ALEXANDRIA, Va

WASHINGTON – After the halls have been un-decked for the holidays, some Christmas trees in our area end up decorating the bottom of the state’s lakes and waterways in order to create habitat for fish

WASHINGTON – News footage of derailed trains crumpled and scattered across the tracks are impressive to look at, but represent only a small fraction of all train derailments

WASHINGTON – Nowadays it’s rare to see a dusty traveler standing roadside with his thumb sticking out — a gesture that’s evolved from a signal of soul searching and wanderlust to a cause for suspicion in security-minded America

WASHINGTON – Carjackings are the kind of crime that has become an accepted reality in many parts of Maryland, a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time

WASHINGTON – After a destructive hurricane season interrupted the nation’s energy supply and ratcheted up already high gasoline prices, Maryland drivers complained more about gas stations than in the same period last year

ANNAPOLIS – When Katrina Kell looked for a place to finish the two years she needed for her bachelor’s degree while continuing to work full time, she found to her dismay that at most colleges it would take five years and require an arduous schedule of night courses and 16-week semesters

ANNAPOLIS – A year ago, Alan and Caroline Millet filled the tank in the crawl-space below their living room floor with 250 gallons of heating oil to keep their Edgewater home warm during the winter months

ROCKVILLE – Liam Ratner of Potomac made it through a three-hour meeting without wetting or soiling his pants

WASHINGTON – A new federal law mandating twice-yearly food safety inspections in public schools will not be enforced in Montgomery County, where a limited number of inspectors make the new requirement unmanageable, said a health department official, and several other Maryland counties are scrambling to comply with the law