The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
A WINTRY MIX OF ECONOMIC IMPACT
Record snowfalls have buried profits for hundreds of Washington-area businesses -- not to mention federal and local government agencies. But for some, all that white has translated to more green.
"A lot of area businesses couldn't afford to wipe a week off the map six weeks into the year," said Jim Dinegar, president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.
(Washington Examiner)
ANOTHER COMMUTE FROM HELL ON TAP?
Lanes that narrow and disappear because of snow, Metrobuses that can not get to the curb and end up blocking traffic and sidewalks that are not shoveled leading pedestrians to walk in the roads.
It's all part of what will be on tap for Tuesday's morning commute -- and the days that follow.
"We won't be able to get all the snow off of all the streets," D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said Monday. "We just don't have an infinite amount of equipment." (WTOP)
LOCAL CUPCAKERY TO GET REALITY SHOW
When the curtain comes down on the era of reality TV it won’t be a moment too soon for Washington. This is not a dig at the people who star in the shows. In this economy it’s tough to blame anyone for grabbing found loot and taking a shot at fame that might bring more loot.
It’s the obsessive need for reality producers to “control” the room that is a strange fit here, a town that wrote the book on control, confidentiality and deception. The delusional premise of the reality TV genre, as explained by some of the stars of the “Real Housewives” franchise, is that “the cameras aren’t there. If anyone breaks the rule and acknowledges the cameras then that blows the ruse.”
(NY Social Diary)
FOOT-LONG SURGICAL TOOL LEFT INSIDE CZECH PATIENT
It took five long months for a Czech woman to discover the reason for her pain: Doctors had left a foot-long medical tool inside her abdomen.
This month, doctors at a clinic in the southeastern town of Ivancice discovered their colleagues had forgotten to remove a spatula-like surgical instrument from the woman following gynecological surgery in September. (MSNBC)
