Photo by mgstyer on Flickr.

Local vs. national on the Mall

Two bills in Congress seek to redidcate the DC War Memorial as a national WWI memorial. The Mall lacks an official memorial to that war, but many feel DC should keep a tribute to local veterans. (TBD)  

Are chain link fences historic?

An Alexandria resident removed her chain link fence only to learn that the city deemed it historic. Staff say the fences define “mid-century vernacular housing and their cultural landscape.” (Post)  

10-20 fewer people will get to live on 14th Street

Responding to Wallach residents’ and HPRB’s objections, architects have shaved 10 units off their planned 14th Street building. Is this really any more historic or architecturally beautiful? (U Street Dirt)  

Questionable campaign finance practices

Tommy Wells want to reform DC’s campaign finance laws, but some councilmembers are taking mutiple donations from developers. Jack Evans received donations from 12 companies with the same address. (WAMU)  

Another departure at elections board

BOEE chairman Togo West is resigning his post. The city must now fill at least two spots on the board, after Rokey Suleman left last month. DC’s next election is 8 months away. (DCist)  

Feds won’t pay for parking yet

GSA is delaying a plan to charge federal workers to park because negotiations with the federal workers’ union have stalled. There is no clear timeline for GSA to finalize the program. (Federal Times)  

All Hands in jeopardy

A labor board ruled that MPD’s “All Hands on Deck” initiative violates police contracts. The city may have to pay millions in overtime wages, but Chief Lanier plans to continue the program, saying she has corrected the problem. (Post)  

Gray defends bond tax veto

Mayor Gray defended his veto of the municipal bond tax in a letter to the DC council. Gray says the city must rebuild its cash reserves and challenged claims that he ambushed councilmembers. (Post)  

And…

Maryland’s driver’s manual now includes rules about sharing the road with cyclists. (FABB Blog) … VRE employees use DC hotels for breaks during the day. (Examiner) … DC ranked the 7th most walkable city in the US. (NBC Washington) … A parking enforcement vehicle parked illegally. (City Paper) … Who lives in LeDroit Park? (Left for LeDroit)