WEEK IN REVIEW

April 27-May 3

Dulles Metro Project Gets New LifeFederal Officials' About-Face Is Welcomed

It looks as though the proposed extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport is back on track.

The road to the 23-mile extension has been rife with unexpected turns, and last week was no exception. Except that this time it was a pleasant surprise.

In January, federal transportation officials shocked locals by announcing that the project was unfit for federal funding. Now, led by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, they say the $5 billion project meets their standards. Final approval depends on several "ifs," but the project can move into the final design phase.

Damage but No Deaths in TornadoesNo Known Fatalities Is 'Miraculous,' Kaine Says

The thing to remember, authorities said, is that no one was killed.

The nine tornadoes that slammed through southeastern Virginia on Monday injured more than 200 people and demolished about 145 houses. Damage was estimated at $32 million, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) declared a state of emergency in Suffolk and Colonial Heights.

Still, the governor said, "there was definitely a miraculous quality to this."

Rules Clarified for Pr. William PoliceResidency Status a Question Only After Arrests

Police in Prince William County now have more leeway in enforcing the county's illegal-immigration policy.

The Board of County Supervisors had directed officers to check the legal status of crime suspects, no matter how minor the offense. Last week, the supervisors amended that by directing officers to question suspects about their immigration status only if they have been arrested.

"We want to give officers discretion in the field to use their judgment about when they ask and when they don't," said Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles).

No Charges in 14-Year-Old's DeathOfficer Fired in Self-Defense, Authorities Find

Federal prosecutors decided against filing criminal charges against two off-duty D.C. police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings, concluding that the youth fired the first shots.

The youth was killed Sept. 17 after a confrontation with the officers, who were out of uniform and in search of a minibike stolen from one of their houses. Although the gun that DeOnté allegedly fired was not found, authorities said gunshot sensor technology, shell casings found at the scene and the accounts provided by police convinced them that he fired at the officers and that one fired back in self-defense. The youth's family is pursuing a $100 million civil lawsuit against the city.

Palfrey Dead in Apparent Suicide'D.C. Madam' Was to Be Sentenced in July

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, facing a probable prison term of four to six years for running a Washington area call-girl ring, was found dead Thursday after apparently hanging herself in a storage shed behind her mother's mobile home in Tarpon Springs, Fla.

Dubbed "the D.C. Madam" after a grand jury in Washington indicted her 14 months ago on prostitution-related racketeering charges, Palfrey, 52, was awaiting sentencing July 24.

District Focuses Its Security CamerasSurveillance Devices to Be Linked

The D.C. government launched a system that ties together thousands of city-owned video cameras, saying it will improve coordination in an emergency.

The system eventually will feature round-the-clock monitoring of the closed-circuit video systems run by nine city agencies. For now, about 4,500 cameras trained on schools, public housing, traffic and government buildings are feeding into a central office at the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.