How, oh how, do we reduce congestion? That is the one question that public officials, policy-makers, and commuters throughout the D.C. have been wrestling with for as long as we can remember. The answers proposed have reflected the diversity of the people asking the question: wider roads, more transit, denser housing, bike lanes, pedestrian-friendly streets, all of the above… You name it, and it’s been put on the table at one point or another….

Many schools are still closed and roads and sidewalks still dangerously icy this morning as the region struggles to dig out of the winter storm that passed through earlier this week. Most of the really bad news continues to come out of the suburbs, where many homes are still without power, and injuries and at least one death have been reported. The Post has a good rundown of the extent of the metro area’s ice…

Good morning Washington. With all the Supreme Court news this morning (no, Rehnquist hasn’t announced his retirement yet, but here’s Linda Greenhouse’s piece in the NYT about the Ten Commandments ruling and Carol D. Leonnig’s piece in the Post about what the next step is for Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper since the high court refused to intervene in their cases) we thought it fitting to feature Olivia Leigh’s photo of the Supreme Court she…

Photo of parking meters, part of a series by epmd, posted in DCist photos. More WMATA … Davis Calls for Inquiry: Oh boy, Congress is getting involved in the WMATA situation. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the chairman of the powerful House Government Reform Committee has called on the Government Accountability Office — which is Congress’ investigative arm — to conduct an inquiry into how the region’s transit system has spent its money and managed…

We once had a housemate who had a winter internship at the Smithsonian and worked in the Arts and Industries Building, that “2 1/2-acre fairy tale castle in polychrome brick” (according to an AIA guide) at Seventh Street SW and Independence Avenue. But during that winter, there was some concern that the 125 year-old roof couldn’t support the weight of the snow. The building was closed to visitors, but was still somehow safe for workers,…

With new security closure announcements coming everyday it seems like, DCist found it odd that among federal installations slated for perimeter upgrades is the National Arboretum. Not only would terrorists have trouble finding the Arboretum way out on Bladensburg Road in Northeast, they may run into trouble with some of the local residents. (But then again, maybe the Arboretum is a viable target on a symbolic level. It is, afterall, on the colonial road…