Breakfast links: The region increases the number of ballot drop boxes ahead of the November election
A ballot drop box by eagle.dawg licensed under Creative Commons.
The Washington region turns to voting drop boxes
After widespread warnings from the Postal Service about deadlines for mail in ballots, both Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have requested over 35 secure drop boxes for voters to deposit their ballots on election day. DC is planning on having 50 drop boxes around the city. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has a proposal to let local jurisdiction use them as well. (Rebecca Tan / Post)
DC quietly killed its voter registration app
The DC Board of Electins stopped using the Vote4DC app and online portal because ther service had significant technical bugs, but its not likely to have a replacement ready before the election in November, so DC voters cannot register online during the pandemic. (Martin Austermuhle / DCist)
MoCo cancels COVID-19 testing contract
Montgomery County ended its contract with COVID-19 testing lab AdvaGenix after the state of Maryland raised concerns over the company’s lab practices. About 18,000 county residents had been given an AdvaGenix test. (Briana Adhikusuma / Bethesda Beat)
What are the pros and cons of DC’s Slow Streets?
DC added signs to restrict car traffic and lower the speed limit to 15 mph on about five miles of roads and plans to do so on 17 more, but some argue that the speed limit is still too high. The slow street segments are also isolated, and there are none planned for Ward 8 after opposition from Councilmember Trayon White. (Josh Kramer / City Paper)
The VA legislature convenes for a pandemic session
The legislature will likely vote on a suite of policing and criminal justice reforms proposed by Democratic lawmakers, and will address the states $237 million dollar budget shortfall due to the pandemic. (Daniella Cheslow / DCist)
Evictions haven’t spiked yet in the US
Eviction filings are the same or lower than they were last year in most American cities, whether they passed renter protections or not, despite concerns over a fast arriving wave of evictions as federal and state moratoriums expire. Many renters are still at risk of losing their homes as the pandemic continues in the fall. (Kriston Capps / CityLab)
MoCo flagged changes in I-270 highway plans
Some planners from Montgomery County are calling for the state to extend the 90 day timeline for comment and testimony on the highway expansion after Maryland state officials reuploaded the lengthy envionmental impact statement to add 1500 pages of appendices, but didn’t notify the public of the changes. (Bruce DePuyt / Maryland Matters)
VA may commute less for years to come
A study by engineering company AECOM predicts that by 2025 Virginians will spend 31% less time traveling thanks to expanded telework and office relocations spurred by the pandemic. (Jared Foretek / Inside NoVa)
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