The CYA at Metro gets a little wider this morning as ABC 7 reports:

Two sources who must remain anonymous because they are close to the investigation allege that Metro technicians knew about a serious circuit problem on the track five days before the deadly accident and that they allegedly reported the problem to supervisors days before nine people lost their lives.

Sources say the technicians all claimed they notified supervisors and Metro’s maintenance operations center about the circuit problem five days before that collision and that the information was entered into Metro’s maintenance computer database.

Here’s the deal:  The public is pissed about the entire Metro system and it’s wide-ranging list of screw ups.  Everybody at WMATA realizes this issue is not going to quietly go away.  Some sort of action, most likely a firing or two, is going to be needed to put this shit storm to bed.  The only question is who’s it going to be?

It won’t be Catoe or any of his cronies.  So the list of possible ejections is severly cut right there.

The company who makes these sensors is already being lined up to take some of the hit, but that probably won’t be enough.

Who does that leave? Maintenance guys.

Apparently, somebody over in maintenance wised up and said we better get the info out that we did our jobs before we end up taking the fall.  Good move, guys.

The saga continues…

Okay, Metro riders, it’s time to chill the eff out.  Riding the old 1000 series cars is bad enough for your health without everybody wigging out and getting a big dick.

Since yesterday afternoon 3 of you have been screwing around and making a bad situation worse.

Read it and weep:

Red Line trains delayed after man struck, killed

A man who was struck and killed at the Forest Glen station was on the tracks intentionally, Metro says.

The transit agency says the man was hit by an eight-car red line train shortly after 4 p.m. Metro did not have any additional information about the man.

———-

Man pushed into side of moving Metro train

Metro officials say a man was hurt when he was pushed into the side of a moving train during an altercation at the Gallery Place-Chinatown station.

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says two men began to argue on the platform for green and yellow line trains around 6:40 a.m. Tuesday.

She says one man shoved the other into the train as it pulled into the station.

———-

Man in wheelchair falls onto track at Metro Green Line station

A man in a wheelchair fell onto the trackbed after exiting a train at Metro’s Southern Avenue station in Prince George’s County shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The man suffered head injuries, according to Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel, and was taken to a hospital treatment. Taubenkibel said he did not know the man’s condition.

It was unclear how the man ended up on the tracks of the Green Line station. Taubenkibel said the man may have fallen asleep after exiting the train and rolled off the platform and dropped onto the trackbed.

What the hell is going on?

Everybody just take a step back, breathe in and out real slow, and enjoy the ride (assuming John Catoe and his “safe” 1000 series cars don’t kill you).

If you have been following along here, you know that I have been railing (no pun intended) about WMATA insisting on keeping the 1000 series cars in service even after the NTSB told them of the crash dangers.

Today, I finally got the answer that Jim Graham and others don’t want to address.

Tax Shelters Slowed D.C. Metro Upgrade

Washington transit authorities failed to upgrade aging rail cars in part because of tax-shelter deals, triggering charges days after a fatal train crash that financial concerns were outweighing passenger safety.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended in 2006 that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority either accelerate retirement of some of its oldest rail cars or rehabilitate them. The authority responded in 2007 that it was “constrained by tax advantage leases, which require that WMATA keep the 1000 Series cars in service at least until the end of 2014.”

If the agency had wanted to break the leases, said Chief Financial Officer Carol Kissal, it would likely have had to pay penalties and fees on top of the cost of buying newer rail cars.

Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa in a letter to Maryland congressman Steny Hoyer nailed this entire situation on the head:

“It would seem … that WMATA disregarded risks to passenger safety in order to fulfill a contract entered into as an accommodation party to a tax shelter,” Mr. Grassley wrote. “By entering into tax-shelter contracts, the WMATA appears to have allowed banks — rather than experts on passenger safety — to dictate what kind of trains Metro riders use.”

Amen, senator.

This is why Jim Graham has vehemently defended the use of the 1000 series cars and this is the reason those cars have been put in the middle of the trains rather than thrown on the scrap heep.

The financial bottom line is to be protected at all costs.  Protecting the Metro rider’s life is a much smaller percentage of the equation.

Money is indeed the root of all evil.

Hat-tip: Washington City Paper City Desk Blog

Just when you thought it was safe…

More troubles for Metro hit the afternoon news.

First up was the report of 2 cracked rails on the Green and Red line.

Following not too closely behind came a report that robberies have jumped on the system in the last 2 months.

What can you say?  When it rains it pours.

The first of many…

We also got notice today that the first of what will certainly be many lawsuits against WMATA has been filed.

Okay…so maybe this isn’t a rainstorm…this is a full-on monsoon.

Calm down, my homosexual friend

And finally Washington Blade writer Kevin Naff went a little bonkers in a post today regarding the “gay exorcism” performed by a Connecticut church.

Why haven’t the adults in the video been arrested?They are clearly assaulting the youth; he can be seen suffering apparent convulsions and even vomits during the beating.

If this isn’t child abuse, then what the hell is?

Connecticut authorities should investigate and arrest those responsible for beating this innocent teenager.

Contrary to the claims of the Manifested Glory “Church,” this reprehensible act has nothing to do with religious freedom. None of us is free to assault a child, no matter the circumstances.

Hold on there, butch!  I’ve seen the same video you have and describing it as a “beating” is like describing anal sex to be only as painful as a firm handshake.  In other words, it is extremely misleading if not an out right lie.

The “pastor” was only holding the boys forehead and screaming various commands to an imaginary spirit.  He wasn’t punching, kicking, biting, or otherwise physically handling the boy.  Those things would warrant the use of the word “beating” in a reasonable sense.

Look, I understand your anger.  These people are treating your lifestyle as if it is a disease brought on by the Devil.  That would piss me off too.  But taking their actions and blowing them way out of proportion is not productive and makes you look like a bitter hag.

That’s all for today, Washington.  See you in the A.M.

Obama Elementary?

PG County wants to name an elementary school after President Obama according to the WaPo.

It’s been 156 days since Obama was inaugurated.  Perhaps this is a tad bit hasty?

The school board votes on this Thursday night.  The Informer has learned officials from James Buchanon High School,  Warren G. Harding Middle School, and Andrew Johnson Elementary will be on hand to advise. (Here’s a link for those who don’t know their presidential history.)

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

U.S. Senators from Maryland and Virginia announced today that WMATA will receive $34.3 Million for the purchase of 52 new Metro cars.

I’ll bet you $34.2 Million ( I need a little walking around money) that if there was no accident on the Metro Monday there is no way in hell this money comes through today.  This is why many people (including myself) hate politicians so damn much.  Where was that money before 9 people died?

What the Hell?

WTOP reports that the family of Metro passenger Ana Fernandez has been receiving hate-filled phone calls about whether Fernandez was an illegal immigrant.

I have trouble understanding this whole story.  To be blunt, I don’t believe it.

Am I supposed to believe that some racist, heartless, skinhead is going through the papers to find out the names of the victims involved in the Metro crash and then, if they sound foreign, is looking up their phone numbers and calling their families to terrorize them?

Look, I know there are all brands of crazy out in the world, but this just takes the brass ring.

I’d like to hear a recording of these calls or at the very least see the phone number(s) of the caller(s) and ask whoever owns that number some questions to get to the bottom of this.  If I am wrong about this, I will freely admit it here.  But, my gut tells me this stinks worse than a week old fish taco.

If someone close to the situation wants to supply me with the information just contact me: informer@dcinformer.com.

Note: You Can’t Polish a Turd

And finally, Jackie Jeter–president of the union that represents Metro workers–is demanding that WMATA place the old 1000 series of cars in the middle of trains rather than the front or the back.

Hey Jackie, have you ever heard the saying you can’t polish a turd?  Your solution takes the old, dangerous cars and places them in the middle of a train with the hopes the impact is at the ends.  The funny thing about accidents is that they rarely strike where you want them to.  In fact, they almost always hit you square in the nads on the day you forgot to wear a cup.

So here’s a different suggestion: GET THOSE PILES OF MONKEY TURDS OFF THE RAILS COMPLETELY BEFORE MORE PEOPLE ARE KILLED OR INJURED!

That’s all for today, Washington.   See you in the A.M.

“We do have an independent train system … [but] let’s not try and disperse the blame. Let’s put it on the decision makers and the leaders,”

Fenty said that while replacing or retrofitting the cars “to make them more crash resistant” would have been expensive, “lives are more important than finances.”

Mayor Fenty on “Good Morning America”

Congratulations Mr. Mayor! You said the right thing.  Now do something about it.

“Taken together, experts say these facts point to several possible scenarios: The operator activated the brakes too late; the computers that are supposed to stop a train from getting too close to another train faltered; the train’s brakes failed; or some combination of those. Some passengers on the striking train have said that they never felt the train slow down.”

WaPo reporters Lena H. Sun and Lyndsey Layton

Translation:  Nobody knows what the eff happened yet.  Thanks for nothing, ladies.  Call me back when you have something factual to report.

“I truly believe Metro is a safe system”

Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr

Try telling that to the 9 people who are dead because of the politcal rangling and general incompetence of Metro, Mr. Catoe.  Or better yet, tell that to their families.

“[Metro is] aggressively seeking to replace the 1000-series rail cars.”

Metro Board Chairman Jim Graham on Tuesday

Too little too late, Jimbo.  Perhaps our definition of “aggressive” is different. If by “aggressive” you mean sitting on your ass in no particular hurry, I think I see the problem.

“To keep our customers informed we issued seven press releases [Monday] and one [Tuesday], which went out to more than 2,400 subscribers. The releases were also posted to the Web site, which was viewed yesterday more than 1 million times.”

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein

Try to follow my drift here, Lisa.  It’s not the amount of notices that were the problem.  It’s the wording of those notices.  You and/or your office screwed the pooch.  Own it, Candy Pants.  No amount of linguistic foreplay is going to change that.

“…the NTSB can only recommend changes. It can’t force Metro to phase out cars. It’s really up to other folks to implement our recommendations”

NTSB member Debbie Hersman

That pretty much says it all.