Photo by Women_in_Uniform on Flickr.

Goodbye, Chief

DC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier announced her retirement after 26 years on the force and 10 of those years as chief. DC’s first female chief, and one of the country’s longest-tenured, Lanier will now head up security for the NFL. (Post)  

Changes to SafeTrack plans

Metro has modified its SafeTrack plan to account for new safety recommendations and the impact of the recent extreme heat. The new plan, which starts by extending the current Red Line work surge, will include more weekend station shutdowns and longer surges. (DCist)  

No shelter (end) in sight

DC General was supposed to be a temporary homeless shelter. Now, it direly needs replacement, but plans keep facing delays thanks to resistance from people who don’t want shelters near their homes. (NYT, Alex S.)  

Home values are on the up

The DC region’s home prices continue to rise, recovering since the recession in 2007 and 2008. The average house now sells for around $435,000, which is the same as before the recession. (WTOP)  

Thank this man for our parks

Before Frederick Law Olmsted, people ran in graveyards, landscape architecture wasn’t even a profession, and cities didn’t plan for public parks. Learn about the man who transformed our vision of the urban environment. (The Atlantic)  

Shipping the freight fantastic

New emissions standards for the trucking industry in 2021 may remove 1 billion tons of pollution, save $170 billion in costs, and save 84 billion gallons of oil. Consumers may also save some money as shipping gets cheaper. (Post)  

Enraged by E. coli

Conservation groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, saying that the agency violates the Clean Water Act by allowing too much E.coli bacteria into the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. (DCist)  

New leader in Fairfax

The Fairfax City Council elected Steven Stombres as its interim mayor. He’ll lead until a special election in February 2017. Fairfax City’s former mayor resigned last week after being arrested on drug charges. (WTOP)  

No power on L Street

Many buildings near Farragut Square (including GGWash’s office!) are without power after a huge transformer fire underneath L Street on Monday night. The fire also affected 911 service for Sprint customers in Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and Montgomery counties. (WTOP)  

And…

Here’s how to bike through DC’s traffic circles (City Paper)… Take free online courses on architecture, civic ecology, and sustainable development (CityLab)… A new law requires DC schools to have at least one automated external defibrillator on site, and for teachers and students to know how to use it (DCist)