How Do You Say ‘Whoosh’ in Japanese?
Are you ready for a 15-minute commute from Baltimore to D.C.? A proposal to install the SCmaglev, a superconducting magnetic levitation train developed by the Central Japan Railway Company, could be getting ready to leave the station. WTOP is reporting that the train, which floats four inches above the ground and can reach 311 mph in minutes, could begin construction as early as 2019 if preliminary assessments go well. Most of the route would be underground or elevated.
Body Found at Tidal Basin
Amidst the beauty of the cherry blossoms, a D.C. policeman found a body floating face-down in debris at the Tidal Basin. WTOP reported that the body was found around 10 a.m. on a Saturday earlier this month. An autopsy is pending on the man, identified as 21-year-old Tafari Jamal Popo.
Trump Settles with Andrés, Zakarian
Chefs José Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian.
The Trump Organization has finally made peace with restaurateur José Andrés. Andrés was set to open a restaurant at the Trump International Hotel in D.C., but pulled out of the deal after then-candidate Donald Trump’s comments on Mexicans. The company then sued Think Food Group, Andrés’s company, for $10 million, Fortune reported. The Trump Organization has also settled with the Food Network’s Geoffrey Zakarian, who, like Andrés, backed out of his Trump hotel deal to open a restaurant after Trump’s comments on immigrants. The details of both settlements are confidential, according to Fox News.
Coming This Fall: All-Women Coworking
Lounge room at The Wing in New York.
The Wing, a New York-based womens-only coworking space, will open a D.C.-area branch in October. Dubbed “a work and community space for women” and a “throne away from home,” the space will include an all-female library, a café with food, wine and cocktails all made by women, showers and a lactation room. Famous ladies who are part of this exclusive club include actress Lena Dunham, former J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons and the Daily Beast’s Tina Brown. Membership doesn’t come cheap — the New York City locations charge $2,250 annually.
Ceiling Near for D.C. Rental Rates
Ore 82 apartments. Courtesy Apartments.com.
While D.C.-area apartment rents are still incredibly high, new construction has enabled supply to catch up with demand somewhat. D.C. is paying about $41 more per month on average this year than in 2016, but overall rental rates are relatively flat. In contrast, rent on the West Coast has risen five to 10 percent, WTOP reported. In the Capitol Hill neighborhood, home to most of the new apartments and condos in the city (15,000 of the 35,000), the available spaces are keeping the market in the middle zone, with rents from $2,500 to $5,000.
New Airport Rules May Not Take Off
Congress wants to change the rules at Reagan National Airport to make it easier for members to get home, but local lawmakers are warning against it. Roll Call reported that a group of 15 members of Congress, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia), don’t want to see any lessening of restrictions on long-haul flights from Reagan, which help make airports like Dulles more competitive. Since 2000,
domestic commercial passenger traffic at Reagan has grown a whopping 50 percent while Dulles traffic has shrunk nine percent.
