Breakfast links: Objection!
The Green Mile
Maryland is planning a new sidewalk along Wisconsin Avenue, from Friendship Heights to Bethesda. Some Chevy Chase residents have objected to the project, which also includes three new crossings, because it would take some trees. (BethesdaNow)
Access issues
The first of six public meetings on the proposed Metro fare hike featured a strong showing from MetroAccess users, who asserted that the increased costs would fall too heavily on disabled riders who rely on the system to get around. (WTOP)
Northern Virginia drives statewide growth
More than half of population growth in Virginia since 2010 has taken place in four northern counties (plus Alexandria). Will this reality be reflected in state politics? (WAMU)
Plan Orange for Walmart site
The proposed Walmart-anchored development on New York Avenue NE appears to be dead, and Vincent Orange says that’s a good thing. He’s introduced a bill to study buying the site for an “entertainment-type center.” (WBJ)
Local news coverage takes a hit
Hundreds of Patch editors were laid off as part of a corporate restructuring. The layoff includes the editors of the Arlington, Del Ray, and Georgetown sites. (WBJ)
Get your hands off your money
The budget autonomy referendum passed by DC voters last April “has no legal effect,” according to an opinion from the GAO. (CBS)
Death of a mall
White Flint Mall was the hot spot to shop when it opened in 1977, but a redevelopment of the property into a town center is coming soon. In the meantime, the Post offers a photo tour of the still-open but mostly empty shopping mecca.
Police blame bikes
Baltimore police initially partially blamed a bicyclist for a collision that was clearly not his fault. However, advocacy springing from a blog post caused police to change the report. (Bikemore)
Can you get to DHS HQ?
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is a “huge, huge fan of public transportation.” Will he make sure his facilities have good transit access? (Fierce Homeland Security)
And…
Dan Snyder says it makes “all the sense in the world” for Washington to host the Super Bowl. (CBS) … A huge sinkhole closed a stretch of Massachusetts Ave. by Fort Dupont. (Post) … The Purple Line’s Riverdale Park stop will be elevated. (Hyattsville Wire)