Photo by sjshoreman
Good morning, Washington. Welcome to July, and to a whole bunch of new laws in Virginia — the Post has the rundown. First and foremost: no more texting while driving! Also, no more electric wheelchairs on highways (sorry guys). There are a number of new laws for Maryland residents, too, but many of them won’t go into effect until October 1. What may be the most noteworthy new Virginia law is also slated for a later start: the state’s smoking ban begins on December 1st.
Metro To Remain On Manual: There still aren’t any definitive explanations for last week’s deadly Metro crash, but Metro’s General Manager says that the service won’t be returning to business as usual until an answer is found. WJLA reports that John Catoe is promising to keep all trains in manual mode until a group of independent experts has vetted the systems that enable automatic operation — a process that could take as long as a year. Also, the red line will apparently operate at a maximum speed of 35 mph until the cause of the crash has been determined. Somewhat more promisingly, WTOP’s writeup includes the news that 65 percent of all track circuits have now been tested, and that 80 percent of the fleet’s 1000-series railcars have been moved to the middle of its trains.
White Family Sues: Ronnie White was being held in Prince George’s County jail, accused of killing a police officer, when he died. The death was initially ruled a suicide, then revised to a homicide by the state medical examiner. Despite this, no charges have been filed in connection to the case. Today NBC4 brings word that White’s mother is suing the county for $154 million. Here’s hoping the process reveals more details about what happened to Mr. White.
Briefly Noted: Hyattsville teen shot by officer after striking him with car… Looks like the Real World cast isn’t here yet after all… Accused Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn still too injured to appear in court… Dominion Power customers’ bills going up $1.20… Fairfax considers declaring itself a city… Montgomery County declines to impose ambulance fee…
This Day In DCist: One year ago we tried to figure out this crazy new taxi meter business.
