Breakfast links: Everybody chips in
Taxing food trucks
Jack Evans wants to apply DC’s 10% restaurant sales tax to food trucks. A new association of owners objects, saying the plan was drafted without input from their group. (DCist)
Leggett’s budget rankles everybody
To close a $300 million gap, Montgomery County executive Ike Leggett is proposing across-the-board cuts and higher property taxes. He is also freezing county staff salaries and reducing benefits, disregarding an arbitration decision. (Post)
Angels take a hit
A Guardian Angel was punched while trying to break up a fight on the platform at Anacostia Metro. More Angels intervened and detained several teens until police arrived and arrested them. (Examiner)
Live chat with George Hawkins
George Hawkins, head of DC Water, will join us for a live chat at noon today. What do you want to ask about your water? Lead and other water safety issues? The impervious area charge? Post your questions in the comments.
Baker’s balancing act
Prince George’s Executive Rushern Baker wants to use a one-time budget surplus to create a $50 million economic development fund to draw investment in the ailing county. He will also infuse money into the school system and install traffic cameras to raise revenue. (Post)
Real estate change hits local retail
The new Mount Vernon Triangle bike shop BicycleSPACE might be forced out of their repurposed auto garage if the block redevelops as planned. The developer has verbally promised space in a new building. … Pound Coffee in NoMA will shutter due to “problems with the landlord.” The location was considered a successful example of street-fronting retail in federal buildings. (Eater)
Are intercity buses safe enough?
Do “Chinatown buses” have enough safety regulation? Leaders are again asking the perennial question after a deadly bus crash in the Bronx last weekend. (NYT)
Urban rail safety bill back
Washington area Senators Jim Webb, Mark Warner, and Barbara Mikulski are co-sponsoring a new version of a bill to give the USDOT safety oversight power over urban rail systems. (WAMU)
And…
A wheelchair user was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver near the southeast edge of DC. (WTOP) … NBC 4’s Joe Krebs apparently enjoys biking around Washington. (TheWashCycle) … After Lydia DePillis wondered if the barren streets promoted crime, a concrete triangle at Florida and North Capitol has been transformed. (Housing Complex)