Breakfast links: Help wanted
Job unwanted
A string of crises at Metro will make it harder to hire a new general manager, says one transit expert. Anyone with transit experience may see Metro as career suicide. Some board members want to hire a “corporate turnaround specialist,” but Metro isn’t offering a typical salary for someone with corporate experience. (WAMU)
Slow MoCo
Speed cameras in Montgomery County work. A driver’s likelihood to speed is lower compared to Northern Virginia. Traffic deaths are also down in Montgomery County largely due to drivers slowing down to avoid a ticket. (WAMU)
Vote of no confidence
In a DC police union poll, 97% of participating police officers said they lack confidence in Chief Lanier’s leadership. A third of DC’s officers took the poll. The chief has been struggling to stem a crime increase in the District. (Post)
Merger short-circuited
Advocates for alternative energy scored a win with DC’s rejection of the Pepco-Exelon merger, and there’s even talk of DC buying out Pepco. But the power companies have promised to try again. (WAMU, WBJ)
Watch your step
Many new sidewalks around the DC area are crumbling. Salt used during the winter might have something to do with it, but some residents say contractors are to blame. (Post)
Beyond White Flint
Montgomery County is working on a plan to redevelop shopping centers and vacant office buildings up Rockville Pike north of White Flint to Rockville. White Flint is already transforming into a mixed-use area. (Bethesda Beat)
Region is changing
Metrobus planners want to update the definition of “regional” and “non-regional” bus routes. Many lines that are supposed to be regional only serve one jurisdiction, and others aren’t as cost efficient as they should be. (PlanItMetro)
Bridge to the new
A new Douglass bridge is coming to DC, now that the federal government has signed off on the project. The new bridge has been planned for years, and the current 66-year-old bridge is classified as “functionally obsolete.” (JDLand)
And…
The National Museum of Crime and Punishment is closing. (WBJ) … Rosslyn turned a fountain into a sandbox. (ARLnow) … Bike racks are finally coming to (some of) New York’s buses. (Streetsblog)