Metro Wants to Close Stations More Often; Jack Johnson’s "Legacy," in Book Form: Morning Links

Must-reads from around Washington

Written by Sommer Mathis | Published on June 10, 2011

Heat Wave Sets Records: We still haven't even reached the official first day of summer, yet Thursday's high temperature hit 102 degrees, matching the previous record set back in 1874, ABC7 reports. We'll let the incomparable John Metcalfe take it from here: "The coldest it got yesterday was 79 degrees right around dawn after a night when the fuzzy-rimmed, malevolent moon presided over 85-percent relative humidity. That's air you could wring out and use to make a scalding cup of tea." Should be just slightly less broiling today, and even better on Saturday, so hang in there, Washington.

Jack Johnson's Legacy Booklet, Revealed: Tremendous story from the Washington Post's Miranda S. Spivack this morning on the 250,000 "legacy booklets" disgraced former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson had printed up before he was arrested on bribery charges, and which now sit in a warehouse waiting to be shredded. The booklets cost $226,597 in public funds, and include so many painfully ironic quotations that the Post built a handy interactive graphic. Our favorites so far: "There was never a doubt in my mind that we could reshape the economic posture of Prince George's County to exploit the vibrancy of its vast economic potential," and, "We laid a foundation for prosperity that will continue to unfold for years to come."

How Many Hotels Should the Alexandria Waterfront Have? That's the question planners and residents are still debating in Alexandria, after the Department of Planning and Zoning issued a memo calling for a cap at three hotels, for a total of 450 rooms, the Examiner reports. Opponents argue three hotels could still be too many to avoid congestion in Old Town.

Initial NTSB Report Offers Few Clues on I-95 Bus Crash: NBC4 picks up the National Transportation Safety Board's first report on the fatal I-95 bus crash near King’s Dominion on May 31, and notes that it doesn't really offer an explanation as to why the bus went off the road. The driver, Kin Yiu Cheung, is currently being held without bond on vehicular manslaughter charges.

Metro Wants to Close Stations More Often: WMATA is considering closing more stations instead of implementing single-tracking on the weekends in order to speed up how quickly the agency is able to tackle maintenance and improvement projects, the Post reports. More than half of the system’s 86 stations would be affected over the next 18 months, "as Metro rolls out its plans to increase repair and track work on weekends."

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