Breakfast links: No $15 minimum wage for MoCo
Image by SEIU Local 99 | Education Workers licensed under Creative Commons.
Montgomery County Exec vetoes $15 minimum wage
Montgomery County lawmakers recently passed a bill to require a $15 minimum wage, but County Executive Ike Leggett vetoed it on Monday. Leggett says a minimum wage that high would hurt the county's economy by driving away businesses that could pay less elsewhere. (Bill Turque / Post)
Young people love cities now, but will they always?
Millennnials tend to flock to cities now, but that isn't guaranteed to be the case forever. One USC professor says demand for city living will likely stop growing in the coming years, and stagnant apartment rent prices in some major cities may be evidence that's true. (Conor Dougherty / NYT)
Saturday was the DC Streetcar’s second busiest day ever
Saturday was Metro's second-busiest day ever, but it was also that for the DC Streetcar, which saw 7,347 riders. Only opening day had more. That compares to 3,579 riders on Friday, and 2,000-3,000 on a typical weekend day. (@DCStreetcar / Twitter)
Workers union says Metro covered up the actual number of people it fired
In December, Metro announced it had fired 6 people for wrongdoing in a July Silver Line derailment. But according to Metro's workers' union, 21 people were actually fired, and the original number reflects WMATA pointing the finger at poorly-trained employees rather than problems with its own safety culture. (Martin DiCaro / WAMU)
DC’s Trump hotel has lost $1 million and is rife with ethical problems
In its first two months being open, DC's Trump hotel lost over $1 million and made $2 million less than it estimated it would. Also, members of Congress continue to point out that Donald Trump has not fully divested from the property, which they means he is breaking the law. (Rachel Kurzius / DCist)
A personal story in the fight for paid sick leave
Maryland delegate Luke Clippinger says that in his battle with leukemia, paid sick leave allowed him to focus on getting better and being with his family. Requiring all employers to provide paid leave, he says, reflects Maryland's values. (Ovetta Wiggins / Post)
How Trump is affecting DC real estate
DC's housing market is already feeling the impact of the new presidential administration… well, some of it is, anyway. Sales for houses above 2 million dollars are way up over last year's numbers, with a number of top officials buying or renting in some of the region's wealthiest neighborhoods. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)
Trump freezes federal hiring
Donald Trump has frozen most federal hiring for at least 90 days, and both Democrats and Republicans are criticizing the move. While the White House spokesman says the freeze reigns in recent over-expansion, local leaders say it's damaging and counterproductive. (Nick Iannelli / WTOP)