Good morning, Washington. Looks like the stunning, unseasonably warm weather we’ve been enjoying for the last few days will soon be coming to an end. The remnants of Ida are moving in our direction, and while the Capital Weather Gang says we’ll miss out on most of the heavy rains, we will be getting clouds, scattered showers, and cooler temperatures into tomorrow. Guess we can’t complain — it is November, after all.
Metro, Metro, Metro Lots of Metro news this morning, starting off with this Post story on how two U.S. Senators are calling for an investigation into potential safety lapses at the transit agency. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) made their proclamations in the wake of a Post investigation that found that WMATA was routinely blocking the Tri-State Oversight Committee from obtaining information from Metro about safety issues. One allegation was that safety monitors were being denied access to inspect active train tracks, though a Metro spokesperson later told the paper that was a “misimpression” — monitors have always been allowed to approach the live tracks, just as long as they have passed a safety class and are accompanied by safety escorts, according to Metro. The Examiner, meanwhile, says the committee and the agency are working things out on their own, noting that Metro and local officials claim they didn’t know that the Tri-State Oversight Committee existed before the Red Line crash.
In other Metro news, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 has filed suit in an attempt to force WMATA to give its employees their three percent pay raises.
Sniper Execution Expected at 9 p.m. With yesterday’s Supreme Court decision, the people of Virginia are set to execute John Allen Muhammad tonight by lethal injection. We’ve seen most every kind of story on the lead up to Muhammad’s execution, but here’s a new one, from WTTG/FOX5: an interview with former Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose, who you’ll recognize from his many appearances on the news during the sniper crisis.
Briefly Noted: Two shot, one killed in Northeast shooting … Three charged in Maryland hate crimes … Car crashes into apartment building in Southeast … EPA releases tough-sounding draft strategy for restoring the Chesapeake Bay.
This Day in DCist: In 2008, we looked at why voter turnout didn’t break any records in the region, and in 2006, we were stuck in the dark on who the Nationals would hire to be their new manager. Phew, glad that turned out well!
