The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
BUSTED
Two sisters who used phony bank accounts to con a local car dealership out of more than $185,000 worth of vehicles pleaded guilty to felony charges yesterday. Kasha L. Taylor, 31, and Nicole Silver, 24, both of Woodford, Va., pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania County Circuit Court to grand larceny by trick. Silver was convicted of two counts. According to the evidence presented by Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Neely, Silver went to Purvis Ford at 3660 Jefferson Davis Highway Sept. 21 and purchased a 2010 F-450 pickup. (Fredericksburg.com)
"COW KILLER" IN THE AREA
They’re not completely unheard of in the area, but Chris Scott’s recent encounter with the red velvet ant was the first time he’d seen one. “I was getting into my car, and I looked down and saw this bright red thing run by my feet,” said Scott, who has lived in his house on Gateshead Lane in the Manassas area for 24 years. Scott trapped the bug, also known as a “cow killer,” beneath a paper cup and ran back into the house for a Mason jar. (Insidenova.com)
ARLINGTON UNEMPLOYMENT LOWEST IN REGION
Arlington's unemployment rate in June again was by far the lowest in the metropolitan Washington area, according to figures reported Aug. 9 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The county's joblessness rate of 4.3 percent was lowest among the 22 jurisdictions that make up the metro region, from the District of Columbia to suburbs as far away as West Virginia. (Sun Gazette)
BREATHING FIRE STUNT LANDS BARTENDERS IN HOT WATER
Local, county and state officials are inquiring into felony charges brought against two Herndon bartenders by county fire officials. Shortly after midnight July 24, longtime Jimmy's Old Town Tavern employees Tegee Rogers, 33, of Herndon and Justin Fedorchak, 39, of Manassas, were each charged with three felony offenses by a Fairfax County fire marshal who was at the bar that evening performing a routine inspection, Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Rene Stilwell said. "They were performing some sort of entertainment that involved fire and it got out of hand," she said. (Fairfax Times)
GEORGETOWN U, 2ND MOST EXPENSIVE DORMS
Forbes Magazine ranks room and board at Georgetown University as the second most expensive in the nation. Forbes says freshman room and board costs have risen 11 percent in the last three years, to an average of $8,000. Its Most Expensive Dorms list includes only colleges and universities which require students to live on campus their first year, excluding many expensive schools where students can find cheaper off-campus housing as freshman. Even so, Forbes notes 450 schools nationwide have a first year on-campus housing requirement.
(Washington Business Journal)
