The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
TRIBUTE FOR NICK ADENHART
The Little League club that launched Nick Adenhart's baseball career says it will observe a moment of silence for the late Los Angeles Angels pitcher during its opening-day ceremonies Saturday in Hagerstown. Staci Broward, president of the Halfway Little League, told The Herald-Mail newspaper that the club will honor Adenhart before a 10 a.m. game at Martin L. Snook Memorial Park. (wtop.com)
VIRGINIA TECH'S NORRIS HALL REOPENS
Virginia Tech will hold a ceremony this afternoon to mark the reopening of the west wing of the second floor of Norris Hall, site of most of the killings in the April 16, 2007, massacre. The 2 p.m. ceremony will officially open the six new rooms and laboratories located on the west wing of the second floor. The new rooms will be occupied by the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics and the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. (Richmond Times Dispatch)
CURFEW FOR SILVER SPRING?
In response to a fight at a youth concert last month, residents near downtown Silver Spring have suggested a curfew for teens downtown and space dedicated for youth events while officials will enforce a time and decibel level limit on downtown events. The efforts from police, officials and residents are to limit conflicts between youth who frequently hang out downtown and adults who have felt threatened by the teens' behavior. Silver Spring resident Elaine Ellis distributed a list of residents' suggestions to make sure teens did not cause nuisance problems downtown. Those included a 10 p.m. curfew for minors not accompanied by adults, stringent age enforcement at R-rated films and even a ban on particularly violent movies at the Majestic Theater on Ellsworth Drive. (Gazette)
HISPANIC-OWNED MARRIOTT HOTEL
The District's first Hispanic-owned Marriott hotel is set to open next week in NoMa. The 218-room Courtyard by Marriott at 1325 2nd Street, NE, has been under construction since July 2007. It is majority-owned by Miami-based Robert Finvarb Companies, LLC, which owns eight other Marriott branded hotels, including a Residence Inn in Chantilly. (Washington Business Journal)
HOME SALES UP ACROSS THE REGION
Brand new data, the first peek at the springtime housing market in the D.C. region, show some very promising news. Home sales are up across our region. Sales in D.C. are up 2 percent. Prince George's County is up 10 percent. Fairfax County sales are up 12 percent. Montgomery County sales made the biggest swing, up 16 percent in March. In Montgomery County, they were down 10 percent in January and February. "We may have seen the bottom of the housing market, and we may be on the way up," says John McClain, senior fellow at Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. (wtop.com)
STARBUCKS CLOSING MORE STORES
The latest list of stores that Starbucks Corp. will shutter includes eight in the Washington area. In January, the Seattle-based coffee giant announced it would slash 6,700 jobs and close an additional 300 stores -- including 200 in the U.S. -- to cut costs. Locally in Virginia, 10098 Dumfries Road in Manassas will close, as will 22025 Dulles Retail Plaza in Dulles and 43300 Southern Walk Plaza in Ashburn. In Maryland, 11201 New Hampshire Ave. and 3850 International Drive in Silver Spring will close, as will 6796 Laurel-Bowie Road in Bowie.In D.C., Starbucks will close the 3301 M St. NW location, which has been boarded up for months. Also being closed is the Cleveland Park store at 3420 Connecticut Ave. NW. (Washington Business Journal)
PORN POLICY FOR STATE COLLEGES
The University System of Maryland Board of Regents on Friday morning directed Chancellor William E. Kirwan to come up with policy recommendations regarding sexually explicit material on state university campuses. (Baltimore Sun)
