Breakfast links: Seat filler

Ethics just got real

Councilmember Bowser wants to strip Mayor Gray of one of his ethics board appointments and give it to Chairman Brown. Gray hasn’t named any appointees to the board seven weeks after the statutory due date. (Examiner)

Silver Line in peril

Continuing deadlock on funding Phase 2 of the Silver Line has put the segment in jeopardy. The state is also considering taking over construction from MWAA. (Post)

Higher prices, not Sundays

Jim Graham suggested of allowing liquor sales on Sundays instead of the late-night bar hours in Mayor Gray’s budget. But it wouldn’t raise enough money and people objected, so he settled on a 6¢ alcohol surcharge. (Post)

Sidewalk cafes grow in number, not size

Downtown has more small sidewalk cafes than a year ago, and slightly fewer large ones. There are about 450 across the city, just 50 years after they were first allowed. (TBD)

Some parts of Ward 5 vote

Turnout in Ward 5 weighed heavily toward the north part of the ward. If turnout in the May 15 special election follows the same pattern, it could affect the results. (GeoCommons, Mike DeBonis)

MDOT loses head

Effective July 1, Marlyand’s Transportation Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley will step down from her post. In her tenure, Swaim-Staley pushed for higher tolls and gas taxes for the state’s transportation system. (Post)

GeekEasy wasn’t so easy

Start-up business incubator GeekEasy will move to the MLK Jr. Library after being unable to find enough tenants to break even on its commercial space. The incubator rents space to businesses that can’t afford traditional offices. (Post)

Parks from parking lots

Miami-Dade wants a park within “strollable distance” for everyone in the county. To help, they’re considering making worn-down strip malls into parks and paying for it with future development on the rest of the site. (MiamiHerald)

The road to ruin

Highway projects seemed to generate economic benefits when first built, but then it comes time to replace them, and there’s no added tax revenue from that. This cycle is bankrupting many jurisdictions. (Strong Towns)

And…

Residents of 9-story buildings in Southwest don’t like the idea of 11 story buildings. (Examiner) … A 1-story nail salon on H Street will become a 1-story 7-11. (City Paper) … Congestion pricing doesn’t just limit traffic; it boosts transit substantially. (Streetsblog)