The Night Note: 11/23/10

News you need to know.

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

CHIEF: MANASSAS GANG ATTACK WAS PREMEDITATED
Inside NoVA: "Miguel "Mickey" Hernandez wasn't in a gang. But he was the target of a premeditated attack by gang members, Manassas police Chief Douglas W. Keen told the city council this week.

“At this point, we do not believe he had any gang affiliation or ties. The two suspects did,” Keen said. “This was a well-thought out, planned attack. They knew precisely when he would be coming through and what they wanted to do him.”"

SAVE THE AZALEAS!
Washington Post: "Good afternoon. Once the season moves into high gear, I know it's easy to get burned out on the holidays. So today I'm offering a hybrid collection of posts from the D.C.-area blogosphere. Some are Thanksgiving-related (including some great conversation starters for the dinner table) and some intriguing non-holiday tidbits. Read on.

Save the azaleas! Local azalea fans are concerned about an announcement that the U.S. National Arboretum plans to remove a mature azalea display on Mount Hamilton. According to the Washington Gardener blog, "the Garden Unit Leader at the National Arboretum, Scott Aker, announced that the azaleas will be cut down in the summer of 2011 and their stumps painted with herbicide." Read more here about a campaign to stop the removal."

GROUP PLANS TO REBUILD BOOTH AT VIETNAM MEMORIAL
WTOP: "Organizers who ran a booth to educate people about prisoners of war for more than 20 years near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington say they will rebuild after an accidental fire destroyed their kiosk.

The fire broke out Monday night, likely caused by a heater. All that was left Tuesday was charred debris, including POW bracelets and a flag pole with the tattered remains of the stars and stripes."

SEWER WORK PROMPTS NUMEROUS FIRE DEPARTMENT CALLS
ARLNow: "A pervasive chemical odor has prompted some residents in the neighborhood just north of the Washington Golf and Country Club and east of Glebe Road to call the fire department, thinking something was amiss, when in fact the odor is actually a byproduct of scheduled sewer work in the area.

Contractors working for the county’s Water, Sewer and Streets Bureau are relining the sewer pipes along the 4700 block of 34th Road North until about 8:30 p.m. tonight. Water service has been cut to a number of homes in the area to facilitate the work, which is being done without any excavation.

The sewer bureau’s contractors using “a trenchless technology known as Cured-In-Place Pipe,” according to county Department of Environmental Services spokesperson Myllisa Kennedy."

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