Metro Briefs

DISTRICT

City prepares for bag fee

D.C. officials plan to distribute more than 122,000 reusable bags to low-income residents and seniors in advance of January’s new 5-cent fee on disposable bags.

The city’s Department of the Environment is distributing the bags as part of a “Skip the Bag, Save the River” campaign.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said in a press release announcing the initiative Monday that his message is simple: “The bag fee is coming.” Mr. Fenty signed the fee into law in July, saying it would cut down on disposable bags that litter the Anacostia River.

Judge returns from deployment

A D.C. Superior Court judge who was deployed to hear cases as a military judge in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait has returned home.

Judge Robert R. Rigsby says it was the first time the Army had a judge working full time in a war zone. During his six-month deployment, the 48-year-old Army Reserve colonel heard about 30 cases involving a variety of charges, including involuntary manslaughter and drug charges.

The judge says the experience left him with admiration for the young people serving in the military overseas.

Judge Rigsby surprised his wife, Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, a D.C. appeals court judge, with his Oct. 23 return. MARYLAND

GREENBELT

Ex-officer indicted in burglary attempt

Federal prosecutors say two men, including a former Prince George’s County police officer, have been indicted in connection with an attempted break-in at a bank.

Eddie Smith Jr., 41, of Fort Washington, the former officer, and Earl Blake, 53, of Capitol Heights, were indicted on conspiracy to commit bank larceny and attempted bank larceny.

The indictment says Mr. Smith drove Mr. Blake to SunTrust Bank in Temple Hills in his marked police cruiser on June 10. According to court documents, Mr. Blake entered the bank with a saw while Smith waited in his cruiser.

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