Breakfast links: A bill in Congress could make DC whole on coronavirus relief funds
A new bill would equalize DC’s emergency funds
House Democrats released a new funding plan for coronavirus relief, which would give an extra $755 million to DC to make up for a shortfall between what all other states got and what DC got in previous relief packages. (Jenna Portnoy / Post)
The Washington region won’t be reopening Friday
Maryland Governor Lawrence Hogan will allow individual counties, like Montgomery and Prince George’s, to remain shut down as the rest of the state moves to reopen. He joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who extended shutdown measures in Northern Virginia until May 28th. (Post)
Home prices have stayed high through the pandemic
The number of homes sold in the Washington region this April fell by more than it had in ten years, but so did the number of houses coming on the market. As a result, the price of a home actually rose in Alexandria and Prince George’s County, and units sold out very quickly. (Urban Turf)
More people are driving this month
While traffic on is still only a fraction of what it was before the pandemic, the number of cars on local highways have been increasing since mid-April. Traffic volume increased 18% on the Beltway near Silver Spring and 16% on I-270 near Germantown in the past two weeks. (Dave Dildine / WTOP)
Metro Ops Center cited for safety issues
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission found safety issues in the system’s Operations Control Center and charged Metro to add new precautions around third rail work, train operators on emergency fans, and stop remotely manipulating operator consoles without proper notice within the next 30 days. (Dick Uliano / WTOP)
Metro will cut back on budget and services
Metro’s pandemic budget predicts a 60% drop in revenue, with ridership levels not returning to normal until summer 2021, and $19 million in extra costs for cleaning. Planned service hour extensions and a new fare increase are on hold until July as well. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)
There’s not enough postal workers in Congress Heights
In response to a letter from Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the USPS confessed that the reason residents in several Ward 8 neighborhoods weren’t getting their mail on time is because the Congress Heights station doesn’t have enough personnel to handle the increase in deliveries. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)
Amazon is eyeing Gaithersburg
Amazon reportedly wants to build a massive distribution center in Gaithersburg, but is facing delays getting the site approved by the City Council, who had accepted an earlier plan from the developer for a mix of retail and research labs on the project site. (Alex Koma / WBJ)
Have a tip for the links? Submit it here.