The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

another call from someone asking about the librar y’s supply of free coronavirus te sts, often asking medical questions library workers aren’t trained to answer. Patrons arrive in such large numbers to grab te sts that the line sometimes backs up for blocks. And exhausted librarians also are getting sick with covid-19 themselves. “The library has always been a commu- nity center, a place where the public can get som ething they wouldn’t have other- wise, like free Internet,” another D.C. children’s librarian said. “But it feels like we ’ve become too good at our jobs. It becomes, ‘Oh, the library can handle it.’ We’re getting more and more tasks and responsibilities SEE LIBRARIES ON B2

BY JULIE ZAUZMER WEIL

I

t was another busy day at the public library when a visitor walked up and stood close to the children’s librarian. “My roommate is positive for covid,” the woman said. “How often should I be te sting myself?” The librarian grimaced under her mask. “That was one where I took a big step back,” she recalled. As public libraries in the District and across the nation have been pressed into service as coronavirus te st-distribution sites, librarians have become the latest front-line workers of the pandemic. Phones ring every few minutes with yet

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METRO

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 , 2022. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/LOCAL EZ RE B

JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON Montgomery County’s musical past will be featured at a virtual history conference. B3

THE DISTRICT Twenty-eight voting rights activists are arrested during a protest outside the U.S. Capitol. B3

OBITUARIES Charles E. McGee, 102, a barrier-breaking Tuskegee Airman, flew combat 34 missions in three wars. B6 ° 45 ° 49 ° 46 °

8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m.

High today at approx. 4 p.m.

49

°

Precip: 10% Wind: SSW 8-16 mph

BY TOM JACKMAN

Attorneys general from nine
states and the District of Colum-
bia are asking a federal appeals
court to reverse a federal judge’s
dismissal of the manslaughter
case against two U.S. Park Police
officers who fatally shot unarmed
motorist Bijan Ghaisar in Fairfax
County in 2017.
The request, led by D.C. Attor-
ney General Karl A. Racine (D),
was filed in the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 4th Circuit in
Richmond as an amicus brief in
support of Fairfax prosecutors
who obtained indictments of the
two of ficers, Lucas Vinyard and
Alejandro Amaya, in October

They want the appeals
court to define the standards by
which states can prosecute feder-
al of ficers and reject the reason-
ing used in the Ghaisar case.
Attorneys for the Park Police
officers successfully had the case
shifted from Fairfax court to fed-
eral court, and in October, Senior
U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hil-
ton dismissed all charges, con-
cluding that “the of ficers were
SEE GHAISAR ON B4

10 attorneys

general join

appeal in

Ghaisar case

Librarians

overwhelmed

amid rush for

testing kits

Workers find themselves on the front lines of pandemic

BILL O’LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST People wait Dec. 30 outside of the library in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood to pick up rapid coronavirus tests, as a delivery man arrives with more kits. “We’re getting more and more tasks and responsibilities that just feel overwhelming,” said one librarian.

Courtland Milloy

He is away. His column will resume
when he returns.

BY JUSTIN GEORGE

Metro General Manager Paul J.
Wiedefeld, who led the nation’s
third-largest transit agency out of
a period of declining ridership,
repeated safety failures that in-
cluded a passenger’s death and a
federal takeover of oversight, will
retire this summer after leading
the agency for more than six years,
Metro announced Tuesday.
Wiedefeld, 66, had guided Met-
ro toward a p eriod of greater reli-
ability and ridership growth be-
fore the coronavirus pandemic
upended operations of transit
agencies across the country. But
the announcement of his depar-
ture comes as Metro is trying to
navigate two crises that riders and
government leaders say is ham-
pering the region’s recovery: a
train shortage amid a federal safe-
ty investig ation and a reduction in
bus service.
Wiedefeld’s retirement, effec-
tive in six months, adds another
layer of uncertainty for a transit
agency struggling to recover from
historic revenue losses as many
commuters abandoned offices for
telework arrangements. Metro
has stayed solvent through federal
stimulus money, which is running
out, putting transit leaders under
a tight deadline to recruit new
riders alongside plans to restore
Metro to service levels riders were
accustomed to before the pan-
demic.
With those challenges looming,
Wiedefeld said it was time for
Metro to find a leader willing to
pilot the agency through years of
transformation.
“For ty plus years in transporta-
tion teaches you that there is no
set mile marker for this decision,
but given the seismic shifts hap-
pening in transit and the region,
SEE WIEDEFELD ON B4

Metro’s

general

manager

to retire

W iedefeld, 66, w ill leave this s ummer after more than six years in charge

BY HANNAH NATANSON

A major showdown over masking in Virginia schools — already involving at least one lawsuit — is brewing between newly minted Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and parents and superintendents across the state he was just elect- ed to lead. Youngkin, who took office Sat- urday, started his term as Vir- ginia’s 74th governor with an executive order that declares masking optional in school sys- tems statewide, subject to the preference of parents. Although some school districts complied almost immediately, other superintendents promised defiance — including the superintendent in Youngkin’s new home, Rich- mond. Jason Kamras, the head of Richmond Public Schools, vowed in a tweet over the weekend to keep his district’s mask mandate and told The Washington Post, “We will fight it to the end.” While Youngkin has promised strong action to enforce the order, questions are swirling about the legality of the rule and what ramifications defiant districts could face. The first legal challenge came Tuesday, when a group of parents in Chesapeake sued Youngkin, some of his top officials and the school board and superintendent of Chesapea ke City Public Schools, alleging the masking order violates a Virginia law passed over the summer that requires schools to follow federal health guidelines “to the maximum ex- tent practicable.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends masking for everyone inside K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Meanwhile, the battle quickly became political, with leaders on the le ft urging school districts to disobey Youngkin’s masking rule while politicians on the right ad- vised swift compliance. In Lou- doun County, where school officials are weighing how to respond to Youngkin’s order, some parents held a rally Tuesday calling for SEE MASKS ON B2

Brewing

clash on

masks in

schools

SOME DISTRICTS AIM TO DEFY YOUNGKIN

Governor’s order makes coverings optional in Va.

New cases in region

Through 5 p.m. Tuesday, 17,299 new coronavirus cases were reported in the District, Maryland and Virg inia, bringing the total number of cases in the region to 2,442,534.

D.C.** MD. VA.** +3,836 +3,215 +10,24 8 125,707 909,424 1,407,403

Coronavirus- related deaths As of 5 p.m. Tuesday:

D.C.** MD.* VA.** +0 +68 +8 1,255 12, 7861 5,822

* The state’s total includes probable covid-19 deaths. **D.C. and Virginia’s weekend and holiday data has been incorporated into Tu esday’s reported cases.

Proof of vaccination: D.C. officials report one violation of ne w edic t. B5

D.C. schools: Council rule tightens the case-reporting process. B5

BY CASEY PARKS

The first time Peter Range marched, he was 21. A girlfriend had told him she’d had an abortion before she met him, and the pain Range saw in her inspired him to board a bus and head to Washington, where, each year, as part of the March for Life, thou- sands of people protest abortion on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It was 2003. Roe had been in effect for three decades, and as Range streamed down Constitu- tion Avenue, he hoped that some- day the courts would overturn the decision that made abortion legal nationwide. He believed march- ing was making a difference, but that hope felt dim. The end of Roe seemed far away. Range has attended the march 15 times since then, and he has worked his way up to executive director of Ohio Right to Life. He

will return to the march this week with two buses full of young adults in tow, and this time, he says, that hope doesn’t feel quite so distant. By the end of this summer, the Supreme Court could overturn Roe. After 49 years, there may not be an anniversary to protest. “The mood is incredibly differ- ent toda y,” Range said. “This could potentially be the last March for Life that happens under Roe. All the work the pro-life movement has been doing for years is coming to an apex now with the Supreme Court decision upcoming. There’s a t remendous amount of hope and excitement in the movement.” The march begins at noo n Fri- day with a rally on the National Mall. At 1 p.m., marchers will move along Constitution Avenue toward the steps of the Supreme Court. Though the event has long been the country’s largest antiabortion rally, organizers expect a reduced attendance this year be- cause of the coronavirus pandemic. In their permit application, organizers estimated 50,000 people will attend. A small number of SEE MARCH ON B3

Antiabortion activists hope this is last March for Life under Roe

PETER RANGE Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Peter Range, front, at the March for Life in 2019. He says he has 110 people signed up for the eight-hour bus ride to D.C. for Friday’s march.

Ahead of event Friday, they are optimistic about Supreme Court chances

driven by the omicron variant, infection rates dropped in recent days by about 30 percent in D.C. and Maryland, and less in Vir- ginia, where the spike took lon- ger to materialize than else- where in the region, according to The Washington Post’s coronavirus tracker. In the District, Patrick Ashley, the head of emergency response for the city’s health department, highlighted the importance of vaccination while discussing re- SEE VIRUS ON B5

“We are entering, sadly... our third calendar year for our fight against covid,” Bowser (D) told repo rters before touring the Ward 7 covid center, which opened Tuesday alongside centers in wards 1, 2 and 8. “We know that it ’s going to be part of our lives for the foreseeable future. We have recognized that we have to adapt to these reali- ties and stay ahead of the curve.” The centers will provide vac- cines, at-home rapid antigen test kits and kiosks for taking PCR tests and are located in areas selected for accessibility, such as a shopping center. Centers in wards 3, 4, 5 and 6 are slated to open Monday. After a months-long surge

BY JENNA PORTNOY, OVETTA WIGGINS AND REBECCA TAN

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser on Tuesday announced plans to open eight centers — one in each ward — for residents seeking coron avirus vaccinations and te sts, as the regional death rate increases and more places con- sider vaccine mandates.

Area virus deaths rise as cases fall

D.C. announces centers for testing, vaccination as counties weigh new rules

The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

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