Glenn Dale Hospital bids; homicide in Landover; VRE surplus

Sunday, September 19, 2010; C03

MARYLAND

Bids extended for Glenn Dale Hospital

Bidders interested in Glenn Dale Hospital, the former tuberculosis sanatorium that is up for sale, have until Oct. 15 to make offers.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which owns the 210-acre site in Prince George's County, extended the process after receiving several questions from potential bidders.

The original deadline for the bids was Tuesday.

Alvin McNeal, acting deputy director for administration and development for the Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the property, said Thursday that six potential bidders asked questions that needed to be answered.

"We will put out a compilation of all of the answers to the questions," McNeal said.

He would not comment on the specific questions asked by the potential bidders. He said they just want "to get a better feel for the site itself."

The facility, which the county lists as a historic site, opened in 1934 as a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis. By 1960, the hospital was used for District residents with chronic illnesses. It was shut down in the early 1980s, and the commission bought the property from the District in 1995.

-- Ovetta Wiggins

Man in vehicle found dead in Landover

A man was found shot inside a vehicle in Landover early Saturday in a suspected homicide, according to Prince George's County Police.

Police responding to a call of shots fired at about 4 a.m. found the man, whose identity has not yet been released, inside a vehicle in a parking lot in the 3400 block of Dodge Park Road, said officer Evan Baxter, a county police spokesman.

-- Mary Pat Flaherty

THE REGION

Lawmakers feud over airports flights

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, in an escalation of the long-brewing fight among lawmakers over flights out of Reagan National Airport, said Friday that it would ask for a formal investigation and future hearings related to the governance of the airport.

Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) were both especially critical of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees Dulles International Airport and National, during a Thursday afternoon public hearing on Capitol Hill. Dorgan said that the airports authority must either change or face tougher congressional oversight.

The Federal Aviation Administration's funding bill has been stalled as lawmakers debate the proposed expansion of the number of long-distance flights at National, which because of its small size and proximity to neighboring Arlington communities limits the number of incoming and outgoing trips.

Some senators from Western states want to ease the "perimeter rule," which bans most flights to destinations more than 1,250 miles from National. Those long-haul flights can use larger, noisier planes than short ones.

Rockefeller's office said the Commerce Committee would ask for an investigation by the Transportation Department's inspector general, a comprehensive review by the Government Accountability Office and additional hearings "to bring clarity to [MWAA's] relationship with Congress."

-- Derek Kravitz

VIRGINIA

VRE surplus to fund some improvements

The Virginia Railway Express Operations Board voted Friday to dedicate a $5.1 million fiscal 2010 budget surplus to new equipment and rail infrastructure improvements.

The surplus, VRE officials said, comes from an increase in fare revenue and a reduction in operating expenses. Fares for VRE riders have gone up 16 percent since July 2008. VRE officials said they expected ridership to drop after the hike, but it is actually on the rise.

Of the $5.1 million surplus, $2.5 million will go to acquire the last of 20 new locomotives VRE is adding to the fleet. Nineteen units are already funded, mostly with the help of state and federal subsidy, and will be rolled out in the next year.

A small portion of the surplus, about $500,000, will go toward the company's insurance trust fund, while the remaining amount will go toward adding a third track in Spotsylvania County and the capital reserve pot VRE has in place to eventually buy 30 new railcars.

VRE officials said $1 million from the surplus will allow them to complete the design phase for the additional track and move into construction in less than a year. Putting $1.1 million toward railcars, VRE officials said, will help leverage an estimated $12 million in state and federal grant funding.

Representatives from Stafford County and Manassas voted against the proposal.

Instead of putting $1.1 million toward new railcars, opponents of the proposal said they wanted the money returned to the jurisdictions that support VRE -- many of which are strapped for cash.

-- Jennifer Buske