Brunch links: Enough weather, already

Stranded at O’Hare

I know you all wish there were some rain, but instead it all hit Chicago, which I had the bad judgment to try to connect through from Las Vegas. As a result, I’m stuck overnight in air travel purgatory. (Chicago Weather Center)

It’s ironic to get stranded by our air travel system the day after interviewing Ray LaHood. At the panel, he got the most applause when he talked about new restrictions on airlines stranding passengers and the like. Sadly, USDOT can’t make new rules ordering the weather to stop being so extreme, and the Senate won’t address the larger problem.

Good and bad bike reporting

WTOP’s Kate Swanson

Ryan delves into the dangers of right hooks and speaks to Alice Swanson’s mother … News 8 says DDOT is “getting an earful” over bike sharing just because commenters here had some feedback, and stirs up east vs. west of the river tensions over bike station placement. (TheWashCycle)

Arlington government won’t be changing

Efforts in Arlington to get an initiative on the ballot to change the structure of government appear to have fallen short of the necessary number of signatures. (ARLnow.com, Eric H.)  (Tip: Eric H.)

Absentee landlord?

Cary Silverman documents cases of one landlord’s massive portfolio of vacant, abandoned, and blighted properties.  Who is this neglectful owner?  The DC government. (The Other 35 Percent, Eric Fidler)  (Tip: Eric Fidler)

How about “Georgetown”

Georgetown hired a branding consultant to study how to market Georgetown. Some aren’t sure why Georgetown, of all places, really needs branding help. (Housing Complex)

Short sale cautionary tale

A lot of people are buying short sales in the region. Here’s one particularly miserable horror story in DC, which fortunately worked out in the end. (The Consumerist)