The Night Note: 10/11/10

News you need to know.

The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.

VA SPENDS $178M ON COLLEGE DROPOUTS OVER 5 YEARS
Virginia taxpayers spent $177.7 million and the federal government spent $33.7 million over a five-year period on students who dropped out after the first year of college, according to a national report.

The report released Monday by the American Institutes for Research says Virginia appropriated $141 million and spent $36.7 million in student grants in 2003-08 on full-time freshmen who didn't return for the second year at the college where they were first enrolled. That included $16.3 million in state grants to in-state students attending Virginia's private institutions. (Inside NoVA)

WANT TO NAME A SCHOOL?  YOU CAN IN PRINCE WILLIAM
Prince William County is playing the name game with one of two elementary schools slated to open next fall.

The school board’s naming committee has issued an open call for name suggestions for the to-be building at 8301 Linton Hall Road in Bristow.

But those looking to submit ideas shouldn’t go too crazy: The committee is looking for names that are geographic, historical, or honor a deceased person who made local, state, or national service contributions. (Washington Examiner)

POLITICS & PROSE CO-OWNER CARLA COHEN DIES
Carla Cohen, co-owner of a Washington bookstore that became a city institution and a key stop for writers ranging from Bill Clinton to J.K. Rowling, has died.

Cohen died Monday of cancer of the bile ducts, the Politics and Prose bookstore announced on its website. She was 74 and died at her home in Washington. (WTOP)

A CALL FOR MORE PUBLIC BATHROOMS

There are many amenities that residents of a major city in the developed world should be able to take for granted, and one basic and often-overlooked aspect of infrastructure that is severely lacking in most US cities is the public restroom.

A stunning graphic appeared in the September/October 2007 issue of GOOD Magazine showing how inferior major US cities are compared to their European, Asian and even African counterparts in terms of the availability of restrooms open to all. (Greater Greater Washington)

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