Breakfast links: Monumental takes on our monuments
Not your father’s Mall
In 1791, Washington’s planner Pierre L’Enfant envisioned the National Mall as a wide avenue with a canal. Here’s how one of the world’s most famous public spaces has kept changing and evolving over the past 200 years. (Post)
Confederate memorials hostile or history?
An Alexandria advisory group recommended the city keep a Confederate memorial in the middle of an intersection, but change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway. Many residents say the change is not enough, but others say any change erases Alexandria’s Confederate history. (Post)
Washington Monument still shook up
Five years after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake rocked our region, the Washington Monument is still damaged. The National Park Service says earthquake damage is to blame for recent elevator outages. (WTOP)
New chief, familiar face
Peter Newsham, the current DC Assistant Chief of Police, will take over as interim chief when Cathy Lanier steps down in September. He has 27 years on the force, with the last 14 as the assistant chief. (Post)
Silver Spring is for artists
A Silver Spring police station will transform into an art studio with affordable housing. Montgomery County is building out the art scene to house a variety of creative pursuits, including tattooing and hairdressing. (Post)
Uber raises prices
The minimum fare for an UberX just went up $1, to $6.35. Uber says this is an effort to increase pay for drivers. The increase did not affect UberPool, the company’s carpool option. (DCist)
Buzz for stadium
Construction on DC United’s new stadium at Buzzard Point will begin soon. Here are some new renderings of what’s planned. (DCist)
More housing or fewer jobs?
The mayor of Palo Alto, California responded to the planning commissioner who quit because she couldn’t afford a home in the mostly low density city. The mayor would like to reduce the number of jobs rather than add more housing. But one council candidate disagrees. (Curbed, Vox)