We bring you a special edition of Purple Line NOW news today! We'd like you to meet our Executive Committee and see why you have the most committed, enthusiastic, and generous group of volunteers working on behalf of the Purple Line. A few facts you may not know about them:

1) The Executive Committee meets every single month, rain or shine, snow or otherwise - and have been doing so for many years! Those meetings are used to share updates of the project, set strategy for moving forward, and make sure the calendar is covered for all Purple Line related meetings and gatherings.

2) The members of the Executive Committee - each and every one of them - gives an immeasurable amount of time each month to activities outside of PLN meetings to make sure the project stays forefront in the eyes of the public, elected officials, and MTA. In fact, most of their volunteer hours are spent in committees, testifying before councils, attending project updates, and visiting elected officials, along with maintaining a social media presence, speaking to the press, giving interviews, and writing articles.

3) Each and every member of our Executive Committee gives generously to our work out of their own pockets. As most of you know, Purple Line NOW is notunderwritten by developers or any other corporate entity. We exist because folks like you and our board members give both time and financial resources to see this project become reality.

Because we are at a standstill while we await the appeals process to make its way through the Circuit Court, Purple Line NOW has been waiting to continue the Envisioning the Purple Line series - an excellent opportunity for the public to keep abreast of the project through a series of forums which also serves as an important fundraiser to keep our doors open and our work ongoing.

We reach out to you once again to help us through what we hope will be a quick resolution to the delay in the project. Take a moment to read the bios of some very dedicated volunteers below and then join them in giving generously to Purple Line NOW as you are able.

President Ralph Bennett

I moved to Montgomery County in 1946 (I was 6) and have lived here with gaps since. As a YIMBY and architect, I have been involved with affordable housing since 1980 including building and as Chair and Commissioner of the Housing Opportunities Commission. The nexus of housing and transportation in affordable living is as obvious as [read more]

Vice President Greg Sanders

I grew up along with the Purple Line, creating Lego models of the Georgetown Branch, helping to clean up the right of way, distributing literature for supportive candidates, and scripting websites. I joined the board as Secretary in 2010 after my father passed away, like too many early supporters, before he could see the project through to completion. I donate my time because I have witnessed [read more]

Treasurer Tina Slater

While I always figured transit was a good idea, I didn’t have my eyes opened until we moved to downtown Silver Spring in 2005. The first thing we did was ditch one of our two cars --- walking, biking, the bus and Metro were now viable options. Then we heard about the Purple Line and found out that [read more]

Secretary Nancy Soreng

I joined the Board of Purple Line, NOW in 2008 when Harry Sanders suggested my experience with non-profit administration and advocacy would be helpful to the cause. I'm from Portland, Oregon and I go back every year to visit family there. I have seen the transformation that [read more]

At Large Miti Figueredo

I moved to Silver Spring with my family in 2001, after having lived in Chicago where we rode the El almost every day. I took one look at the Metro map and instantly [read more]

At Large Barbara Sanders

I have been involved since its inception in the mid 80's as the Georgetown Branch project for a trolley and trail Bethesda to Silver Spring. My husband, Harry, was one of the two people that pushed the Montgomery County Council to [read more]

Executive Director Christine Scott

I have been the part-time Executive Director of Purple Line NOW since October 2009 when I was hired by the wonderful Harry Sanders, Nancy Soreng, and Wayne Phyilliaer who were looking to take some of the administrative load off volunteer leadership as the project got closer to ground-breaking. My experience as an ED for other nonprofit organizations lent itself to the administrative aspect of the job, but learning the language of transit took a bit longer! Fortunately, I had the folks above to lead the way with their knowledge and guidance as we all pushed forward.

Nearly eight years later, this group hasn't lost a beat. I'm fortunate to watch how they mesh tenacity with a reasoned approach and I can tell you, as someone who has worked with many nonprofit boards along the way, we have some of the most dedicated folks you'll come across - all determined to finally see the Purple Line realized for all of us who live, work, and play in our community.

Please, join the folks above - get involved, come to a meeting, and help us stay on track by making a donation to Purple Line NOW.

This is a tense and frustrating period for the Purple Line. We have high hopes for the appeal of Judge Leon’s illogical decision, but any judicial debates amongst the D.C. Circuit Court judges will appropriately be secret until a decision is announced. Nonetheless, for advocates, there are issues to watch that will help us understand and explain to friends and neighbors what is happening, and by so doing, to keep hope for this needed project alive.

Will the Appeals Court Place a Stay on Judge Leon’s Injunction?

As the Washington Post opined, Judge Leon’s ruling against the Purple Line is “shot through with illogic and heedless of precedent” and “is an excellent candidate for reversal on appeal.” Specifically, as reported in Bethesda Magazine, the court violated the Supreme Court’s warning against substituting a judge’s personal opinion for that of federal experts. Maryland has asked the appellate court to place a stay on Judge Leon’s ruling and reinstate the project’s environmental approval. This would not be the final decision on the appeal, but would allow Maryland to pursue the full funding grant agreement it was on the verge of receiving from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) before the district court’s intervention.

Will the Schedule for the Appeal be Expedited?

The stay is important, because Maryland laid out challenges to paying for the Purple Line without planned federal aid, challenges that may come to a head in August. That said, a stay would be a temporary measure during the pendency of the appeal. Maryland has proposed an expedited schedule for the appeal, with briefs due from the parties between July 20th to August 24th, and possible oral arguments shortly thereafter. The next news on the case may be whether the court accepts this schedule or lays out a longer timeline.

Will the money be there?

The Trump Administration, in direct violation of infrastructure pledges during the campaign, had sought massive cuts in federal transit spending. They folded on that effort for the current fiscal year, and the omnibus compromise included specific set asides for the Purple Line, which now has $325 million in funds appropriated for it. However, this will be an ongoing fight as the latest bill out of the House would again reduce funding for new transit projects in the next fiscal year. We’ll need our Congressional delegation to continue to persevere to make sure that funding is included in the final budget.

Purple Line NOW is staying abreast of all of these decisions and will bring you breaking news as it occurs. The best way to get the latest news? Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and keep a keen eye on our website for all breaking news. We need your financial support now more than ever as we work hard to keep the project front and center in the eyes of our elected officials, the community at large, and all who have a stake in the success of the project. Please  consider a donation to Purple Line NOW to help us continue that work. Thank you!

During Thursday's oral hearing on the Purple Line, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon repeatedly made clear that his main objection to the project was the cost to federal taxpayers. Purple Line NOW  Vice President Greg Sanders attended the hearing and reacted, “Judge Leon’s actions are the definition of legislating from the bench. The Federal Transit Administration has determined that the fundamentals for the Purple Line are so good that it would be worth building, even in the theoretical extreme of no transfers from Metrorail. The legislative branch has also weighed in - Congress has appropriated $325 million dollars towards the eventual construction. Judge Leon seeks to substitute his judgment for those of transit experts, as well as elected officials from both the federal government and the state of Maryland, despite the fact that this is expressly forbidden by the National Environmental Policy Act.”

Purple Line NOW condemns Judge Leon’s renewed attempts to shut down the Purple Line by delaying a fair hearing for the project. Albert Ferlo, an attorney for the state of Maryland, pointed out that typically when judges are asked to place a hold on their own decision, they summarily deny the hold rather than draw the process out.

Purple Line NOW President Ralph Bennett remarked, “Judge Leon has obviously made up his mind about the Purple Line. This oral hearing and his threat of taking days or weeks to issue a decision, are a return to stalling tactics apparently intended to kill the project.”

Purple Line NOW Treasurer Tina Slater was agog at hearing the Judge Leon's logic, “If the stakes weren’t so high, it would be a joke worthy of Kafka. Judge Leon is using the National Environmental Protection Act to enforce his political view that we’re spending too much on transit. I’m not a lawyer and I don’t know what his stalling tactics will do to the attempt to get the stay, but I do know that the case for overturning his blatant disregard of precedent just got stronger." Slater continued, "Judge Leon may not care about our communities stuck in traffic and lacking a desperately needed east-west option to get to school or jobs, but we intend to keep fighting to connect our communities, which, incidentally, would bring in much more money in economic growth and new revenue than it costs to build the project.”

Purple Line NOW vows to continue its mission of speaking up for the many and diverse communities that would benefit from the Purple Line and educating the public as the fight moves to the appeals court.

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Purple Line NOW was in attendance at the hearing and will continue to actively monitor the appeals process. We will send regular updates to you and ask that you follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and keep a keen eye on our website for all breaking news. As always, we run on a bare-bones budget and volunteer elbow-grease from board members and community volunteers alike. Join us, and if you can, consider a donation to Purple Line NOW. We appreciate you more than you know.

Purple Line NOW
http://www.purplelinenow.com/

Purple Line NOW is disappointed that it was necessary to take this step and hopes that it can be reversed after quick action by the court. This move emphasizes the importance of the appeal filed yesterday by Maryland’s Attorney General. We hope that the courts can act quickly to restore the record of decision and put a swift end to these emergency steps. The fact that this action had to be taken demonstrates the continuing cost of the lawsuit.