Breakfast links: Concealed intentions

Bag inspections not really optional

Most people agree that if bag inspections are optional, they can’t possibly be very effective.  WMATA apparently knows that too, but they’re still going to tell you the bag checks are optional. (TBD)

TX Rep wants to carry concealed weapon in DC

A Texas Representative is introducing a bill that would allow Congress members to carry concealed weapons upon entering the District, because parts of the city are dangerous. (WAMU)

Streetcar substation problems on H Street

DDOT is looking for a location to place a temporary power substation for the H Street streetcar line since the permanent substation will be installed in the parking garage of a yet-to-be-developed building. Several options have been proposed and subsequently shot down. (TBD)

Gen Yers don’t want McMansions

The National Association of Home Builders is recognizing the different housing preferences of Millennials compared to their Baby Boomer parents.  Surveys have shown as 88% of Millennials want to live in an urban setting. (Yahoo!, Steven Yates)  (Tip: Steven Yates)

LaHood defends HSR

US Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood responds to last week’s Post editorial criticizing high-speed rail. Would Eisenhower have waited to begin the Interstate system until every penny was available and all detractors on board, he asks. (Post)

See a film about Columbia, Maryland

The Our City Film Fest shows independent films both long and short that are focused on or set in the Washington, DC region. One short documentary this year will explore the history of Columbia, Maryland, the regions first planned communities after the New Deal-era greenbelt towns movement. (Yachad DC)

Driver who killed cyclist gets 8 years

A former UMd football player who struck and killed a cyclist in Germantown last summer has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for manslaughter by motor vehicle. Apparently you have to blow a 0.18 BAC to be held accountable for killing another road user. (TBD On Foot)

What to do with school boards?

Jay Mathews examines the positives and negatives of the dwindling numbers of school boards.  Reduce the responsibilities of school boards so they can concentrate on the quality of education, he says, leaving the drudgery of building maintenance and transportation to other government entities. (Post)

And…

The dismissal of a decades old lawsuit between the US Department of Justice and the Old Dominion Boat Club has cast doubt on Alexandria’s waterfront plan. (WAMU) … WMATA has updated their bicycle page to make their bike policies and programs more clear. (PlanItMetro) … It seems Courtland Milloy is both technologically inept and generally hypocritical. (TBD, 14th & You)