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Daily Archives: August 8, 2016

FTA Releases WMATA Track Integrity Investigation Report – Safety Directive to Correct Systemic Track Safety Problems

“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today issued a Safety Directive to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) requiring the transit agency to complete 12 actions to correct track integrity deficiencies in the Metrorail system.  The Safety Directive is based on 12 significant findings set out in a Track Integrity Investigation Report also released today. The report includes findings from FTA’s spring 2016 “Safety Blitz” assessment of Metrorail and details systemic deficiencies in the inspection, maintenance and repair of track that have contributed to or could have resulted in train derailments and other track-related incidents.  “FTA’s comprehensive investigation into WMATA’s track inspection and maintenance program has revealed significant safety concerns,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “FTA has directed Metrorail to take specific action to correct these deficiencies, and continues to provide vigorous oversight of Metrorail’s safety efforts in other areas of operations.”  “While WMATA has taken a number of critical steps to address safety deficiencies, it must improve its track safety protocols and training programs,” said FTA Acting Administrator Carolyn Flowers. “In addition, greater coordination is needed between WMATA track and maintenance personnel to prioritize work and adhere to established standards, including conditions that warrant speed restrictions or single tracking.” The FTA track integrity investigation that began earlier this year is the result of its review of WMATA’s investigation into a major derailment that occurred on August 6, 2015, near Smithsonian Station and information obtained from other incidents in the system. The investigation took place between March and June 2016, focusing on 10 specific track segments [external link], including portions of all six Metrorail lines. The report also includes preliminary findings from FTA’s investigation of the July 29, 2016, Metrorail passenger train derailment near the East Falls Church Station…”

Born digital news collections: New formats, new approaches

Born Digital News Collections: New Formats, New Approaches Elisa Villanueva, Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands); Jasper Faase, Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands), IFLA 2016. “Nowadays most newspapers (or almost all of them) have a digital version or are definitely turning to digital. Furthermore, there are many news websites which provide news… Continue Reading

Care Count School Laundry Program Exposes Link Between Clean Clothes and Attendance

Healthy meals every day, and clean clothes – yes nutrition and clean clothes impact school attendance. Every child in America deserves safe public schools, good food, and clean clothes (and great teachers, libraries and librarians, music and art classes…) When did we stop considering this to be a right, not a Privilege? Via Care Counts… Continue Reading

Legal Theory among the Ruins

Moyn, Samuel, Legal Theory among the Ruins (August 1, 2016). In Search of Contemporary Legal Thought, ed. Justin Desautels-Stein and Christopher Tomlins (CUP, Forthcoming). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2817067 “This paper responds to an ongoing discussion initiated by Duncan Kennedy concerning the identity of “contemporary legal thought.” This contribution argues that that category is… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – Airport and Airway Trust Fund, K-12 Education, Patient Protection, Nuclear Waste

Airport and Airway Trust Fund: Less Than Half of Noncommercial Jet Fuel Tax Receipts Are Transferred, GAO-16-746R: Published: Aug 8, 2016. Publicly Released: Aug 8, 2016. K-12 Education: Education’s Experiences with Flexibility Waivers Could Inform Efforts to Assist States with New Requirements, GAO-16-650: Published: Jul 7, 2016. Publicly Released: Aug 8, 2016. Patient Protection and… Continue Reading

State of the Climate 2015

“An international, peer-reviewed publication released each summer, the State of the Climate is the authoritative annual summary of the global climate published as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The report, compiled by NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate at the National Centers for Environmental Information is based on contributions from scientists… Continue Reading

Federal Source Code Policy: Achieving Efficiency, Transparency, and Innovation through Reusable and Open Source Software

Federal Source Code Policy – “The U.S. Government is committed to improving the way Federal agencies buy, build, and deliver information technology (IT) and software solutions to better support cost efficiency, mission effectiveness, and the consumer experience with Government programs. Each year, the Federal Government spends more than $6 billion on software through more than… Continue Reading

Data – Which Percentage of People Is Older and Younger Than You

Via PublicHealthIntelligence.org:  On Tuesday May 10th 2016, Nathan Yau created and published a chart that allows us to learn the percentage of people older and younger than a person from the U.S. given his/her age, based on the 5-year American Community Survey estimates from 2014. I found the chart informative, and I wanted to replicate it but in a way that helps people from every country to… Continue Reading

One in Five International Terrorism Prosecutions in Eastern Virginia

“The Eastern District of Virginia headquartered in Alexandria leads the country in the number of international terrorism cases it prosecutes. The recent arrest of a Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) law enforcement officer, Nicholas Young, is but the latest example. A total of 232 out of 1,180 federal criminal prosecutions nationally for international terrorism –… Continue Reading