Metro is working to get trains back online after a defect forced the agency to pull 60% of its rail fleet, but delays are expected to continue through at least November 15, leaving the system with at least a month of anemic service levels. (DCist, Justin George / Post)
Amazon has submitted a redesign of its HQ2 campus to the city of Arlington to address concerns from residents that it would create a “boxy and unimpressive skyline” (the soft serve cone and/or poop emoji, Washingtonian’s Jane Recker notes, is apparently fine). (Jane Recker / Washingtonian)
DC has completed construction on Black Lives Matter Plaza, turning the original temporary mural on the road leading to the White House into a permanent installation. The street was previously blocked off to traffic; now two lanes of traffic surround a pedestrian walkway. (Debbie Truong / DCist)
Montgomery County’s planning board will allow the public to attend meetings in person starting November 4 with proof of vaccination. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Beat)
Redevelopment plans for the McMillan sand filtration site in DC can move forward, DC’s highest court ruled. Opponents have been trying to block the development for years, most recently by chaining themselves to bulldozers. (Paul Schwartzman / Post)
DC instituted a rent freeze during the pandemic and it’s in place through the end of the year — but rents have still gone up. Part of that is a pullback in concessions like free bonus months, but part is because the freeze didn’t specify whether it applied to vacant units. (Jon Banister / Bisnow)
Downtown DC’s last outdoor payphone is an aging box outside the Cheesecake Factory on H Street NW that no longer rings. Now it’s going to be removed. A few others still stand on Mount Pleasant Street and in Adams Morgan. (Rob Brunner / Washingtonian)
