Breakfast links: Bishop of Brookland
Image by Dan Malouff.
He’s here!
Pope Francis has arrived in DC, and maybe he’ll bless Metro! Cell service could get spotty because lots of people will be uploading photos and video at once; try texting and charge your battery. (City Paper, DCist)
No Popemageddon
All the encouragement to stay home seems to have worked; Metro is seeing lighter ridership than normal, and traffic is light as well. However, there were more train problems on both the Orange and Red
More Metro madness
Over 250 people got stuck on a Green Line train that lost power in a tunnel near Petworth yesterday. It took over an hour to get everyone off and much longer to restore full Green and Yellow line service. (Post)
Fill the opening
WMATA says it will hire a general manager by the end of 2015, but Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe is tired of waiting. A private company going this long without a CEO would go out of business, he says. (Post)
Proceed with housing
The DC Council has approved a residential development of 350 units, anchored by Whole Foods, for Florida Avenue NW. We previously reported that some councilmembers were unsure or stalling. (WBJ)
Familiar phenomenon
Expensive housing is nothing new in the US; the percentage of their income renters pay for housing has been rising for 5 decades. A big reason is that land costs have risen while wages haven’t. WIll there be a tipping point? (Post)
MJ in MD
Maryland is going to start licensing medical marijuana growing facilities and dispensaries, and the drug should be on the market by the end of next year. Some leaders oppose the change but while welcome the potential job growth. (Post)
Do your job, ANCs
DC Councilmember Brianne Nadeau says ANC commissioners who frequently skip meetings need to go. Her new bill would force those who miss 3 meetings in a row to resign for failing to represent their community. (Borderstan)
Hit and run
Police just arrested a driver who, in August, hit a woman on foot on Southern Avenue then fled the scene. A similar crime happened on the same block in April, and the driver from that one will be sentenced this month. (City Paper)