Metro Briefs

MARYLAND

BLADENSBURG

Naked man caught on Beltway median

It was 52 degrees and drizzling yesterday — and the day before April Fool’s Day — when Maryland State Police got a call that that a naked man was in the middle of the Capital Beltway near the Kenilworth Avenue crossing.

“Thank God, nobody hit the man,” police Cpl. B. Neil said.

Motorists called police at 3:49 p.m.

Police, ambulances and firetrucks responded, backing up traffic in both directions. An ambulance took the man to Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham for examination.

“Charges are pending,” Cpl. Neil said.

Stopped on the grass off the shoulder of the Inner Loop was a tan Toyota minivan, where police found the man’s clothing.

“It had been in an accident; maybe it hit a guardrail,” Cpl. Neil said.

REGION

Water systems get jolt of chlorine

The region’s water supply will be infused with chlorine Monday as part of an annual effort to kill bacteria, the Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday.

The process will run five weeks and will affect residents in the District, Arlington County, Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County.

John W. Peterson, superintendent of the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant and Pumping Station in Northwest, said residents will notice a “stronger chlorine flavor” and that switching the water disinfectant from chloramine to chlorine is a safe and standard practice. He said the change is made this time of year because “warm summer water is a breeding ground for bacteria.”

Municipalities also will open fire hydrants to flush out copper and lead.

Officials said consumers can reduce the chlorine taste by refrigerating a pitcher of drinking water overnight. Any temporary discoloration or cloudiness of the water can be eliminated by running cold water from the faucets.

VIRGINIA

BLACKSBURG

32-stone semicircle to be permanent site

The semicircle of 32 stones in front of Virginia Tech”s administration building will be the permanent memorial to victims of the mass killings last April, university officials said yesterday.

President Charles W. Steger said Monday that officials initially discussed building a memorial at another site for the 32 students and faculty members slain. But he said such plans have been dropped.

Provost Mark McNamee said organizers have been meeting to discuss a peace center that will be established in the classroom building where Seung-hui Cho killed 30 of his victims as well as himself. He said renovation of the second-floor classrooms could begin this summer.

From wire dispatches and staff reports