By Libby Solomon (Writer and Editor) • December 22, 2020
For more than a year, DC Housing Enterprises, a subsidiary of the District’s Housing Authority, had $6 million in federal tax credits set aside to help redevelop the Strand Theater, a historic, now-abandoned movie theater that was once a focal point for Deanwood’s Black community. Officials want to turn the space into a restaurant with an arts and entertainment program. So how did these tax credits end up on a path to an LA hospital?
Instead of conducting a nationwide search for the new DC police chief, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that career Metropolitan Police Department official Robert Contee III will head the city’s police force. (Mitch Ryals / City Paper)
Secretary of Transportation nominee Pete Buttigieg condemned the practice of building highways through Black communities, saying the Biden administration will fund dismantling those highways and other inequitable policies while investing in transit. (Aaron Short / Streetsblog)
Alexandria and Inova announced that Inova will be relocating their current hospital to the site of the empty Landmark Mall and investing $1 billion dollars into a new medical campus employing more than 2,000 healthcare workers. (Hannah Schuster / DCist)
Washington Gas was ordered to pay $750,000 by the Maryland Public Service Commission for its role in a 2016 gas explosion that killed seven people and injured 70 more in Silver Spring. (Dan Schere / Bethesda Beat)
Last November, DC assigned more police officers to ticket people who block bike lanes, but ticketing is down 30% from last year, likely due to decreased overall ticketing and different traffic patterns during the pandemic. (Jordan Pascale / DCist)
DC and three states have signed on to the Transportation Climate Initiative Program, promising to reduce emissions and institute a cap and trade program. But Maryland and Virginia, like six other states, opted out despite pledging to join last year. (Bruce DePuyt / Maryland Matters)
Councilmember Brandon Todd will lobby for District utility Washington Gas after his term ends. Outgoing member David Grosso previously announced he will join lobbying firm Arent Fox, which lobbies the city. (Hannah Schuster / DCist)
The proposed relief bill doesn’t include any direct funding for states and localities, but it does include funds for Metro, over a billion dollars in rental assistance to DC, Maryland and Virginia, plus money for business relief. It will also give DC and Arlington land for the future Long Bridge rail project. (Meagan Flynn / Post)
