Today will be partly cloudy, sunnier towards the afternoon, and highs in the 40s.
Approved Stadium Plan Calls for Private Funding: In a marathon meeting yesterday, the D.C. Council surprised observers by passing a compromise introduced by Council Chair Linda W. Cropp which requires city government to find substantially more private funding to construct the stadium. The move infuriated Major Anthony Williams, who the Post reports “stormed out of the chambers” when the amendment was introduced. For the first time since the city’s agreement with Major League Baseball was announced, the future of the stadium seems in question. The above photo taken by John Windmueller who described the meeting in a blog post as a “dreadful decision making process to witness,” concluding “With proposal overload, information draught, and exhaustion by the day’s end, I think this was the political equivalent of shaking the magic 8 ball to find an answer to an issue that should be deliberated more carefully.”
Arson in the Exurbs Not Eco-Terror: After some initial media hype, the Post reports investigators are “focusing more on people who had routine access to the work site” as the potential cause of the destruction of 10 homes by arson in Charles County, Maryland. NBC4 has photos of the fires, and report police are still looking for a blue van.
New Metro Stations, Taxes In the News: The AP has seen the future of Metro, which officials boast “looks different than the 70s.” The Largo Town Center and Morgan Boulevard stations open Saturday, and both are expected to alleviate crowding for Redskins games since they are both about 1 mile from FedEx Field, connected with newly-completed sidewalks. Meanwhile, the results of a blue ribbon panel asked to help solve WMATA’s funding crisis has been leaked – they’ll ask for a new regional sales tax.
Briefly Noted: Wonkette reports the DEA wants you to turn in your dealer with their new hotline, meanwhile a fraud hotline in Maryland has been a success helping government cut costs … a Silver Spring apartment building has been evacuated after fire code violations are discovered …
