dc stuff

[nacho]

The much anticipated renewal of dreaded Rhode Island Ave begins:

Tomorrow marks a big turning point along the stretch of Rhode Island Ave in NE. The District in partnership with Urban Atlantic and A&R Development will finally be breaking ground on Rhode Island Station, a $107 million public-private mixed-use transit-oriented development.

The town center focused project will bring 274 apartments, 70,000 square feet of main street retail, and a new Metro commuter garage. We like how they kept the scale in line with the surrounding neighborhood and avoided the go to mega high rise development (though we know factors other than aesthetics went into the decision). Should be ready for delivery in 2011.

[nacho]

So much for streetcars...

At approximately 2 am last night, Councilmembers received the proposed budget from Chairman Vincent Gray and his staff. Among the 11th-hour (or should it be 14th-hour) changes was a near-complete elimination of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line.

Last night, Council supporters and DDOT officials went to sleep with the understanding that the final budget negotiations had preserved the streetcar.

The line had been approved by the Committee on Public Works and Transportation last week, but the final proposed Budget Support Act removes it and returns funding to some of the Great Streets streetscapes which DDOT said they could backfill with federal funds.

It may be too late to now save the program, but if you want to push for Gray to restore it, call Gray's office immediately at 202-724-8032.

Sarah Campbell, Gray's Deputy Director for Capital Projects, has been pushing for an elmination of the project, according to sources in the Council. Campbell has expressed concerns about the process involved in the planning, which was fairly rapid, but she is also friends with Meg Maguire, leader of the Committee of 100 campaign against overhead wires. There's no way to know for sure how much of her opposition came from professional opinions or personal loyalties.

Many of the concerns over streetcars came from the speed with which this decision was made. Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who opposed the streetcar funding at the committee markup, told Eric Fidler last night that he's not satisifed that DDOT has determined the exact costs of building what they have drawn and what it will take to secure the necessary easements. The station itself is owned by the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, leased to a private company, managed by a different private company, and subject to Congressional oversight. The proposed streetcar terminus would be located under WMATA's Red Line and under tracks owned by CSX and leased to Amtrak.

However, DDOT also prepared a 110-page list of responses to questions from Ms. Campbell last week, of which I'm working to get a copy. I don't know if they specifically answered that question or not, but there are always details worked out with any project up to the end. It's true that the streetcar plan was put together fairly quickly, because DDOT saw an opportunity to get it funded with the capital money designated for WMATA that wasn't able to go to WMATA because of the FTA's timeline.

Complaints about the speed of the project also seem a little ironic given that Chairman Gray cut the streetcar program at 2 am the night before the Council vote.

[nacho]

And...

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said he has worked with the office of the Chief Financial Officer to come up with money that would allow the city to restore funding for streetcars. Gray spokeswoman Doxie McCoy said $10 million would be made available immediately to purchase streetcars in fiscal 2011. Another $37 million would be place in reserve pending an operations and funding proposal from Mayor Adrian Fenty. The council would then have to approve the proposal. The decision to restore funding came just hours after the council decided to pull money from the streetcars to fund other services. But within moments of the decision, the council was inundated with calls. -- Nikita Stewart

[nacho]

Wow.  3.6 earthquake rolled through here at 5:04. 

The most impressive thing is the noise it makes.  It really is Angry Earth God stuff, eh?

[nacho]

Sub-standard WP reporting.  And...and then...and then, like, the shelves were totally shaking...and...and...!

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.6 magnitude earthquake centered in Montgomery County at 5:04 a.m. Friday.

The epicenter was in Gaithersburg near the intersection of Forest Brook and Waring Station roads (39.145°N, 77.222°W), USGS reported in a preliminary finding. Its depth was 3.1 miles.

Authorities in the District and Montgomery and Arlington counties said there were no reports of damage.

“We are getting flooded with calls,” a Montgomery County police spokesperson said.

Amy Vaughan, a spokesperson for USGS, said the quake was the largest recorded within about 30 miles of Washington since a database was created to track such activity in 1974. Previously, the largest earthquake reported during that time period was a 2.6 magnitude tremor in 1990.

"So this is pretty significant for your area," Vaughan said in a telephone interview with WRC-TV (Channel 4).

At the same time, she said, earthquakes are possible anywhere, because of the continual seismic activity under the Earth's crust. "It may be rare and unexpected, but not unheard of," Vaughan said.

Vaughan said USGS was receiving reports from as far away as Pennsylvania from people who had felt the quake. Given the relatively low magnitude of the tremor, she said, it was not likely it caused any significant structural damage.

"It's going to be very widely felt, more than damaging, we suspect," Vaughan said.

Jahi Chikwendiu, a Washington Post photographer, said he heard and felt the tremor at his home in Reston while he was standing in the kitchen. It was strong enough to wake his wife, who was sleeping upstairs, Chikwendiu said.

"I thought it was thunder at first," he said.

Dean Miletich, of Frederick, said he was taking out the trash when the quake hit.

“When I came back into the garage, everything on the shelves were shaking,” he said. “It sounded like a deep rumble. When I came back inside, my wife had woken up and asked me, 'What did you do?'”

[RottingCorpse]

Only 3.6? Oh . . . I guess I shouldn't have eaten part of my wife, huh?

[nacho]

Well, you never know!

[RottingCorpse]

I had no idea there was a quake actually. Though I'm awake at this hour and I'm usually not.

[Sirharles]

It woke us up, and while I thought I felt the whole house shake I wasn't sure.  The biggest noise we heard was the bedroom door rattling.  We honestly thought it was the cats playing around.

[nacho]

The DC weather apocalypse continues.  Sunday's storm (which I missed) is now responsible for 4 deaths, the displacement of a hundred or so folks, and power continues to be out for tens of thousands.  Last night was a bizarre return to the region for me... Trees and branches down.  My neighborhood looked like an army had invaded.

[nacho]

Storm footage?  Anyone else find any more?

[monkey!]

The Pantheon is angry with DC!

[nacho]

Oh-ho!  A storm of equal strength is due today.

You know, I've lost power more times in the last two months than I have in 10 years.

[RottingCorpse]

We drove through some insane storms on our way to Louisville yesterday. I imagine much of that is headed your way.

[nacho]

Good! Kill the weddings.