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Rachel Weiner

@rachelweiner.bsky.social
303 followers 182 following 116 posts
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
My last story about DC for a while: Trying to figure out why buses slowing down 51st.news/metro-tried-...
51st.news
Metro tried to make bus service better. Somehow, ridership and speeds are both down
A year after Better Bus, reviews are mixed.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
I’m coming out of semi-retirement to write about a year of WMATA’s Better Bus for the 51st State - tell them what you think! docs.google.com/forms/d/1fda...
docs.google.com
We want to hear about your bus experiences
In June 2025, WMATA overhauled the Metrobus network — renaming routes, eliminating stops, and re-routing lines in an effort to make the system faster and more reliable. A month in, we asked readers li...
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
I started working on this look at speed camera data months before the Post layoffs but holidays, snowstorms, etc. got in the way -- I'm glad we were able to finish it. I'll have one more soon w/John Harden, looking at crash data around schools. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
D.C.’s speed cameras are catching super violators. Most have Va. and Md. tags.
A lack of cross-border cooperation with Virginia and Maryland has allowed habitual speeders from those areas to get away with thousands of dollars in unpaid fines.
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The Daily Rider @thedailyrider.co · 19/03/2026
From an unofficial DDOT source, this starts Monday. Great timing for cherry blossom crowds.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 10/03/2026
Here’s the report www.scribd.com/document/101... Finds that congestion pricing could substantially increase transit use, raise revenues, reduce traffic. But the Congress and Trump admin would likely make it impossible.
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Claire E. Aubin @ceaubin.com · 03/03/2026
I have seen a lot of cursed stuff in my time in academia but this is among the *most* cursed. Grammarly is generating miniature LLMs based on academic work so that users can have their writing ‘reviewed’ by experts like David Abulafia, who died less than two months ago.
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Peter Carlson @peterdcarlson.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
23 y.o. killed crossing the street in a crosswalk with a walk signal by a driver turning left. 5:34 p.m. on a Monday in downtown Richmond. Absolutely devastating and infuriating.
wtvr.com
Virginia Living magazine editor Hope Cartwright killed crossing the street; Richmond driver charged
Hope Cartwright, 23-year-old Virginia Living magazine associate editor, was killed in a hit-and-run crash at Cary and 2nd streets in downtown Richmond.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
WABA relaying something I also heard this past week (and that, if it happened two weeks ago, I would have tried to report out for the Post): USDOT wants to remove a chunk of the 15th Street NW bike lane where it crosses the National Mall waba.org/2026/02/13/f...
waba.org
Federal meddling on 15th Street « Washington Area Bicyclist Association
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Many are rightly noting that clicks alone is a terrible way to make coverage decisions. But it’s also just not true these cuts reflect reader interest. Some of the Post’s most popular writers were cut. The most read stories this week were written, edited and designed by people who lost their jobs.
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Washington Post Guild @postguild.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Will Lewis’s exit is long overdue. His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution. But it's not too late to save The Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately rescind these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.
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Evan Yeats @evanyeats.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I find it difficult to celebrate almost anyone losing their job. Almost.
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Scenes outside of the Washington Post headquarters right now:
A protester holds a sign that reads “stand with the Post”Protesters stand outside of the headquarters Protesters stand outside of the headquarters of the Post Protesters are listening to a speaker
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Same!
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Seems like this will be my last story for the Washington Post. A handful of my colleagues will still be covering local news in the DMV and I know they’ll do great work, but they and this region deserve so much better.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
A thorough investigation into grift at a group paid by the D.C. government to violence interruption -- the kind of local accountability reporting we may not be able to do much longer www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
How D.C. allowed ‘completely inappropriate’ spending by anti-violence group
D.C. officials say spending of public funds by Life Deeds — including trips to a New Jersey shopping mall, lavish meals and a pool party with alcohol — should not have been allowed.
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Capital Weather @capitalweather.com · 03/02/2026
D.C. area has just emerged from its longest uninterrupted stretch of freezing weather in more than 35 years. Even as temps thaw a bit today, another punishing blast of cold is poised to arrive by the weekend. Read the full story: www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...
washingtonpost.com
D.C.’s longest freezing streak since 1989 ends, but more bitter cold looms
The prolonged cold, combined with the “snowcrete,” has produced one of the region’s most severe winter weather episodes in decades.
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Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 02/02/2026
Buried at the end of this, citing sources, is the FHA is "gathering information on [DC]’s bike lanes and whether they took space away from cars and caused congestion." Ugh. #bikedc
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Trump administration limiting use of federal funds for speed cameras, calling them "unfair revenue schemes.” www.washingtonpost.com/transportati...
washingtonpost.com
Trump administration says it will limit funds for speed cameras
Cities are being told they can’t use some federal funds for automated traffic enforcement.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
How is this a scoop? He says this all the time
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
This is where my bus got stuck yesterday
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J. I. Swiderski, MURP @swiderski.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Well, I guess that explains why the snow detour is up Sherman... 😹 bsky.app/profile/swid...
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Metro the past two days has been great. Unfortunately I decided to take the bus home and now my D44 is stuck in a snow bank at 11th and Florida. We are rocking back and forth and the lights are flickering.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Metro the past two days has been great. Unfortunately I decided to take the bus home and now my D44 is stuck in a snow bank at 11th and Florida. We are rocking back and forth and the lights are flickering.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Randy Clarke says Metro has moved close to a million people on rail + bus since the storm started, including 60K during it on Sunday: "When everything else can't move, we still move people." (Also: "This is arguably the heaviest and hardest snow I've ever felt in my life and I grew up in Canada.")
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Streets and sidewalks mostly cleared downtown. Exception is of course National Park land (Samuel Gompers Memorial) which has not been touched
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Metro @wmata.com · 29/01/2026
Update: 🚇 Rail resumes weekday service at 5 a.m. with trains every 6–12 mins 🚌 Bus resumes weekday service — all 126 routes operating (61 regular service, 65 on snow detours) 🚐 Metro Access operating all scheduled trips Check wmata.com/snow before traveling.
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Nick Burger @nickburgerdc.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Yesterday, a van of 4-5 DPW employees showed up here on E St SE. They got out and started shoveling the alley entrance, which was great. However, this is how they left the intersection and the access to the sidewalks. I really wish I better understood the city’s strategy with snow.
A family trying to get their stroller across ice mounds after DPW had shoveled the intersection.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
An administrative judge reversed the termination of an MPD officer for an off-duty DUI in his cruiser with the emergency lights activated -- in part because other officers had engaged in similar conduct and were just suspended washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7781...
washingtoncitypaper.com
Termination of Officer Who Drove Drunk in His Take-Home Cruiser Reversed By Administrative Judge
In body cam footage, Officer John Bewley is seen slurring his words, mocking fellow officers, interfering with his fiancee’s arrest, and resisting arrest.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
We're near the scheduled end of the NTSB hearing on their findings on the DCA crash, and until now everyone seemed to be on the same page -- but now there's a bitter argument between Chair Jennifer Homendy and board members over last-minute tweaks to the report.
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Washington Post Guild @postguild.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
#SaveThePost, Jeff Bezos.
This image shows a logo of The Washington Post Guild and our statement:

The Post Guild vehemently opposes any more cuts to the staff of The Washington Post. As we’ve seen in recent years, continuing to eliminate scores of workers who make this storied institution what it is only stands to weaken the newspaper, drive away readers and undercut The Post’s mission: to hold power to account without fear or favor and provide critical insight into communities across the region, country and world.

If Jeff Bezos no longer supports that mission, then The Post and its readers deserve a steward who does.

If you value The Post’s journalism and its renowned past — if you care about its future — we ask that you join us in our call to #SaveThePost.
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Sarah Kaplan @sarahkaplan48.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
My @washingtonpost.com colleagues worked round the clock this weekend to expose the truth of what's happening in Minneapolis and bring urgent weather news to millions facing dangerous cold and snow. If you value this work, tell Jeff Bezos to #SaveThePost www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
washingtonpost.com
Federal agent secured gun from Minn. man before fatal shooting, videos show
A Washington Post analysis of videos sheds light on the encounter that left 37-year-old Alex Pretti dead.
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Caitlin Gibson @caitjgibson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
It has never been more important to understand what is happening in our world, and @washingtonpost.com's foreign reporters regularly sacrifice their own wellbeing and safety to bring us those vital stories. I'm so proud to share a newsroom with them. We need them more than ever. #SavethePost
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
The average D.C. commute is no longer or shorter than it was before the pandemic. DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum notes that the city has added far more bike lanes (and some bus lanes) since then, calls it a "misperception" that they slow traffic down. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
Five ways D.C.-area commutes have changed since the pandemic
A new survey by the Metropolitan Council of Governments found that many people are still working from home part of the time -- but not federal workers.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
A robo-bus brought to D.C. by USDOT had a true local experience: getting hit from behind on H Street by a Tesla driver with Maryland plates www.washingtonpost.com/transportati...
washingtonpost.com
Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver.
A Beep automated shuttle bus displayed by the U.S. Department of Transportation in D.C. this week got into a collision with a driver on H Street.
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Fenit Nirappil @fenitn.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
EXCLUSIVE: We vetted RFK Jr.'s latest picks for a federal vaccine advisory panel. One explicitly called herself an anti-vaxxer, the other compared vaccine makers to cigarette manufacturers. “My grandchildren will not get any shots if I can help it" @lenasun.bsky.social reports wapo.st/4pFHsEe
wapo.st
New RFK Jr. pick for vaccine panel: ‘I was not anti-vaccine. I am now.’
Two OB/GYNs appointed to an influential federal vaccine advisory panel have criticized vaccination during pregnancy and more broadly. One called the vaccine industry “disgusting.”
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
At annual Transportation Research Board meeting, USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Loren Smith says that if his office had a bumper sticker it might be “Brutalism sucks, classical architecture rules”
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Baltimore Metro is now using a signaling system more advanced than the one in D.C.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
D.C. leaders think they can convince U.S. DOT not to ban traffic cameras, which would take hundreds of millions dollars out of the city's budget and upend its traffic safety strategy www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
D.C. leaders push back on U.S. DOT proposal to ban city traffic cameras
The proposal to ban traffic cameras could cost D.C. more than $100 million and strike at the heart of traffic safety efforts.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Traffic deaths are declining around the DMV — but they’re back to where they were a decade ago when Vision Zero commitments started www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
Traffic deaths in the D.C. region are declining to pre-pandemic levels
A spike in deaths is over, but deaths remain as high as they were a decade ago when officials committed to ending them.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
The longtime director of the Valentine in Richmond, known for working to dispel "Lost Cause" myths, was hit by a car and killed on his way home from the museum. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
He exposed the myth of the South’s ‘Lost Cause.’ His death shook Richmond.
William “Bill” Martin, 71, died Sunday, Dec. 28, a day after being struck by a car near the Valentine local history museum where he had served as director more than 30 years.
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Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
NEWS: The Trump administration has canceled the 50-year lease given to the National Links Trust to manage the D.C. golf courses at East Potomac Park, Rock Creek, and Langston. The group won the leases five years ago, and had started work renovating the Rock Creek course.
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Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 28/12/2025
Nick Donohue, Virginia’s transpo secretary nominee, has worked on “many of the state’s recent major transpo initiatives, from the plan to increase pax rail service to the Smart Scale transpo funding policy that has been widely praised for taking politics out of the allocation of transpo dollars.”
washingtonpost.com
Here’s who Virginia’s next governor has chosen for her Cabinet so far
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) is assembling the team to help her run state government, including three Democratic delegates and a former FBI agent.
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Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 24/12/2025
The Metrobus "system is short 120 drivers, and on average, 241 trips — about 2.7 percent of all trips — were missed each month in 2025." #washingtondc via @rachelweiner.bsky.social
washingtonpost.com
Metro says ‘operator availability’ delayed your bus. Here’s what it means.
Staff shortages and absenteeism have been a chronic issue for the agency.
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Julie Patton Lawson @srfrjulie.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
I genuinely feel for @wmata.com on this. Appreciate the transparency, appreciate the challenges they face, appreciate the steps they are taking to try to fix it. wapo.st/4p8HrYS 🎁
wapo.st
Metro says ‘operator availability’ delayed your bus. Here’s what it means.
Staff shortages and absenteeism have been a chronic issue for the agency.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Tying DOT funding to immigration policy has been blocked in court subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...
subscriber.politicopro.com
POLITICO Pro: Judge rules Trump administration can’t tie transportation funding to immigration
Judge John McConnell previously issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Transportation Department directive.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Behind WMATA saying buses keep getting canceled due to "operator availability" www.washingtonpost.com/transportati...
washingtonpost.com
Metro says ‘operator availability’ delayed your bus. Here’s what it means.
Staff shortages and absenteeism have been a chronic issue for the agency.
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Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 23/12/2025
"Facility planning has lagged behind its fleet planning by about 15 years even though the two efforts are closely interconnected." !!! And the result is more delays to the Acela IIs, sigh. h/t @airlineflyer.net
wsj.com
Amtrak Faces More Delays Rolling Out New Trains
Failure to upgrade maintenance facilities in time means the railroad will probably have to idle some new trains, federal inspectors said.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
New Inspector General report says Amtrak hasn't been upgrading maintenance facilities at the same pace as it has been putting out new trains, limiting the utility of the new fleet: amtrakoig.gov/audit-docume...
amtrakoig.gov
Major Programs: Improved Planning for Maintenance Facility Upgrades Could Help the Company Better Meet Its Fleet Goals | AMTRAK Office Of Inspector General
We found that the company has started upgrading its maintenance facilities to support its major fleet acquisitions, but challenges in planning and managing this effort have delayed its progress. As a ...
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David Ramos @imagineterrain.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
We're coming up on a year from this tragedy. Excellent data reporting from the Post.
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Rachel Weiner @rachelweiner.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Interesting as WMATA tries to move towards platform screen doors
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