Weekend links: Closed to the public

Anything ANC 5A says is meaningless

ANC 5A has been regularly violating rules for open meetings by taking many votes in secret meetings. DC agencies may start disregarding the ANC’s positions. (Brookland Heartbeat)

Taxi Commission not talking

DC will not pursue charges against the journalists arrested at the Taxi Commission. Mark Segraves tried to go ask them about the incident, and instead of talking to him, they locked the door and turned out the lights. (WTOP)

Park Police also harassing pedicabs

A pedicab operator says the Park Police assaulted her and refused her request to be searched by a female officer. They charged her with “assaulting a police officer” instead. (Transportation Nation)

WMATA needs more officers?

DC and WMATA police chiefs testified that WMATA needs more cops to combat ordinary crimes; too bad the feds give grants to combat highly unlikely terrorism threats instead. Sarles also said the system needs its $150 million annual money for repairs. (Post)

New York gets marriage equality

More than a year and a half after DC did it, the New York state legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The law takes effect in 30 days. (NYT)

NY creating transit “lockbox”

The state legislature moved to secure NYC’s subway and commuter rail trust fund from being raided by the state.  The state has diverted $260 million from MTA to other purposes over the past 2 years alone. (Streetsblog)

Culture trumps economics

Polling shows that the unique social, cultural, and artistic features are the most powerful forces that make residents attached to their neighborhoods.  In fact these are more powerful than economic factors. (MetroTrends)

Don’t believe everything you read

A Toronto street study claimed there was no room for bike lanes and wider sidewalks on a road, and that only 2% of the traffic was bikes. A resident proved both wrong, the first with a tape measure, the second with a team of volunteer traffic counters. (Mez Dispenser, azhers)  (Tip: azhers)

And…

Bolivia’s leftist president wants to legalize stolen cars because, “We all have a right to have a car.” (MercoPress, Garrett B.) … A NYC-based group is trying to design a pool that would float in the river and automatically purify river water to fill the pool. (Kickstarter) … China is cloning an Austrian village. (Providence Journal)