The details: Tiger Woods, the famous golfer recently caught up in an adultery scandal, donated $3 million for a mobile hospital in Haiti, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons claimed. Tens of thousands were feared dead and millions injured or homeless in the wake of that nation’s major earthquake.

Open air

2| Cuba opens airspace for relief flights

The details: Despite historic tensions between the United States and Cuba, the two countries quickly reached a diplomatic agreement to allow U.S. planes into Cuban airspace. This shaves some 90 minutes off the flight from Miami to Haiti and will no doubt greatly help relief efforts.

Above partisanship

3| Obama appoints George W. Bush to key Haiti relief post

The details: After years of casting Bush in the most unfavorable light possible, Obama acknowledged the former president’s considerable leadership skills and tapped him, along with former President Clinton to head up the U.S. relief effort.

Great Scott

4| Scott Brown can win

The details: Deep blue Massachusetts hasn’t elected a Republican senator since 1972, but Brown is narrowly ahead of his Democratic competitor, state Attorney General Martha Coakley. Coakley’s error-prone campaign has helped Brown along, but Brown’s upbeat, pitch-perfect campaign focused on reducing taxes and killing the Senate’s ill-considered health care reform deserves most of the credit.

Small-cell cancer, big breakthrough

5| Advance against small-cell cancer

The details: Researchers may be able to tell which small-cell lung cancer patients need to start treatment with more aggressive forms of chemotherapy, and potentially save lives.

Catoe calls it quits
6| Metro chief resigns under fire
The details: Metro General Manager John Catoe announced his resignation, effective April 2, after the worst year in the troubled transit agency’s history. A string of passenger and employee fatalities — in addition to a projected $175 million budget deficit next year — cast doubt on Catoe’s management ability. Stunned Metro Board members who unanimously voted to sweeten Catoe’s $375,000 contract last fall must now scramble to find a replacement.
Help is coming
7| Local team heads for Haiti
The details: Virginia Task Force One, one of two search and rescue teams in the nation certified by the federal government to give disaster assistance abroad, chartered a plane to Haiti to assist relief efforts after an earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, the island nation’s capital city. The 72-member disaster team includes rescue personnel from the D.C. and Fairfax County fire departments.
School choice
8| Charter school advocate picked for Cabinet
The details: Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell named Gerald Robinson, a nationally known proponent of school choice, as his education secretary. Robinson is currently president of the Atlanta-based Black Alliance for Educational Options, and is expected to push for legislation that would allow groups other than local public school boards to set up charter schools.
Pour favor
9| Fairfax winery finally opens
The details: A Fairfax County woman and her son were finally allowed to open a winery on property in Clifton that’s been in their family for generations. Paradise Springs Winery, the county’s first, opened for business more than a year after Fairfax zoning officials declared the vineyard an “industrial use” because they planned to truck in grapes to augment their crop.
More circulation
10| Panel OKs bus to Rosslyn
The details: The District Council’s Public Works and Transportation Committee voted 4-1 to allow city-funded Circulator buses to run from Dupont Circle to the Rosslyn Metro Station, which is now prohibited by law. However, the panel rejected a proposal for a sixth Circulator route east of the Anacostia River. The popular red buses, which charge $1 a ride, connect the city’s business and entertainment districts.