The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
BAG FEE TO MONTGOMERY?
When Friends of Rock Creek Environment volunteers picked 7,000 plastic store bags out of the Rock Creek watershed in April, Del. Al Carr (D-Dist. 18) was among the collectors. This year, Carr wants to turn that trash into treasure for the environment. (Gazette)
LOCAL MAN HELD IN CUBA
An American who has been jailed in Cuba and denounced as a spy is a 60-year-old international development expert from Potomac who was working on a U.S. government project to help the island's Jewish community access the Internet, according to former colleagues and other sources. (Washington Post)
MOBILE GAMING
Cathy Rogers and Loren Willcock, mother-and-son business partners, are, in some ways, driving by the seat of their pants.
They opted to open a franchise in Annapolis in April during the worst economy in decades, with a business concept totally reliant on disposable income. (The Capital)
HOME SALES UP
Home sales across Fairfax County in 2009 were up nearly 9 percent from the year before, posting month-over-month increases 11 times during the year, according to new data. Total sales across Fairfax in 2009 were 14,285, up 8.8 percent from the 13,133 transactions recorded in 2008, according to figures reported by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., the area’s multiple-listing service. (Sun Gazette)
WORLD CUP TO DC?
Washington was named one of 18 U.S. cities that could host matches should the U.S. be selected to host 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup, the USA Bid Committee announced Tuesday. The committee narrowed its list of 27 U.S. cities to 18 that will compete in the penultimate elimination round, in which 12 cities will be selected to host one of the world’s largest sporting events. The field was previously cut from 70 cities. (Washington Business Journal)
HOMELESS MAN RETURNS RING
Sitting in traffic on State Route 3 last week, Lisa Shelton did what she always does. When she noticed a man holding a sign asking for help, she reached toward her car door for some change. Coming up with nothing, she grabbed change from her wallet, handed it out the window and went on her way. When she got back to work, she panicked. Earlier last Wednesday, when she put lotion on her hands, she'd put all her rings in her wallet's change purse. When she went to put them back on, they were all there. (Fredericksburg.com)
