Weekend links: Arrive

Anacostia gets costlier

Attracted by one of the few affordable neighborhoods near Downtown DC, investors are purchasing lots of Anacostia properties.  Average home prices have risen over the past year, and retail in the neighborhood may be starting to pick up. (UrbanTurf)

Gray flies to China on the cheap

Mayor Gray will be in China this week to meet with Chinese officials and to attend a sustainability conference. Gray and his accompanying officials will be traveling coach, without security guards, and have made available the cost to DC public. (DCist)

Nationals sell out

The Washington National have reached one million tickets sold this year. This amounts to nearly 30,000 a game, up from last years average of fewer than 23,000 per game. Winning seems to increase attendance. (JDLand)

DC aims to take back buses

DC has filed a petition with a federal judge to resume control of special education buses. Because of safety issues, the buses have been in court-mandated receivership since 2003. (Post)

Church looks to own entire block

A church wants a parcel of land at 7th and Rhode Island Ave NE

NW, on a block where they already own several pieces of land. The church and developer arrived at a pre-bid hearing with a significant contingent, apparently interested in developing market-rate housing.  (City Paper)

The diversity of LeDroit Park

Even some of DC’s neighborhoods with buildings mostly from one era can have great diversity in housing stock. LeDroit Park has 12 distinct architectural styles, mostly from a century ago. (Left for LeDroit)

Hong Kong becomes mega-region without unity

Hong Kong and the rest of the Pearl Delta are merging into a mega-region, despite a great variety in political systems. The variation between the role of government in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau make the Washington area extremely homogenous in comparison. (Atlantic Cities)

And…

Mayor Gray dedicated a plaque to the victims of the 2009 Metro crash at Fort Totten. (Examiner)… Workplaces will be the first tenants in the refurbished Wonder Bread building. (DCmud) … A Prince George’s bike shop owner sold the store because of marriage and immigration laws. (DCist)