The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
METRO STIMULUS PLAN
Metro officials are looking to the $787 billion economic stimulus plan to fund several projects. Officials with the Washington-area transit system will present a list of ready-to-go projects Wednesday to the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board. The list includes $325 million of projects linked to safety, security and infrastructure. President Barack Obama signed the stimulus package into law Tuesday. Metro is facing a budget gap of $154 million -- the largest in the agency’s 33-year history. (Insidenova.com)
NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION DOWN
Construction of new homes plunged to a record low in January as all parts of the country showed big declines in building activity. The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments dropped 16.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000 units. That's well below the 530,000 units economists expected, and was the slowest pace on records dating back a half-century. (AP/Richmond Times Dispatch)
GET READY FOR COOLING SEASON, WILL COST YOU MORE...
Pepco customers stunned by steep increases in their recent electric bills can expect more bad news in the mail this summer. Ratepayers are likely to see a 9.8 percent hike in their bills June 1, and a roughly 7 percent increase overall for 2009, Pepco officials said this week. (Gazette)
SHERIFF'S DEPUTY SHOCKS A PERSON BACK TO LIFE
Spotsylvania County Deputy John Durbin worked for the rescue squad for 10 years before he took a job at the Sheriff's Office. But in all the time he spent in the ambulance, he never experienced anything like Monday morning. In the early hours Monday, he saved a man's life. Durbin was working night patrol, driving down Courthouse Road toward Fredericksburg when he saw the car behind him flashing its lights about 1 a.m. (Free Lance-Star)
FORECLOSURE RATES UP
Several Fredericksburg-area localities had among the highest foreclosure rates in Virginia during January, according to a recent report on RealtyTrac.com. Culpeper, Stafford, Spotsylvania and Caroline counties all had foreclosure rates among the 10 highest in the state, according to the data. (Free Lance-Star)
LIGHTS OUT AT CITY LIGHTS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
City Lights Public Charter School's closure at the end of the month will leave a hole in Mike Green's life where something good used to be. The school is broke, and Green is losing a family. (Washington Post)
STUDENTS LONGER WALK TO SCHOOL
Nearly, 1,500 student walkers got seats on school buses the last time Frederick County Public Schools revised its transportation policy. Next school year these students will have to put their walking shoes back on. To bridge a $21 million budget gap in the fiscal 2010 budget, the Frederick County Board of Education has decided to cut down on busing costs and stretch the distance for students required to find their own way to school. (Frederick News Post)
MARYLAND STATE SONG LYRICS CHANGE...
"Maryland, My Maryland," the state song which "spurns the Northern scum," stings the legislators, too, even if some don't know the words. "Actually, I really have never paid a lot of attention to the words," said Del. Pamela Beidle, D-Linthicum, who introduced a bill Friday in the House to change the lyrics of the state song to pay tribute to Maryland rather than express "Confederate sympathies." (The Capital)
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Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
JAGUARS FREE
A monthlong quarantine for two jaguars at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo is over. Diego and Evita were released from quarantine Monday afternoon after a Frederick County Animal Control officer evaluated their temperament and found it acceptable, said Harold Domer, director of Animal Control. (Frederick News Post)
