Photo by RichardBowen on Flickr.

Pay to play?

Companies and developers who got city subsidies donated $2.5 million to campaigns. Contributions from those organizations suddenly spiked right in the year before the subsidy came up for vote. Coincidence? (WAMU)  

DC wins more residents among workers

Among people who started working in the District from 2000-2011, 31.7% also chose to live in DC, up from 29% in 2000. Also, DC residents who work are slightly more likely to work inside the District. (City Paper)  

Where homes sell slowest

Homes for sale are spending the most time on the market in ZIP codes at the very edge of the region, like Cumberland, MD (234 days on average). Inside DC, it’s Deanwood (56 days) and Brookland (38). (UrbanTurf)  

Why engineers pooh-poohed cycle tracks

AASHTO, the association of state DOTs and their officials, ignored the latest data in reports over 25 years frowning on protected bike lanes (or “cycle tracks”) on streets, a study argues. The fact that 90% of those authors were men could also contribute. (Streetsblog)  

Bike thief contronted, laughs

A resident found her stolen bike on Craigslist and tried to confront the bike thief, but he just laughed and pedaled away; he said he’s a Howard student and “career thief.” The police still didn’t take any action. (City Paper)  

It’s not “Breakfast at Citibank”

The developer of a building at Connecticut and K tried for years to woo Tiffany’s, which has no location inside DC, but got a bank instead. When will high-end retailers notice the lucrative law firm market? (Post)  

What’s next for MARC

Hurrah for some weekend MARC service. How about also merging MARC and VRE so trains run through from Maryland to Virginia, and restoring service between DC and Baltimore to run later than 9:15? (RPUS)  

And..

How does BART’s strategic planning resemble Metro’s? (PlanItMetro) … Ken Cuccinelli says FOIA doesn’t apply to his office. (Post) … The biker killed on U Street Thursday is Andre Brands, 50. (Examiner)