The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
BUFFALO PLANE CRASH
Colgan Air, Inc. a Manassas-based company, operated the plane that crashed Thursday night near Buffalo., N.Y., killing 49 people on board and one on the ground. State Sen. Chuck Colgan Sr., D-29th District, along with 16 investors in 1965 organized the organized a company that would become Colgan Air. While Colgan, 82, no longer owns the company that still bears his name, he rushed back to Manassas Friday from Richmond skipping Friday’s floor session. According to the Associated Press, the longtime pilot was shaken and devastated by the news of the crash. (Insidenova.com)
FAMILY MURDERED IN TRIANGLE, VIRGINIA
Two children and their mother are dead after a shooting in Triangle late Thursday.Police were called to 18402 Cedar Drive about 10:35 p.m. for a domestic situation. They arrived to find Elizabeth Dean, 35, and her 13-year-old son, Connor Kirk, dead of gunshot wounds.Dean’s daughter, 14-year-old Brittany Kirk, was flown to the hospital and died from gunshot wounds just after 3 a.m. (insidenova.com)
CHEAPER SCHOOL BOOKS
State university students should see a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in the total cost of their textbooks under a policy approved this morning by the board of regents. The textbook affordability policy will take effect with the fall 2009 semester. It requires professors to make available information on books, such as the ISBN and edition number, to students months before classes start so students can search for competitive prices. (Baltimore Sun)
ELDERLY SCAMMED IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Police are searching for three men who posed as government employees to gain access into the homes of elderly couples in Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Rockville. The first two scams occurred an hour apart on Feb. 3. At 4:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Stanley Avenue in Rockville, a suspect dressed in a dark blue uniform told the residents, an 85-year-old woman and a 99-year-old man, that he was a government employee, and that their neighbors' basement had flooded. The suspect then told the couple he wanted to check for a similar problem in their basement. While the suspect and the couple were in the basement, two other men entered to the home and searched the home for cash to steal. (Gazette)
REAL ESTATE BROKER FINED
Some clients of a real estate broker who discovered a family living in the home they were selling, claim that the broker rented out the property without their knowledge or permission. Real estate broker N. Casey Margenau was fined by the Commonwealth of Virginia Real Estate Board last week and has been ordered to pay $2,800 in penalties. In addition, Margenau's brokerage license has been put on probation for two years, and he has been ordered to attend eight hours of ethics classes as a result of one of the violations. (Fairfax Times)
DELI OWNER RUNNING FOR MAYOR
Randy McClement, a downtown business owner, announced Thursday he is running for mayor of Frederick.
The Republican and his wife own The Market Bagel and Deli on South Market Street. He made his announcement from the restaurant where he was surrounded by friends and supporters. "For the past few months I've been asking a lot of people a lot of questions," said McClement, 52. (Frederick News Post)
SNOW IN ASHBURN
Even before snow blanketed the county last month, Joey Chlanda created a snowstorm of his own in his Ashburn backyard.
Using a homemade snow machine, Joey, 16, filled his entire yard with snow up to 1.5 feet deep, completing the project in mid-January. (Loudoun Times)
