Weekend links: Eminent domain is imminent

Eminent domain hits the big screen

Brooke Shields will star in a movie about Susette Kelo, a woman made famous by her Supreme Court case against New London, CT. The city wanted to use eminent domain to sell her house to a private developer.  (Hartford Courant)

Skyland still pie in the sky

Will Skyland Town Center be a similar eminent domain experience for DC? It took properties and evicted successful businesses but funding or an anchor tenant for the promised town center development is still elusive. (City Paper)

Smart Growth can save Marylanders billions

If Maryland fails to adopt the Smart Growth plan for 2035, Marylanders will have to pay $11 billion extra to construct new roads to accomodate sprawl. (Atlantic Cities)

Pay for parking by phone in MoCo

Montgomery has added pay by phone to parking in Bethesda, North Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton and Mongomery Hills. One thing this system has which DC’s doesn’t: QR codes. (Post)

Should MoCo join the power business?

Many US jurisdictions own several, if not all, of their utility companies.  Montgomery County’s desire to operate it own electric utility may have a lot of merit, especially considering county dissatisfaction with Pepco. (RPUS)

DC has surplus

DC has an $89 million surplus for FY 2011. Will they salt away the money, try to cut taxes, or use some for programs like affordable housing which got cut and which they previously voted to put at the top of the list to restore? (Post)

The high cost of required parking

A Seattle grocer closed; one blogger suspects minimum parking requirements helped push it. (Orphan Road) … Cleveland’s warehouse district once had a nice urban texture; now it’s surface parking. (Cleve Scene)

Danish peds step up

In a city where 55% of residents commute by bike, Copenhagen is seeing the omnipresence of cyclists upsetting pedestrians. (NYT) … Interestingly, many people in the story identify themselves as regularly using different modes of travel.

Electric car drivers upset over fees

25 miles of HOV lanes in LA will become HOT lanes.  The change will also reverse a long-standing policy by requiring solo drivers of electric and alternative-fuel cars to pay to use the lanes. (LA Times)

And…

The intensity of rainfall on Sept. 8 may have been a once-in-a-millennium event. (Post) … DC revenue collection exceeds expectations by $89 million. (Washington Times) … Seattle’s bus stop signs are so much better than ours. (Seattle Transit Blog)