Photo by Industriarts on Flickr.

Chaffetz wants to rule your life

If Republicans take over Congress, Jason Chaffetz from Utah will run the DC oversight committee in the House. He wants to ensure DC never gets a vote in Congress (but would retrocede it to Maryland) and loves to micromanage city affairs. (City Paper)  

Rosslyn’s tallest building, you mean

A New York-based developer is about to begin constructing “D.C.‘s tallest building” to reach 30 stories.  How can such a building violate DC’s Height Act?  It turns out that “D.C.‘s tallest building” will be in Rosslyn.  (Post, Eric Fidler) … Is this like National Harbor advertising conferences in DC, only to disappoint attendees when they learn they can’t hop over to the museums between sessions?  (Tip: Eric Fidler)  

A greener, more walkable 14th Street

DDOT presented conceptual designs for 14th Street last night, including wide sidewalks, lots of trees, bulb-outs, and three “focus areas” with different thematic designs. We’ll have more on this soon as well. (TBD)  

Bye bye bottles (on campuses)

Several universities and colleges, including American University, are considering banning or limiting the sale of bottled water. The move puts colleges at odds with the food industry as well as questions the quality of our general drinking water.  (Chronicle of Higher Education, Lynda)  (Tip: Lynda)  

Before there were bike lanes

There were streetcars.  This photo of Pennsylvania Avenue shows America’s Main Street as it was in the early twentieth century. (Shorpy, Eric Fidler)  (Tip: Eric Fidler)  

1 year and counting on transpo bill

As of today, Transportation For America’s online clock shows that it’s been a full year since the federal transportation bill expired, with still no movement in sight on a new bill. (Transportation For America, Stephen Miller)  

Avoid biased language

If you haven’t seen Palm Beach, Florida’s 1996 neutral language policy, it’s worth a read. (Human Transit, BeyondDC)  (Tip: BeyondDC)