Local Leads: 3/13/09

News you need to know

The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY TALKING CUTS, AGAIN...
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett plans to propose a budget Monday that eliminates hundreds of government jobs and gives no cost-of-living pay raises to public employees. Some county buses would run less frequently under the proposal, he said yesterday, and residents would probably confront longer lines to check out library books and to receive some health services (Washington Post)

GOOD NEWS, FORECLOSURES DOWN...
The number of foreclosures in Frederick County fell to 176 in February, down 42 percent from January. But the number was up 16 percent from February 2008, according to RealtyTrac, which monitors foreclosures nationwide. "While we have a ways to go before we are out of the woods on foreclosures, our local inventory has not spiked upward, which means houses are selling," said Stephen "Buzz" Mackintosh, of Mackintosh Inc. Realtors. (Frederick News Post)

METRO MAY INCREASE FARES...
Would you pay more to ride Metro if the services you depended on wouldn't be cut? The transit agency told its board members Thursday that a 10-cent increase in bus, rail and parking would generate $35 million -- more than the projected $29 million budget gap for next fiscal year. (wtop.com)

SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY IN TROUBLE
Southeastern University could lose its accreditation in September for deficiencies that include financial instability, dwindling enrollment and a lack of academic rigor, according to a panel that reviews colleges and universities. Loss of accreditation would probably be a death knell for the long-struggling small private college in the District. (Washington Post)

HOWARD COUNTY LAYOFFS
Howard County's health department has begun layoffs that may total 15 workers by June 30, as officials say slumping income tax and real estate revenues push a projected county budget shortfall toward $10 million in the current fiscal year. County health officer Peter L. Beilenson said today that he has laid off five workers, including two who are part-time employees. The health department is a state entity that operates in the county. (Baltimore Sun)

DC TO EXTEND UNEMPLOYMENT SERVICES
Unemployed D.C. residents will get a boost in weekly benefits and an expansion of city services to help them file unemployment claims and search for jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that D.C. had a 9.3 percent unemployment rate in January, or 30,800 people out of work. (Washington Business Journal)  

BUILDING A CASE FOR MURDER...
A series of cell phone calls and text messages are at the center of a case prosecutors will present to an Alexandria grand jury on April 13, accusing three suspects for a January murder of an Alexandria Yellow Cab driver. According to legal documents and court testimony in the case, 16-year-old Alexandria resident Akeem Chappell sent a text message to 20-year-old Alexandria resident Jamal Berry shortly before the murder in which the teenager tells Berry that he has some "snow." According to an affidavit filed in a February search warrant, Berry responded by telling Chappell that his brother can "cook on Friday." (Alexandria Gazette Packet)

FENTY/SCHOOL VOUCHERS
DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty called for continued federal funding for a program that permits underprivileged children to attend private school, breaking with the congressional leaders of his own Democratic Party who ended the initiative. The remark, in a Wednesday night e-mail to The Washington Times, puts the mayor at odds with Democrats on Capitol Hill, who late last week circulated a document indicating that they have no plans to reconsider the program, which loses its funding next year in the $410 billion omnibus spending package.  (Washington Times

SOCCER FANS CRASH SERVER
Thousands of e-mails from D.C. United fans crash state leaders' servers. D.C. United President Kevin Payne's plea to soccer fans this week to contact Maryland's lawmakers in support of a proposed $195 million stadium in Prince George's County has prompted one of the largest legislative e-mail campaigns in years. Within hours of his request, e-mails began to flood Annapolis from around the world. Team officials say legislators received more than 28,000 missives that were sent through D.C. United's site, and lawmakers said servers crashed because of the volume. (Gazette)

SAME GENDER CLASSES IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
Same gender classes at Woodbridge Middle School were approved for another two years, according to principal Skyles Calhoun. The program, the only of its kind in Prince William County Public Schools, was initially approved in 2007-08 for two years. The Woodbridge Middle School proposal is based in part on research by Leonard Sax, founder of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education and author of “Why Gender Matters.” (Insidenova.com)

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