>> Metro’s taking seats out of train cars to make room for bikes, wheelchairs, and luggage. De-seating’s expected to commence in 30 – 60 days.

>> Metro may have to cut services due to lease-back deals it made involving AIG back when the financial company was doing okay:

AIG provided $1 billion in loans to finance the transactions. The company, in return for fees paid by the transit agency, also guaranteed that the lease payments to investors would be made on time.

But now AIG’s financial troubles have

triggered a clause in the lease-back agreements that require the MTA to either find a new firm to guarantee the deals or reimburse investors for their down payments and lost tax benefits, a scenario that could cost the transit agency between $100 million and $300 million….

Under a worst-case scenario, [Metro treasurer Terry] Matsumoto said, the bill could rise to $1.8 billion, more than half the MTA’s annual budget for this year. “There is no practical way we could ever pay that back,” he said.

Metro seems to be scrambling to find a way out of the mess.

>> Unrelatedly, my lettuce is slowly growing, but my squirrel Nutta‘s already started nibbling on the baby greens!

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