By Will Schick (Street Sense Media) • June 22, 2021
It’s been more than a decade since DC lawmakers sought to add the District Opportunity to Purchase Act as a new tool to preserve affordable housing in the city. But the resulting program has languished ever since, prompting the DC Council to approve legislative fixes last week to facilitate a role for the DC government in purchasing rental buildings and protecting tenants who might otherwise be displaced.
Traffic fatality reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found a 23% increase in the number of Black people who were killed in car crashes in 2020, while traffic deaths as a whole only rose 7%. (Ian Duncan / Post. Tip: Chester B.)
A former restaurant worker filed paperwork to put a DC ballot initiative to a vote in 2022 that would raising the tipped minimum wage to match the regular minimum wage. DC voters approved the proposal in 2018, but the DC Council overruled it. (Ally Schweitzer / DCist)
A Maryland Department of Transportation official told regional leaders that unless they approve the I-495/I-270 highway expansion, Maryland risks losing funding for other state transportation projects. (Bruce DePuyt / Maryland Matters)
A Senate committee heard arguments for and against DC statehood on Tuesday, with speakers including Mayor Muriel Bowser and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Statehood remains an uphill battle thanks to the Senate filibuster. (Colleen Grablick / DCist)
Arlington County has plans to resurface Wilson Boulevard between N. Frederick Street and N. George Mason Drive, adding bike and turn lanes and removing one car travel lane in each direction. (Jo DeVoe / ARLnow)
The Prince George’s County State Attorney charged a former Metro employee with stealing $150,000 in bus engine parts from a Metro warehouse in order to resell them. (Kristi King / WTOP)
A new study on preparing transit systems for global warming suggests that taking threats from climate change as well as rider demographics into account will let transit agencies better serve vulnerable populations. (Bloomberg)
Top image: A ghost bike commemorating the death of a cyclist in DC. Image by Mr.TinDC licensed under Creative Commons.
