Breakfast links: Getting what you want
McDonnell gets his WMATA seat
The Virginia legislature gave Governor McDonnell a voting seat on the WMATA Board through a budget amendment after turning him down in the regular session. NoVA Democratic senators Chap Petersen, Chuck Colgan, and Toddy Puller all voted with Republicans to remove power from their region. (Post)
DC readies for shutdown
A federal shutdown will not affect DC schools or public safety but would close DC agencies like the DMV and libraries, and stop trash pickup and parking enforcement. Metro will keep running, but would lose tons of revenue. (Examiner, DCist)
Dulles station criticism takes off
After MWAA’s decision yesterday to locate the Dulles Metro station underground near the terminal, local, state and federal lawmakers have made their disapproval known, many calling on MWAA to incur the extra cost. (WTOP)
Security can’t help us
Prompted by a crazy woman’s attempt to destroy a Gaugin painting that depicts some women’s breasts, Petula Dvorak rails against Washington’s affinity for security theater. “Security barriers aren’t always the answer to protect us from danger,” she says. (Post)
Rental vacancies low in DC
Weak home sales continue to push down rental vacancies in DC and around the country. The District’s vacancy rate of 5.3% is more than a point better than the national average. (UrbanTurf)
Cities growing out and up
Comparison of 2000 and 2010 census data shows significant increases in density in the outermost ring of suburbs in American cities, but also in the central core of the city, even in places like Detroit. (Data Pointed)
Denver kills diagonal crossings
The home of the first Barnes Dance, Denver will dismantle all of the city’s 45 diagonal crossings. The traffic light timing is being lengthened to accommodate longer light rail trains. (Denver Post)
And…
Lydia DePillis rode along in the CaBi van on its redistribution trek across the city. (Housing Complex) … Some residents just can’t win with the new Ward 1 street sweeping signs. (TBD) … Since DDOT still hasn’t replaced old SmartBike stations with CaBi, some people are using them as regular bike parking. (WashCycle) … An Examiner writer keeps confusing Petworth and Park View. (Park View, DC)