On June 22, 2009, the deadliest crash in Metrorail's history occurred when two Red Line trains collided near the Fort Totten station, killing nine people and injuring dozens more.

The accident, and a subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation, offered a harsh assessment of Metro’s lax safety maintenance. That Monday just before 5 p.m., at the height of rush hour, a downtown-bound Red Line train leaving the Takoma station stopped temporarily on the tracks near the New Hampshire Avenue NE overpass. A second train, headed in the same direction, rammed into the rear of the stationary train at 55 mph, causing the last car of that train to break apart on impact.

(For a slideshow of photos of the accident and its aftermath, click here.)

Olga Bryant, a Walter Reed Army Medical Center employee, was a passenger on the first train. She told Washington City Paper at the scene that it had been stopped for about 10 minutes before the crash. For those who ride Metro long enough, such delays become routine. Brenda Payton, who was on the speeding train, told City Paper: "We just felt a big crunch and saw smoke and stuff. We got off the train as fast as we could." Fellow passenger Anastasia McKeown said: “You could tell we hit something that wasn't an animal." Crews had to cut some passengers out of the mangled cars and propped up steel ladders to help others escape the wreckage. (For a photo gallery of the emergency response, click here.)

Then-Mayor Adrian Fenty spoke at a press conference on June 23, confirming nine dead and 76 injured. “We want to express our condolences ... our hearts go out to the many loved ones,” Fenty said. “We are cooperating fully with WMATA. They will then cooperate fully with the NTSB."

Among the fatalities was train operator Jeanice McMillan, 42. Speculation grew in the aftermath of the crash that McMillan had been texting when the trains collided. WTOP confirmed with then-Metro General Manager John Catoe that the rumors were untrue. "We know where her cell phone was—it was not on her. It was in a backpack ... There's not one letter of evidence that our operator did anything to cause the accident,” Catoe said. He added that the train had braked for several hundred feet before the crash.

Among the eight other fatalities were LaVonda King, 23, owner of a new hair salon; Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr., 62, a command pilot; and Veronica DuBose, 29, a nursing student.

The NTSB’s investigation into the June 2009 accident determined that the automatic train-control system had failed to detect the delayed train, The Washington Post reported.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman told the Post that D.C.’s Metrorail—the second-busiest in the country with about 200 million passenger trips a year—had “significant deficiencies in their safety culture.”

Hersman also accused Metro of ignoring the NTSB’s warnings—the most significant of which regarding its potentially malfunctioning track circuits and oldest cars dating back to the 1970s—for 15 years before the crash, according to the Associated Press. The NTSB made a series of new recommendations to Metro after the accident.

The previous most-deadliest crash in Metro’s history occurred in 1982, when an Orange Line train derailed near the Federal Triangle station due to an improperly aligned switch, killing three passengers.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery. For more of Montgomery's photos click here.

"Graham made the comment at the close of a Monday afternoon meeting between the Metro board and the National Transportation Safety Board. The two groups met to discuss 16 recommendations the NTSB made to the transit agency last month at the conclusion of its year-long investigation into the deadly crash....

Graham fired back at statements the federal safety board has made, including that the Metro board was 'tone deaf' to safety issues before the crash.

'What could I have done differently?' Graham asked rhetorically. 'I've asked myself that question on a personal level, and I conclude I don't know what I could have done.'"

Wow.

*file photo by Darrow Montgomery.

By now, you have at least skimmed the stories on the NTSB's findings concerning the fatal Metro crash. Before we forget about the NTSB's report until the next crash, let's take a moment to debate whether we should put some of the blame on the Metro Board. The only thing the board knows how to do is vote on fare hikes. Ensuring your safety as you commute to work? Forget it.

WaPo reports:

"The NTSB found that nearly half of the 3,000 track circuit modules that Metro uses could seriously malfunction and that a quarter of its rail cars, the oldest in the fleet, offer little protection in the event of a crash, posing an "unacceptable risk to Metrorail users." Although Metro is monitoring the problem circuits much more aggressively to manage that risk, the board recommended that the troublesome equipment and old rail cars be permanently removed as soon as possible. The NTSB has no statutory power to enforce its recommendations, which it makes without regard to cost."

[NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P] Hersman denounced Metro's failure to apply lessons from a near-crash by the Rosslyn Station in 2005, which she said could have prevented the June 22, 2009, accident near the Fort Totten Station, in which one train crashed into another, killing the driver and eight passengers and injuring scores of others.

'Metro was on a collision course long before this accident,' Hersman said in an opening statement to the public meeting, attended by senior Metro leaders and safety oversight officials, as well as families of the crash victims. 'The only question was when Metro would have another accident — and of what magnitude.'"

Shouldn't the board be punished for ignoring that earlier NTSB report? The problem isn't that Metro leadership ignored just that one report. Metro has a history of ignoring NTSB reports.

On the evening of the fatal crash at Fort Totten in June, our former LL Mike DeBonis was able to pull together previous crashes that appeared to foreshadow this tragedy—the 1996 train collusion at Shady Grove, and a 2004 crash in Woodley Park. DeBonis found in each case, the NTSB released a report that appeared to go ignored by WMATA. This is the NTSB in response to the Woodley Park crash:

"In WMATA’s March 2002 response to the Safety Board’s recommendation (R-96-37) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Metrorail cars and make modifications to improve their crashworthiness, WMATA stated that its consultant determined that it was neither practical nor desirable to add underframe reinforcement and that such modification possibly could result in more injuries. WMATA also stated that it would have been impractical to modify the 1000-series Metrorail cars before they are scrapped and it would be prohibitive to modify the 2000, 3000, and 4000 series when they are refurbished. As a result of this response, the Board classified Safety Recommendation R-96-37 “Closed—Acceptable Action” based on the information that WMATA’s position on the existing fleet was reasonable and that the intent of the recommendation had been met.

The Safety Board concluded that the failure of the carbody (underframe) end structure of the 1000-series Metrorail cars may make them susceptible to telescoping and potentially subject to a catastrophic compromise of the occupant survival space. WMATA’s evaluation, which determined that it was impractical to modify the 1000-series cars and their crashworthiness performance in collisions, in effect validates the scheduled retirement of the cars. Any replacement car should be designed with crashworthiness components for absorbing maximum energy in a collision and to transmit minimum acceleration to passengers without override or telescoping, as found in the current 5000-series railcars and specified for the 6000-series cars."

And its recommendation:

"Either accelerate retirement of Rohr-built railcars, or if those railcars are not retired but instead rehabilitated, then the Rohr-built passenger railcars should incorporate a retrofit of crashworthiness collision protection that is comparable to the 6000-series railcars. (R-06-2)"

Greater Greater Washington thinks the board should get a pass. The blog argues today:

"NTSB staff also blamed the Board for not doing more on safety. NTSB member Robert Sumwalt also repeatedly brought up the Board's role during questioning. According to one presentation by Loren Groff, they felt the Board should have not only asked tough questions of top management, but gone around them to conduct their own investigations into the safety operation of the organization.

That seems unrealistic. It's probably true the Board could have asked more tough questions. They could have commissioned an Inspector General's report. But they asked safety questions of the General Manager and got what seemed like satisfactory answers.

According to the NTSB discussion, the Board asked the General Manager to explain the top safety incidents and what was being done about them. The Board sees itself as a policy-making body, and doesn't meddle in day to day operations. Asking the GM for a safety summary seems like the right approach. If the GM's summary was misleading, it would be nice if Board members had psychically divined this, but it's hard to see how exactly they could have."

The board needed no such psychic powers. All they had to do was read previous NTSB reports. The same reports that they ignored over and over again.

*file photo by Darrow Montgomery.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"World Cup Roundup," "Another O.J. Simpson Expert to Appear At Wone Trial," "District Unemployment Rate Drops," "Kojo: 'What's With The Hatred of Adrian Fenty?,'" "Scene, Protests At Georgetown Apple Store Opening," "Shooting Near 4D Police Headquarters"

Good Morning. There's so much news, let's just get to it. The Examiner's Bill Myers reports that the Fenty Administration had raided millions from workers' insurance fund. The fund's mismanagement is now being investigated by the F.B.I. and the city auditor: "The Fenty administration took $10 million from a workers' insurance fund that is now at the center of multiple investigations, sources told The Washington Examiner. Fenty and his attorney general, Peter Nickles, have now acknowledged that hundreds of disabled workers were charged for life insurance but weren't actually given the policies. The administration announced that it was handing the matter over to the city's inspector general last week. The workers' money, which might be worth up to $6 million, went into the city's workers' compensation fund. Sources familiar with the investigations into the scandal told The Examiner that the Fenty administration took some $10 million from the workers' compensation fund to balance the fiscal 2009 budget. Then City Administrator Dan Tangherlini met with finance and Risk Management agency officials in early 2008 and discovered that the workers' comp money had continually "rolled over" from previous years, the sources said. Tangherlini assumed that insurance claims were falling and that the city was safe in raiding the fund, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigations. The fund has since been under 'spending pressure' and some workers have complained that they are being bilked out of both life and health insurance benefits." KEY LINES: "Beside the missing insurance benefits, authorities have also been told that contracts went to friends of Risk Management Director Kelly Valentine. Authorities have not found any evidence of corruption."

FENTY STAFF TROUBLES: WaPo reports that a Fenty canvasser has been arrested for allegedly selling crack: "A canvasser for the campaign of D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) was fired after being arrested Friday in connection with an alleged attempt to sell crack to an undercover police officer in Northwest." A Fenty spokesperson says that the staffer has been fired and was not canvassing at the time of his arrest. More coverage via NBC4. BONUS FENTY STAFFER GOSSIP: From commenter "Rob" from this past Friday's LL Daily on the ongoing Fenty Campaign's Sign Wars:

"A Fenty sign was also placed in my front yard right next to my Gray sign AFTER the Fenty campaign idiot was told (politely)that we were not interested. Enraged, I pulled up the sign and I am now awaiting the opportunity to do the 'appropriate' thing with it. Another thing that I've noticed, there seem to be an unusual number of Fenty campaign volunteer vehicles possessing Maryland, Virginia and even Delaware license plates. I guess Fenty is counting on those votes to get him back in."

And from "No To AMF" :

"Vacant property and homeowners often come home from work to find a Grey sign moved to an out of sight part of the yard and a new Fenty sign placed without permission. What can we do outside of throwing his signs out? There should be a penalty or fine for this. I can't go to his house and place signs in his yard without permission and he shouldn't be able to do it to my home!"

Is this a trend? Or just BS from Gray supporters?

AFTER THE JUMP—New residents could impact election, Metro one year later, Ron Moten vs. Vincent Gray, D.C. Police roll out curfew campaign, and much, much more!

NEW RESIDENTS: Those newly registered to vote in the District could have an impact on this year's big races, reports WaPo's Ann Marimow. Like all the newbies in Mount Vernon Triangle and elsewhere. There are 47,000 new voters. The biggest jump in voter registration has taken place in Ward 1 and Ward 7. Marimow writes: "To Fenty's camp, the fact that newcomers have chosen the District over, say, Bethesda or Ballston is directly related to the mayor's initiatives to improve schools and lower crime, said campaign strategist Tom Lindenfeld. 'We think we have a chance once they are exposed to the contrast in the race,' he said. 'We're going to do everything necessary to make that case.' Gray's campaign is trying to capitalize on his background as a community organizer—something he shares with Obama—and founder of a nonprofit group. Traci Hughes, spokeswoman for the Gray campaign, also stressed his deliberative, inclusive decision-making style and said new voters want a candidate 'who really cares about the people living in the city.' In the hierarchy of sought-after voters, residents with habitual records of participation are especially prized. At the other end are those who typically cast ballots only in presidential elections. Then there are the newbies, who have yet to establish a voting pattern in the District. The get-out-the-vote challenge for both mayoral campaigns heading into the September primary is to persuade the newly registered — without ignoring established voters — that they have a personal stake in who is elected mayor."

METRO ONE YEAR LATER: The Examiner's Kytja Weir asks: Is Metro any safer one year after the crash. Weir writes: "The crash did not end the safety problems. Instead, the transit agency saw a spate of other deaths, safety missteps, damning reports and other problems in the past year." Key detail: The transit agency signed an $886 million contract this spring to buy new steel-bodied rail cars to replace the Rohr 1000 series cars that federal investigators have called uncrashworthy for years, but it will take at least six years for the new cars to arrive and all the old ones replaced. The agency has been running trains in manual mode since the crash and has fixed problems in nearly 300 of its some 3,000 track circuits, according to a Metro database. It has not come up with the real-time sensor of failures in the train safety system that the National Transportation Safety Board asked it to create."

WaPo's Ann Scott Tyson produced a riveting feature on the Metro crash victims' families and the impact one year later: "The relatives of those killed in the deadliest accident in Metro's history have spent the past year dealing with practical hardships. They have had to find ways to replace lost incomes, care for orphaned children and shift living arrangements to create new homes. But they live with an aching sense of loss that is as raw today as it was in the days after one train slammed into another near Fort Totten Station in Northeast Washington. Some refuse to ride Metro trains; they're worried about safety and plagued by horrific memories. Lawsuits over the crash, which also injured 80 people, are crawling through the courts, and the National Transportation Safety Board won't announce a formal cause of the accident until late July. As the months have passed, many family members grew bitter over what they see as the indifference of Metro, government officials and the public to their suffering."

WUSA9 interviews Peter Benjamin, Metro's Chairman of the Board, on the system's safety improvements since the crash. KEY QUOTE: "Yes METRO is safe. Now, nothing is perfectly safe. There is always some chance of an accident. But you are safer riding METRO than any mode of transportation. I've got to tell you I take my grandchildren for rides on these trains. I wouldn't take them on these trains if it wasn't safe,"

Meanwhile, a Metro bus driver has been arrested over a fare fight. AP reports: "Metro Transit Police charged Vento Mickens with simple assault on Friday. Mickens was driving a 71 bus to Buzzard Point when the alleged incident took place near Georgia Avenue and Van Buren Street NW. Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato says that Mickens, who had worked for Metro for more than 23 years, is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation."

And NC8 reports that a Metro bus was involved in an accident with four other cars at Suitland Parkway and Stanton Road SE on Sunday: "As many as 10 individuals were evaluated for injuries and four were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Pete Piringer, the spokesperson for DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services."

FENTY FINISHES 16TH: Not in a straw poll. No, he finished a very respectable 16 in this weekend's triathlon.

RON MOTEN VS. VINCENT GRAY: Tim Craig reports on the Peaceoholics Co-Founder's potential impact on the mayoral race: "Frustrated by Gray's attacks on Fenty and concerned that a Gray victory would dry up funding for violence-prevention programs he credits with reducing homicides, Moten said he will use the sales skills he learned on the streets to put the mayor over the top in the September primary. 'I haven't even gotten started yet,' said Moten, 40. 'Adrian has helped a lot of people in the streets. People just don't know about it yet. I'm going to help change that.' In recent weeks, Moten has created a Web site to spread information about Gray's record, fueled newspaper articles on the illegal fence at Gray's home in Hillcrest and helped Fenty reach out to African Americans through radio ads featuring hip-hop artists. Now, Moten is gearing up to mobilize thousands on Fenty's behalf, confident he can drive up African American turnout enough to dilute Gray's expected advantage. Privately, some Fenty advisers said they are nervous that Moten's efforts could backfire, but the mayor said in an interview that he is 'honored' to have the support, calling him a 'friend' and a 'great Washingtonian.'"

CHARTER SCHOOLS: Three schools may close, reports the Examiner's Leah Fabel: "Facing closure are two Ward 1 elementary schools — Children's Studio and Academy for Learning through the Arts (ALTA) – as well as a Ward 4 secondary school, Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers (KIMA). The three threatened revocations constitute a strong signal from the board that it is willing to use its authority to uphold charter quality. About one-third of District students attend charter schools, and the city's charter experiment is being closely watched by education reformers around the country. Each of the three schools posted dismal test scores in 2009. At Children's Studio, fewer than 26 percent of students performed at or above 'proficient' level on the city's standardized math exams, while about 39 percent reached that mark in reading. In a recent board report, the school was criticized for having 'no clear instructional philosophy or model of exemplary teaching.' At ALTA, about 19 percent of students scored proficient or better in math, down from 27 percent in 2008. About half of the students scored proficient in reading. In a 2009 report, the school carried a cumulative deficit of $111,000, among the highest in the city. At KIMA, about 43 percent of high schoolers passed the city's reading test, and about 34 percent passed the math test. A report stressed concern over the school's ability to serve students with special needs, such as English language instruction."

JONETTA ROSE BARRAS: The Examiner columnist thinks Gray's recent victory in the Ward 3 straw poll may be meaningless: "Truth be told, straw polls and endorsement meetings are merely an opportunity for each campaign to take the other's measure: How much effort does it take for Gray to win in Ward 3? Is Fenty mimicking Muhammad Ali's "rope-a-dope," or is his organization in disarray? Neither campaign has hit its stride. 'This is still a very competitive race, and Fenty still has plenty of money,' said another political operative. The mayor has more than $3 million. Insiders told me he soon may release television ads: 'A lot of voters have fixed opinions [about him]. The only way to change that is to come into their living rooms,' said a campaign source."

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: On Friday, District officials reported that the city's unemployment rate fell by .6 percent to 10.4 percent: WaPo's Mike DeBonis tries to gauge the impact of this very tiny news on the mayoral race: "The dip in joblessness probably won't play much on the trail. For one, any effort to take credit for the trend is going to ring hollow in the parts of town where the numbers shoot past 20 percent. For another, what's going on in the nation at large — high unemployment due to fewer jobs — is not what is happening in the District. There are more jobs in the city than there were in 2006, but poorly qualified D.C. residents simply aren't filling them. So the campaign rhetoric tends to center on job training issues, rather than job creation issues. That certainly, is what candidate Vincent Gray is focusing his message on. At a June 3 mayoral forum hosted by Ward 3 neighborhood associations, Gray said: 'The skills that are required for the jobs that we have in the city don't match the talents of the people we have here. The job of the mayor is to be able to create the jobs program that will facilitate that.' He went on to advocate for more training in the areas health care, early childhood education, and financial services — what he sees as growth sectors in the District. He also boasted how he moved to restore a $4 million cut to workforce development programs. The man who proposed that cut, Mayor Adrian Fenty, has chosen to integrate his jobs policy with his No. 1 campaign talking point: education."

RAY VS. MENDO: Clark Ray has beat At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson in a Ward 8 straw poll. From the Ray press release: "Challenger Clark Ray, showing growing momentum, handily won the Ward 8 Democratic Straw Poll over longtime incumbent Phil Mendelson with the vote of 46 to 28." Ray can take heart that he beat Mendo in a straw poll. Mendo can take heart that less than a hundred residents participated.

CURFEW: D.C. Police are launching a campaign to spread the word that the District's youth have a curfew. Lame slogan included in the message! More coverage via WUSA9.

TAKOMA AQUATICS CENTER: The awesome facility was scheduled to close for most of the summer for repairs. But residents protested. District officials have now decided that the pool will remain open, reports WaPo's Nikita Stewart. The pool will close right after the primary vote in September.

APPLE STORE MANIA: NC8 reports from the Apple Store's grand opening in Georgetown.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE:

11 a.m. Remarks
Groundbreaking for Fort Stanton Recreation Center
Location: Fort Stanton Recreation Center
1812 Erie St SE

D.C. COUNCIL SCHEDULE:

10 a.m.
Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary (Hearing)
Bill 18-692, Health and Safety 911 Abuse Prevention Act of 2010
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 412

Committee of the Whole (Round Table)
PR 18-927, " Compensation and working conditions collective bargaining agreement between the district of Columbia and the Washington Teachers' union, American Federation of Teachers Local No. 6, AFL CIO Emergency Approval Resolution of 2010"
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 500

1 p.m.
Postponed – Committee on Economic Development and Government Operations and the Environment (Round Table)
The Proposed Surplus and Disposition of the following District -owned properties: 4800 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave., N.E.; 335 8th St. S.E.; 1101 24th Street, N.W.; 2301 L ST, N.W.;2225 M St., N.W.; 3050 R St., N.W.; 27 O Street, N.W.
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 123

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Michael Price's Ex-Lover Forced To Testify At Wone Trial," "Librarian Layoffs Rattle Cleveland Park," "World Cup Roundup: Brazil Backers Blitz Bethesda Bar," "Affordable Housing May Not Have To Stay That Way"

Good morning. Yesterday, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray was endorsed in his run for mayor by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. He bested Mayor Adrian Fenty with 63 percent of the club's members voting in his favor. But as WaPo's Tim Craig reports, the endorsement may have had little to do with the substance of the candidates' positions. Both major candidates supported the same-sex marriage bill and other issues concerning the LGBT community. Craig writes that Gray's victory may have come down to Fenty's heavy reliance on notes during the debate leading up to the big vote.

So is it wrong for Fenty to use cheat sheets during debates? It's come up in an earlier debate. This LL expects the issue to continue unless the mayor decides to study up before these forums. It only reinforces the perception that Fenty is, um, aloof. Craig writes: "Although Gray also had a briefing book nearby, he rarely referred to it. In several recent candidates forums, Fenty has referred to written notes while he debated his opponent, even reading word for word from talking points as he attacks Gray's record....Rick Rosendall, the vice-president for political affairs for the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, wrote on GLAA's blog last night Gray pulled off 'a historic upset.' 'Fenty read from notes, while Gray spoke without notes,' Rosendall wrote. 'What probably put Gray over the top, though, was how well he sold himself as someone with a history of working with the community and was more collaborative than the aloof Fenty.'"

AFTER THE JUMP: :Evans doesn't approve of budget, District facing insurance problem, Fenty facing nasty fliers, Metro prepares to honor crash victims, and much, much more!

BUDGET APPROVED: The D.C. Council passed the District's budget by a 12-1 vote with Councilmember Jack Evans the lone dissenter. WBJ's Michael Neibauer reports: "Among its many provisions, the [Budget Support Act] hikes a raft of fees for all manner of services, reestablishes a vacant property tax of $5 per $100 of assessed value, implements a host of tax exemptions, opens the door to overhead streetcar wires on H Street NE and elsewhere, establishes new fees for intercity bus loading and unloading, assesses a 6 percent sales tax on soft drinks, carbonated beverages and medical marijuana, and allows the D.C. Department of Transportation to sell advertising on parking meters and meter receipts. Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans voted 'no' on the budget, citing the use of reserves to balance what he has described as out of control spending. The District's reserves funds will drop to about $600 million after 2011, $300 million short of a limit set by Mayor Adrian Fenty in meetings with Wall Street bond rating agencies.'Assurances were given we would not do that,' Evans said. 'We are taking this down to a level, at $600 million, that puts us in a position of not having any reserve funds at all to draw upon — I think a very dangerous situation.'"

Gray put out a press release on the vote: 'While the overall spending in this budget is comparable to that proposed by the Executive, the Council restored funding the Mayor had cut to address many important citywide priorities, including dollars to preserve our social safety net,' Gray said." Save Our Safety Net had a different response leading up to the vote. More coverage via WaPo.

DISTRICT OWES MILLIONS: The Examiner's Alan Suderman reports that the District is in the hole big time over unpaid insurance bills: "The cash-strapped District government will have to come up with as much as $6 million to cover the life insurance premiums the city collected from hundreds of disabled employees over seven years but didn't pass along to the insurance companies, officials said Tuesday. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Attorney General Peter Nickles said at a news conference that they had asked the city's independent inspector general to investigate what happened to the money that had been collected by the city's Office of Risk Management. The Washington Examiner first reported in May that members of the Fenty administration were scrambling to fix problems within Risk Management, which is charged with operating the city's workers' compensation claims, and that the FBI was asking questions about the agency's contracting practices.... Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh said the city should have acted much sooner, as word of problems at Risk Management have been around for 'some time.' Cheh asked for the city's auditor to investigate the department last month. 'My question is, where have they been?' Cheh said. 'They had early warning that something was amiss.'" More coverage via WaPo.

FENTY BIKE THEFT: A D.C. cop is apparently still being investigated for not leaving his guard post during the bike theft at the mayor's house. The Examiner's Bill Myers stays on this story: "A day after Mayor Adrian Fenty publicly cleared a police officer who was on duty when two bikes were stolen from his home, the officer was informed by superiors that he is the target of an internal investigation, The Washington Examiner has learned. Officer Wilson Liriano was told that he's facing discipline for negligence in a late Tuesday afternoon meeting at police headquarters, his union leader, Kris Baumann, said. Liriano was in a guard booth at Mayor Adrian Fenty's home when three young thieves made off with mountain bikes from the mayor's garage. Liriano saw the thieves on a closed-circuit television and alerted his superiors, but was unable to catch the thieves. On Monday, Fenty's spokeswoman issued a statement that Liriano 'followed proper protocol' in the incident."

NASTY POLITICS: D.C. Wire's Tim Craig reports on some tasteless fliers being passed around at mayoral campaign events: "For two consecutive weeks, people attending candidates forums in the D.C. mayor's race have been greeted with fliers urging them to 'slap' Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). 'Slap This Brat,' states the flyer, which includes a photo-shopped image of Fenty's face attached to a baby sitting on a rocking horse. 'Elect Somebody. Anybody But Fenty.' Larger signs with the same image and message have also been posted on some city telephone poles. Many of the fliers and posters are in color while others are black-and-white. The flier and signs do not include any information about who paid for or is distributing them, a possible violation of city campaign finance rules requiring disclosure of electioneering activities. City election law states 'campaign literature must be identified by the words 'paid for by' followed by the name and address of the payer or the committee or other person and its treasurer,' according to the Office of Campaign Finance. The campaign of Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray has denied any involvement in creating or distributing the fliers, which D.C. Wire first noticed at the Ward 3 Democrats candidates' forum Thursday. The Fenty campaign had no comment on the fliers last week."

And then there's this little mystery involving WASHINGTON CITY PAPER: "Similar ads have also been appearing in the Washington City Paper. According to Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis, those print ads state they are being paid for by 'electanyoneelse.com.' But electanyoneelse.com doesn't exist and there is no registered political committee with that name." WTF.

JULY 4: D.C. Council approved a measure that will allow liquor stores to sell booze on July . The holiday happens to fall on a Sunday this year. Meanwhile, bad news for drunks who may need a free ride home after the fireworks. The free taxi service for boozers may not be running on July 4 due to financial problems. AP reports: "A program that offers free cab rides home to people in the Washington region who have been drinking around certain holidays may not be available on Independence Day. The Washington Regional Alcohol Program's SoberRide program is in jeopardy due to declining contributions from private supporters. The program has been offering rides to people on St. Patrick's Day, July 4, Halloween and during the Christmas-New Year's period for 17 years. Kurt Erickson, president of the McLean, Va.-based organization, says funding has dropped because of the economic downturn. Erickson says there is a $31,000 gap between revenues and the cost of cab fares."

METRO CRASH MEMORIAL: WTOP via the AP reports that the ceremony has been set to honor the Metro crash victims: "A letter sent to the victims' families from Metro's interim general manager says the ceremony will be held at Fort Totten Park at 10 a.m. next Tuesday — exactly one year since the crash that killed nine people and injured 80. The letter from Richard Sarles says the service will include remarks from non-denominational clergy and dignitaries. A bronze plaque listing the names of the victims also will be unveiled. Last week, some of the victims' relatives complained that they had not been told about a memorial event."

VACANT PROPERTY AUCTION: The District is set to sell off some of its vacants, WBJ reports: "The properties currently sit in the Department of Housing and Community Development’s portfolio, which is coordinating an auction to dish out the buildings. It will be held June 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 2 p.m. and conducted by Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc....Most of the properties sit in the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of the city, including the Columbia Heights and Deanwood neighborhoods." Property list can be found here.

MARYLAND COPS: Don't like it when you tape their traffic stops.

WASA R.I.P.: Introducing...D.C. Water.

REDSKINS: More Haynesworth headaches.

CLARK RAY NABS WILLIE WILSON ENDORSEMENT: Not sure if this is such a good thing. But the at-large council candidate thinks so. In a press release, he is quoted saying: "I look forward to working in partnership with Rev. Wilson to build bridges throughout all communities and neighborhoods as we heal and solve the problems of our City. I'm gratified that Rev. Wilson and others who toil daily in our neighborhoods, who are connected with people and their problems, have embraced my push for real transparency in education reform..." blah, blah, blah. You get the idea.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE:

11:30 a.m.
Committee on Housing and Workforce Development (Round Table)
Fiscal Year 2010 Summer Youth Employment Program
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 120

1:45 p.m.
Committee on Economic Development (Legislative)
Committee Mark-up B 18-0800; PR 18-0888; PR 18-0889
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 123

2 p.m.
Committee on Economic Development and Government Operations and the Environment (Round Table)
The Proposed Surplus and Disposition of the following District -owned properties: 4800 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave., N.E.; 335 8th St. S.E.; 1101 24th Street, N.W.; 2301 L ST, N.W.;2225 M St., N.W.; 3050 R St., N.W.; 27 O Street, N.W.
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 412

2:15 p.m.
Committee on Government Operations (Meeting)
PR 18-792
Location: John A. Wilson Building, Room 123

On Wednesday, John Catoe took action
To stop his "unhealthy distraction"
The Red Line derailed
And critics prevailed
By force of their dissatisfaction

The consequence for his aggression:
A felony charge for possession
His stardom may sink
But not in the clink?
The perks of a guilty confession...

Come summer, nine people were lost
When train control signals got crossed
Commutes were enraging
Since Metro is aging
But fixing it comes at great cost

A self-proclaimed pol "who is moral"
Turned stalkerish after a quarrel
It got convoluted
But problems were rooted
In lack of attention, um, oral

The lesson that Graham learned this year
Was watch whom you're keeping too near
With interns so shooty
And Loza's cab booty
It's huge that Jim's still in the clear

Forgive me for what I have missed
(I know it's a really huge list)
There's Rhee and there's Fenty
For now, this is plenty
It's time to go out and get kissed!

"I truly believe Metro is a safe system."

—John Catoe, Metro general manager, June 22

Forget Marion Barry. Forget Jim Graham. Did any public official in this town have a worse year than Catoe? When one Red Line train rammed into another near Fort Totten during the evening rush hour on June 22, Metro's chief executive was thrust into maintaining public confidence in an aging transit system that had just killed eight of its riders, plus a train operator. In the hours after the tragedy, he uttered the line above, but headlines over subsequent months exposed it as PR masquerading as an expert assessment. Three workers were killed while on the job during 2009. Metro executives barred safety inspectors from a little known oversight body for months. A November yard crash caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. Meanwhile, a record number of suicides plagued Metro tracks. By year's end, Catoe responded by ditching five members of his senior management team. Calls for his own head persist, but Catoe retains the confidence of WMATA board members, who are damn well convinced they couldn't find anyone better who’d be willing to take the job.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

More from LL's Quotes of 2009

• Yesterday afternoon, City Desk posted the latest WaPo article about the Metro crash, which basically announced that circuits on four of the five lines have failed to detect the presence of trains.  The 6 pm newscasts featured commentary from a variety of concerned commuters and so to quell their concerns, Metro GM John Catoe and Councilman Jim Graham held a press conference announcing that the Post got the story wrong.  The system is safe, says Catoe, and the article is a gross misstatement of facts.  Watch WUSA's interview with Catoe – he could be a dreidel with the way he's spinning this new information.

Swine flu, social networks, and the Secret Service after the jump.  Plus, a new alternative to saving the Nats!

• Swine flu isn't going anywhere soon.  Yet another group of local students from the District and Maryland are quarantined in Beijing after testing positive for H1N1.  Although it sucks that their trip is on hiatus, at least they have access to their Facebook accounts.
• Speaking of social networks, Facebook and Twitter are now too accessible to the general public, so Congress had to make its own. 3121, named after the extension of the Capitol Hill switchboard, will premiere in September and hopes to make communication among staffers more efficient.  Really, it's just a more localized version of any other site, so that you can stalk the hottie in Rep. Whatever's office and make awkward eye contact with your new "friends."
• President Obama granted Dick Cheney's request for a six-month extension of his Secret Service protection.  Apparently he has been concerned with his security and privacy in recent years, and plans on asking for another extension when this one expires.  Because when the federal government is hemorrhaging money, cashing in on a former Vice President's security detail is really an investment in the future.
• And finally, the Nationals might seem like a better team if they had better media coverage.  And who better to help them with their image than Ari Fleisher of Ari Fleisher Sports Communications!  Yep, Bush 2's first press secretary has launched a business to train athletes and teams on how to deal with the media.  He's currently busy promoting the Olympics but maybe he can help our fledgling batters in the future.

Johnnie Cochran's awesome law outfit The Cochran Firm have announced that they're going to be playing a huge part in the post metro-crash litigation. The OJ, and noted civil rights lawyer may have passed away in 2005, but as we all know from the awesome local TV ads—his firm lives on.

Now, the Cochran firm is taking a piece of the metro crash business. Interview with Cochran attorney after the jump.

Carolyn B. Jenkins, the mother of Veronica DuBose, who died in the crash, has filed on a wrongful death lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court against WMATA as well as Alstom Signaling, Inc. According to the press release, Alstom "provides computerized train traffic control." DuBose was 29 and the mother of two children–Ava Sarai Katurah DuBose, 20 months old, and Raja Otis Lee Williams, seven years old.

The firm filed the suit on June 29.

City Desk spoke to Cochran firm attorney David E. Haynes this evening:

"We were contacted by the family along with another law firm. We had been monitoring the situation closely," Haynes explains. "The family was interested to prosecute the case quickly. There hasn't been much information that has been shared directly with the family. We expect that through our own investigation with the other law firms in the case that we will be able to uncover the practices going on with Metro."

"There's no need to wait until the investigation is totally completed," Haynes says. It appears clear that this was an accident that was preventable and avoidable." Indeed, the Post reported to day that repair work caused huge problems safeguarding passengers against crashes.

"I think they need to get the 1000 series off the track," Haynes says. "I think they need to have a complete review of the computer systems that are involved along with any other companies or vendors involved in that process...Obviously the appropriate testing and precautions had not been taken."

Haynes says WMATA has a history of ignoring passenger complaints and injury claims: "The litigation process is necessary to put WMATA to task. They are known not to pay claims unless they are in litigation. Lawsuits need to be filed for the complete truth to come out and for full justice."

The lawsuit is seeking $25 million.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Olga Bryant, who works at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was on the rammed train this afternoon. She said that the train had been stopped for around 10 minutes and that the operator had reported that they were having some electrical difficulty. She says that the train's lights and the power were on prior to the accident. Bryant was in the second car of the rammed train, and thus fairly well removed from the impact. She stayed on the train for about 20 minutes after the crash.

She was traveling with Garrett Dorsey, another Walter Reed employee. Dorsey said that despite the crash, he'd get on another train "tomorrow."

Bryant said, "I'd have to get on it."