On September 19, 2019, the House of Representatives held a historic hearing on a bill to admit DC (except for a core of federal buildings and lands) as the 51st state appropriately numbered HR 51. One of the weirdest arguments against statehood was from Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie (R), who said it would be too hard to park in DC if it became a state.
DC’s Slow Streets program will end in its current form in May. The program was celebrated as a way to take streets back from cars, signs were often ignored or run over. DC leaders support continuing streeteries and keeping Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park closed to cars. (Jordan Pascale / DCist, Megan Cloherty / WTOP)
Lexington Market in Baltimore is undergoing renovations, and columnist Dan Rodricks writes that the public market could be just what the city needs after the pandemic: a “third place” to gather and “feel connected to the beat of life.” (Dan Rodricks / Baltimore Sun)
The city of Alexandria is holding virtual community workshops to present affordability recommendations for the Arlandria neighborhood. Officials are trying to preserve a mix of housing prices before Amazon’s HQ2 arrives. (Vernon Miles / ALXnow)
A group of housing experts tapped by the city is getting ready to propose recommendations for DC’s rent crisis. Currently all evictions are banned until mid-summer, but the group may recommend an exception for health and safety violations, a gradual rather than abrupt end to the ban, and providing some rental assistance. (Editor’s note: GGWash Policy Manager Alex Baca is on the strike force.)(Amanda Michelle Gomez / City Paper. Tip: Chester B.)
Maryland announced six new mass vaccination sites opening in April, including one in Germantown, and Virginia’s governor said that as of April 1 more peope will be allowed at entertainment venues, social events, and high school graduations. (Post)
A report from the DC Auditor found that the Metropolitan Police Department did not adequately investigate four incidents in which police officers killed someone in 2018 and 2019. (Colleen Grablick / DCist)
A new report found that even though people drove less in the first six months of 2020, more pedestrians were killed during that time period; DC came in second in pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people, behind only New Mexico. (Abigail Constantino / WTOP)
