The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
BAD DRIVERS MAY FACE STATE FEES
Gazette: "Some Montgomery County drivers informally interviewed Tuesday say Gov. Martin O'Malley is on the right road when it comes to penalizing bad drivers. O'Malley's (D) proposed budget for fiscal 2012, released Jan. 21, calls for about $5 million in revenue as a result of fines of $100 for each point over five points that drivers incur on their licenses within five years. A $500 fine would be assessed for each alcohol- or drug-related driving offense — even those committed out of state. Drivers would pay the fees annually for three years."
FAIRFAX AMBULANCE CUTS?
Washington Examiner: "Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Chief Ronald Mastin has proposed scaling back ambulance service to help meet the $1.5 million in cuts the agency has been ordered to make before the start of fiscal 2012, according to union officials. The cuts would end overnight service for two of the county's four basic ambulance units -- those that respond to calls not deemed life-threatening. The county's 37 "advanced life support" units would not be affected."
VAN HOLLEN: "COMPLETE OVERHAUL"
wtop.com: " Following constituent outcry about Pepco's response to outages from last Wednesday's storm, and a scathing letter from a member of the Montgomery County Council, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., has stepped up his criticism of the utility company. In a letter addressed to Pepco President and CEO Joseph Rigby, opening with "Enough is enough," Van Hollen outlines his constituents' and his specific grievances with the region's largest power company, specifically the extent of the outages, the delays in restoring power, prioritizing more vulnerable customers and the inaccuracy and inadequacy of response to customers."
