The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
O'MALLEY TO INTRODUCE MD OFFSHORE WIND BILL
Washington Business Journal: "Gov. Martin O’Malley is introducing a bill Friday to spur offshore wind development. The legislation would require utilities to buy the wind farms’ power, helping to win would-be investors in the projects.
O’Malley’s administration is submitting the bill in the House of Delegates, as House Bill 1054. Estimates predict development of 500 megawatts of offshore wind would create 2,000 manufacturing and construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs."
PRINCE GEORGE'S CAB DRIVERS SAY LIVLIHOOD AT RISK
Washington Post: "Dozens of Prince George's County cab drivers who had hoped to obtain one of 390 new medallions the county plans to issue this year say the process is taking too long, threatening their livelihoods.
A new law that took effect Oct. 1 doubles the number of medallions in the county; it is being challenged by cab companies in a lawsuit.
Behdad A. Kashanian, who oversees the office in the Department of Environmental Resources that screens the drivers and issues the permits, said his staff is doing all it can to issue the medallions and that the lawsuit had not slowed down the process."
NEW IMPETUS FOR LEG-HOLD TRAP BAN IN MONTGOMERY
Gazette.net: "A leg-hold trap cost a young barn cat his left front leg last month near a farm outside Laytonsville.
His misstep brought home arguments that animal welfare advocates have been making for years to convince lawmakers to ban the traps in Montgomery County.
Fortunately, the Levine family, which tends a small group of spayed and neutered semi-feral cats that had included him, came to the injured feline's aid when he hobbled into their barn with the rusty trap clamped around his swollen limb."
RED LIGHT PHOTO ENFORCEMENT DEMYSTIFIED
Falls Church News-Press: "You're driving down Broad Street, probably not paying as much attention to the road as you should for whatever reason - children screaming in the back seat, singing along to a favorite song on the radio, thinking about plans for the evening - when you see a white flash in your rear-view mirror and find yourself inexplicably on the other end of the intersection you were approaching.
You've just run a red light, and because of Falls Church City's new red light photo enforcement, you're in trouble."
