Photo by Sharon Mollerus on Flickr.

Rail ties take the blame

Deteriorating rail ties that allowed the tracks to spread were the cause of last week’s derailment outside the East Falls Church station. Metro and FTA investigations continue as some question if Metro is adequately inspecting its tracks. (WAMU)  

Orange will lobby himself

The WBJ calls on Vincent Orange to resign from the DC Council. He was named the new head of the Chamber of Commerce, but will stay on the council until 2017. Many councilmembers, and former Chamber head Barbara Lang, say that’s crazy, but chairman Phil Mendelson thinks it’s legal. (WBJ, City Paper, Post)  

Surge 6, day 1

Red Line ridership was down as much as 40% yesterday. MARC ridership was up and shuttle buses were full, but traffic did not noticeably increase. (Bethesda Magazine)  

Big box stores get smaller

The new, tinier Target stores in Rosslyn, College Park, and Bethesda are all part of a trend in urban retail, one that takes big box stores back to their smaller storefront roots. (Washingtonian)  

New space for Air and Space?

It will cost over $1 billion to fix fundamental problems with the Air and Space Museum’s building. Would it be cheaper to just tear the building down and build something new in its place? (City Paper)  

Fleeting track fire

A debris fire on the tracks briefly shut down the Blue Line between the Franconia-Springfield and King St stations yesterday. (DCist)  

Homeownership at a 50 year low

The US homeownership rate is at its lowest in 50 years. The share of Americans who owned a home peaked at 69.2% in 2004 but is now down to 62.9% as home prices rose 5% this year. (Bloomberg)  

Gentrification doesn’t lead to diversification

A new study shows that gentrification doesn’t reduce segregation, it just shifts it. As communities gentrify, one dense majority is essentially replaced by another. (CityLab)  

And…

A confused driver says her GPS directed her onto the Capital Crescent Trail. (Bethesda Magazine) … A new ride hailing company will pick up passengers along the Red Line for a reduced price during SafeTrack. (Post) … Some McDonald’s are opening late-night walk-up windows. (Business Insider)