Damaged SEPTA Trains Slow Philadelphia Commute; Police Oversight Crumbles in Portland
Some of the 120 Silverliner V railway cars taken out of service by SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) are shown in the Powelton storage yard in West Philadelphia. Harry Hamburg / AP Photo
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Demolishing a California surfer fort; Montana's unclear Medicaid costs; and NYC government's bed bug problem.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
PUBLIC TRANSIT | Cracks on steel plates no bigger than a smartphone—in most cases barely noticeable to the untrained eye—sidelined all 120 of SEPTA’s Silverliner V rail cars, causing extensive delays for commuters. The cracks were first discovered on July 1, when an agency employee noticed that a car was leaning slightly. In that particular car, the crack had spread throughout the beam that supports one quarter of the car’s weight. SEPTA is in the process of assessing the damage to its cars and studying why the steel plates cracked to begin with. The cars will likely be out of commission until at least Labor Day. [Philly.com]
PORTLAND, OREGON
POLICE | Two Chicago-based academics backed out of leading Portland’s Community Oversight Advisory Board monitoring the implementation of federally mandated police reforms. Dennis Rosenbaum and Amy Watson accuse the community board of “ambiguity, disrespect and willful undermining” in their petition to the city and U.S. Department of Justice to amend the settlement and permit them leave. "This particular model isn't the one to work well in Portland," said board member Avel Gordly, a former state senator. "What is working well in other cities, including Seattle, is having a court-appointed monitor. I know I'm not alone in suggesting that." [The Associated Press via San Francisco Chronicle]
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CALIFORNIA
FORTS | A “stone fort” built decades ago by surfers at Lunada Bay is poised for destruction, after the city council in this beachside community voted Tuesday to have it removed. Critics have claimed the fort is used by a group of local surfers known as the Lunada Bay Boys and that it provides them a lookout to spot other surfers and harass them, in order to keep outsiders away from the waves in the area. “To get there you’ll have to duck rocks chucked by the Bay Boys,” Surfer Magazine warned in a recent article advising people to avoid the bay. With walls of rock, the structure is located at the base of a cliff, just above the tide line, and includes a table, fire pit, shaded patio and storage areas for surfboards and kayaks. [The Sacramento Bee]
HELENA, MONTANA
MEDICAID | A trio of Republican state lawmakers are suing Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s administration in a push to get household income data for participants in Montana’s Medicaid program. Last year, the state’s Legislature approved a Medicaid expansion. The lawmakers who’ve signed onto the lawsuit voted against it. The level of people in Montana without health insurance coverage has dropped in the last year from 15 percent to 7.4 percent, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. But the legislators who are suing believe that the number of Medicaid enrollees “far exceeds the original projection of 25,000 and therefore Montana’s share of the costs for the program is likely to be far higher than anticipated.” [Bozeman Daily Chronicle]
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
BED BUGS | City Council offices are being treated for bed bugs after the insects already invaded City Hall. Two floors are completed with three more expected in the next few days. “They took immediate action so it’s not too bad,” said one councilmember. [New York Daily News]
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