The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
SO LONG OLD METRO CARS
Metro could take a huge step this week toward replacing the oldest rail cars in its fleet -- the same rail cars that were questioned following the deadly Red Line crash in June.
At a board meeting on Thursday, Metro officials will present a plan that will set in motion the procurement of hundreds of new, next generation rail cars, known as 7000 series rail cars. (WTOP)
DC NO SLOUCH IN JAMES BEARD RESTAURANT NOMS
The District's dining and drinking denizens have reason to toast each other today, after several of them were named as finalists for 2010 James Beard Foundation awards. Not only did a D.C.-area chef or restaurant make it into some of the heavy-hitter categories -- José Andrés for Outstanding Chef of the Year (again!) and Johnny Monis of Komi for Rising Star Chef of the Year (also again!) -- some chefs were honored for the first time. Amanda Cook from CityZen is a finalist for the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, while others will be competing against their neighbors in the Mid-Atlantic category. (DCist)
STRIP CLUB MOVING TO NORTHEAST
The Stadium Club is believed to be opening its doors this month in the 2100 Queens Chapel Road NE, next to club DC Star.
The new club's owners paid $1.15 million to buy the nude dance license from the manager of Nexus Gold, a strip club that was at First and I streets SE, according to records filed with the D.C. liquor board. Nexus Gold shut down a few years ago when the owner of the land where the club sat sold out to make way for the development of new apartments and office buildings around the Nationals Park. (Washington Post)
VA LOOKS TO SAVE BY KEEPING SMALL-TIME CRIMINALS OUT OF JAIL
Virginia lawmakers squeezed new policies into the budget that would save millions of dollars by keeping those charged with small-time crimes and probation violations out of jail.
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The little-noticed provisions in some cases mirror bills that failed during the 2010 General Assembly session, part of a long-standing tradition of slipping new law into the state's two-year fiscal blueprint. The savings helped lawmakers close a $4 billion shortfall through mid-2012. (Washington Examiner)
