Good morning! The weather has been so perfect and gorgeous lately, we hesitate to say anything else lest we jinx it. (We probably jinxed it.)
Let’s start with great news! AG Karl Racine finally got serious with the decades-long charade at 1000 C Street NE. He has filed a lawsuit against the delinquent owners of the property, where they have done the bare minimum for years in order to avoid vacant property taxes. You can read the full complaint here (and rage).
Speaking of the office of the Attorney General, you may be interested in seeing Monday night’s debate, held at the Hill Center. Two out of the three candidates made it ––Brian Schwalb unfortunately came down with COVID. Both Ryan Jones and Bruce Spiva were compelling and impressive, and DC would benefit from the passion, creativity and expertise of either one of these candidates. Link is here.
If you need more resources as you make your electoral choices, please visit our YouTube channel. We have interviews with challenger to the Chair of the Council Erin Palmer as well as with challengers to the Mayoral race Robert White and James Butler.
And if you’re looking for more guidance, many candidates filled out the Washington Teachers’ Union survey, which you can read here.
WMATA has a new general manager, Randy Clarke, formerly of Austin, where he managed… well, a much smaller system. His salary will be $485k, which is a lot more than the salary in other systems– but still lower than the cool half million Paul Wiedefield was making. (Jordan Pascale/WAMU on Twitter)
But if you use stations east of Stadium-Armory (which should be renamed Loud Festival-Armory), be aware that your station will be closed starting May 28. WJLA
Work starts on Pennsylvania Avenue, from second to 13th Streets SE, this June. After the project is done, there will be protected bike lanes and dedicated rush-hour bus only lanes. More details over at the Hill Rag. You can also click here to read the whole 84-page project proposal. While they are at it, why not make Independence Avenue just one lane eastbound? Please?
The budget is almost complete and big winners are affordable housing, schools (maybe), and, despite a lot of back and forth, slowly phasing out school resource officers from schools. More details over at DCist.
Speaking of legislation, the folks at Shut Down DC have been busy drawing encouraging messages in front of Senator Susan Collins’ house, both last night and this morning.
Suffering from grass allergies? Be glad you don’t live farther north is the main takeaway from Lawn Love’s survey on the metropolitan areas that have it worst when it comes to seasonal grass allergies. The DC metro area comes in at a respectable number 13. Nothing to sneeze at.
As a reminder, this is the American Lung Association’s Turquoise Week, a week to raise awareness of lung health. You can see several buildings and parks lit up in turquoise, starting with Yards Park. For more information and places, click here. If you want to quit smoking or vaping and don’t know where to start, start here.
Eater highlights what you can expect at Fight Club, opening this week.
Parting thought: We’ve shared this Bloomberg article on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices on social media, but it bears sharing again. The article clearly and concisely explains why Vision Zero will not be a reality until this manual is reformed to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over drivers.