Johns Hopkins Speeds Security Plans
Johns Hopkins University is accelerating a plan to install surveillance cameras on and near campus in response to the slaying of a student in her off-campus apartment, a university spokesman said yesterday.
A security consultant hired by Johns Hopkins first visited the campus in April -- about a week before another student was stabbed to death by an intruder in his fraternity's apartment, which also was off campus. The consultant, iXP Corp., recommended installing video surveillance to increase security.
Dennis O'Shea, a university spokesman, said the cameras will be installed on campus and in places where the university has high concentrations of students in large high-rise buildings, such as the one where 21-year-old Linda Trinh was found dead Sunday.
Woman Dies in Prince George's Crash
A 41-year-old motorist was killed yesterday afternoon in the District Heights area when her minivan crashed into a tree, Prince George's County police said.
The Ford Windstar was headed north on Pennsylvania Avenue at Brooks Drive about 4:30 p.m. when it crossed the southbound lanes and struck the tree, said Cpl. Debbi Carlson, a police spokeswoman.
The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene, Carlson said.
VIRGINIA
Richmond Chooses Police Chief
A former D.C. police commander has been selected to head the police force in Richmond, officials announced this week.
Rodney D. Monroe spent 22 years with the D.C. police department, rising to assistant chief. He left the D.C. force in early 2001 to become police chief in Macon, Ga., which has about 400 officers.
Richmond officials chose Monroe for the top spot from a field of 53 candidates in a national search. In Richmond, Monroe will oversee a 628-member department.
Top Female Firefighter Wins New Job
A Fairfax County fire captain will become the highest-ranking woman in the department's 45-year history when she is promoted to battalion chief next month, fire officials said yesterday.
Christine Napier Woodard, a captain in the administration of emergency medical services, has been a firefighter since 1982. She will be one of three battalion chiefs assigned to oversee emergency medical services, a new position to become effective Feb. 5, Lt. Raul G. Castillo said. The department has 26 battalion chiefs.
Two battalion chiefs also will be promoted to deputy chief next month. David M. McKernan will oversee fire prevention, and John J. Caussin Jr. will oversee support services. The department has 10 deputy chiefs, managed by two assistant chiefs, who report to Chief Michael P. Neuhard.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"You're in an airplane, you're on final approach and suddenly you can't see. You can't see your instruments. You can't see your runway. There's the potential for a major accident."
-- Dan Kidder, a spokesman for the National Air Transportation Association, discussing the impact a laser pointer can have on a pilot when aimed at a darkened cockpit. -- Page A1
Compiled from reports by staff writers Nicole Fuller, Tom Jackman, Allan Lengel, Jay Mathews, Eric M. Weiss and Clarence Williams and the Associated Press.
