Breakfast links: State of the non-state and adjacent state
Gray: build 10,000 affordable units
In his State of the District speech, Mayor Gray pledged $100 million toward creating 10,000 units of affordable housing. (City Paper) … Except for credit card readers in taxis, transportation did not come up. (Veronica Davis)
McDonnell gas tax plan struggles
The Virginia House passed Governor McDonnell’s transportation plan, but the Senate deadlocked, defeating it. The House version will now “cross over” and the Senate will debate it again. (Post)
Election “rigging” won’t pass
The Virginia Senate rejected the bill to allocate electoral votes by Congressional district, while the House speaker is likely to kill the surprise inauguration gerrymandering measure. Democrats cited it as a reason to oppose McDonnell’s transportation plan (but hopefully far from the only reason). (Post)
This week in new bills
Vincent Orange and Jack Evans want DC to push to keep the FBI. Tommy Wells would let you get married without needing clergy or court officials, and wants to ban coal burning at the Capitol power plant. (DCist, WAMU) (Tip: Michael P.)
Post building a landmark?
The DC Preservation League may try to landmark the Washington Post headquarters, either based on its architecture or historically significant events. Designation could lower the potential sale price. (WBJ)
VDOT ignores pleas, crash happens
A cyclist tries in vain to get VDOT and Fairfax County to post signs, paint lines, or do anything about a spot on Richmond Highway that’s a crash waiting to happen. Then, he gets hit at that very spot. (FABB)
Connect Tysons and Vienna
The Tysons Corner takes a closer look at the 3 new Fairfax Connector routes which will connect Tysons and Vienna, and has a few suggestions. (Tip: Michael P.)
Ward 5, green job center?
Harriet Tregoning talks about Ward 5’s industrial land and how it could become a hub for green jobs, like building green roofs. (Elevation DC)
And…
More on what’s wrong with the TTI (“DC’s traffic is #1”) report. (Streetsblog) … Why do we care so much about authenticity? (Atlantic Cities) … The Air Force wants to build subway tunnels to carry ballistic missiles, or maybe use trucks. (Daily Mail)