Photo by greenkozi on Flickr.

DC suing travel companies

DC will sue online travel companies who have paid hotel taxes only on wholesale, not retail, room rates. Montgomery County and a number of other local and state governments are already pressing similar suits. (WBJ)  

NPS spending big on roads

The Park Service is finishing a big road project on the GW Parkway and starting a $10 million one to rebuild 8 blocks of Constitution Avenue. Eric Fidler wonders why they don’t use the money to fix the actual parks. (WTOP, Post)  

Getting serious collecting debt

Mary Cheh wants to send decades of outstanding fines totaling close to $1 billion to a debt collector. She also wants to create central collections unit to replace the current, fractured collection system. (Examiner)  

Walmart will anchor Tysons West

JBG will turn the first 2 floors of an existing 6-story parking deck into retail space, where Walmart will occupy the ground floor, a quarter mile northwest of the coming Tysons West Metro station. (Post, Eric, Joey)  (Tip: Eric)  

New Woodbridge slug lot mostly empty

Slug-liners have been slow to switch from the old Potomac Mills lot, which was reduced by 75% in February, to the temporary replacement 2 miles away. The lot remains about 98% empty. (Examiner)  

Some agencies still headless

Marion Barry is opposing Mayor Gray’s Office on Aging nominee on the grounds that Gray’s nominee didn’t come from a list of three names submitted by the Office. (TBD) … A number of major agencies, including DDOT, are still without permanent leaders, thanks, in no small part, to the Sulaimon Brown fiasco. (Housing Complex)  

Thomas’s campaign gets scrutiny

DC’s campaign finance office will investigate various allegations of malfeasance by Ward 5 council member Harry Thomas, Jr. and his now-defunct non-profit Team Thomas, which took money from Thomas’ campaign and subsequently paid for Thomas’ personal travel. (Post)  

A very green way to get fuel

Bethesda resident Richard Hoye is collecting wood branches left behind by Pepco tree trimming, carrying them home using a large cargo tricycle, and using them to heat his home. (Gazette)  

And…

Virginia’s university students are redrawing its political district boundaries to be more compact and politically competitive. (WAMU) … Stockholm will close a 7.5 km section of its subway for 6 months to overhaul the 50-year-old line. (Dagens Nyheter, Niklas M.) … North Carolina’s DOT has won a battle with Norfolk Southern to allow more frequent and faster passenger service between Raleigh and Charlotte. (Charlotte Observer, Matt’)