Morning Roundup: Stadium Official Edition
Good morning. It's cool and damp outside, and it's expected to get colder and windier later in the day. CapitalWeather.com points out the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory, and expects temperatures in the 40s this afternoon. Today is also the last day of the hurricane season.
Stadium Plan Approved. It's official: after months of protests, public wrangling in the press, and a marathon seven-hour meeting yesterday, the D.C. Council has given preliminary approval to use public dollars to build a baseball stadium in Southeast. The Post notes the bill can be modified when it is up for a final vote "Dec. 14 or 21," but the amended bill passed yesterday 6 to 3 with 3 abstentions.
Capitol Visitor Center Costs Increasing The AP and the W. Times report on a story the Post had yesterday: the General Accounting Office thinks the Capitol Visitor Center now under construction will cost double what was expected at groundbreaking in 2000, and be completed as much as a year later than expected. The image above shows an artist's rendering of the completed visitor center, and a view of excavation from 2003, both from the Architect of the Capitol's website.
Coyotes in Rock Creek: The W.Times reminds us today that coyotes have moved into Rock Creek Park. A spokesperson for the National Park Service tells the newspaper he doesn't think this development will be a problem, but ominously warns "Whenever people think 'Oh, it's a nice cute animal, and let's go feed it,' accidents can happen or worse." (In early November the Post reported coyotes had attacked dogs in the park)
SpongeBob Stolen: A SpongeBob perched atop a Burger King in St. Mary's County was stolen by two bored teens, who were promptly caught when the general manager caught wind of the heist the next day.
Briefly Noted: A development in Fairfax County could put "dozens of high rise towers" around the Vienna metrorail station ... a "flood" of applications before the deadline at U. of Maryland has slowed down their website ... It looks like New York is having rail issues, sort of like what we've been dealing with