Isengard on 18th Street: If you think the recent street construction on 18th Street NW has made for a sudden lack of shade, you’re not alone. One reader on the Adams Morgan email list wonders, “Has the destruction of every mature ginko [sic] tree on 18th from Columbia to Florida always been part of the plan?? It looks like a wasteland from Mary Reed on down, and all the trees to the north appear to be marked.” Another reader responds: “Yes the 18th Street Streetscape Construction project will replace all the trees. Because the sidewalks will all be much wider, the current tree boxes would be in the middle of the sidewalks and create many hazards. Thus all of the existing trees will be removed and new trees will be placed in new tree boxes.”

At Least No One Will Get Doored: Bicyclists and motorists aren’t the only people in D.C. arguing about lanes. A story in Friday’s Washington Post reveals an ongoing battle over swimming lanes at the Wilson Aquatic Center in Tenleytown. “Slower swimmers, mostly silver-haired retirees, largely stay on the right side. The faster swimmers and triathlete types stick to the far left,” writes Annys Shin. “But beneath the calm, chlorinated surface, there is conflict. A spat over the length of the lap lanes has roiled the waters. On one end: swimmers who want shorter lanes to accommodate more people and different activities. On the other: a loose coalition led by competitive athletes who want to keep the status quo because Wilson is the city’s only indoor pool with the 50-meter lanes they consider ideal for training.”

Making the World Unsafe for Comfort: From the Takoma email list: “I write with concern and confusion over someone's choice to take our two yellow and gray floral porch swing pillows. I am almost positive that this occurred around noon today, because I was reading in the living room and thought the creaking of the porch was the mailman…An hour later, I went to grab my mail but instead of finding mail, I noticed our pillows are missing. If anyone has seen two yellow and gray pillows with a floral design created by stitching, I would love to have them back. It's not so much about the cost of the pillows but about the sense of security someone has taken from me. Has anyone seen someone walking around with them?”

I Wouldn't Go Trick-or-Treating Around There, Either: A reader on the Mount Vernon Square email list makes an alarming observation: “Please be alert if you walk your dog around Museum Apts at 401 K St. Someone there is putting moth balls in the grass in the public right of way. Moth balls are very toxic to dogs and children. If you see someone doing this, snap a photo.”

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.

Siamese Cats Only: Yet another feline of the Siamese persuasion has gone missing in Georgetown. A message on the neighborhood email list is in search of 'Shadow,' our second newly-adopted mixed Siamese cat...Shadow is a 7+-year-old neutered male with "lynx"-type markings on his face, ears and tail. His coat is medium-length stippled light beige. He is friendly, people-oriented and answers to his name." Shadow was used to living large, writes his owner: "We think he slipped out early on Tuesday morning. In his former life, he was accustomed to spending his days outside and sleeping indoors at night. We had hoped he would return on his own, but he has not. He was so newly-arrived, that we had not even acquired an ID tag for him."

Lesser Caribbean: Last Friday, the Takoma email list sought answers to whether the annual Caribbean Day parade would be canceled or see its route shortened this year. The Brightwoodian investigates: "I got in touch with the festival organizers, who confirmed that the parade will indeed begin at Kansas Avenue this year. Big loss for Brightwood and Brightwood Park!" Perhaps some residents are happy with the prospect of one less noisy and festive summer day, but a blog commenter says, "This is the first year we've lived two blocks away from the route and I was looking forward to it!"

Pocket Minibike Racing, Perhaps? A member of the New Hill East email list, who identifies as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, asks the group, "The Waker Foundation sent a proposal for 'Drag Racing' in Kingman Park at RFK. I have chatted with most of the neighbors on Oklahoma Ave and they are opposed of this project. If everyone can email or call me and let know your thoughts on the proposed "Drag Racing" that would be beneficial!" Though there is no outright rejection of the idea, another member says, "since when is drag racing an issue in the city?  Although pocket minibikes do bug me..."

Burleith Problems: One member of the Burleith email list inquires, "Does anyone know anything about the retrograded "school bus" that has taken up residency at the park at wisconsin and 35th? It has been there several days, and it appears to be setting up a mobile camp ground of sorts. We are not sure about zoning, etc., and before calling 311 wanted to see if anyone has already done so or knows more." No other members of the list have offered information on this potential resurrection of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters.

Columbia Heights: Not a Bean Field: A New Columbia Heights reader sent in notice of an utterly incorrect portrayal of the neighborhood by the TV show Bones: "FYI:  On Thursday's episode, lead FBI agent Booth says, 'A white man in Columbia Heights? He’d stand out like an onion in a bean field!' The characters then review CH ATM footage and zero in on the five white males. What?????!!!!   So silly that the writers of a show supposedly set in DC have never set foot in DC." New Columbia Heights writes, "True that, as anybody who has ever walked around here will tell you. Or just look at the Census data, where the white population has grown by up to 300% since 2000 in some parts of the neighborhood." Commenters agree that Bones is totally incorrect, and on more accounts than just demographics: "Bones and NCIS might be the worst offenders... on Bones, at least they sometimes reference real streets, but it's clear that none of them have ever been to DC before in their lives. (The episode where a key scene takes place on a subway car—which (a) references fake stops, and (b) is a New York subway car—is a particularly egregious offender.) On NCIS they're smart enough to avoid geographic markers for the most part (except the obvious military ones like the Navy Yard and Quantico), but they seem to think there are a lot of used car lots in DC that have slightly smog-obscured mountains in the background. (Hint to NCIS writers: None of them do.) I'm thinking of hiring myself out as a story consultant for DC-based shows, to tell them (a) when they're completely and totally wrong about something DC-related, or (b) which exterior locations in LA actually look like they could be in DC."

Blame WalMart: On the Petworth email list, one member asks, "There is a rumor circulating along Georgia Ave. that this year's Caribbean day  parade has been canceled because of construction issues. I hope this isn't the case, but would welcome some clarity. Does anyone know whether these rumors are true?" Another, who identifies as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, answers, "For all you Wal-Mart fans, thanks for the reminder. We just completed an economic impact study on the proposed W4 Wal-Mart and forgot to reinsert the Festival's information in our final report to ANC Comm. 4B. Our report has to include a WM effect on the longstanding festival activities which start at —– you guessed it, GA & MO!!! Now what????" But this one might not be Sam Walton's fault, despite the coincidental appearance. A third member adds, "I read a couple of weeks ago that the parade route was shortened because the financially- strapped city is charging the Carnival a little more for its services. The Carnival simply does not have enough funds to support the full route this year. Blame the economy. This one is not Wal-Mart's fault."

When the Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Disappear'd, UPDATE: The Cleveland Park email list's focus on the neighborhood "lilac thief" has died down in recent weeks. But there's a revived campaign to catch the offender: "Several recent Listserv postings alerted us about a neighborhood flower thief and provided a description of a possible suspect – a short, white male, about 60 years old with wavy salt and pepper hair. Someone, perhaps the same individual, made his/her annual visit to the Newark Street Community Garden in the past two days, stealing some 50 peony stems from several garden plots, stripping bushes clean of all stems with flowers and or buds. It is difficult to understand how this person goes unnoticed, walking thru the gardens located between the 2nd District Police Station and the Newark Street dog park, a children's playground, and across the street from the McLean Gardens condos, where people are out and about at all hours, especially early in the morning walking their dogs — which is when we suspect the thief appears. One McLean Gardens resident has seen a man fitting the given description leaving the community garden, arms loaded with flowers. The previous Listserv postings sited the same man in various neighborhood locations including the Glover Park trail behind McLean Gardens, walking with armloads of unwrapped flowers in the early morning hours, and even cutting hydrangeas from people's home gardens, then quickly walking away.  Let's protect our properties and catch this thief. If you see someone fitting this description who looks suspicious e.g. walking with an armload of unwrapped flowers, especially in the early morning hours in or near the Community Garden, please call 911 and take a picture of the suspect if you can." Armed with that extensive description, Cleveland Park lilac aficionados may now go forth in pursuit.

Takoma, ISO: "An artist friend who is doing a series of military portraits of the WW II generation is going to start working in public regularly at Arlington Cemetery. He told me he was going to buy a wooden easel that  would be easier to transport and use onsite than his usual metal easel," writes one member of the Takoma email list. Before he does I thought I'd ask first if anyone would like to pass along a wooden standard-sized easel that is not being used. I used to have one. They tend to get in the way or take up space in the closet."

Burning Up: Over the past week, a flurry of letters between the Bloomingdale Civic Association and the would-be manager of the supposedly forthcoming Engine Company 12 have been exchanged—predominately via local blogs. We Love DC has a very apt summary of the correspondence: "This past Friday, the General Manager Stephen May Jr. of Engine Company 12 wrote an open letter to lambast the local civic association for dragging its feet in supporting the restaurant publicly with a letter of support, which would help them through the process of obtaining an ABRA license that would allow them to serve alcoholic beverages. On Sunday, the Civic Association responded.  Late yesterday, Curbed published another response from Mr. May." The blog also reflects on what it all means: "Liquor licenses are especially contentious things. One need only look at the kerfuffle around Big Bear Café in Bloomingdale last year to see that this is a community that, in the parlance of the Internet, feels ways about things. Knowing that much, working with the BCA management more than just a few days ahead of a meeting would seem to be a wise event, even if you’re doing a lot of community outreach, which to their credit, Engine Company 12 has done." One commenter thinks the neighborhood is particularly wary of getting burned by yet another promise for this property. "It’s worth noting that multiple other business plans for the space have come and gone in the last five years, and it’s safe to say a lot of people in the neighborhood got tired of being burned by promises that never materialized. I think it’s been a safe position for Bloomingdale and Eckington to take a wait-and-see approach on things regarding the old firehouse," they write.

Keep It Clean: The Takoma email list has been in hot debate over the various aspects of Walmart. The usual topics—wages, insurance, and whether or not the neighborhood wants "that kind" of retail"—have abounded, so much so that a referee needed to step in. In a thread titled "PLEASE TRIM YOUR TAILS," the email list moderator writes, "The messages are flying so fast and furious that I can't get a reminder in edgewise. I've been sending this message to people privately but I just can't keep up. PLEASE TRIM OFF THE EXTRA MESSAGES AT THE END OF YOUR POSTS. Only repeat the few lines to which you are responding. I won't approve any more messages today that have a string of old messages included. I will return them to you to revise and resend. So if you want people to see your messages in a timely way, trim your tails. The digest of today's messages is going to be three miles long and most of it just repeated messages. No problem, just a reminder."

A Historic Designation in the Making: 14th & You picks up on City Paper's Lydia DePillis' reporting that yet another condo building will be erected on 14th Street NW. The blog observes that the architecture is rather uninspiring, but commenters don't mince words and lambast the plan. "This building is hideous and unoriginal. Do they think we LIKE this sort of crap being built? What the hell does it CONTRIBUTE?" writes one. Another blames the architect: "That's because Eric Colbert is one boring unimaginative architect. He has always been and has only gotten more mediocre over the years. I do not understand why DC's developers can't find someone with true style and creativity to design buildings. DC is becoming more and more ugly by the day." But 14th & You raises a question more critical than mere aesthetics: "No matter–progress is progress, right? A potentially greater issue than mundane architecture was raised on the Twitters today: namely, is DC starting to run out of Yums? With the loss of this location, and the anticipated loss of the one between Rhode Island and P street when that section of the block gets redeveloped, one does have to wonder: have we reached Peak Yums, and are venturing along the beginnings of a downhill slide from which we may never recover? Heaven help us."

Cleveland Park, ISO: One member of the Cleveland Park email list will be jaunting off to Switzerland shortly, but needs an extra hand to plan their trip. They write, "I am looking for a travel agent who specializes or really knows Switzerland. It's a bit overwhelming and hoping I can find someone that can really help make the most of my trip. I'd also take anyone's suggestions on where to stay and things to do. Thank you."

These Tulips Are Not For You: Inspired by a sign on a neighbor's garden asking passerby not to pick the flowers, Park View D.C. ponders whether guerilla floristry is becoming endemic: "Has anyone else had a problem with passersby helping themselves to the flowers in their garden?" One commenter believes so, writing, "My poor wife is so discouraged that someone keeps snipping her tulips on the 3600 block of Park Place. She keeps adding, they keep helping themselves. I’d love to catch them in the act."

Domestic Issues: River East Idealist reports that the issues surrounding the Brandywine Crossing Condominiums in Washington Highlands—whose property management company allegedly stole $100,000 from the condo association—are only getting worse: "There are 3 pressing issues affecting my condo association: the vacant building across the street, stolen funds by Esquire Federal City, and now structural problems (falling ceilings and mold)." Congress Heights on the Rise goes long on when bad developers happen to good people.

Apparently, Only Old People Drive—Ever: The debate over whether the forthcoming Babe's Billiards redevelopment will have parking—and whether Tenleytown residents will be severely effected if there isn't a lot—is still raging. It's also swiftly devolved into a muddled argument for and against aging in place. One residents writes in favor of the development, saying "Yes, the Babe's redevelopment will almost certainly have a negative impact on my parking situation on 42nd Street. I'll end up having to walk a little bit further from my car to my house when I come home from work. Is that the end of the world? The benefits of a brand new development on that corner, with all it can do for quality of life and property values in this neighborhood, FAR outweigh the minor inconvenience of an extra half-block walk." But another thinks that the lack of a parking lot is a direct hit to older residents in the neighborhood and ties less on-street parking to quality of life: "No question — poor parking means a neighborhood  that is going to have much younger demographics than a neighborhood with adequate parking...Is it to be our position that no elderly people should continue to live near the Tenleytown Metro, no matter what the area was like when they bought their homes years ago?  Is it to be DC policy that the elderly have no business living in a young persons haven?"

Give and Take: One member of the Takoma email list asks, "Does anyone know where I could purchase a stack of clean newsprint paper?" The only suggestion offered is, "How much? The art supply stores have newsprint pads. You might call Pearl Paint on Rockville Pike and ask. They might have large packs. Otherwise Google." But were they looking for dirt, they'd be in luck. Another list member offers, "We're renovation our house near Walter Reed and will have about 15 cubic yards of dirt to remove. Anybody need any fill dirt?"

The piece notes that Kahn's venture won't be quite as easy as just, say, selling drugs: The city's legal-pot regs are strict, the neighbors are wary, and the competition could include some of well-funded players who've built up fortunes in better-established medical-marijuana markets like California.

Shott also pored through the lengthy rules proposed last week by the Adrian Fenty administration, which spell out everything from where dispensaries may be located to just what information must be included on the prescription pot labels. Below, our illustrator's best guess as to what those regulated labels will look like when actually affixed to your prescription:

The Issue: The owner of the Takoma Theatre is planning a five-story apartment building for the historic spot. The theater has occupied the corner of Fourth and Butternut Streets NW since 1923; Milton McGinty bought the building in 1983. But the low-density neighborhood of Takoma has not been kind to a privately owned arts building that puts on plays, and McGinty wants to head to a greener pasture—real estate. In 2007, he petitioned to turn the theater into an office building, catalyzing the formation of Takoma Theatre Conservancy, a nonprofit that wants to purchase the property; he was ultimately denied by the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). But now McGinty proposes razing the theater and replacing it with an apartment building—with a tiny theater on the ground floor. With the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) and the Conservancy up in arms, will HPRB still pull an Atropos?

Save the Theater: According to the ANC 4B resolution against the demolition passed Oct. 15, “there is strong and active support among people in the community to keep the Theatre, with the prospect of at last having an active cultural arts and education center.” The resolution notes there are no other theaters in Ward 4, and only one in Ward 5—at Catholic University. Ward 4B Commissioner Faith Wheeler told City Desk, “The Conservancy has had engineers look at the building, surveys and analysis done, and interviews with people from various walks of life to determine the viability of a cultural arts center. We’ve had a an extremely positive result.” The Conservancy would like to host everything from film showings and theater performances to educational lectures.

Time is Up: According to Capital Community News, the empty lot is worth $2 milion more if the floundering theater is demolished. McGinty told the paper, “I threw caution to the wind, and I didn’t consider location and all the financial issues that could apply.” A commenter on the blog DC Mud points out, “What is the purpose of saving something that has no viable economic alternative? We cannot have these museums of public space. It is time to move on.”

Next Step: At an Oct. 22 meeting, HPRB unanimously voted against the demolition, a step that Wheeler says “they were bound to do anyway by regulation.” McGinty has appealed to the preservation board. In the meantime, nail-biting theatre-nostalgics can contribute to the Takoma Theatre Conservancy. If the building is demolished and rebuilt, McGinty promises at least to keep the theater's sign and facade, for posterity.

Photo by Mr. T, Creative Commons Attribution License

Confirms nine fatalities, the final count. "As a government and as a city" there are only four people whose identities have been confirmed.

Three of the four are residents of the District of Columbia. One lived in Hyattsville. Fenty contacted three of the four families personally. Says can't imagine the "horror and disbelief" of the families.

Fire department has completed its work as the lead agency. Debbie Hersman and the NTSB will now become the lead agency in this matter. Fenty thanks the feds for making all kinds of resources available.

Next up at the mic is D.C. fire Chief Dennis Rubin. He says that fire and EMS and various agencies have done an "absolutely incredible job" of doing their thing. Highlights—timeline begins at 5 pm, had units on location within six minutes. "Obvious this was going to be a major national event." Then they did coordination with inbound agencies. First injury person was transported 21 minutes later; last person was transported 6 hours and 51 minutes later.

Command was transferred at 1 pm. Fifty-one people that fire department treated.

"We've been busy," says Rubin, noting that there've been other fire events over this period.

Rubin, on an editorial comment here, handles himself pretty well in these moments. He has stumbled in a lot of ways since taking over the fire department but does well in front of the press.

Fenty back at the mic, saying that a grand total of eight of the nine fatalities have been identified. Two of them were David F. Wherley, Jr., former commanding general, Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard, and his wife Ann. Fenty said of David F. Wherley: "As fine a public servant, dedicated to the United States of America" as you'll ever find. Military is in "complete shock," says Fenty.

Now it's Metro General Manager John B. Catoe on the spot: He's saying mostly procedural stuff, talking about handing over all information to NTSB and thanking fire department for quick response. Not much here.

Now it's Jim Graham, talking about the 2 pm meeting today. He's saying there'll be another meeting Thursday. First specific action is that there's an amergency hardship relief fund and dedicated $250,000 to the kitty. It's for responding to immediate human needs. Graham says that it's not about a settlement. Will be "refining" this matter in the coming days. Also, statement: We are aggressively seeking to replace the 1000-series rail cars, which were purchased between 1974 and 1978. Also calling on the feds to make good on the commitment of $150 million per year for capital expenditures. Capital needs remain substantial, high hopes that in FY '10 budget the feds keep up funding.

Up now is Debbie Hersman, who has been easily the most interesting and informative speaker at these events. Hersman expresses condolences, sends out prayers to those who remain hospitalized. Nineteen NTSB personnel are on the case trying to determine what caused the accident.

Hersman now going into some thank-you moments for other instrumentalities that have been doing a "great job" and so on. Standard bureaucratic stuff here.

Teams have been out today collecting evidence. Summary of the work here: Track group, working closely with FBI, checking locations of the track, equipment, damage to the equipment. They're seeking an outline of what the crash looked like.

Hersman says the crash occurred on a curve, not a straightaway. It's a one-degree curve. Track speed limited to 59 mph. Feds are working to determine exact point of derailment. Once they're able to move the trains, they may be able to determine exact location of derailment.

Team is working to preserve records and collect perishable evidence. Majority of our team has been out on scene putting information together. Will need time to go through those records. Operation of the train—documentation of some of the control surfaces....now she's talking about stuff that I have no idea about, something about a dial, toggle switch in the on position. All relates to whether it was in automatic mode or manual mode—OK, I get that.

Toggle switch, dial and master controller confirm to NTSB that the train was in automatic mode. Hersman addresses braking issues—emergency mushroom was found in a depressed condition—it was pressed in. The "mushroom" she's talking about here must be the little switchy thing that hits the emergency brake.

Have conducted some interviews and Metro's ops center about the striking train's operator. The original hire date was January of '07. Was hired as a bus driver. She started training as a train operator in January '09 and started driving in March '09.

Hersman is going to be seeking all kinds of documents on the operator's employment history as well as the "72-hour history," to see whether the operator had sufficient rest-work balance. Will be looking for those records. Toxicology samples have been taken on the train operator and have been sent off for analysis.

Standing train—looking to see if there is usable data on the recorders. Pulling apart the married pair of the trains. WMATA is going to bring in a flatbed to pull stuff apart.

Striking train—Train 112—they're looking at the lead car, which sustained extensive damage. Fifty feet of the 75 feet in that car were lost to the accident. That is, two-thirds of the survivable space was gone because of the impact.

Cars and their age: Average age of Metro fleet is 19.3 years old. How compare to other transit operations: Metro ranks 6th among 15 transit agencies in terms of car age. 1000-series cars comprise 300 cars of Metro's 1115-car fleet.

Now she's going into all the other series, and I've totally lost her. 192, 50000, 2 million, whatever. We'll get those details later.

Accident sequence: There was a train at Ft. Totten. Were servicing the platform. The struck train was waiting on the tracks as a result. The striking train—there was a report that there was an announcement that there was a train ahead and then the striking train started again. Looking into that, says Hersman.

Know that the community is anxious to get service back. Track is safe.

Hersman appreciates support from city and other people too. Including Sal Army, which has helped with water and stuff. Also appreciates people in the neighborhood. Look forward to wrapping up this part of the investigation.

Now taking questions:

Question is about trains reported two months past due on brake service.

Hersman has seen reports to that effect and will review records. Interested in looking at those records, but interested in looking at all of those records. Just in first 24 hours of investigation.

Question: What implications of the aging of the fleet has to the rest of the system.

Hersman says agency has no position on that. Will work closely with WMATA if NTSB finds something that is an acute safety problem.

Question: Is the location of the fatalities and whether they were in the striking or struck car.

Hersman says it's premature to comment on that.

Question: NTSB's request for texting records and the like.

Hersman says hard to say. Not really sure exactly what the point is on this question, though Hersman is saying that operators of vehicles and the like should not be texting or talking on cell phones and the like.

Question: Missed it.

Hersman is responding to the question, but I don't know what the question was, so can't really figure out what to type here.

Question: What OCC might have seen displayed about the location and position of the trains in the system.

Hersman says hasn't gotten with her people on this just yet. Says they will provide additional factual information when it's available.

Fenty now back in front, celebrating the accomplishments of the first responders to this calamity. Talks about the "heroic job" of all these responders. Fenty is not so great in situations like this. Nor is he terrible. He just doesn't project the image of a feeling person. A bit robotic. He gets all the information out there, so that's good. He covers all the bases like a good mayor, including crediting the front-line workers and nodding to the feds and other agencies that have assisted.

HOWEVER: When it comes to shifting to a higher civic and emotional gear, Fenty just doesn't have the equipment to go there.

"The Metro train car that slammed into another on the Red Line yesterday evening was two months past due for scheduled maintenance on its brakes, and the car was an older model that federal officials had recommended be replaced because of concerns about its safety in a crash, officials said today....

According to a Metro source knowledgeable about railcar maintenance, the first car of the striking train was two months behind on a scheduled maintenance for changing out brakes and brake components."

The identities of some of the dead have also been identified. According to WTOP's account:

"Metro has identified them as: 59-year-old Mary Doolittle of Northwest D.C.; 40-year-old Ana Fernandez of Hyattsville; 64-year-old Dennis Hawkins of Southeast D.C.; 23-year-old Lavanda King of Northeast D.C. and 42-year-old Jeanice McMillan of Springfield, Va., the operator of one of the trains involved in the collision.

Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith says four bodies were recovered from the wreckage Monday after the rush-hour crash. Five more were removed Tuesday.

The crash sent 76 people to hospitals. Metro officials said two men and seven women, all adults, were killed."

So how did the Red Line metro crash death toll jump to nine last night then fall back to seven this morning and then back up to nine? Last night, City Desk reported that three news outlets—WUSA9, WTOP, and WJLA—had confirmed that nine had died in the crash. WTOP cited the D.C. Fire Department as its source. WJLA had cited Metro.

This morning, Fenty stated that the number of confirmed dead was actually seven. That number soon increased back up to nine.

At least one fire department official is trying to figure out how and why there was so much confusion. One reporter City Desk contacted speculates that it may have to do with just the gruesomeness of the scene.

Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Crosswhite says the death toll should not have gone up to nine last night. "I don't know how that number got out there," he says. "I'm very disappointed. We had no idea that there was nine. I called the command post and said, 'Are we at nine?' They said, 'No, we're at six.'... [They said] we have not recovered any more bodies."

Crosswhite is trying figure out who leaked the increased death toll last night. "Maybe you could help me out," he says. "Where should I look? I talked to Metro's PIO and I talked to NTSB, their PIO. I don't know where that number came from. If you find out please let me know so it doesn't happen again."

The Fire Department's own spokesperson, Alan Etter, says he isn't the source for last night's number. "I didn't talk to anyone at all last night," he says. "Nor did I get any new information—they might have talked to someone at the scene."

Dave Statter, the runs the STATter 911 blog and is a reporter with WUSA, says it may have come down to body parts. "My impression is that last night's information which came from sources around 11:20 PM was based on what the camera saw or parts of bodies being seen," Statter says via e-mail. "They had not gotten to those bodies in time for the 8:00AM press conference so the official count was left at 7. After the press conference access was made and five bodies came out bring the official toll to 9."

Councilmember Jim Graham appears to side with Statter for an explanation on the confusing death toll numbers. "I think it has to do with the way the car was crushed," he says. "There was a lot of uncertainty about what was in that crash. That's just pure guess work on my part having been on the scene."

Graham says he plans on asking about the death toll issue at this afternoon's Metro Board hearing on yesterday's crash.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery

"The number of people killed in last night's deadly Red Line crash has risen to nine, Metro's general manager said this morning, shortly after five bodies were removed from the mangled wreckage...

Several of the dead were crushed, their bodies not located until a crane removed part of the striking train this morning."

Last night, three local news outlets had reported that nine had been confirmed dead. The news orgs had cited the fire department and Metro as sources. [The Fire Department refused to confirm that number late last night when City Desk called]. The Washington Post would only say the death toll was expected to rise to nine.

The owners of Haydee’s Restaurant, who fought a nasty battle last year over live music and late hours at their flagship fajita joint in Mount Pleasant, are poised for a new go-round over their other location in Brightwood. The restaurateurs will be at the Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s 4B meeting next Monday night seeking support for turning the Georgia Avenue N.W. establishment into a nightclub. But don’t expect Haydee’s trademark Mariachi bands or even salsa. On its website, the restaurant is advertising upcoming Saturday nights with Sugar Bear, the "GoGo King," and his band EU.

Mona and Valentine Davies, the husband-and-wife team that operates the Culture Shop next door to the vacant locale, are teaming up with the owner of the liquor store across the street to open the Cedar Crossing Tavern and Wine Bar this summer.

The place may provide some competition to the Takoma Station Tavern, the jazz joint down the street, which, for years, has had a monopoly on nocturnal cultural offerings in the Takoma nabe.

But there is no news on whether the new bar will live up to the Culture Shop’s ethical standards. The shop, described as “a fair trade retail boutique,” specializes in “ethically sourced” clothing, gifts, coffees, and other merchandise. Their partner, Sarbjit "Mr. Singh" Kochhar, who operates S&S Liquors, runs the average city liquor store; he sells beer, wine, the hard stuff at the usual markup and with no givebacks to, say, save the pandas or free child laborers toiling in Côte d'Ivoire cocoa plantations.