Downtowner DC Jan. 10, 2018
By • January 10, 2018 0 418
Cold Is Cracking Water Mains
Frigid temperatures in the D.C. area — along with a “bomb cyclone” — have set off a wave of water main breaks. Several were reported in the past two weeks, including two in Alexandria, Virginia, and one that shut down two lanes of traffic in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Police Vehicle Kills Pedestrian
Maryland State Police are trying to identify an 18-to-20-year-old African American man hit and killed by a Metro Transit Police patrol vehicle in Brandywine, the Washington Post reported. The incident happened at 12:54 p.m. on New Year’s Day at the intersection of northbound Route 301 and Chadds Ford Drive. The victim had attempted to cross where there was no crosswalk. The driver was a K-9 officer headed into work with his dog.
MPD: No 911 for Dockless Bikes
The Metropolitan Police Department told residents to “refrain from dialing 911 to report suspicious activity for merely utilizing bikeshare services.” According to WTOP, a Georgetown listserv told neighbors to report the shared bikes — the colorful dockless ones in particular — to the police. Dockless bike-share companies operating in D.C. include Jump, LimeBike, Mobike, Ofo and Spin.
White: Investigate Graduation Scandal
Council member Robert White has called for an independent investigation into the revelation that half of the Ballou Senior High School class of 2017 received diplomas but did not meet the basic requirements to graduate. In a statement, White said: “It is fully insufficient that the investigation into this matter is looking only at the school that made the news and not our public school system as a whole.”
New Affordable Housing Regulations
D.C. has rolled out 11 pages of regulations to save affordable homes. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in her State of the District Address in March 2017 that her administration would put into effect a decade-old law designed to preserve low-income housing. Though the rules are now on paper, the funding must still be identified, Washington City Paper reported.
Sen. Hatch Won’t Run Again
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will retire rather than seek reelection, WUSA-9 reported. Hatch, who is 83 years old, is the longest serving Republican in the Senate, where he chairs the Senate Finance Committee. His retirement gives former presidential candidate Mitt Romney a chance to take his seat.
Children’s Museum to Reopen in Reagan Building
The National Children’s Museum will reopen in March 2019 in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the museum’s third home since it opened in 1974. The museum will occupy a 33,000-square-foot space that held a former steakhouse. The mix of visitors is expected to be 70 percent from the D.C. area and 30 percent from out of town.
