Breakfast links: Retail restriction rumble

Preserve our lack of community gathering spaces!

Some residents of 11th Street in Columbia Heights don’t want a 24-hour gathering place and are fighting a liquor license application approved by the ANC.

Lydia DePillis asks, “Why should the preferences of the people who’ve been in an area for a long time trump those of people who are moving in, or those who might come from elsewhere to enjoy them?” (City Paper)

Not satisfied with Hill restrictions

ANC 6B also approved a liquor license application for the Hill Center to hold special events, but a group of neighbors thinks the restrictions are inadequate. (EMMCA)

DC divided on Gray, public involvement, & more

A poll finds approval ratings for Mayor Gray have dropped 13 points since August, much more among white voters than black. Questions #4 and 5 reveal that black residents are more involved in local affairs than white residents. On many issues, upper-income black residents have more views in common with white residents than their lower-income black counterparts. (Post)

Not so Open

US Open visitors have encountered problems using the limited shuttle bus from Metro. (Examiner) And Montgomery County closed an elementary school two days early to provide parking for the shuttles from parking lots, says a letter writer. (Post)

Officer stubbornly parks blocking trail

A police officer parked right in the middle of a trail in Reston. When riders asked if he could move his car to an adjacent grassy strip out of the way, he refused. (FABB)

Taxi expansion may be reversed

Prince George’s taxi drivers were happy about a bill expanding the number of cabs, but now the County Council may reverse course, citing large numbers of cabs idling at Metro stations as evidence they don’t need more. (Post)

In crime

MPD fatally shot a mentally ill man who lunged at officers with a screwdriver; is the department well-equipped to handle the mentally ill? (City Paper) … Rapes increased 10-20% (depending whose statistics you use) in 2010. (Examiner)

Suburban growth is a Ponzi scheme

A 5-part series (1 2 3 4 5) argues that traditional suburban development amounts to a “Ponzi scheme,” where towns across the nation get short-term benefits from growth but then suffer long-term trouble maintaining the infrastructure that’s required. (Strong Towns)