Sunday, July 16, 2006; C03

THE DISTRICT

The National Archives opened to the public yesterday for the first time since rain flooded its lower levels, as staff members distributed umbrellas to visitors in a block-and-a-half-long line on Constitution Avenue NW.

The umbrellas were to shield guests from the sun, said Katherine Chin, a public affairs information assistant -- not for a potential repeat of the June 25 downpour that drowned two of the Archives' transformers, knocked out its air conditioning and forced its closure for three weeks.

The two-year-old William G. McGowan Theater suffered extensive damage and remains closed, with no date set for its reopening.

Jack Wagoner was relieved when he heard that he and his wife, Joyce, were among the first visitors to the reopened archives.

"I came all the way from Little Rock, Arkansas," he said. "I'm a lawyer, and it really means a lot to me to get to see the Constitution."

-- Robert Samuels

A 23-year-old man was shot to death Friday night in the front yard of his Silver Spring home, police said.

Montgomery County police said Jaime Efrain Masariegas-Chavez of the 8700 block of Gilbert Place was shot shortly before midnight. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they did not know of a motive.

-- Sari Horwitz

A 42-year-old man from Silver Spring was killed while skateboarding yesterday in the Hillandale area of Montgomery County, police said.

The man had been skateboarding on private property and traveled into a street, where he collided with an automobile, police said.

The incident occurred about 12:45 p.m. in the 10500 block of Sweetbriar Parkway. Police said the man was pinned beneath the car when they arrived.

The man's identity was withheld until his relatives could be notified. Police said the incident was under investigation.

-- Martin Weil

Officials in Hampton, Va., believe a security breach that made residents' personal information, including Social Security numbers, available on a public computer in the city courthouse might have given users access to more than 100,000 records.

"I don't know how many Social Security numbers are in there, because there are duplicates, but you're talking about the whole darn thing," said Ross A. Mugler, Hampton's revenue commissioner.

Hampton's treasurer and police chief removed the computer from the Hampton Circuit Court building after they found hundreds of Social Security numbers on display.

Police officers were breaking down the computer's hard drive and trying to determine how many Social Security numbers were in the database, as well as how many people had access to them.

The computer held information from the city treasurer's office, including data on those who paid taxes on cars, motorcycles, boats, homes, apartments and businesses, Mugler said. Not all Social Security numbers were listed, and it was unclear how far back the records stretched.

-- Associated Press