The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
NEW CAR DEALERS GOING USED
The owner of Britt Chrysler Jeep in Fredericksburg plans to open a used-car dealership and service station on his lot next week. Britt Sales & Service will open June 10 at the lot that is now Britt Chrysler Jeep on U.S. 1 near the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania County line, said Eddie Arnold. (Free Lance-Star)
SLOTS TO MARYLAND?
A major national gambling company is exploring a bid to operate a slot machine casino at Laurel Park, officials said this week, as uncertainty mounts over a contentious proposal to erect a mega-casino at Arundel Mills mall. "We have been having some early discussion" with potential partners, said D. Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa., near Reading. He said the company's interest was fueled by reports that the Anne Arundel County Council was deadlocked on a zoning bill needed for the mall-side casino and entertainment resort proposed by Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. (Baltimore Sun)
VIRGINIA GOVERNORS RACE
Republican Bob McDonnell has amassed almost $5 million to start his fall run for governor. That's according to campaign finance reports due Monday with the State Board of Elections for cash raised and spent throughout April and until May 27.
Call it a peace dividend for the former attorney general who was uncontested for the GOP nomination and spent the spring harvesting $2.7 million. (AP/wtop.com)
NEW TILES FOR METRO
Bid goodbye to the slick floor tiles at almost half of Metrorail stations, the same terra-cotta-colored hexagons that have caused consternation for commuters. The transit agency said Monday that it planned to replace some of the tiles that have lined its Metrorail station floors since the system opened in 1976 with 2-foot-by-2-foot precast concrete tiles. The new tiles promise to be more durable and safer. (wtop.com)
HOME SALES UP
Lower prices and attractive mortgage rates are breathing new life into housing, with one measure of sales posting its fourth increase in the last five months. Pending sales of existing homes, or contracts signed but not closed, rose 6.7 percent in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. April's pending sales were up 3.2 percent from a year ago, the NAR says. (Washington Business Journal)
FORECLOSURES AND MOSQUITOES
An unwelcome health hazard of the rising tide of foreclosures has returned. For a second summer, the National Pest Management Association is warning that abandoned homes can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the summer months. A year after it first sounded the alarm, the Fairfax-based trade group says the increasing numbers of foreclosures in the last twelve months has heightened the potential for mosquito infestations especially in and around foreclosed properties with backyard pools. (Washington Business Journal)
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
CHEAP AIRFARE
Airfares for European flights hit a new low this week, some half the rates they were last year. The deals will be available until September. For example, you can go from all three area airports to Dublin and back for $406. Other round-trip fare deals include D.C. to Paris for $495, D.C. to Brussels for $531 and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall to Barcelona for $585. (wtop.com)
