Breakfast links: Go and stop

Automatic train operation coming back?

WMATA has started testing running trains automatically, as they did before the Red Line crash. But officials will give no clear date about when it will come back to trains in service. (WAMU)

Putting the brakes on sprawl

Developers are asking for more density in single-family developments in Loudoun County, but the Board of Supervisors isn’t playing along. The number of net units approved through rezoning since 2010 is actually negative. (Post)

New DC Library chief weighs in on MLK

Richard Reyes-Gavilan says the MLK Library is an “empty canvas,” but the building itself isn’t going anywhere. The most likely route to renovation is a public-private partnership that adds floors to the structure. (Post)

DC gets Trumped

The National Capital Planning Commission approved Donald Trump’s plans to convert the Old Post Office to a hotel, provided that lighting and historic features receive “sensitive treatment.” (WBJ, @NCPC)

Under their thumb

Eleanor Holmes Norton is trying again to eliminate congressional review of DC laws, but with a twist: she recast the bill as a paperwork reduction act. Will Congress care more about saving trees than DC’s rights? (Post)

As goes Lincoln Heights

Why has redevelopment in DC’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood stalled? Partly because developers don’t really want to build there. Will Barry Farm, slated for a similar redevelopment, fare any better? (City Paper)

Trucks and the city

Large trucks don’t play well with big cities, but researchers have identified some strategies cities can use to control their impacts. Among the suggestions: off-peak delivery, dedicated truck routes, and cargo bikes. (Streetsblog)

And…

Google agrees to pay San Francisco for curb space its buses use. Did the market just define the price for curb space? (Atlantic Cities) … Should the Franklin School become a boutique hotel or something more? (Post) … Houston leverages alcohol sales laws to combat food deserts. (Atlantic Cities)