The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
OBAMA KIDS
Presidential children have eschewed D.C. Public Schools since Amy Carter's four-year stint in the late 1970s, but recent reforms to the district could lure back the nation's new first family. However, the odds aren't great. Malia Obama, 10, and Sasha, 7, currently attend the University of Chicago's Lab School, a select private institution in a sea of public schools with reputations little better than their D.C. counterparts.(DC EXAMINER)
HOTELS BANK ON INAUGURATION
Finding a place to stay in Washington for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration is going to be difficult - and expensive. Hotels ranging from five stars to the lower end are sold-out or are raising prices to take advantage of the overwhelming demand from people nationwide who want to witness the historic swearing in of the nation's first black president. Both the JW Marriott Hotel several blocks from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Marriott Wardman Park in Cleveland Park are sold-out, including a $1 million, 300-room inauguration package, said spokesman Mark Indre. The three-night package for the JW Marriott includes all presidential suites, the 12th floor terrace and $200,000 in beverages. Because Obama's election is historic, guests booked quickly and were willing to splurge on big price tags, Indre said. (DC EXAMINER)
TIGHTENING ECONOMY HAS FOOD PANTRY FEELING THE PINCH
The nonprofit group Bread for the City began its annual Thanksgiving drive this week to help the needy for the holiday. But many recipients say the food is needed for the entire month and that the economic downturn has resulted in record numbers, organizers said Thursday. (WASHINGTON TIMES)
DUDE: WHERE'S MY HOUSING?
One of the four college students who have been living in a home at 418 Morningside Drive will have to move out before Jan. 29. That case, which is the first Fredericksburg officials have taken to court under its "excessive residential occupancy" ordinance, was scheduled for a hearing in General District Court yesterday. The four men charged with violating the city ordinance that states that no more than three unrelated people can live in a single-family home are scheduled to go back before a judge on Jan. 29. By that date, one of them must move out of the house -- which is off Lafayette Boulevard -- and there are to be no more loud parties there. While excessive occupancy ordinances in Spotsylvania and Stafford counties are relatively new, Fredericksburg's is not. (FREDERICKSBURG FREE LANCE-STAR)
