Sounds Lovely: While WMATA’s metrorail system is clearly more modern than the New York subway, it is still vulnerable to a complete control system meltdown as has been seen in New York this week. If control systems were paralyzed, like they have been on parts of the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan (due to a homeless person starting a fire to stay warm adjacent to a systems relay room), metrorail would have to revert to manual operations, creating choke points at places like Rosslyn, the Post reports. Trains could be reduced from 29 an hour to just six.
By the way, WMATA’s Dick White will be conducting an online lunchtime chat on Friday.
He Didn’t Connect the Parts: The man who caused traffic gridlock throughout downtown prior to Inauguration last week claiming he was going to blow up his car near the White House actually had all the components and ingredients to make an explosive device. But the Post reports that a counterrorism investigator 
testifying in federal court says that the parts weren’t connected.
Drug-Free Zone? The W.Times reports that a top administrator in the Prince George’s County schools has been linked to an international drug ring operating out of the Hampton Roads area in Virginia. As the W.Times puts it: “It has been a difficult year for the school district. The arrest announcement follows an inquiry into ethical practices of the school district’s top official, Chief Executive Officer Andre J. Hornsby.”
Dupont Circle Rapes: Police have released an image of a man from a surveillance camera they believe is responsible for attacking two woman in Dupont Circle-area apartment buildings, WTOP reports.
Briefly Noted: D.C. Council poised to require more affordable housing in new construction … Virginia committee green lights official state bat …
