Environment

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Homeowners should be aware that ponds with fish may attract other wildlife, such as raccoons, hawks and blue herons.

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The kitchen has hardwood flooring and granite counters. There is pendant lighting above the center island, which has room for seating.

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The center-island kitchen in the Sycamore model features 42-inch cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

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Stanley Martin Homes is building 209 single-family homes on half-acre sites at Selma Estates in Leesburg. The Sycamore model, with 3,281 to 6,448 square feet, is priced from $549,990.

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Dan Gach (left), Erik Shon (center) and Emma Cardini inspect the exterior of the Washington Monument for damage caused by last month's earthquake on Sept. 28, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Lt. Greg Dypsky (foreground) and Fireman Steve Muccino (center), members of the Rescue Squad 3 Collapse Task Force, search through the mock rubble of a fallen building in search of survivors and bodies at RFK Stadium on Wednesday. Government agencies and their nongovernment partners simulated a response to a Category 2 hurricane strike. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

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From left: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton; Gary Mead, executive associate director for Enforcement and Removal Operations; ICE Deputy Director Kumar Kibble and James Dinkins, executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations, take part in a news conference to announce results of ICE-led enforcement targeting at-large criminal aliens on Sept. 28, 2011, in Washington. (Associated Press)

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Filipinos carry a pig through a street flooded by Typhoon Nesat in the Manila suburb of San Mateo on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

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A protesting taxi driver carries a Greek national flag in front of the transport ministry during a protest in Athens on Sept 28, 2011. About 2,000 striking taxi drivers gathered to protest against government plans to open up their licensed profession to more competition. (Associated Press)

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George Wright is pictured while in custody in 1963 for the murder of a gas station owner in Wall, N.J., the year before. (Associated Press/New Jersey Department of Corrections)

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Eagles QB Michael Vick (left) and New York counterpart Eli Manning likely will be in a battle with the Redskins and Cowboys throughout the season. (Associated Press)

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A researcher from the North American Bear Center uses food to lure Hope, then a cub, out of a tree near Ely, Minn., in May 2010. Hope was last seen Sept. 14. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** An undated photo made available by the Eni press office shows Italian energy giant Eni's new gas compression plant, settled on the shore of Mellitah, Libya. (Associated Press/Eni Press office)

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On Monday, Sept. 26, 2011, trees and brush surround the mobile home where four people were found dead Sunday near Laurel, Ind., in rural Franklin County. A fifth person was found dead across the road. (AP Photo/A.J. Mast)

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Jasper Rice, 4, center, with his mother Geraldine Hall, of Hyattsville, Md., plays with a model of the solar system in the Scholastic Magic School Bus at the National Book Festival. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/ The Washington Times)

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**FILE** The empty parking lot of bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra is seen in Fremont, Calif., on Sept. 16, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Last year, U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar approved the project after nine years of grinding federal review, hailing it as "a new direction in our nation's energy future." (Associacted Press)

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** FILE ** In this file image provided by NASA, this is the STS-48 onboard photo of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in the grasp of the RMS (Remote Manipulator System) during deployment, from the shuttle in September 1991. (AP Photo/NASA)