The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
TAX REVENUE DOWN
Gazette Packet: "Cash registers across Alexandria are not seeing as much action as last year, according to city tax records. That’s after a disappointing showing in 2009, and sales revenues are even lower this year. Many retailers say the city is to blame for increasing parking meter fees 75 percent before new multi-space meters are installed, creating a need for more quarters than most people carry with them for shopping trips. Yet budget officials point out that retail sales were already down when the parking meters went up. "The snowstorms explain some of the decline," said Budget Director Bruce Johnson. "We don’t have a good explanation for why sales tax revenues were down in June and July."
SCHOOL CELL PHONES
Leesburg Today: "The Loudoun County School Board voted 7-2 Tuesday night to change its policy regarding the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by students, removing the by-right authorization for students to use such devices before and after school and granting school principals full authority to establish use restrictions. Legislative and Policy Committee Chairman Joseph Guzman (Sugarland Run) introduced the motion to the board, saying the new language was "intended to provide maximum latitude for principals" in setting their own policies on the use of electronic devices in schools and was "an affirmative statement that such devices are only to be used under proper conditions."
CHURCH TO SCARE "THE HELL" OUT OF YOU
Fredericksburg.com: "This Halloween, a Spotsylvania County church wants to scare the hell out of you. Literally. At Faith Christian Center World Outreach, the darkness, smoke, flashing lights and costumed demons don't just set the stage for Halloween theatrics. Organizers also hope the spooky trappings will scare visitors into accepting Jesus and rejecting the ghoulish alternative."
