‘Forrest Gump’ author’s former Old Town colonial is up for grabs at $1.2 million

The real estate market is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.  Right now, there’s the chance to own the former Alexandria abode of Winston Groom, the author who penned the 1986 novel “Forrest Gump.”

The spacious colonial, where it’s believed the D.C. native composed the best-seller in the downstairs office, hit the market Thursday for $1,195,000.

The former Washington Star reporter lived there with his first wife, Ruth Noble, who took ownership of the property in 1977 after their 1974 divorce, listing agent Sue Goodhart of McEnearney Associates Inc. told us. The current owner, she said is “downsizing.”

Full story: Alexandria Colonial

UPDATE - Rachel Shuster

Rachel Shuster, former sportswriter, national sports columnist and for the last 20 years a sports editor, is joining her colleagues in taking a buyout from USA TODAY. She is not retiring, however, and welcomes all inquiries.

Read story: USA TODAY offers buyouts to veteran staffers

UPDATE - Susan Ades Stone

Susan Ades Stone is an award-winning journalist who has a Zelig-like way of landing at startups in their earliest days, among them CNN, the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, The World Science Festival and now, Executive Director and Campaign Strategist for "Women On 20s".

She began her career as a print reporter at the Washington Star. Later, at CNN, she produced the first weekly live-by-satellite interview program, blazing the trail for programs like Nightline. Covering medicine, science and the environment for MacNeil/Lehrer, she reported on the discovery of the AIDS virus, "acid rain," the nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl, among dozens of other national stories. She is the recipient of a 1984 George Polk Award for a short documentary on the efforts of a guerilla anti-abortion group that inspired a spate of clinic bombings and she was nominated for Emmy and Cable Ace awards, among other honors.

Amidst it all, she and her husband Jeff raised three children who can't wait to cast the first votes at Women on 20s.

Attribution: http://www.womenon20s.org/bios

Former NBC News Reporter Lisa Myers: Television Journalism Is Deteriorating

Lisa Myers, an NBC News veteran who retired in 2014, is scheduled to give a speech in Des Moines about her career in television. And her diagnosis of the industry as it currently stands is, shall we say, unflattering.

“I am going to talk about the deterioration in the quality of journalism you see on TV,” she told the Des Moines Register. “There is less and less interest in network television today holding the White House or any other part of government accountable. I fear there is a calculation that the audiences they are trying to reach don’t care that much about the serious news. I think most of the political coverage these days has all the depth of Twitter.”

Full article: TV News Deteriorating
h/t Tim O'Leary