Terror Threat Lowered: We aren’t in an orange mood any more. The Department of Homeland Security has lowered the terror threat to financial institutions in Washington, New York and northern New Jersey. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the terror threat has gone away, the Department of Homeland Security reminds us. That move has let the Capitol Police to dismantle security checkpoints on roadways leading to Capitol Hill. Also, the AP, via WTOP, reports that the Metropolitan Police will end overnight patrols of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund campuses near Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street.
Stadium Settlement: As the W.Times analyzes the political motivations of D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp in the whole baseball stadium deal, the Post reports that Cropp’s opposition to Mayor Anthony William’s plan for stadium financing plan may be waning. Apparently, the chairman will support the mayor’s plan if an option for private financing is included in the stadium legislation. And developers are eying the stadium financing deal. The Post notes that BW Realty Advisors has proposed putting forth as much as $350 million in private funds to build the stadium.
Riders Unite: After some talk about the possibility of forming a transit riders union, MetroRiders.org is set to officially launch today in a press conference. Similar to the Straphangers Campaign, the group has two main things they will push for, the Post reports: an independent review of WMATA operations and a dedicated funding source, something that regional transit lacks. MetroRiders.org fills the void left by Metro Watch, which dissolved in the late 1990s.
And this might be something MetroRiders may be concerned about. The National Transportation Safety Board is indicating that last week’s crash on the Red Line could not have been prevented. The automatic rollback braking trigger apparently only functions when trains are running in automatic, not manual. The runaway train that rolled backwards into another train at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station was being operated manually as it was being brought to the Shady Grove rail yard. Therefore the “protection system relies on electronic signals built into the track to recognize when a train is moving backward” was not working.
In the meantime, WMATA wants its train operators to hone their manual operating skills, so train operators have been instructed to run their trains in manual during off-peak hours and on the weekends, the Post reports.
Briefly Noted: Parents and pastors vow to fight sex ed plan in Montgomery County … Up the road, Howard County will not hold public hearings when they fall on Jewish and Islamic holidays …
