The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
Stink Bugs Wreaking Havoc on Farmers, Gardners
Stink bugs are devastating Frederick County's crops. Scenic View Orchards in Sabillasville has lost 30 percent of its raspberries, 25 percent of pears, 15 percent of apples and 10 to 15 percent of peaches and nectarines. "And we're the lucky ones," said Richard Masser, whose family owns and operates the orchards. "Other people have lost most of their peach crop and sweet corn." (Frederick News Post)
Washingtonians Love to Tweet
Washington ranks No. 12 on a list of the nation’s most social media-savvy cities, but the region ranks third in the nation for Twitter use by its business people. The study, conducted by NetProspex, based its Twitter-savvy rankings on the average number of Twitter accounts, tweets and followers. New York and San Francisco ranked as the top two Twitter towns in the nation. Sacramento and Phoenix round out the top five. The report also ranked cities on overall social media use by companies. Washington’s No. 12 ranking put companies here behind those in cities that include Boston, Seattle and Denver in use of social networking for business promotion. (Washington Business Journal)
College Students Targeted in Rash of Attacks
The fall semester has gotten off to a troubling start for several universities in Richmond and across the state as police investigate assaults and robberies of students on and off campus. One rash of assaults occurred over Labor Day weekend at the University of Richmond, where authorities are investigating three campus assaults in one hour in which students were punched while walking alone; another assault in which a man was hit so hard that his nose was broken and he lost a tooth; a bizarre break-in at a campus apartment; and a report of a sexual assault. (Richmon Times-Dispatch)
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Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Stolen Dog returned
A dog stolen outside a Fredericksburg 7-Eleven late Friday has been returned to its owner. City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the 2-year-old wire-haired terrier ended up at an animal shelter in Spotsylvania County. The woman who took the animal to the facility initially tried to sell the dog on Craigslist, Bledsoe said, but later pulled the ad. The dog's owner, a 52-year-old Charles Street resident, tied the dog to a pole late Friday when he went into the 7-Eleven on Amaret Street to purchase extra minutes for his phone. The man saw three people petting the dog while he was in the store, but he wasn't concerned because the dog is friendly and often attracts strangers. (fredericksburg.com)
