Breakfast links: Decision day for late-night service
The fate of late night
The WMATA Board is voting today on the schedule and duration of late-night service cuts. Board chairman Jack Evans wants late-night service to be restored in one year. (WTOP)
Political theater and the WMATA Board
Virginia Governor McAuliffe called out the WMATA Board for wasting time on political theater after Board member Corbett Price suggested that Metro should halt Silver Line construction. (Post)
Crowdsourcing accessibility
A new app, Project Sidewalk, uses crowdsourcing to map the accessibility of DC’s streets. Users have mapped about 40 percent of the District so far. (Technical.lyDC)
A breath of fresh air
Smoking will be prohibited in public housing nationwide. The new federal rule goes into effect next year. (NYTimes, Corbin S.) (Tip: Corbin S.)
Westbard power struggle
The latest renderings of the Westbard redevelopment plan revealed that it will have above-ground utility lines. Only Montgomery’s central business districts require underground utility lines, and the planning department says they “heard loud and clear” that residents consider the area suburban. (Bethesda Beat)
Phone theft is up
While the overall number of crimes reported on Metrorail and bus is down, pickpocketing (mostly of cellphones) increased 33%, and crimes in parking garages jumped up 47%. (WTOP)
From Fannie Mae to condos
Fannie Mae’s 60-year-old building on Wisconsin Ave NW will be restored and transformed into a shopping center and luxury condos. The company is moving to new headquarters in downtown DC. (UrbanTurf)
Mass transit on mass media
Entertainment’s depiction of mass transit in the past has been less than flattering, but new TV shows are making it a part of characters’ lives. Could this help transit systems get the attention of policy makers? (NPR)
Fossil fuel failings
Pipelines are the supposed to be the safest method of transporting fossil fuels across the US, but there have been over 9,000 serious incidents in 30 years, with 548 deaths and 2,576 injuries. Is this really the best we can do? (CityLab)