President Bush in his most recent State of the Union address said that he wanted to support the development of an “ownership society” where every American stands to benefit from the pride of owning something, whether it be a strong investment portfolio or a ranch with lots of brush to clear. In New York, D.C., and elsewhere, this ownership society includes the giant real estate conglomerates that hold a great deal of power in how…

Sounds Lovely: While WMATA’s metrorail system is clearly more modern than the New York subway, it is still vulnerable to a complete control system meltdown as has been seen in New York this week. If control systems were paralyzed, like they have been on parts of the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan (due to a homeless person starting a fire to stay warm adjacent to a systems relay room), metrorail would have to revert to…

We thought we’d never say this. We’d actually like to deal with a train collision on the Red Line more than endure the transit crisis our colleagues in New York are dealing with. Because of a homeless man who apparently caused a fire that took out 600 electrical relays that control the busy Eighth Avenue Line, train service is being delayed, reduced and eliminated. The repairs could take as long as five years and subway…