Breakfast links: Communication missteps complicated a July 7 Red Line train detrailment
Red Line train at Forest Glen station by Ben Schumin licensed under Creative Commons.
Communication breakdowns worsened Metro crash response
The Metro Safety Commission found communications breakdowns after the derailment on the Red Line on July 7, including radio reports that didn’t identify the emergency, instructions from a controller that didn’t transmit due to equipment failure, and a backup emergency cellphone that was stored in the wrong office. (Ian Duncan / Post)
Maryland and Virginia join a testing compact
The governors of seven states, including Maryland and Virginia, formed a purchasing compact to buy half a million rapid response COVID-19 tests each in the hopes of using them to address outbreaks quickly. (Erin Cox / Post)
Isaias left tornadoes in its wake
The tropical storm brought high winds and heavy rain to the region Tuesday morning, with flooding and power outages in its aftermath. Two tornadoes also touched down early on Tuesday morning in Maryland. (Kavitha Cardoza / DCist)
Should the MoCo Council grow?
This November voters may be able to choose from two plans to change the makeup of the Montgomery County Council. One plan would increase the council size from its current nine members to eleven, the other would keep the council the same size but convert the four at-large seats into new seats for county districts. (Briana Adhikusuma / Bethesda Beat)
Maryland ballot applications will go out August 24
The head of the state board of elections Linda Lamone told Maryland Governor Larry Hogan that absentee ballot applications for all eligible voters will go out beginning August 24 after the governor criticized the delays in mailing them during the June primary elections. (Nick Iannelli / WTOP)
Congressional mask avoidance is worrying DC neighbors
Some members of Congress and their staff don’t always follow DC’s mask mandate, and residents who live and work near Capitol Hill are concerned that a Congressional superspreader event could cause more COVID-19 cases in the community. (Margaret Barthel / DCist)
Communities of color have inadequate park access
A study from the Trust for Public Lands of 14,000 American towns found that parks in majority nonwhite neighborhoods are half the size of those in majority white neighborhoods, but five times as crowded. (Nina Lakhani / Guardian)
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