EXPEDITED BRIEFING SKED FOR PURPLE LINE SUIT: Andrew Metcalf of Bethesda Beat reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., on Friday granted Maryland’s request for an expedited briefing schedule for the Purple Line lawsuit, bringing the case closer to a possible conclusion. The court already granted Maryland and the Federal Transit Administration—the defendants in the case—a reprieve in July by restoring the proposed light-rail project’s federal approval, which had been revoked last August by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon.
MO CO SEES SURGE N FENTANYL DEATHS: The latest figures on drug and alcohol intoxication deaths show a surge in Montgomery County fatalities related to fentanyl, a strong opiate pain medication, Andrew Schotz reports for Bethesda Beat. The number of fentanyl intoxication deaths has increased sharply since 2013, when there were none. There were 8 in 2014, 17 in 2015, and 43 in 2016. There were 15 in the county in the first quarter of this year. Overall opioid intoxication deaths in the county have increased from 53 in 2014 to 84 last year.
