Breakfast links: On the rise
Back on track
8-car trains on the Red Line will return to automatic control on Monday for the first time since the 2009 crash. All other lines will have to wait until 2017 for the smoother ride. (WAMU)
Just around the corner
Over the last 15 years, DC has seen a sharp decline in family-run stores and an uptick in big retail chains at rates that outpace national trends. (District, Measured)
Aim high
Military families in DC want public schools that specifically cater to a military lifestyle. The DC Council will vote on a bill to put a charter middle school at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling that would serve at least 50% military children. (Post)
Save the ‘sphere
A tech magnate wants to save Artisphere, Arlington’s under-utilized art center, from plans to close it. He believes bringing in corporate sponsors and using the space as a hub for startups could make it sustainable. (WBJ)
Decisions, decisions
Leif Dormsjo says the WMATA board should first make a work plan for the organization and then pick a general manager who knows how to make it happen, instead of focusing on individual characteristics of the candidates. (Post)
How we gonna pay?
A slowing rise in home values and stable rents means that new homeowners must stay in their homes longer to justify buying over renting. The DC area’s breakeven point is 4.2 years, the second longest in the nation. (UrbanTurf)
It’s gentrification
The owner of a 50-year-old hair salon in Bloomingdale is publicly blaming gentrification for its closure. The salon is closing after the landlord doubled rent, and the owner wants the community to understand why. (Post)
Too darn high
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker has proposed a 16% property tax hike to fund schools. But since the county bears such a heavy tax burden it isn’t clear that this is the best way to fund the schools. (Prince George’s Urbanist)
And…
A Fairfax judge ruled that a woman doesn’t have to pay late fees on HOT lane tolls because the toll company took too long to take her to court. (WAMU) … Here’s what you need to know for the second round of the DC school lottery. (Post) … Some Ward 8 candidates have dropped out to neutralize frontrunner LaRuby May, Mayor Bowser’s favorite for the seat. (City Paper)