Mother Charged in Baby Death, Weird News and Plane Flies Through Fireworks

It was a busy weekend for local news, but we know a lot of you were on vacation.

If you were at the beach, the pool, a BBQ or otherwise not paying attention to the news over your Fourth of July weekend, here’s some of what we reported on your Patch sites inside and around the Beltway in Virginia and DC:

An Alexandria woman was charged in connection with the death of her 8-month-old son, whom she accidentally left in a hot car in Arlington on Friday. Read more about the charges and what happened here.

Did you know fireworks are illegal in the City of Alexandria? A lot of people didn’t — and police and city officials confiscated hundreds of them Thursday.

It’s also illegal to swim in large parts of the Potomac River. Here’s why…

A man crashed his car into a playground at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria over the weekend. Police believe he may have had a medical emergency. See a photo here.

Travel + Leisure magazine says DC residents are snobby. In fact, in the list of the top 20 snobbiest cities, DC ranks ninth. Ouch.

Sonya Thomas (also known as “The Black Widow”) won the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest on Coney Island on the Fourth of July. She’s from Northern Virginia. You can watch video of her competing here.

Fairfax County Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating this woman, who was reported missing Saturday from Marlan Drive in the Alexandria area.

Vehicle thefts are down, overall, in Virginia. And the most stolen car in Virginia isn’t as fancy as you might think…

Not quite ready to go back to work yet?

Here are a few fun distractions from over the weekend:

• Blueberry Season: Pick Your Own, Festivals, Recipes, Tips
• Plane Flies Through Fourth of July Fireworks (Or So It Would Appear)…
• You Know You Live in NoVa When… (readers help us finish the sentence).
• Weird News: Peeping Toms, Scaredy Cats, Zombies and Taking Candy from a Baby 
• Studies Say Commute Has Gotten Better. Do You Agree?