The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
NEXT STOP ... SILVER LINE TO DULLES
The decades-long effort to bring Metrorail service to Washington Dulles International Airport is expected to reach a major milestone Tuesday when Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Transportation Department officials finalize a deal for $900 million in federal funding. The deal with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is managing the project, assures that work will proceed on the first phase of the $5.2 billion rail extension -- 23 miles of track known as the Silver Line. (Washington Times)
LEXIE GLOVER CASE INVESTIGATION
Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane ordered a review yesterday of whether his department could have better responded to repeated complaints about an adoptive mother who later was charged with killing her 13-year-old daughter. (Washington Post)
MUSLIM WOMAN REMOVED FROM BANK LINE
A Muslim woman was asked to leave her place in line at a credit union in southern Maryland and be served in a back room because the head scarf she wore for religious reasons violated the institution's "no hats, hoods or sunglasses" policy, the woman said yesterday. The incident at the Navy Federal Credit Union on Saturday was the second in a month for Kenza Shelley, and Muslim advocates fear it could become a problem nationwide as many financial institutions, intent on curbing robberies and identity theft, ban hats and similar items without appropriate accommodations for religious attire. (Washington Post)
FAIRFAX IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
The Fairfax County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies have been added to a growing list of jurisdictions throughout the country that are receiving access to a program called Secure Communities, administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Fairfax County is the first location in the Washington Metropolitan Area and the first in Virginia to participate. Secure Communities will streamline the process for ICE to determine if an individual in local custody is a potentially removable criminal alien. Beginning today, the immigration records in DHS's biometric database, if any, of every individual booked in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and other sites in the county will be checked. (Fairfax Times)
BANNER LIFE INSURANCE MOVES
With 400 employees in tow, Banner Life Insurance Co. plans to move its corporate headquarters from Rockville to Urbana in Frederick County by the summer of 2011. "This is a real win for us, and we're very excited about the growth that's occurring in Urbana," said Laurie Boyer, executive director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. She said her agency, which has been working with Banner to relocate for 18 months, offered no financial incentives for the company but outlined the county's work force training services, other incentives and tax structures. (Gazette)
I-270 TOLL LANES?
A new initiative to relieve Maryland's highway traffic is in the works. The Maryland Department of Transportation, State Highway Administration and Maryland Transportation Authority are considering Express Toll Lanes, an alternative to idling in rush-hour traffic. "We were asked to take a look at ways that we can put improvements out in the corridor, but find some way to pay for those improvements, and ETLs is what's come through from MDOT," said Brian Horn, a registered professional engineer with the Rummel, Klepper and Kahl consulting firm. The local lanes would begin just north of Md. 80 in Urbana , near the Park Mills Road overpass, Horn said. The lanes would run south to just beyond Shady Grove Road in Montgomery County. (Frederick News Post)