Today will be mostly sunny blustery and cold with highs around 30. This photo of Lafayette Park was taken by Thomas Michael Corcoran.
D.C. Government: Rolling in Dough: D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi announced yesterday that the D.C. government had a surplus of $318 million in 2004 and has amassed $1.2 billion in savings. After withholding most to accommodate for expected increases in healthcare for city employees and other expenses, Gandhi is leaving just $42 million for city officials to play with, drawing some ire from the D.C. Council.
Site Recommended for Vietnam Memorial Visitors Center: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund formally announced yesterday their plans to build a visitor center just west of the existing Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It seems the project will go forward: a 2003 moratorium on new construction on the National Mall specifically excludes the project. This doesn’t mean the proposal can avoid a Byzantine approval process:
The memorial fund’s recommendation will be reviewed by the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. The National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund have scheduled a public hearing Feb. 22 at the American Institute of Architects on New York Avenue NW.
At least one group isn’t happy about the proposal, the Post quoting the president of The National Coalition to Save Our Mall, and organization that opposes future development on the National Mall.
Flexcar and Zipcar Seek to Expand: The popular car rental services Flexcar and Zipcar are asking the city for 140 reserved public curbside parking spaces in D.C. for their fleet, a proposal drawing some criticism from neighborhood groups who say they’re already short parking.
Johns Hopkins Boosts Security: After a Johns Hopkins student from Silver Spring was found dead, Johns Hopkins University is accelerating plans to install security cameras on campus. This comes as a Baltimore blogger calls into question the Post’s coverage of the death:
“In the initial investigative press releases on monday, baltimore police were very careful to point out that there was no sign of forced entry. It was also reported that there was a gas leak in the apartment. But, the Baltimore police are admittedly still investigating this as a homicide. … Not only did the article leave out these very important facts, it seemed to go out of its way to leave them out, and yet point out the hopkins intruder murder that did in fact occur nine months ago.”
Got a Secret? The idea behind Frank Warren Artomatic exhibit was simple: distribute 3,000 post cards asking the public to share a secret with him anonymously by reply mail, and sit back and wait for the replies. Some of the post cards are now on display at the Anne C. Fisher gallery, but if you can’t make it to the Georgetown show don’t worry, Warren has created a “Postsecret” blog where you can see some of the most interesting replies.
Briefly Noted: Kottke wants to know – what’s your Starbucks density? … Survivor of helicopter crash tells her story … Homeland Security employee found dead … Williams rejects new protest rules but won’t veto them either …
