The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
SEX ASSAULT REPORTS UP AT SERVICE ACADEMIES
Washington Post: "Reported sexual assaults at the three U.S. military academies rose 64 percent in the 2009-10 academic year compared with the previous year, the Defense Department said Wednesday.
Officials said the increase could reflect that more students are reporting assaults, rather than a jump in the number of assaults themselves.
A total of 41 sexual assaults involving students were reported to authorities at West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy in 2009-10. In the previous academic year, 25 were reported."
OFFICIALS DEBATE LOCATION OF DULLES METRO STATION
WTOP: "If a high-rise building went up right outside your window and blocked your view, you'd probably be upset. Some are concerned that may happen at one of the region's most iconic landmarks -- Dulles International Airport.
With Metro's planned extension out to the airport, there's intense debate about where to physically put the Metro station once the rail line gets there."
WOODBRIDGE CLERK BECOMES ROBBERS' WORST NIGHTMARE
Inside NoVA: "It was a gas station employee’s worst nightmare, being grabbed by two men after closing up shop for the night.
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But it turned out the clerk at the Gordon Boulevard Shell station near Occoquan Saturday night was the nightmare for a pair of would-be muggers.
After locking the doors for the night around 11 p.m., the clerk -- who requested his name not be used since his attackers haven't been captured -- turned his car on to warm it up. While he sat in the driver’s seat, he made a phone call."
TENSIONS BETWEEN VOLUNTEER, CAREER FIREFIGHTERS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The Gazette: "The relationship between Montgomery County's paid firefighters and its volunteer fire and rescue force has long been strained. But in the wake of the volunteer association's successful push against a countywide ambulance fee, which effectively reduced county funding and threatened paid firefighters' jobs, some say the tension between the two groups is worse than ever.
At the same time, morale throughout the entire fire service is low, they say.
For the past two years, firefighters and paramedics have received no pay raises and, as the county's budget situation worsens, many of the newer recruits say they fear for their jobs, although the County Council voted Tuesday to preserve a number of firefighter jobs."
