Photo by karenwithak on Flickr.

The “smelly fish under the table”: Purple Line supporters argue in the Post that the Purple Line will bring job access and development opportunity to poorer eastern Montgomery and Prince George’s, and that opposition stems at least in part from “elitism” and a desire to keep those brown people out of their areas.

It’s our neighorhood vs. it’s my property: Richard Layman reviews the history of DC’s historic districts, where national designation wasn’t enough to stop demolition of some beautiful buildings to the chagrin of neighbors and preservationists.

Another Wheaton density debate: The Montgomery County Council approved a rezoning of a large parcel in Wheaton to allow a new Avalon Bay mixed-use housing project, despite some arguments (similar to Kensington Heights’) that it conflicts with the old Sector Plan. The Council did limit density to 50 units per acre instead of the 100 allowed under the mixed-use zoning category.

How about our own prosecutors: After the recent Keystone Kops debacle where the U.S. Marshals improperly released a multiple offender, Cary Silverman points out the folly of DC having no prosecutors of its own and relying entirely on the feds, whom we can’t elect or throw out of office.

Transit bits: Despite falling gas prices, transit ridership is still up (but states are still cutting it); DC will hold four meetings next week on the “Neighborhood Circulation Study” of areas underserved by current bus service.