Good morning, Washington. The Examiner reports that just days before Monday night’s manhole explosion and subsequent blackout, Pepco had been ordered by D.C.’s utility regulator to update its training program for manhole inspectors. The manhole responsible for Monday’s fire and power outage was last inspected Aug. 15, 2001, and a recent round of inspections from another company found more reportable manhole conditions in the city than the utility did, leading to the order regarding training last week. The number of manhole incidents in D.C. has been going way up – from 56 in 2006 to 96 in 2007. Who can forget this manhole fire from October, 2007, or this one from Sept., 2007, for a couple of examples.

Landlord Exemption Might Be Repealed: D.C. Council members Jim Graham and Mary Cheh called yesterday for a repeal to a so-called “vacancy exemption” in District law that they say encourages property owners to drive tenants from rent-controlled apartments, reports the Post. The exemption allows landlords who empty their buildings to convert to condominiums without tenant approval or paying thousands of dollars in fees. Cheh and Graham said they would introduce emergency legislation to end the exemption as soon as April 1.

Metro’s Hybrid Buses Have Flawed Engines: Metro’s fleet of hybrid buses all have faulty engines that often fail to start, reports the Examiner. The hybrids, of which there are about 50, failed to start 26 percent of the time in January, compared with 7 percent of the agency’s compressed natural gas buses and 5 percent of their diesel buses. The problem stems from a manufacturing error. Metro has ordered 203 more hybrid buses, but the manufacturer said it has corrected the problem.

Briefly Noted: D.C. Council approves reduction in police retirement age … Maryland considers cell phone driving ban … Potomac river danger warning issued through Friday.

This Day in DCist: In 2007 we couldn’t help noticing that this city is tough on university presidents, and posted some photos of last year’s reception for the inaugural DCist Exposed photo show.

Photo by m hoek