetown University. "What those solutions do is say we'll make those dollars available for the coverage of another person in the household," Gray said. In other words, the church would extend medical benefits to the live-in partners of gay employees, without having to officially recognize same sex relationships.   "I would hope that the Archdiocese would come forth and say that will work," Gray said.
(WTOP)

MARS SUES HERSHEY

Hometown candy giant Mars Inc. is suing rival The Hershey Co. over commercials for its Bliss chocolate that Mars says blatantly copy TV ads for its popular Dove chocolate brand.  McLean-based Mars has filed suit for copyright infringement and trade dress infringement in federal court in Alexandria, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.  In its suit, Mars claims the Hershey ads, which began airing in October, copy Dove ads’ use of “an image of a silky scarf-like image, a pillow shape emerging from a pool of chocolate, a series of laudatory words displayed in a distinctive white and gold cursive script …[and] an image of the head and shoulders of a smiling woman with long brown hair.”  Mars says its Dove ads began airing in March 2008.
(WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL)
 

NEIGHBORHOOD COFFEE SHOP CLOSING
A coffee shop many residents in the south Silver Spring neighborhood have credited for helping to revitalize the budding area from its industrial past will close Dec. 31 due in part to complications from construction surrounding the store, its owner announced Wednesday.  When Mayorga Coffee Factory opened on Georgia Avenue in 2003, south Silver Spring was transforming from a rundown neighborhood of vacant warehouses to a vibrant one with high-rise apartment buildings and young families.  "We were a perfect fit for community at that time," said Martin Mayorga, the store's owner. "Any day of the week, at night, you could barely walk through the place.  "It was a really nice natural fit that allowed us to become an anchor in south Silver Spring."
(GAZETTE.NET)

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