The Weekly Feed: Experimentation Edition
Morning Roundup: Change Edition
Former Blade Staffers Launch 'DC Agenda'
D.C. Unemployment Rate Reaches 11.9 Percent
D.C. Insurance Dept. Denies Birth Control Coverage Meddling
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
NTSB spokesperson Debbie Hersman said this morning that the struck train should have nine data recorders on it, as it was composed mostly of newer model rail cars, but they do not expect to get good data from the striking train, as it was made up of older, 1000-series cars.
We'll be updating with the latest on the crash investigation and aftermath. In the meantime, let's look at this morning's other headlines.
D.C. Facing $340 Million Budget Shortfall Over Two Years: The Post's Tim Craig reports on the new budget shortfall numbers from D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi: the District now faces a $190 million deficit in the current fiscal year, and a $150 million gap in the 2010 budget proposal that the D.C. Council approved last month. The news means the budget process may still yet see revisions, and the city will likely have to tap into its reserve funds at this point.
Fenty Uses Line-Item Veto: Speaking of the budget process, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty used his line-item veto for the first time yesterday, the Examiner reports. Fenty removed the proposed conversion of the State Board of Education into an independent agency from the adopted fiscal 2010 budget. The Council will need nine votes to override Fenty’s veto.
Briefly Noted: Fenty, Graham defend Summer Jobs program ... Soldier from Montgomery, Md. killed in Afghanistan ... Robberies spike in Metrorail system ... Shooting last night in Park View.
This Day in DCist: Last year, Len Downie retired from the Washington Post and plans for a new soccer stadium at Poplar Point began falling apart.
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Red Line was running relatively well this morning. Got on in Bethesda and was downtown in 25 minutes.
I rode the green to downtown and then the yellow to King St. The lines were running at reduced speed over the Potomac bridge. The green train I started on was having stop-start door difficulties that was making several passengers (understandably) nervous... otherwise no serious delay for me. Just a very somber morning with all the terrible pictures and headlines in Express and Examiner...
Police have said Black belonged to a gang or crew. Court records show Black was arrested last year for simple assault, carrying a pistol without a license, and failure to register a firearm. All three charges were dismissed or dropped by prosecutors, court records show.
So what's it take to get sent to jail in this town?
And Prince of Petworth reported 60+ shots fired at Lamont and Georgia.
Maybe we need an asshole as our Chief of Police.
Terrible, absolutely. Horrific, really? I know, nitpicking.
I drove into work early this morning and noticed a lot more cars on the road than usual at that time.
I noticed many more bike riders and cars than usual for an average Tuesday around 8:30 on 16th Street heading downtown. I also noticed that many of the parking garages near my office had their monthly accounts only signs out early. I would rather have a shitty commute with lots of bike and car newbies than experience what the folks on those trains did last night.
I got off at Fort Totten (from College Park) not knowing that there was no service from there. I had to wait a while for the next train and walk from Gallery Place to my office. I could have switched at Gallery Place, but it was mobbed. I'm used to walking to Gallery Place from my office (about ten minutes) because my gym is there.
Shitty commute this morning, but, hey I'm not dead or injured!
Shitty commute this morning, but, hey I'm not dead or injured!
It's only 9:30am. Give it time.
Also, let us not forget the real victims here: Jon and Kate Gosselin. The senseless tragedy is that because of the media coverage of this subway accident, dozens of people around the world will never learn that the fairytale frankenfoetus sham marriage of Crotch Clowncar and Moronica Attentionwhore is collapsing in a pool of its own self-fellating narcissism.
I didn't experience anything completely out of the ordinary, just a few extra minutes on the Gallery Place platform.
Why would passengers have been "understandably" nervous about "stop-start door difficulties". Whatever the reason for the crash yesterday, trains aren't going to just start exploding when stopped in the station.
And yes, "horrific". Jeez.
Another local story - the mayor of Berwyn Heights is suing PG County.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Berwyn-Heights-mayor-sues-Prince-Georges-County-over-SWAT-raid-that-killed-his-dogs-48810647.html
And (not local) Ed McMahon died.
I tried to get interest in this story yeaterday Henry, but no bites.
This county is so out of hand it needs adult oversight.
I must have missed your post. It's of interest to me because I live in PG, less than a mile from Calvo's house.
"A spokesman for the police departments also declined to discuss the lawsuit, but said the police department used SWAT teams 400 times last year."
Four hundred? You mean, like, more than once per day?
Also, I wonder what Tom Coburn has to say about all of this?
Is there some sort of burial ground near the tracks in NE? Seems like that stretch isn't far from where the Terra Cotta train disaster occurred.
Almost exactly the same place, from what I can tell.
Here's a map.
I realize it's not nearly as important (or at all), but yesterday at the same time as this horrible wreck, there was a problem at the Tenleytown station that was delaying trains going towards Shady Grove. Anyone know what happened? We just got off at Cleveland Park and had dinner instead of waiting any longer.
There was a train with mechanical problems near Tenleytown which caused single tracking from Friendship Heights and Van Ness.
I'm going to go ahead and say that the media will use this tragedy to 'investigate' how safe mass transit really is. I mean, can you really trust your town's buses? Shocking discoveries after a commercial break (of GM/Ford/Toyota ads).
It will be a bunch of scary anecdotes about so and so getting robbed or so and so's stupid kid falling onto the tracks. Within a month, congress will be doing something about it. here we go...
I was thinking the same thing. I know people who are swearing off riding Metro after yesterday but will happily get into a car or on an airplane. More than ten times the number of people died in the Air France tragedy than in the whole history of Metro subway service. I don't have time to look up the numbers for traffic fatalities in the metro area but I bet in a year they surpass the number of Metro fatalities in its 33 year history not counting suicides and workplace accidents which although tragic as well are not the same.
Already, it begins:
"But the Metrorail transit system kept the old trains kept running despite warnings in 2006, said Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board."
Oh noes! metro is teh evil.
Sure, metro received warnings, but did anyone say "and here's the cash to fix the problem?" I didn't realize John Catoe had the rectal capacity to shit out free 7000 series cars.
John Catoe will be lucky to keep his job after this. I don't have anything against him, but the Board and NTSB will be looking for some sacrificial lambs to hang before Congress - bless their pointy little heads.
Cause can't be assigned with any certainty now, but separate eyewitness reports indicate that (1) the stopped train was visible out the front window of the rear train, and (2) the rear train first stopped, and then resume its trip, before hitting the stopped train, and no braking power was applied.
The traffic this morning was a lot worse than usual, and I'm coming in from VA where the metro lines are unaffected. I think a lot of people were scared to get on the metro this morning, which is silly because I see a couple accidents on the road every day.
I normally don't take the metro because my route is not compatible with public transit (the quickest route involves two trains, a bus, and a shuttle), but I think it will be faster until the panic dies down.
I took the bus from Silver Spring to Farragut North. The S2 and S4 buses were swamped with people.
I'm hoping to tap the transportation wisdom here:
1). I can still take the Green line to Fort Totten?
2). Does Fort Totten have a taxi stand? Is it easy to get a cab there?
Thanks for any help.
You should be able to. I took the Green line this morning. There was no Red line service at Fort Totten, but the Green line trains went through.
I don't know about cabs at that station. I usually only transfer there.