Photo by Kevin H.

Good morning, Washington. We hope those of you coming in to the city on the Orange and Blue Metro lines didn’t have too bad a time this morning. Orange Line trains are still sharing the same track between Foggy Bottom-GWU and Clarendon stations due to emergency track work at Court House. WMATA says major delays of up to 40 minutes should be expected in both directions on the Orange and Blue lines through the end of rush hour service. DCist’s Rebecca Cooper reports she could see activity in the tunnel just east of the Court House station on the Vienna track side when she was there earlier, and says the emergency track work is being done due to the derailment of a maintenance vehicle before the system opened early this morning.

Dept. of Good Timing: Given the above derailment, Metro must be relieved to be able to point to this morning’s stories in the Post and the Examiner detailing how the transit agency plans to spend its stimulus dollars on infrastructure. Metro plans to spend $230 million on upgrades, including $40 million to replace older buses and fix rail station platforms, and $48 million to construct a rail-car inspection and testing building. Notable from Examiner: “Although the stimulus package is intended to promote jobs, the money won’t help save hundreds of jobs that Metro has proposed to cut to bridge a $154 million budget shortfall in its proposed $1.38 billion budget.”

How Much Does is Cost to Clean Chairs? The Examiner’s Michael Neibauer reports that the D.C. inspector general has discovered that the D.C. Office of Unified Communications is spending $15,000 a year to have its call takers’ chairs professionally cleaned. OUC Director Janice Quintana defends the expense: “The chairs are occupied 24 hours a day 7 days a week and we feel that for the overall quality of the work environment, general upkeep, and proper hygiene, this equipment should be cleaned on a regular basis,” Quintana wrote in her written response to the report. The costs add up to $300 per chair per year.

Briefly Noted: D.C. woman Pamela J. Butler, 47, missing for nearly a week … 2nd suspect arrested in Sept. shooting death … First Lady hosts D.C. school kids from KIPP DC KEY Academy, Shaw Middle School and Stuart-Hobson Middle School for Black History Month event.

This Day in DCist: In 2008, DCist visited the studio of local artist Laurel Hausler, and in 2006, a guest columnist discussed his negative experiences with MetroAccess.