Breakfast links: An Inauguration Day like no other
Image by angela n. licensed under Creative Commons.
Downtown DC is deserted for Inauguration Day
An inauguration usually brings lots of visitors and about $3 million in sales tax revenue to DC businesses and hotels. This year shops and restaurants are closed and boarded up due to a massive security perimeter and bans on indoor dining. (DCist)
Metro is adding new air filtration to trains
WMATA and Montgomery County’s RideOn were among the transit systems that got grants from the Federal Transit Administration to pilot pandemic-related programs. Metro will install air filtration systems in train cars, and RideOn will share real-time bus crowding information. (Justin George / Post)
A look at a Maglev future for the region
An environmental impact statement on the proposed Maglev train between DC and Baltimore estimates that the route would carry 18 million people and run every 8 minutes during peak hours if it is able to open in 2030. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)
A new Crystal City VRE station may also serve Amtrak
A new Virginia Railway Express station is planned on Crystal Drive, about a quarter mile from the smaller existing one. The station is designed to host other trains, and Amtrak is considering expanding regional service to Crystal City. (Matt Blitz / ARL Now)
A Silver Spring writer is suing the Purple Line
Post reporter and author Scott Higham is suing the Purple Line construction consortium, saying that they punctured a sewer line and flooded his basement, destroying book materials and research. (Jonathan Capriel / Business Journal)
Could the National Guard spread the coronavirus?
With over 21,000 national guard troops in DC, residents are concerned that some may have asymptomatic COVID-19. But it may be hard to link a future rise in cases to the inauguration, given that case numbers are rising across the nation and region. (Margaret Barthel / DCist)
The Washington region is waiting for vaccines
DC, Maryland and Virginia are all struggling with vaccine rollout as demand exceeds the available doses and people struggle to book appointments. In Maryland, people have been able to book appointments in neighboring counties and some Virginia counties say they got only a fraction of the doses they need from the state. (Post)
DC will overhaul the Rock Creek bike path
DC is set to break ground soon on a renovation of the bike path that runs along Rock Creek. Improvements will include widening the path and improving sight lines, paving an unofficial dirt path east of the park, and constructing a pedestrian bridge south of the zoo. (Jacob Fenston / DCist)
Pizzagate comes full circle
A small group of homophobic conspiracy theorists protested outside Comet Ping Pong in DC last night while loud music from the restaurant overwhelmed their chants. The pizza place became the target of a conspiracy theory just before Trump took office. (Washingtonian)
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