Photo by william.neuheisel on Flickr.

Snow

Heavy snow has now started, and almost all governments and schools are closed. (WUSA9)  

Residents win the war

Harry Jaffe calls the “war on cars” rhetoric “an overstatement,” but if there is a war on cars, “Cars are losing. And in my humble opinion, the residents, businesses and developers of Washington, D.C., are winning.” (Examiner)  

Issa endorses better design

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wants to give DC more autonomy to decide its own own building heights, and said building quality is more about “how well you go high” rather than absolute height. (City Paper)  

Prince William vs sprawl

Virginia state officials are intent on building part of the Outer Beltway in Prince William County, but residents would rather preserve the rural character of much of the area instead of creating a new tier of sprawl. (Post)  

Preserve “Mad Men” era buildings?

Montgomery County has a lot of 1960s glass boxes. Should they be designated historic? Preservationists want to, but what they consider a “gem” others find an eyesore. GWU’s Richard Longstreth also wants to preserve all tract houses and prevent denser mixed-use neighborhoods. (Post)  

Fairfax considers red light cameras

Fairfax supervisors might try red light cameras again after reading a study that they “dramatically improved safety” in Arlington. Alexandria and Fairfax City also use them. (Post)  

Bad ideas for FBI

The Gray administration formally proposed dedicating prime waterfront land at Poplar Point to the FBI. (City Paper) … The editor of (Suburban) Washingtonian wants it to stay downtown for “symbolic” reasons. (Post)  

A sport looking for space

The DC Rollergirls have trouble securing times at the DC Armory, because of many other events vying for space. They would like some space of their own, but with such high demand, everything is very expensive. (WAMU)  

And…

What’s the worst sea of surface parking in America? (Streetsblog) … Beyond the initial framing, Martin Di Caro’s article on parking minimums is pretty good. (WAMU)  … The DOJ sticks up for a photographer arrested for photographing police in Montgomery County. (NPPA) … Alexandria approves its waterfront plan, again. (WAMU)