The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
MARC ADMITS MISTAKES AFTER RIDERS STRANDED
Maryland transit officials admit that they failed to deliver safe, reliable service to passengers after riders were stranded on a broken down MARC train for two hours Monday night.
Ralign T. Wells, administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration, says after Monday's incident, cars with storage areas stocked with bottled water will be allocated among the trains. (WTOP)
DEVELOPING A PLAN TO CLEAR I-95 WRECKS
Depending on your outlook, Stafford County is blessed--or burdened--by having 16 miles of Interstate 95 bisecting it.
What is indisputable is that when a caller dials 911 from I-95 in Stafford, they want help to arrive as quickly as possible from local personnel.
That happens about 3,000 times a year in Stafford, roughly 8 percent of fire and rescue calls in the county. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
CENSUS: BIG GROWTH IN NOVA
Cities and counties in Northern Virginia experienced some of the fastest growth in the country last year, with the pace quickening in areas closest to the District as the recession deepened.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Census figures released Tuesday cement Virginia as the growth engine for the Washington region. Most places there had population growth over 3 percent from 2008 to 2009. By comparison, Montgomery County went up 1.9 percent and Prince George's County rose half a percentage point. The District grew by 9,600 people, or 1.6 percent, continuing a rebound that has the city bumping up against 600,000 residents for the first time in two decades. (Washington Post)
PENTAGON POLICE OFFICER INDICTED IN INSURANCE SCAM
A federal grand jury has indicted a Pentagon police officer on charges that she falsified employment and medical documents as part of an insurance scam.
Teika Cooke, a police officer with the Deparlatment of Defense Pentagon Force Protection Agency, faces a maximum of 40 years on charges of wire and health care fraud, according to federal sentencing guidelines. Her attorney did not return a message left at his office Monday. (Washington Examiner)
CUTEST CAR CRASH EVER?
Last Thursday GM came upon what could be the most adorable car accident he’ll ever see. It was a vintage Fiat 500 that had apparently broken lose. According to an eyewitness on the scene, the car was empty as it careened down 30th side-swiping parked cars as it went. It jumped the sidewalk and ended up in the flowerbed as seen above. GM doesn’t know what caused the car to break free, but he suspect a failed parking brake.
In all seriousness, it’s a blessing that nobody got hurt. And it’s certain that the owners of the Fiat, the sideswiped cars, and the flowerbed are unlikely to see anything funny in this scene. But the rest of us can at least get a little laugh out of shots like these[.] (Georgetown Metropolitan)
