Breakfast links: Energy deals and the last mile
PAC to Pepco
Exelon hired the head of Mayor Bowser’s FreshPAC to lobby city officials on the controversial Pepco-Exelon merger deal. Details on the extent of his lobbying, and whether it should raise ethical concerns, will become available in January. (WAMU)
Feds on the energy merger
The federal government says the Pepco-Exelon merger is a bad deal for them and other large energy users in DC.They’re now urging regulators to reject the deal. (Post)
BRT creep in Arlington?
After delays, construction on the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway should be complete this spring. But Arlington has now cut the number of hours that the transitway will be restricted to traffic other than transit. (ARLnow)
Demographics near Metro
People living near Metro stations are more likely to be young, educated and white than in other parts of DC. (Post)
Lyft on the last mile
The ride-hailing app Lyft has a new campaign, called Friends with Transit, that offers Metro riders discount codes to make last-mile trips to/from Metro easier. (PlanItMetro)
Stamp of approval
Metro has given the go-ahead on a test program for a monthly rail pass and on free rides on New Years Day from midnight to 3am, thanks to a MillerCoors sponsorship. (WAMU, WTOP)
Under-handed house flipping
A DC house flipper embroiled in numerous lawsuits for shoddy construction has been charged with contempt for disobeying a court order to discontinue work on her unfinished real estate projects. (WAMU)
Everything’s bigger in Texas
Texas widened a congested Houston freeway to 23 lanes, making it the widest in the world. Did that solve the congestion problem? Nope, congestion got even worse. (City Observatory)