The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
TELEWORK CENTERS CLOSING
Fredericksburg.com: " In November, Congress passed legislation promoting telework among federal employees. But workers may have fewer places to telework from outside their homes starting this spring. The U.S. General Services Administration has announced it will cease funding 14 Washington-area telework centers, including ones in Woodbridge, North Stafford and Spotsylvania. The agency has funded telework centers in the Washington area since the 1990s, before laptop computers, wireless Internet and cell phones became home office equipment. As the infrastructure to telework has seeped into people's homes, the General Services Administration wants to shift away from funding "brick and mortar" telework centers to promoting a "virtual telework environment," according to a Nov. 30 e-mail sent to all telework center users. "
"ALL MAY PARK, ALL MUST PAY"
Washington Examiner: "Alexandria officials have been struggling to decide whether or not to implement an "All May Park, All Must Pay" policy, which would force drivers displaying handicapped permits and plates to pay meter rates like all other drivers. The city's best example to study is Arlington County, but only by default -- Arlington is the only jurisdiction in Virginia that makes drivers pay to park in handicapped spaces."
TOYS FOR TOTS DONATIONS DOWN
Frederick News Post: " Donations to Toys for Tots are down this year even as demand is up, leaving area Marines with work to do in the last week of the drive.
The Marines of the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Company B have collected only 4,200 toys in Frederick County so far, compared with the 29,000 they handed out last year. Donations are equally sluggish in Montgomery County, where about 3,800 toys sit in the Toys for Tots warehouses. The totals include toys sent to the Marines by the national Toys for Tots Foundation and donations collected at events, but not toys dropped into boxes in stores and offices throughout the counties. Those will be collected Dec. 17."
ASHBURN, MOST OBSCENE
Loudoun Independent: "Tucked away in Ashburn resides the most foul-mouthed people in the nation. The title of the “Most Obscene City in the Nation” was given to Ashburn by the website, BusinessInsider.com. The website determined the top 10 dirtiest cities by analyzing data from Google. The website “plugged the ‘seven dirty words you can never say on television’—made popular by George Carlin—into Google Trends,” the article said."
