May 11, 2007
Morning Roundup: Do Work Edition
It's Friday, D.C., and if you live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, you may have suffered a lengthy power outage yesterday after a manhole exploded and injured a Pepco worker in the area. The worker suffered second degree burns but will recover. If you're a bit of a science geek like us, you immediately began Googling something like "How exactly do manholes explode?" after you read the above story, so allow us to save you the trouble. Also allow us to recommend bringing an umbrella with you today: it's going to be hot, but there's also a good chance of afternoon thunderstorms today and tomorrow.
Anonymous Hold Came From Cardin: Maryland Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin is the senator behind the hold-up of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's schools takeover legislation, but ostensibly not because of the recent plagiarism controversy. Cardin is citing a dispute over the city's plans to rebuild a youth detention center in Anne Arundel County as the reason for placing an anonymous hold on the legislation yesterday. Though Cardin also said he does not object to the mayor's school takeover and pledged not to hold up the legislation for long, several members of the D.C. Council gave Cardin the what-for in the WaPo's write-up for treating D.C. like a redheaded step-child.
Train Operator Was on Cell Phone Before Crash: New revelations from the WaPo this morning about the investigation into one of last year's fatal Metro accidents, when two maintenance workers were struck and killed by a Yellow Line train. According to several sources familiar with the investigation into the incident, the train operator in question was using a cell phone while operating the train -- though it's unclear whether they were on the phone at the precise moment of the accident.
Briefly Noted: Bay Bridge back to normal after fatal crash kills three ... Retaliation not ruled out in shooting of Russian intelligence expert ... A few snags as musicians audition for Metro.
This Day in DCist: Last year we were dismayed at the installation of some awful public art at the old convention center site, and the year before that we wondered if the Nats would ever have a fan base.
Photo by el swifterino
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Too bad Michael Steele wasn't elected. A brother wouldn't be messing in the District's business.
That info was out elsewhere on the interwebs around the end of March. Apparently the train operator was also told via radio of the workers presence but did not hear the warning due to the cell phone. As noted in the WaPo article, operators are supposed to come to a complete stop prior to passing track workers. Sad thing is, the yard isn't that far from Huntington. Stupid conversation couldn't have waited 5 minutes?
Would be nice to have a link to the WaPo story on the train accident rather than a link to an old DCist post. Isn't that the purpose of a links roundup?
The "How Things Work" link did a pretty good job at explaining this. Lots of people have their car or ac wires chewed through by rats, so it's easy to see how this might be a big contributor. The thing they left out is that it's not just flammable gases from smoldering wires that cause explosions, it's methane build up from all the crap washes into the storm drains.
"though it's unclear whether they were on the phone at the precise moment of the accident. "
It's also unclear why the Metro driver is sitting at home collecting worker's comp.
For a minute there I thought you were advising us to carry umbrellas because of falling manhole covers.
MetroPerforms still hasn't said how it will handle the prior claims of long-time buskers to prime spots at Metro stations. I wouldn't rule out police busts soon in order to avoid embarassment when "official" performers show up.
I'm dissapointed in DCist for not following the scandal on ABC's The Bachelor (is it ABC?) Anyway, one of the finalists for the rights to love and hold The Bachelor for whom the show get's its name is a DC native. I know because i looked her up.
Anyway, according to Page Six of the NY Post,
Tessa, as she was named at birth and has been known since then, broke her contract with ABC by spilling the beans about winning.
As a DC native I just want to spread this joy anywhere I can.
hi@hi.com: This is the "Do Work Edition". The story wasn't hard to find on the WaPo site.
PS to DCist: I hate when people link to the 2nd page of an article.
Reid: My guess is that WMATA can't fire the operator until the investigation is finished, and doesn't want to pay for leave. So they find some excuse to use workers' comp. Total guess, though.
"MetroPerforms still hasn't said how it will handle the prior claims of long-time buskers to prime spots at Metro stations. I wouldn't rule out police busts soon in order to avoid embarassment when "official" performers show up."
The sooner they get rid of that dude in dreadlocks who plays that awful hippy/R&B crap, the closer we get to making this a liveable city.
No, this is the "DCist needs a copyeditor" edition. But I guess that describes every edition.