Breakfast links: Track work on Metro means slower commutes for everyone
Major Metro shutdowns are leading to longer travel times
The Federal Transit Administration found that stepped-up track work that slowed or stopped Metro service coincided with higher traffic volumes and slower travel speeds in the Washington region last year. Metro is planning for a lot more track work in the next 12 months. (Max Smith / WTOP)
The Anacostia River is taking a step towards cleaner waters with mussels
The Anacostia Watershed Society along with the DC and federal government is planting mussels in the Anacostia riverbed. The mussels will serve as a litmus test for the river's health and will also clean and filter the water they live in. (Emma Sarappo / Washingtonian)
On Monday we saw the worst air quality in five years
The Washington region had its first Code Red air quality day since 2012, meaning that the pollution levels outdoors are so high that everybody — not just vulnerable populations like people with asthma — can feel negative health effects. (Rick Massimo / WTOP)
The DC Council backs off on keeping the DC General Shelter open
The Council approved lead and asbestos testing at DC General but didn't pass a measure to keep the shelter operating past the end of summer, angering activists who want to keep it open while the city gets its replacement shelters back on schedule. (Peter Jamison and Reis Thebault / Post)
No new noise restrictions for DC streets
DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson pulled a proposed bill that would have penalized noise from amplifiers and generators in public after local street performers and musicians rallied against it. (Rachel Kurzius / DCist)
Bridge repairs are going to slow the GW Parkway this summer
The National Park Service is ramping up repairs on the 60-year-old Windy Run Bridge north of Rosslyn. During the two months of repairs the bridge will narrow to three lanes, one in each direction and one reversible for commuter traffic. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)
Montgomery County councilmembers aren’t all ready to endorse the primary winner
Marc Elrich is expected to win the Democratic primary for County Executive by a narrow margin, but two of his eight colleagues on the County Council are debating whether or not to endorse him. A third, Nancy Floreen, is planning to run against him as an independent in the general election. (Andrew Metcalf and Bethany Rodgers / Bethesda Beat)
A Silver Line concrete contractor faces a lawsuit
Virginia and the US government are suing a contractor responsible for building the Silver Line Phase 2, alleging they covered up and falsified reports detailing faulty concrete and kept building with bad concrete for a year after discovering the problem. (Faiz Siddiqui and Lori Aratani / Post)
DC Council introduces a bill to reverse Initiative 77
Seven DC council members — Phil Mendelson, Anita Bonds, Jack Evans, Kenyan McDuffie, Vincent Gray, Brandon Todd, and Trayon White — have co-introduced a bill to overturn the result of DC's voter-approved Initiative 77. (Rachel Sadon / DCist)
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