Region Digest

Giant Food store evacuated after 14 fall ill

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — A Giant Food grocery store in Bethesda has reopened after 14 people fell ill and complained of a strange odor in the store.

Montgomery County fire department officials say six people were sent to hospitals and they wre all expected to be treated and released. Firefighters and a hazardous materials team was called to the scene about 1:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Garcia says firefighters are evaluating 14 people who felt ill after smelling what they thought was gasoline throughout the store. It's not clear how many are store employees and how many are customers.

The store was evacuated, along with two smaller shops nearby.

Frederick County sued over immigration arrest

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — Two civil rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit alleging immigration enforcement violations by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.

New York-based LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the state organization Casa de Maryland filed the complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.

It alleges that two Frederick County deputies interrogated a Salvadoran immigrant about her immigration status while she was eating lunch outdoors in Frederick, and then took her into custody and transferred her to federal immigration authorities.

The complaint contends the incident violated an agreement allowing local police to question the immigration status only of people they have arrested for other offenses.

Sheriff Chuck Jenkins says the complaint left out some facts, and that he is looking into the matter.

Montgomery council endorses HOT lanes, light rail

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — The Montgomery County Council has endorsed a plan to add reversible high-occupancy toll lanes on parts of Interstate 270

Solo commuters would have to pay to use the lanes endorsed unanimously in an informal vote on Tuesday, but carpools, vans and buses could travel on them for free. The proposal would widen the interstate north of Route 124 from three lanes in each direction.

The majority of the council also endorsed more expensive light rail over bus rapid transit for the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway from Shady Grove to Clarksburg.

The council is expected to formally endorse the positions Tuesday, but it is not clear what state officials will back.

VMI student's funeral to be held Saturday

LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Funeral services will be held in Maryland for a Virginia Military Institute student who collapsed after completing a 10-mile march.

VMI says a Mass of Christian Burial for John Alexander Evans will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Louis Catholic Church in Clarksville, Md.

The 19-year-old freshman from Highland, Md., collapsed in his barracks room after completing the training march with other members of his class on Nov. 7. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after noon. The cause of death hasn't been determined.

National Zoo creates frozen coral repository

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists at the National Zoo have created of the world's first coral genome repository to help prevent endangered coral species from going extinct.

Zoo officials said Tuesday that research scientist Mary Hagedorn is pioneering the freezing and storing of coral sperm and eggs.

In collaboration the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and SECORE project, scientists have frozen the sperm of 450 individuals from the endangered Elkhorn coral in the Caribbean. That could allow scientists to reseed the oceans with coral in the future.

The zoo also is working to grow Elkhorn coral in captivity that could be reintroduced to the wild.

Coral reefs are prime ocean nurseries and feeding grounds. They're threatened by rising water temperatures and CO2 levels.

PSC sets deadline for responses in PATH case

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The state Public Service Commission is giving the parties involved in a multistate power line case until Nov. 17 to make their final responses on whether the project's application should be dismissed.

The deadline was included in an order issued by the PSC on Tuesday.

The Maryland Public Service Commission had dismissed an application by developers of the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, to build a 20-mile stretch of the line in that state.

That decision prompted staff lawyers in West Virginia and Virginia to request that applications in their states be dismissed. The lawyers argued the line would start in West Virginia, but have no ending point.

In response, PATH has said it's willing to delay final decisions on the $1.9 billion project until January 2011.

Howard County bans children from indoor tanning

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (AP) — The Howard County Board of Health has voted to ban people under age 18 from using indoor tanning devices.

The unanimous vote was taken Tuesday.

Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson introduced the regulations in September. They take effect on Thursday.