Breakfast links: Dispatches from Fairfax

Fairfax of the future

At a Coalition for Smarter Growth panel, leaders discussed the future of Fairfax county and its transformation into a more compact, urban community centered around a reformed Tysons Corner. New development should offer “new lifestyle choices” while maintaining character of older communities. (Vienna Patch)

Fairfax County parent forms bike train to school

Fairfax County schools have participated little in the Safe Routes to Schools program, but a parent at one elementary has organized a popular bike train at his children’s elementary school. (Vienna Patch)

Fairfax parks win gold

Fairfax County’s park system won the gold medal for 2010 from the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration for cities over 250,000. Fairfax beat Miami-Dade FL, Mecklenburg, NC and New York City. (Annandale Patch)

Blacks still struggle with employment in DC

Unemployment among DC’s black residents remains higher than white residents and those with college degrees. Marion Barry laments that the majority of DC’s new-hires are not city residents.  Education and training needs to be a priority of the District, as many residents lack the skills employers are seeking. (AFRO, Eric Fidler)  (Tip: Eric Fidler)

Learning from Fear/Sanity

Agencies should ought to learn lessons from the egregious underestimation of crowds at the Stewart/Colbert rally. In a digital world, event planners have far too many tools at their disposal to gather reasonable estimates to be caught so woefully unprepared. (All Opinions Are Local)

Should we consult original architects on redesigns?

After I.M. Pei scuttled plans at NYU to add a new tower to set of existing ones he designed, City Paper wonders whether the aging architect should be consulted about a redesign of L’Enfant Plaza, which contains numerous Pei buildings. (Eric Fidler)  (Tip: Eric Fidler)

Motorists usually at fault in bike crashes

An Australian study found that in 9 out of 10 incidents involving a car and a bike, the driver was at fault.  They also found that more than 88% of the time, cyclists were riding safely and legally. (Courier Mail)

Eliminate mortgage interest deduction

Eliminating the mortgage interest federal tax deduction is a good idea, but it won’t necessarily reduce home ownership rates. Though if it did, that wouldn’t be a bad thing either. (Motley Fool)

Cleveland can’t enforce city regs against big banks

A federal court ruling has rendered Cleveland incapable of enforcing its own code ordinances against major banks which own a number of blighted properties in the city. (Next American City)