4 | EXPRESS | 04.14.2016 | THURSDAY
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House panels grill Metro executives Republican members say they won’t give the transit system a bailout
PRINCE GEORGE’S
County says ‘no’ to fracking
BILL O’LEARY (THE WASHINGTON POST)
TRANSPORTATION The Washington area’s struggling subway system won’t get a federal bailout, House Republicans said Thursday as they blamed the Metro system’s recent series of crises on poor management rather than a lack of funding. The deteriorating state of the nation’s second-busiest transit system was the subject of a hearing Wednesday afternoon by two House oversight subcommittees. Last month, Metro’s general manager made the unprecedented decision to shut down the system for an entire day for emergency inspections of third-rail power cables. The shutdown followed two fires that were sparked by faulty power cables, including one in January 2015 that killed one passenger and sickened more than 80 others. Metro’s board chairman said the problems can be traced to decades of deferred maintenance that stems, in part, from Metro’s lack of a dedicated funding source. The system’s operations are funded by D.C., Maryland and Virginia, while Congress provides $150 million a year for capital improvements. Metro receives other federal grants, although those come with strings attached.
35%
MARYLAND
White House asks PAC to pull ad in primary
Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans, left, makes a fiery opening statement to a House subcommittee Wednesday as Metro GM Paul Wiedefeld listens.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., the chairman of one of the subcommittees, said Metro doesn’t know how to spend the money it has. He said the system is sitting on $783 million in unspent federal grants. “You’re dealing with people who are broke. I am not going to bail you out. I am not going to support bailing out the District of Columbia,” Mica said. Mica and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the other subcommittee chairman, had an angry exchange with Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans after Evans said the federal government should contribute $300 million a year to the system’s operating budget. Meadows said that would give Metro the highest operating costs of any transit system in the nation. Metro’s general manager,
Paul Wiedefeld, who took over in November, said in written testimony that he has found “systemic issues with regard to track, power and car maintenance,” and he said he would submit a new maintenance plan to the public in four to six weeks. Before the hearing, in a meeting with senators from Maryland and Virginia, Wiedefeld suggested that, given the system’s maintenance needs, it may not make sense anymore to keep it open until 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Evans also said additional closures would be necessary to deal with the maintenance backlog. “The idea of fixing this by working 3 hours at night and on the weekends is not working,” he said. BEN NUCKOLS (AP)
Lawmakers in Prince George’s County voted unanimously Tuesday to ban hydraulic fracking, becoming the first local jurisdiction in Maryland to prohibit the extraction of natural gas within its borders since the state’s moratorium on the practice went into effect. The legislation amends the zoning ordinance to forbid natural-gas drilling across the county and particularly in the rural southern communities sitting on top of the Taylorsville Basin. The basin — which runs through southern Maryland and into Virginia — is a potentially untapped natural-gas reserve, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But it spans an ecologically sensitive area that residents and activists have long fought to protect. (THE WASHINGTON POST)
BLUE CRABS
The increase in the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population compared with last year, which was a 38 percent increase over 2014, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources annual dredge survey. The results show there are more than 550 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, the fourth-highest level in two decades. Officials plan to explore whether the results should prompt regulators to loosen harvest restrictions or lengthen the crabbing season. They noted that the results shouldn’t eliminate concerns for the bay’s health. (AP)
expressline
10-year-old boy dies two days after being struck by a car while on his bicycle in Waldorf, Md.
The White House has asked a political action committee that supports Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards’ Senate bid to pull an ad. A spokeswoman for President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the Working For Us PAC was asked to pull the “misleading” ad. It shows Obama tearing up while talking about Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It says Rep. Chris Van Hollen supported a campaign finance disclosure bill that didn’t include the National Rifle Association. Van Hollen is running against Edwards in a competitive Democratic primary. (AP) VIRGINIA
Slain reporter’s father won’t face threat charge A special prosecutor said he will not seek criminal charges in a dispute between a state senator and the father of a TV reporter who was fatally shot during a live broadcast. Danville Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman determined that justice would not be served by prosecuting Andy Parker, who became a gun-control advocate after his daughter’s death. Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward of WDBJ in Roanoke were killed in August. State Sen. Bill Stanley told police he had been threatened by Andy Parker on Facebook in October. (AP) ALEXANDRIA
Man indicted in slaying; body was found in park A young man has been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of another man whose body was found near a jungle gym in an Alexandria park. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said Reinaldo Portillo Membrano, 17, was indicted as an adult Monday in the death of Jose Perez Ferman, 24. Authorities said someone walking through Beverley Park on Nov. 8 discovered Perez Ferman’s body. (AP)
Early voting begins today for April 26 primary in Maryland