Photo by Russ Allison Loar on Flickr.

How to pay for transportation?

President Obama continued to advocate for increased infrastructure and transportation investment in his State of the Union address. But he still doesn’t favor raising the gas tax. (McClatchy)  

Inexplicable Metro woes

Metro officials still can’t discuss details of last week’s smoke incident because of the ongoing federal investigation. Meanwhile, another smoke incident occurred at Rosslyn because of a brake problem. (Post)  

Metro cuts in the works?

WMATA is considering fare increases or rail service cuts in order to close a budget gap. The changes might be needed if local jurisdictions aren’t willing to increase their funding for Metro. (City Paper)  

Keep Red Line on track

A coalition of businesses is advocating for the Baltimore Red Line. They are partnering with the city to encourage Governor-elect Hogan not to cut state funding for the project. (Baltimore Sun)  

No more packing peanuts

Montgomery County banned polystyrene and packing peanuts from use by county businesses and online retailers. The county will investigate complaints to enforce the law. (Post)  

Just what we needed

The new Capital Crescent Garage opened in Bethesda with 1,250 parking spaces. But Bethesda had more parking supply than demand even before the garage was opened. (BethesdaNow)  

Rail to LaGuardia?

Governor Andrew Cuomo surprised New Yorkers with a call for an AirTrain link to LaGuardia Airport. The city needs one, but the route he picked is indirect and connects to less transit than other alignments. (Second Avenue Sagas)  

And…

Two men were shot on an X2 Metrobus near Union Station. (Post) … Target may open a smaller urban store, with mostly grocery items, in Rosslyn. (WBJ) … Why have Uber and Lyft become so popular so quickly? (Post)