Breakfast links: Women-only ride-hailing is coming to DC
Image by SupportPDX licensed under Creative Commons.
DC will soon get a ride-hailing service for women
Starting in the fall, women in DC will be able to use Safr, a Boston-based ride-hailing company. Safr will offer features such as gender selection of rider/passenger, an SOS button to send alerts, and a color matching trip verification system. (Arielle Buchmann / WUSA9)
Frustrations grow with litter and illegal dumping in Prince George’s
As residents grow tired of trash in Prince George’s County, officials are implementing new strategies to combat the county’s litter and illegal dumping problem. Officials plan to create an interagency task force, use solar-powered trash and recycling bins, and create an Environmental Crimes Unit. ( Rachel Chason / Washington Post)
DC’s AG is investigating “hoteling” in apartment buildings
It's become increasingly common for new apartments to offer short term, hotel-style rentals to residents and tourists. Now DC's Attorney General Karl Racine is investigating 19 such local apartment buildings to see if they are violating rent control or consumer protection statutes. (Ally Schweitzer / WAMU)
Is Metro’s ridership decline really due to Uber and Lyft?
Even in the presence of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, transit systems similar to DC's Metro have not experienced comparable ridership loss. A recent analysis concluded that Metro’s ridership struggles may be due to decisions made by WMATA officials. (Eric Boehm / Reason)
More transit-oriented development is coming to Prince George’s
As GGWash has been covering extensively, Prince George’s County zoning rewrite will standardize mixed-use development around transit hubs and create five new zones called Transit-Oriented Activity Zones. County officials anticipate the zoning rewrite will encourage development around the Purple Line. (Jon Banister / Bisnow)
Tensions rise over neighborhood basketball hoops
Some residents in Howard County are finding themselves in violation of homeowner association demands to remove “portable play equipment” like basketball hoops. (Jacob Bogage / Washington Post)
A DC school was renamed after its first black principal
Students of the former Orr Elementary were welcomed back to school in a new building with a new name. Originally named after DC’s fourth mayor and slaver, the school changed its name to Lawrence Boone Elementary School to commemorate its first black principal. (Martin Austermuhle / WAMU)
A medical marijuana dispensary is opening in downtown Bethesda
Health for Life Bethesda will open August 25 and offer a variety of cannabis products. The Arizona-based company also has plans to open dispensaries in Dundalk and White Marsh. (Bethany Rodgers / Bethesda Magazine)
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