The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
FLIGHT DIVERTED TO DULLES OVER DOOR PROBLEM
An American Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles has made an unscheduled stop in Washington.
Courtney Mickalonis, a spokeswoman for Dulles International Airport, says the plane landed safely at 12:40 p.m.
American spokesman Tim Smith says Flight No. 3 from Kennedy Airport made the detour because a cockpit warning light showed that one of the rear cargo doors was not fully secure. He says mechanics are dealing with the problem, and the plane should continue on its way shortly. (WTOP)
RENTS ON THE RISE IN DC
Renters who were able to lock in lower prices this past fall as landlords freaked out about the recession may have been the last to have the upper hand, as rents appeared to rebound in the first quarter of this year. From today's Wall Street Journal:
Apartment rents rose during the first quarter, ending five straight quarters of declines and signaling the worst may be over for the hard-hit sector.
Nationally, the apartment vacancy rate stayed flat at 8%, the highest level since Reis Inc., a New York research firm, began its tally in 1980. (DCist)
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
BIG POWER OUTAGE IN WOODBRIDGE
Power officials said at least 25,000 customers in eastern Prince William County lost power Tuesday afternoon after an electrical transformer failed.
In the first 60 seconds after the outage, crews were able to restore power to 14,000 affected customers. Afterwards, the task of restoring those still without electricity remained.
Le-Ha Anderson, a spokeswoman for Dominion Virginia Power, said all customers were expected to have power again by 7 p.m. (InsideNoVA)
SMALL BUSINESSES REMAIN CAUTIOUS
Despite improving financial conditions and more access to credit, small businesses are still holding off on hiring and capital expenditures, according to a survey by Capital One Financial Corp.
When asked about the current economic condition of their company, 47 percent said conditions have stayed the same, 26 percent reported improving conditions and 28 percent said the financial position is better than it was a year ago. (Washington Business Journal)
