NoVa Restaurant Week Deals | Women Groped While Walking Dogs | Cherry Blossom Peak: News Nearby

Patch has community sites across Virginia and Washington, DC. Here are some of the top posts from the past 24 hours.

• Child Pornographer Arrested in Dumfries: Police
• Women Groped While Walking Dogs in Sterling: Police
• Northern Virginia Restaurant Week: Full List of Deals

2017 Cherry Blossoms Update: Blossoms at 'Puffy White' Stage, Peak Bloom Imminent
Despite a chilly Thursday, the peak bloom of the cherry blossoms gets ever closer, and there's an encouraging new report from the National Park Service: they've reached the "puffy white" stage. Mike Litterst, a spokesman for NPS, said in a statement that 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry blossoms that survived the cold snap reached the puffy white stage on Wednesday. Half of the Yoshino blossoms didn't survive last week's cold.

National Puppy Day: Here Are The Lost Pets Of Arlington Area

While we may get to play with and hug our furry friends every day as pet owners, there are many of us who have lost our animals -- and it's just like a missing family member. Where oh where is Fido? You may ask. In commemoration of National Puppy Day, we're sharing pictures of lost dogs in the hopes that owners and pets can be reunited.

Member of Football Team in 'Remember the Titans' Dies After Car Crash: Report

A member of the T.C. Williams High School football team portrayed in the movie "Remember the Titans" died last week following a car crash in North Carolina, according to a media report.

DC Metro Is Most Affordable Public Transit In US: Report
Here's a surprising claim: a new report says that the D.C. Metro system is one of the most affordable transit systems in the United States, and the most affordable among major cities. But there's one major caveat: it's not because Metro is cheap, but rather because our area is rich enough to afford it.

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• National Puppy Day: Visit Your Local Animal Shelter and Adopt
• Inmate Punches Guard in Manassas: Police
• Intoxicated Woman Abandons Two Small Children in Dumfries: Police
• Man Killed in Head-On Collision Near Lucketts: Police

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Image: Facebook photo courtesy of Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation