The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
FREDERICK CHILD KILLER DIES IN JAIL
A man convicted of murdering a 9-year-old Frederick boy more than eight years ago has died in prison. Maryland Division of Correction spokesman Mark Vernarelli says 53-year-old Elmer Spencer Jr. died early yesterday of natural causes at the Western Correctional Institution near Cumberland. Spencer was convicted in 2002 of murdering and sexually assaulting Christopher Ausherman in the dugout of an empty baseball field in November of 2000. (ap/Baltimore Sun)
TOBACCO AND LANDLORD SUED IN DEATH
The daughter of a woman who died in a February 2006 fire filed suit last week in Washington County Circuit Court, asking for $30 million from a tobacco company and another defendant. The suit filed Feb. 19 by Dawn Bunch, whose mother died in a fire that was sparked by a cigarette, names Lorillard Tobacco Company and Barbara Bristow, of 1013 Oak Hill Avenue in Hagerstown, as defendants. Bristow owned the property where Bunch and her mother, Linda Ford, lived, according to court documents. (Herald Mail)
METRO RETAIL?
Metro continues to try and find ways to raise revenue so it doesn't have to cut service riders depend on -- and the word "retail" is being talked about quite a bit. The transit agency now estimates the projected budget gap for fiscal year 2010 at $28.8 million. So news stands, florists and dry cleaners are being discussed as potential vendors that could set up shop in high ridership stations to help bring in cash. (WTOP.com)
COMMUTER FREE RIDES?
Fredericksburg-area commuters could get a free ride to work, thanks to the federal economic stimulus package. The pre-tax benefit for commuters who ride a bus, train or vanpool to work is increasing to $230 a month starting Sunday, March 1. The current pre-tax limit is $120 a month. The new ceiling nearly doubles the maximum amount a federal agency or private employer can give to an employee to spend on bus, train and vanpool rides to work every month. (Free Lance-Star)
BERWYN HEIGHTS DOMESTIC BENEFITS
Berwyn Heights' municipal employees will soon be eligible to apply for domestic partnership benefits following a unanimous vote last week by the four-member Town Council. The benefits will cover both unmarried same- and opposite-sex couples. (Gazette)
MONT. GREEN WEED CONTROL
In an effort to prolong the life of some of the county's largest trees, parks officials will begin a more natural approach to weed maintenance this spring. Beginning in March, county parks employees will spread layers of mulch, corn gluten, and in some cases castor oil at the base of the historic trees, replacing herbicides that some in the county believe are harmful. (Gazette)
CLOTHESLINE BILL LEFT HANGING
The House of Delegates yesterday killed a bill regarding "wind energy drying devices." Sounds fancy--until you realize that a "wind energy drying device" is, essentially, a clothesline. Some homeowners associations ban clotheslines, and the bill would have said they couldn't ban them outright. It had already passed the Senate, but the House had other ideas. First, delegates amended the bill to make it apply only to community associations in Northern Virginia. (Free Lance-Star)
PARK POLICE PROTECT THE EAGLE
One of the favorite spots for U.S. Park Police to man their radar guns against potential speeding motorists on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just south of Alexandria City limits, where the speed limit is only 35 mph, is now cordoned off with a jersey wall and snow fencing. Thank the eagles. Last week bird watchers from throughout the area were gathering in that pull-off to observe and photograph two bald eagles that had built a nest in a tree on the eastern edge of Belle Haven Country Club's golf course. That raised concerns about their safety, not the eagles — the motorists, leaving and entering the parkway, especially during rush hours. (Alexandria Gazette Packet)
