Metro
In Brief

Thursday, January 26, 2006

THE REGION

Crash, Chlorine Spill Close Down Beltway

All lanes on a stretch of the Capital Beltway in Maryland were temporarily closed yesterday after an overturned truck dumped 50 gallons of chlorine onto the highway, authorities said.

The driver of the truck was seriously injured, but no one else was hurt, police said.

The accident occurred just before 2 p.m., when the truck, which was carrying three to five 100-gallon chlorine containers, struck a Jersey barrier east of Route 193 on the outer loop of the beltway, authorities said.

Police closed the lanes between Interstate 95 and Route 29 but reopened the inner loop after about 15 minutes, said David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration. Two of the four lanes on the outer loop were reopened by 5 p.m., and all lanes were reopened by 5:25 p.m.

Metro Gets First Diesel-Electric Buses

Metro showed off the first of 50 new hybrid diesel-electric buses yesterday. The buses, which cost $521,980 each, are designed to offer greater fuel economy and lower emissions than conventional diesel buses. They are the first of their kind in the Metro fleet, which also includes buses that run on diesel fuel and on compressed natural gas.

Six of the new buses are expected to go into service in Maryland as early as this week, transit officials said. The rest are expected by March. Half will operate in Prince George's County and half in Montgomery County.

The 40-foot buses were made by New Flyer of America Inc.

THE DISTRICT

Settlement Deal Approved in Jail Suit

A federal judge gave final approval yesterday to an agreement under which the District will pay $12 million to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates who alleged that they were jailed longer than they should have been and were subjected to unreasonable strip searches.

As part of the settlement of the 2002 class-action lawsuit, $3 million of the $12 million will go to the D.C. Department of Corrections to be spent on improvements to the inmate release process and other changes to comply with the agreement.

The order by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth designates $5 million for compensation of the plaintiffs and the administration and distribution of the money.

Several thousand people could be eligible for a share of the funds. Many had been returned to the D.C. Jail to be cleared for release even after their cases were dismissed in court -- resulting in the strip searches and longer stays in custody. The remaining money is to go to lawyers William C.C. Claiborne III, Lynn Cunningham and Barrett S. Litt, who represented the plaintiffs.

MARYLAND

Legislature to Weigh Smoking Ban Again

A bill to ban smoking in bars and restaurants will be considered in the Maryland legislature again this year.

Smoking opponents say that bills in the House and Senate would be introduced today in an attempt to make Maryland the 11th state to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants.

"We have to keep Maryland from being the ashtray of New England and the Mid-Atlantic," said Michaeline Fedder, president of Smoke-Free Maryland.

Sen. Ida G. Ruben (D-Montgomery), who will sponsor the Senate bill, said it's not fair that waiters and bartenders do not have the same protections from secondhand smoke as other workers.

"Right now, they're forced to choose between a job they want and their health," Ruben said.

One-third of Marylanders already live in counties or cities that ban smoking in bars and restaurants. A statewide ban has been proposed during the last three sessions.

Official Says He Was Offered Planning Job

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) has offered council member David Harrington (D-Cheverly) the top job on the county Planning Board, the first-term council member said yesterday.

Harrington said he is weighing whether to run for reelection in September or to accept the nomination as chairman to the county Planning Board and a seat on the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

"I value what I do on the council and my leadership in the community," said Harrington, a former Bladensburg mayor who was elected to the council in 2002. "If I cannot have that kind of impact as chair, then I am not interested."

Elizabeth "Betty" M. Hewlett has been chairman on the board for about 10 years. Her term ended in June, but she has remained in the position during the search for a successor.

John Erzen, a spokesman for Johnson, would not confirm that the job had been offered to Harrington and said that no final appointment decision had been made. "When a decision has been made a name will be submitted" to the County Council, Erzen said.

VIRGINIA

Fairfax Schools Official to Leave Area

A Fairfax County schools official has been hired as superintendent in a Delaware school district.

Lillian M. Lowery, an assistant superintendent in Fairfax since 1994, will become chief of the Christina School District. In Fairfax, Lowery supervised 25 schools with about 23,000 students.

Lowery, of Reston, started her career as an English teacher in North Carolina and went on to teach in Fairfax schools. She also was an assistant principal and a principal in Fairfax and worked as an area administrator in an Indiana school district.

Sheriff's Office to Give Out Free Gun Locks

In the wake of the Montgomery County shooting of a 7-year-old girl by an 8-year-old boy, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is giving away free gun locks that fit most handguns, rifles and shotguns.

The sheriff's office has more than 1,000 firearm safety kits, which will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. The kits, which include a safety curriculum and a cable-style lock, were provided by Project ChildSafe, a gun-safety program developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Gun owners can get kits at the sheriff's office at 39 Catoctin Cir. SE in Leesburg. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"As they approached him . . . one officer's weapon, a handgun, was unintentionally discharged."

-- Fairfax Police Chief David M. Rohrer

on the accidental fatal shooting of a suspect. -- A1.

Compiled from reports by staff writers Karin Brulliard, Maria Glod, Serge F. Kovaleski, Lyndsey Layton, Amit R. Paley, Theresa Vargas and Ovetta Wiggins and the Associated Press.