Image from DC Fire and EMS via NBC.

Imhoff/Brizill house burns down

A fire destroyed the 1870 Columbia Heights house of longtime DC activists Gary Imhoff and Dorothy Brizill. DC had taken enforcement action in 2002 and 2007 because the house was in run-down condition, though the fire does not appear related. (Post, DCist, City Paper)  

Cabbies behaving badly

Passengers getting late-night cabs at Union Station complain that drivers choose destinations and share passengers despite laws and injunctions against the practice. In response, DC may improve enforcement, eventually. (Post)  

Whose gax tax is it?

Gas taxes in Northern Virginia are not going to the jurisdictions they ought because the companies paying the tax don’t know where the gas was sold. Governments have until January to find the lost money. (Examiner)  

Preserve ze space

Z Burger wants to enclose a portion of Columbia Heights’ plaza for seating, and the neighbors don’t like it one bit.  The plaza, they argue, is public space and should remain open to everyone. (City Paper)  

Flip the switch, save a bird

Many office buildings leave their lights on all night. That not only wastes energy, it kills birds. A new campaign is trying to get offices to change their practices. (Huffington Post)  

Why biking to school got rare

Far fewer kids bike to school now than they did 30 years ago, thanks to planning that relegates biking to recreation and a legal environment that holds schools accountable if kids get injured traveling to and from school. (NPR)  

And…

Many Washingtonians know very little about bicycle laws. (TBD) … Will $700,000 be enough to attract a restaurant to a Ward 7 shopping center? (City Paper) … Dallas residents don’t want a new freeway through downtown. (Streetsblog)