Free Republic

Religion, politics and valet parking.The first two are recognized throughout the world as topics best not tackled in mixed company. In Houston, valet parking can also divide friends and get blood boiling."Valet parking is definitely a lightning rod," said Mark Sullivan of On the Mark Communications, an agency that handles marketing and public relations for many restaurants. "It is part of going out. It is part of our social fabric."Whether one makes use of the service or not, valet parking has a spot in the Houston area's landscape. The podiumlike stands with uniformed attendants sit like landmarks in front of...

Pentagon alert notification just popped up. Pentagon Metro entrance closed. Quick search of twitter shows police with guns drawn. Possible suspicious package. Hmm, wasn't there an alert from the FBI earlier this week about terrorists trying to disrupt things with fake suspicous packages.

...On average, that's nearly three accidents or fender benders each day. Two accidents this year involved buses and Metro's light rail — both the result of bus drivers running red lights... The Chronicle's review of accidents, citations and breakdowns involving the Metropolitan Transit Authority's 1,210 buses documented a total of 1,029 wrecks last year. Metro Police classified 338 of them as “preventable,” meaning the bus drivers involved could have taken measures to prevent the accidents; 220 caused at least $1,000 in damages or resulted in people ending up at hospitals. Altogether, at least 334 people were injured in bus or...

Over the past quarter century, U.S. taxpayers have pumped more than $100 billion in subsidies into the nation's urban mass transit systems. That massive taxpayer investment has paid for urban public transportation systems that fewer and fewer Americans are using. Incredibly, mass transit ridership is lower today--not only as a percentage of commuter trips taken but also in absolute numbers of riders-- than it was in the early 1960s. Despite the low and declining use of bus and rail systems, federal grants for urban transit now appear to be as popular as ever: bills before both houses of Congress would...

One of Houston Mayor Annise Parker's most visible goals since taking office in January has been to shake up the agency that oversees buses, rail and other forms of transit in and around the city. Parker's criticisms of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (known as Metro to those who speak Houston) have been music to the ears of Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who is trying to hold off a November challenge from Parker's predecessor, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White. Through press statements and Web videos and under the predictable mantra of "Metrogate," Perry's team has packaged Parker's criticisms with a series...

Blast in Moscow Metro Kills at Least 25 Reuters At least 25 people were killed in an explosion that rocked the Lubyanka metro station in central Moscow on Monday, Itar-Tass news agency reported. MOSCOW -- At least 25 people were killed in an explosion that rocked the Lubyanka metro station in central Moscow on Monday, Itar-Tass news agency reported. At least 10 people were wounded in the blast, it said, quoting the Emergencies Ministry.

Dear Editor: I moved to Katy about three years ago. I was surprised that Katy did not have a big train park and museum, which I believe would draw a lot of tourists to the community, plus also bring more family oriented business into Katy. As Ike destroy the Galveston Railroad Museum, it would be nice to offer Katy as relocation for this. Reason why? I travel by rail and have a small model railroad in my garage. I've seen lots of places that talk about Katy, Texas and the Katy railroad line. I even get a lot of e-mails...

The Metropolitan Transit Authority intends to issue an estimated $2.6 billion in bonds in the next four years to help pay for five new light rail lines, about four times the debt capacity voters authorized in a 2003 referendum, Metro officials confirmed Tuesday. Metro leaders insist the borrowing will not exceed the $640 million debt ceiling set by voters because the agency is allowed other borrowing capacity by state law, and much of the bonds will be paid with money from ridership fares. But critics sharply criticized the plans as going far beyond what voters approved, noting that revenues from...

County commissioners today will consider creating a transit district that eventually could lead to expanded public transportation options — including high-speed rail. The high-speed rail option has long been talked about in the county as a way to connect Houston to Galveston, with a station possibly in League City. Last year, the city of Galveston commissioned a study on the proposed rail line that would connect with Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority’s light rail line. Forming the Galveston County Urban and Rural Transit District, which would have representatives from all 13 of the county’s municipalities, also could lead to increased federal...

A power outage at Metro's headquarters has led to massive problems systemwide, allowing people to ride some buses for free and shutting down WMATA's Web site, call center and e-mail alert system. Metro said it experienced a power outage at about 2:45 a.m. that took down the data center responsible for communication functions. Besides the Customer Call Center not being able to make or receive calls, Metro said the following problems have developed: Some Metrobus fareboxes are not functioning and if that is the case, customers are being allowed to ride without paying a fare. The NextBus system is not...

DETROIT -- In metro Detroit, voters were asked to decide on everything ranging from mayor, council members, taxes and liquor license terms. Below is a breakdown of the most watched races. Macomb County: 12 cities and one township had elections. Six cities had mayoral matchups: Sterling Heights elected Richard Notte, Mount Clemens elected Barb Dempsey, Centerline elected David Hanselman, New Baltimore elected Thomas Goldenbogen, Roseville elected John Chirkun and Memphis elected Daniel Weaver. Countywide, voters decided on two issues. Residents voted in favor of a an executive-style government similar to those in Oakland and Wayne. Macomb County voters overwhelmingly approved...

WASHINGTON - SNIPPET: "Black had started a summer internship in Council member Jim Graham's office four days before the June 18 shooting, and Graham went with Black when the teenager turned himself in to police." SNIPPET: "Officials say Black was riding the Metro at about 3 p.m. when he saw a person he had a fight with about a month before. According to prosecutors, Black and his friends followed the person up the escalator, where Black shot him in both legs. One of the bullets also struck a bystander in the leg."

"Muslim in Washington, DC: "I'm not scared to die! I will kill you! I will blow people up and the Metro!"" SNIPPET: ""Three blocks of Wisconsin Avenue Northwest were cleared of cars and pedestrians. Adjacent buildings and restaurants were evacuated..." "DC Security Scare Becomes Federal Case," by Bob Barnard for MyFoxDC, October 8 (thanks to Heidi): WASHINGTON, D.C. - A man who was arrested in a security scare in Northwest D.C. on Tuesday night threatened to blow up the Friendship Heights Metro station, according to a criminal complaint in the case. It was a chaotic scene Tuesday night in Friendship...

This week, I’m addressing three questions that people have been asking me all week:

Metro Delivers Hundreds of Thousands to 9/12 Rally Posted September 15th, 2009 at 4.58pm in Ongoing Priorities. Much has been made over the attendance at the march and rally in DC on September 12. Reports varied, with many on the left clinging to an unofficial DC Fire Department estimate of 60,000 to 70,000. Some reports from overseas went as far as to say two million. However, one completely objective source of information is the number of people who rode Metro, Washington, DC’s mass transit subway system. Washington Metro measures and releases its ridership numbers and these numbers have been used...

SNIPPET: "WASHINGTON - A terrifying report has surfaced regarding last month's deadly crash on Metro's Red Line. It says the train control system -- designed to prevent Metro crashes -- is malfunctioning across the railroad. This means the technological failure at the heart of last month's crash may be widespread."

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 26, 2009) -- Several Walter Reed Army Medical Center staffers survived the deadliest accident in Washington Metrorail's 33-year history Monday. Maj. David Bottoms, a Walter Reed chaplain and Col. Thomas Baker, chief of pathology, said they were both riding in the first car of the train that slammed into another stopped train during Monday's rush-hour commute home. "I was reading and listening to my iPod, and I noticed the front end of the car was buckling and it was coming toward us. It looked like a wave ... it stopped three seats in front of...

A key circuit on the train track near Monday's derailment in Washington, D.C., was apparently not operating as it should have been, raising the possibility that the Metro train that crashed into another one may not have known to slow down, accident investigators said today. Investigators tested six circuits between the two stations where the crash occurred. Five of those performed as expected, according to National Transportation Safety Board investigator Deborah Hersman. Such circuits let trains know how fast to go and provide them with information about whether there's another train up ahead. But one circuit showed what Hersman described...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – A former commander of the District of Columbia National Guard and his wife were among the nine people killed in the June 22 collision of two Metro subway trains here, officials announced yesterday. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann, were among nine people killed in a train collision on Washington D.C.'s Metro subway system June 22, 2009. The general commanded the District of Columbia National Guard for five years. Photo courtesy of the District of Columbia National Guard   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Retired Air Force...