PURPLE LINE WORK SCALED BACK: Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn on Wednesday ordered the companies contracted to design and build the light-rail Purple Line to immediately scale back pre-construction work, saying the state needs to cut costs while it appeals a legal ruling blocking the project. Katherine Shaver of the Post reports the story.

Rahn also asked the Maryland Transit Administration to freeze hiring of oversight staff for the project and suspend state funding for county design reviews. And he directed Purple Line officials to limit further costs on the project except for “those of agreed necessity,” writes Andrew Metcalf for Bethesda beat.

The decision came a day after U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon’s ruling to study ridership estimates for the project, even though he rejected the majority of a lawsuitbrought by a trail advocacy group, reports Adam Bednar in the Daily Record.

6th DISTRICT GERRYMANDER SUIT: Seven individuals challenging Maryland’s 6th Congressional District as unconstitutional are asking a federal court to overturn the state’s voting map or block officials from using it in the 2018 election, reports Josh Hicks in the Post.