THE REGION
Record Rainfall Recorded for Nov. 12
Record amounts of rain fell yesterday at Reagan National and Dulles International airports, the National Weather Service said.
By 6:26 p.m., 1.88 inches fell at Reagan, breaking the record of 1.76 inches for Nov. 12 set 79 years ago. At Dulles, 1.66 inches of rain fell by 4:36 p.m., the Weather Service said -- shattering the previous record of 1.06 inches set 12 years ago.
Average rainfall in the Washington area for the month is about 3 inches. Today is expected to be dry but windy, forecasters said.
VIRGINIA
Anti-Tax Mailing Urges Lawmakers' Ouster
Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist has begun mailing to Virginia residents a "Least Wanted" poster that features the state lawmakers who voted for a $1.5 billion tax increase during the 2004 General Assembly session. The poster and an accompanying letter urge the ouster of the representatives in the next election.
Norquist's group, Americans for Tax Reform, unveiled the poster in September and said it would be mailed across Virginia and to lawmakers in every state.
The poster condemns the lawmakers, who are Republicans, for buckling under pressure from Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner.
A spokesman for Norquist said it took longer than expected to print the poster. About 90,000 were mailed to Virginia residents Oct. 28, and many of those residents began receiving them this month.
Moran Seeks Terror Assessment Briefing
Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) announced yesterday that he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to brief area members of Congress on a federal terrorism vulnerability assessment of the capital region, as well as on procedures for responding to a release of hazardous materials.
Moran released the text of a letter, sent Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, in which he cited news accounts and a survey of Northern Virginia emergency managers and concluded that the department has not completed or disclosed its work, as Ridge aides told him it would in June.
"Until federal, state and local officials compare notes on potential targets and methods by which a terrorist might mount an attack, vulnerabilities and gaps in response capabilities may go forward unnoticed," Moran wrote. "Time is not a luxury we should squander."
MARYLAND
Pedestrian Gravely Injured in Hit-and-Run
A motorist drove away after striking two teenagers as they walked along a Gaithersburg roadway last night, critically injuring a 16-year-old male from the area, authorities said.
