Breakfast links: Early voting in Maryland’s primary election begins today
Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza at One Veterans Place in Silver Spring, Maryland in Oct 2020. Image by Elvert Barnes licensed under Creative Commons.
A primer on Maryland’s primary election
DCist offers a quick rundown of where to vote, how to vote or register, and who’s running for statewide positions and key races in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. (Colleen Grablick / DCist)
Meanwhile, a hiccup with ballots mailed to some MoCo voters
Maryland election officials recently learned that a vendor inadvertently sent duplicate ballots to 791 Montgomery County voters. Officials sent a letter instructing recipients to destroy one of them. However, if a voter does mail back two completed ballots, the second received would be automatically rejected because both ballots have the same tracking number. (Dan Schere / Bethesda Beat)
Metro temporarily halts return of 7000-series trains
Metro officials say they experienced a data backlog last week due to mandatory daily inspections of the railcars. They are trying to avoid another backlog by withholding the trains’ return to service “for a couple of days” this week. (Jack Moore / WTOP)
DC property owners could receive insurance for construction damage caused by neighbors
A new bill introduced by Mayor Bowser would require anyone applying for a construction or demolition permit to secure liability insurance that covers potential loss or damage to adjacent properties as a result of the applicant’s construction work. (Urban Turf)
Congressional Baseball Game could be disrupted by climate activists
They are planning to disrupt the July 28 game unless Democratic legislators pass a bill through reconciliation. Part of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, the bill promises to invest $555 billion in climate change initiatives. (Hau Chu / Post)
It’s McDuffie vs. Silverman in DC at-large council race
After his attorney general bid was thwarted by an eligibility challenge, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie is now running for the independent at-large council seat currently held by Elissa Silverman. Early poll results from two labor unions show Silverman with an eight-point lead over McDuffie, but it’s anyone’s game and the race could “get ugly, fast,” according to City Paper’s Loose Lips. (Alex Koma / City Paper)
Metro wants feedback on plan for more bus bays at East Falls Church station
Currently, the station has four bus bays that are usually at capacity, according to Metro. As a result, the agency wants to expand the bus loop’s footprint with new bays, sidewalks, crosswalks, and other pedestrian-minded improvements. The public can weigh in online through August 1. (Alejandro Alvarez / WTOP)
Have a tip for the links? Submit it here.