Breakfast links: Emergency responses

Major changes for firefighters

In addition to staff cuts, the fire chief wants firefighters to switch from 24-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts.  The 40% of firefighters who live more than 30 miles from the city are unhappy with the proposal. (Examiner)

Metro braves the snow

For a few years, WMATA has closed aboveground Metro stations after 8 inches of snowfall.  Now the agency will increase that threshold to 10 inches and will keep the Yellow Line bridge open no matter what.  (Examiner)

Traffic cameras to find terrorists

Traffic cameras aren’t just for red-light runners. DHS has given area police $1 million to install cameras that record the license plates passing along local highways. The surveillance is resulting in one arrest per day. (Examiner)

Is Georgetown really in trouble?

One Georgetown resident and real estate developer thinks Georgetown, despite its high rents, is down and out.  Conveniently, he thinks the city should spend $11 million to subsidize development in Georgetown. (City Paper)

Downtown residents face unique problems

Downtown DC’s residential population has doubled over the past decade.  The increasingly assertive population has pushed back against plans to add glitz to downtown areas such as Chinatown. (City Paper)

Line forms for apartments

Forget Black Friday. Hundreds of people waited in line Monday night for a chance to rent affordable apartments in Columbia Heights. (Post)

Wells of 2 minds on bundling

Councilmember Tommy Wells, who opposes the bundling of campaign contributions, has received a few himself.  He’s not sure if he’ll take them during the next campaign. (City Paper)

Put all the states on your wall

Looking for an interesting DC map for a gift? H Street spider map designer Peter Dunn has created an attractive poster of DC’s state-named avenues. (Stonebrown Design) … Read how these avenues came to be.

And…

More people leave California than move in. (LA Times) … Pension costs for Montgomery County teachers have jumped sharply. (Examiner) … The US Attorney for DC won’t reveal his budget. (Post)