The Purple Line is coming together in Maryland — the final track was laid on Thursday.

Why it matters: We've been waiting for the 16-mile light rail line between New Carrollton and Bethesda for close to 10 years.

🧩 State of play: It's 90% complete.

• Up next is the installation of overhead wires. The streetcars will run mostly on dedicated tracks, with stops along commuter corridors and urbanizing streetscapes. Then, final safety tests.
• The public will get to ride in winter 2027.

How it works: The Purple Line will have 21 stops, and riders will be able to hop onto Metro lines — Red (Bethesda and Silver Spring), Green (College Park) and Orange (New Carrollton).

• It will also hook up to the MARC commuter rail (Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton) and Amtrak (New Carrollton), not to mention many bus lines.
• The trains are meant to be quieter than heavy rail, and station platforms are more robust than a bus stop but smaller than a Metro station, so they fit easily into the neighborhoods.

🏗️ Zoom out: Those communities are getting a boost from the new transit, spurring housing and retail development along the line.

• Gov. Wes Moore's administration says it has committed a $3 million investment to help businesses within half a mile of stations spruce up their exteriors.

Catch up fast: Construction began in 2017, then ran into contractor disputes (the private company quit the job), the pandemic, and rising costs.

• It's costing nearly $5 billion more than initial estimates, and it's five-and-a-half years late, the Washington Post reports.

🔨 What they're saying: "A lot of people fumbled the ball," Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Thursday after officials ceremonially slotted the final tracks with purple hammers.

• It's been "a long time on the path to getting here," Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said Thursday. "But I'm glad we're here."

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House Republicans subpoenaed D.C.'s police chief to turn over a 554-page internal investigation into allegations of police officials manipulating crime data.

Why it matters: MPD hasn't released the report, which led to 13 police officials being served termination notices this week, all tied to claims that they had a hand in downplaying crime stats after a surge in violence.

🚨 State of play: Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer's office tells Axios the mayor's office acknowledged receiving his subpoena on Wednesday evening, but the city had yet to turn over the report.

• "There is no excuse," Comer posted Friday on X.
• MPD told Axios in a statement: "We are [in] receipt of the subpoena, but we have not responded to the committee at this time."

The latest: The Washington Post reported on the contents of the report on Friday afternoon.

• Among the findings: Interviews with dozens of officers and communications that allege commanders pressured subordinates to reclassify crimes like theft as "lost property." Crimes that were downplayed include violent assaults and robberies, per the Post.
• The report says downgrading crimes "not only deprives the public of knowledge of the true numbers and statistics of crimes but also deprives the individual victims of due process and appropriate resources by undermining the investigative process."

📉 Reality check: The report doesn't allege any homicides were reclassified, the Post noted.

• Homicides in D.C. have declined sharply since 2023, when there were 274 killings — the highest total in 26 years.

The bottom line: The data manipulation allegations cast doubt on a wide range of violent crime trends, even if the overall trajectory points toward public safety improving in recent years.

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⛳️ In a new agreement, the National Links Trust will continue operating East Potomac Park golf course in the near term until the Trump admin begins a renovation to make it a "top-tier 18-hole championship" course.

• The nonprofit NLT will also run Rock Creek Park and Langston golf courses into the future, undertaking upgrades at both in line with its mission to provide affordable, municipal golf. (WaPo)

🟦 Meanwhile, Trump's blue paint job at the Reflecting Pool was a $6.9 million no-bid contract. The Trump admin claimed an exemption meant for instances to prevent "serious injury, financial or other, to the government," but said it needed to complete it by July 4. (NY Times)

🏀 The Wizards will have the first pick in the NBA draft, putting them in a good position to rebuild their squad, especially after two big trades this past season for All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis. (ESPN)

👀 Martin's Tavern was portrayed as a MAGA hang-out on SNL this past weekend, with Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh. (YouTube)

The Virginia Supreme Court overturned the results of the state's redistricting referendum, which voters narrowly approved last month.

Why it matters: The 4-3 ruling upends one of the most closely watched redistricting fights in the country.

The big picture: The Friday decision says the amendment process pushed by Democrats violated the state constitution, effectively blocking the effort to redraw congressional maps mid-decade.

• The state spent $5.2 million to pay for the special election, while outside groups raised nearly $100 million.
• The new map would've shifted the state's congressional split from 6-5 to a 10-1 favoring Democrats in November's midterms.

Between the lines: Democrats said the redraw would've countered GOP gains in a closely divided U.S. House from mid-decade redistricting in other states.

• Republicans called it illegal and hyperpartisan.

What we're watching: Virginia Democrats signaled that they plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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The Prince of Petworth is still walking and blogging, celebrating 20 years of peering into storefronts and blasting scuttlebutt.

• Dan Silverman, 51, was profiled in the Post over the weekend about Popville's enduring success.

Hoping to go 10 more years, Silverman tells the Post: "There's always new places opening. There's always new places closing. There's always areas to be optimistic about, and there's always areas to be pessimistic about.

• "I don't think we're ever going toward nirvana."

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