REGIONAL BRIEFING

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

public transit

Metro's Budget to Be Discussed

The Metro transit authority plans to hold an information session on its proposed budget from 7 to 9 p.m. today at its headquarters in downtown Washington.

Metro board members and senior managers will answer questions and listen to concerns. The information session, at the Metro Board Room, 600 Fifth St. NW, will be preceded by an open house at 6:30 p.m.

Metro asks that people who want to speak at the session sign up by e-mail at public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com or by sending a fax to 202-962-1133 by 2 p.m. today. Speakers should submit a written copy of their comments at the session.

Speakers may also register during the session, but speakers who register in advance will be given the opportunity to comment first.

Buses' New Mall Route Begins

The D.C. Circulator bus will start a new route around the Mall today, stopping at each of the Smithsonian Institution's museums as well as the two National Gallery buildings.

The black-and-red buses will run every five to 10 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and cost $1 a ride. They will run in a continuous loop on the streets bordering the Mall: Constitution Avenue, Fourth Street, Independence Avenue and 17th Street.

Riders will be able to connect to the two old Circulator routes from the Mall stops, which run east-west between Union Station and Georgetown by way of the Washington Convention Center and K Street and north-south between the convention center and the waterfront by way of Chinatown and the Mall. The buses were designed for quick boarding and unloading, with service running so often that schedules are not needed.

-- Lena H. Sun

the HOmeless

$25,000 Is Donated to Coalition

Homewood Suites by Hilton, an all-suites hotel chain, is presenting $25,000 today to the District-based National Coalition for the Homeless.

The chain's five hotels in the Washington area also will donate bed linens, bath towels, toiletries, and home and bedroom furnishings to Martha's Table Inc. and other local groups and shelters that serve the homeless.

The hotel chain has urged all Americans to remember the homeless this year during spring cleaning. For more information and to find a nearby donation center, see http://www.nationalhomeless.org/resources/local/local.html .

-- Karlyn Barker