It’s always tough to wake up early and get these first posts of the day done and up on the site, but it’s even tougher when confronted with a redesign of washingtonpost.com without warning. You start to wonder whether you might still be asleep, or if you’re becoming old before your time, since nothing is where you expect it to be. But then you get a few good sips off of your first cup of coffee, allow your eyes to focus, and realize that it’s not a very drastic change at all. They’ve finally cleaned up all the clutter, for one, and that is more than welcome. There may not be a link to “Metro” when you scroll down the front page anymore, but if you’re logged in to the local version, there’s a “Local” button on the top bar that will lead you to more specific areas of local coverage (though the functionality of that bar in Firefox needs tweaking — most of the categories blend into to a clear background that should be fully opaque). We’re still looking around, but mostly we like the spruced up, simplified page. And you?
No Metro Rate Hike: Yes, oh joy of joys, the ridiculous plan for extreme, uneven fare increases for Metro has been tossed out the window by General Manager John B. Catoe. Instead, Catoe will focus on eliminating positions and tightening spending to even out Metro’s budget. Just don’t get too comfortable with the idea that we won’t see any fare increases in the near future: Catoe also said that a small, system-wide increase could happen as soon as next year.
Fenty’s Community Relations Chief Resigns: We missed this in the City Paper’s City Desk blog on Wednesday: “A dispute within the administration of Mayor Adrian Fenty about regulatory enforcement has led to the departure of the city’s leading official for constituent services. Merrit Drucker, director of community relations and services, submitted his resignation March 21 and will leave the government on Friday, according to Drucker.” Drucker is a longtime Fenty ally from the Williams era, well-known for his competence at delivering constituent services.
Briefly Noted: PG County shutters clubs after recent homicides … Grandson of former councilmember convicted of murder … Teacher fired after questioning enrollment irregularities at D.C. charter school.
This Day in DCist: Last year we took a close look at the Post’s new crime map, and the year before that we gave you a killer recipe for mini-burgers.
Photo by Eye Captain
