Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2007 – Santa’s USO elves will be checking their list twice this weekend to ensure they’re ready to host about 2,000 troops slated to transit through Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport before catching flights home to their families and loved ones. The elves – actually volunteers from United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington – will work through the night Dec. 15 to prepare for a mass holiday exodus to begin at the suburban Maryland airport at 6 the following morning. As some 1,800 soldiers attending advanced individual training at nearby Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., await their flights,...

[beginning of article]The state will shut down the light rail line south of Camden Yards for about seven months, severing the city's rail link with Baltimore-Washington International Airport and forcing some Orioles and Ravens fans to find different routes to the stadiums. The shutdown from Feb. 28 until October will allow the Maryland Transit Administration to add a second track to portions of the line that have a single track. Single tracking has limited the frequency of trains and contributed to persistent low ridership.[snip]