The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
TEEN SAVES TEACHER
It took 20 seconds and six hard Heimlich maneuvers for Storm Rundman to save his teacher's life. Moments earlier, as Rundman and his fellow students took a test, Stafford Senior High School Spanish teacher Myriam Lorenzo sat at her desk to eat lunch. She took a bite of a chicken sandwich and something stuck in her throat. "It was a hard moment to describe," she said. "I knew I was in trouble. I thought I had to get out of the classroom." Rundman, a 17-year-old junior, noticed something was wrong. (Fredericksburg.com)
POLICE UNDERSTAFFED
Understaffing in the Prince George's County Police Department is preventing the department from providing improved service, according to Police Chief Roberto Hylton. Despite hiring more than 1,000 new recruits over the past eight years, the county police department remains more than 300 officers below what staff levels should be, Hylton reported at a County Council hearing May 3. (Gazette)
FAIRFAX TOURISM REBOUND
As tourism trends begin to rebound from the recent recession, Visit Fairfax, a community-led organization, is working to help the county tap into the travel market. Tourism and travel are expected to grow nationally by 2.5 percent in 2010 after the industry saw negative 2.5 percent in growth the previous year, according to the U.S. Travel Association website. That means an increase of $34.1 billion is up for grabs domestically, and Visit Fairfax is actively campaigning for a larger market share in and around the Washington, D.C., metro area. (Fairfax Times)
ALEXANDRIA WATERFRONT
Alexandria officials have finally unveiled their vision for the city's historic waterfront without answering the thorny question of what's to be done with a ritzy boat club at the heart of the proposed development. Renderings show a leafy, colorful promenade along Old Town's waterfront, running from Dangerfield Island in the north down to Jones Point, under the Wilson Bridge. (Washington Examiner)
STRIP CLUB LAW CHALLENGED
The owners of three Virginia nightclubs are challenging state laws that prohibit stripping and topless dancing at clubs that serve mixed drinks. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear arguments in the case Thursday. (AP/wtop.com)
PURCELLVILLE VOTED FOR MICKEY, ELMO SARAH AND BERNIE
The list of write-in names during the May 4 town elections reads like good fodder for a comedian’s routine. Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Sarah Palin and Bernie Madoff walked into a bar ... This year, 622 voters cast write-in ballots. About one-third of the names written in ranged from fictional characters to famous politicians to the downright bizarre. As he does in many elections – local and national – Mickey Mouse took top seat for the most write-in votes given to a fictional character.
(Loudoun Times)
