Breakfast links: Raising the charge
DC residents want tax hike
The results of DC’s budget survey have been released. District residents (those who replied, at least) overwhelmingly do want to raise taxes to balance the budget. Will this be part of the Mayor’s proposal, due out Friday?
Bethesda could charge for Saturday parking
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett wants to start charging for parking at municipal lots in downtown Bethesda. Some businesses worry it will drive off business, while others realize it will drive parking turnover, increasing the number of customers. (WAMU)
Taxi surcharge needn’t be so narrow
A regional body says the DC Taxi Commission had no reason to exempt cab trips ending outside DC from the $1 fuel surcharge. (WBJ) … Could this now be just another reason for drivers to discriminate against certain trips? Update: The surcharge has been extended to interstate trips.
Alexandria wants green space from DoD
Since the Department of Defense took over the Mark Center, it replaced most of the open space in the development’s original plan with parking garages and an inspection facility. Now Alexandria wants DOD to compensate the city for that loss of public space. (Examiner)
Howard County to improve Rt 1
Residents and planners in Howard County want to improve bike and pedestrian facilities in the county, particularly within Columbia and eventually on Route 1, which currently has no sidewalks at all. (Elkridge, MD Patch)
Mapping DC’s public art
A new venture, theartaround.us, is crowdsourcing a map of the District’s publicly accessible art installations, from Smithsonian galleries to side-of-building murals. (Housing Complex) … What about temporary art like this? (14th & You)
Rhee defends test scores
Former DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee defended the test scores of students at Noyes Elementary School after a USA Today report questioned the voracity
veracity of the school’s jumps in achievement scores. (WUSA)
Bikesharing hot in hot places
Tel Aviv, Israel and Doha, Qatar have recently added bike sharing programs. (The Bike-sharing Blog) … Miami Beach opened its new DecoBike system, which is priced in a conspicuously different fashion from CaBi. (The Independent)
And…
Vehicles belonging to some members of Congress owe $15,000 in outstanding DC traffic fines (WUSA) … Justice Antonin Scalia got a ticket for rear-ending a car on the GW Parkway (Post) … Amtrak will begin tweeting delays of more than 60 minutes on the Northeast Corridor (Baltimore Sun) … Strict zoning laws prohibit food trucks from operating in Alexandria. (Examiner)