The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
JOBLESS CLAIMS INCREASE
New claims for unemployment benefits spiked to a quarter-century high of 626,000 last week, as businesses continued shedding workers to cope with the economic downturn. The number represents a larger-than-expected increase over the 591,000 people who filed for benefits the week before, and it sets the stage for another jump in the January unemployment rate when it is released Friday. (Washington Post)
VIRGINIA GOV. KAINE REACHES DEAL ON SMOKING
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine says this morning he's reached agreement with legislators to back a statewide smoking ban in Virginia's bars and restaurants. Kaine said he worked with legislative leaders to craft the agreement. (Richmond Times Dispatch)
PAYING MORE FOR ELECTRICITY IN VIRGINIA...
The average Dominion Virginia Power customer is now paying $1.84 more per month to help pay for construction of a coal-fired generation plant. Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle says the rate increase took effect Jan. 1. The company did not announce the rate increase in January, but confirmed it yesterday. (AP/ Richmond Times Dispatch)
14 POUNDS OF COCAINE SEIZED AT BWI
Authorities seized more than 14 pounds of cocaine worth $650,000 that had been stuffed inside dried soup packets, which a Salvadoran man tried to smuggle in a suitcase through Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, U.S. customs officials said.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY SCHOOLS BUDGET CUT
Prince William County Superintendent Steven L. Walts has proposed a budget that would freeze teacher salaries, raise class sizes and increase some student-paid fees. Walts presented his $744.5 million proposed budget for fiscal 2010 to the Prince William County School Board Wednesday. The budget, which is a 7 percent reduction from fiscal 2009’s budget, includes many cuts to address what Walts called “the greatest budget deficit in our history.“ (Insidenova.com)
PRINCE GEORGE'S PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) asked state lawmakers this week to introduce legislation to increase the amount the county government can tax homeowners. According to drafts of the proposed legislation, Johnson is asking to temporarily increase the county's Homestead Tax Credit, a cap that limits how much a homeowner's property tax assessment can increase every year, to 10 percent, the maximum allowed by the state. (Gazette)
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
ANNAPOLIS CRANE ACCIDENT
Authorities say a worker suffered life threatening injuries in a crane accident this morning at the Annapolis Towne Centre construction site. Anne Arundel County Fire Department Division Chief Michael Cox said the crane was preparing to lift ventilation units onto the roof of the Whole Foods building when some part of the crane either failed or broke. A major part of the crane fell onto to the crane operator's compartment, injuring the operator, Cox said. (Baltimore Sun)
FREDERICK DISCRIMINATION CASES UP
The Frederick County Human Relations Department is seeing an unprecedented rise in the number of discrimination cases it processes. In the last three months, the HRD has taken on eight active cases, most of which involve discrimination in the workplace, Director Henry Templeton said. When Templeton took over as HRD director in November 2007, the average yearly caseload for the previous three years had been three, he said. "It's the most activity we've ever had," Templeton said. (Frederick News Post)
ROUTE 123 TO LOSE LANES...
There has been some confusion regarding impending lane closures on Route 123, but the latest from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is that, for the better part of the next three years, the left-most lane in each direction will be closed at the point where the Beltway passes over the road. The closures are to allow the construction of High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane bridges, as well as Metrorail construction. The lanes will be reopened during the coming winter and, VDOT hopes, during the following winter, in part to accommodate holiday traffic around Tysons Corner and also due to the difficulty of performing construction work during winter, said VDOT spokesman Steve Titunik. (McLean Connection)
PASSENGER COUNT DOWN AT DULLES AND REAGAN NATIONAL
Passenger traffic at Washington Dulles International Airport in 2008 declined 3.5 percent from a year before, part of a national trend caused by deteriorating economic conditions and higher fares associated with a spike in fuel costs. (Sun Gazette)
DC UNITED STADIUM
Prince George's County officials said they will continue to woo the D.C. United soccer team to move to the county, especially now that a site team officials were considering in Washington, D.C., is facing an uncertain future. "We think our chances just went up," said David C. Byrd, deputy chief administrative officer for governmental relations for Prince George's, who has led efforts to attract the professional soccer team over the past year. "Of course, we felt pretty good to begin with." (Gazette)
MASKED INTRUDERS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
A small band of masked intruders has broken into the secure White House grounds and has evaded capture by agents of the new Obama administration, officials said today. (Washington Post)
