Morning Notes

Clarendon Area Scooter Theft — “3200 block of 10th Street N. At approximately 11:52 a.m. on March 22, police were dispatched to the late report of a breaking and entering. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 2:07 a.m., an unknown male suspect entered onto the property of a closed business and stole three mopeds before fleeing the scene. The mopeds are described as a white 2022 Vespa Piaggio Liberty 50, a white 2022 Vespa Piaggio Active 1 and a yellow 2022 Vespa Piaggio 1 Active.” [ACPD]

D.C. Mulls Slashing Circulator Service — “Mayor Bowser wants to cut DC Circulator service in half to save money… The cuts would get rid of three of the Circulator’s six routes — Rosslyn to Dupont Circle, Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza, and Woodley Park to McPherson Square Metro.” [Axios]

Office Vacancy Picture Looks Grim — “Nine million square feet of Arlington office space currently is sitting idle, and things may get worse before they get better, the county government’s economic-development director told County Board members during a recent budget workshop. ‘We’re trying to find companies that are in a growth stage, and get them here,’ Ryan Touhill said in his first budget presentation since being appointed to lead Arlington Economic Development late last year.” [Gazette Leader]

Wreath Laying at Air Force Memorial — “A celebration was held Thursday morning to honor a special milestone for the Tuskegee Airmen. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the East Coast Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, incorporated, the oldest and largest chapter of the renowned air crew.” [WJLA]

Nature Centers Neglected? — “The county government has been ‘woefully neglecting’ Long Branch and Gulf Branch nature centers, said Phil Klingelhofer, chair of the Forestry and Natural Resources Commission, in testimony during the March 16 budget work session between County Board members and the parks department. Exhibits are outdated and the scheduling, which has fallen from six days per week before 2020 to just three now, doesn’t give the public much confidence.” [Gazette Leader]

Missing Middle’s Strange Political Bedfellows — “Zoning reform is an issue that unites progressives and libertarians, policy experts across the political spectrum, and also such disparate political leaders as California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Virginia’s own Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. It’s also a rare issue where Youngkin has common ground with Arlington’s very liberal county government. Of course, zoning deregulation also has ‘NIMBY’ opponents on both right and left, including such figures as Donald Trump and various far leftists.” [Reason]

Housing Reporter’s MM Skepticism — From CityLab’s Kriston Capps: “The bigger issue with ‘missing middle’ — legalizing duplexes+ on single-family lots while restricting building size — is that it just doesn’t work. Minneapolis did this same thing (to enormous fanfare!) and so far it’s led to under 100 units.” [Twitter]

Housing Advocates Eye Alexandria — “After the Arlington County Board voted this week to allow multifamily structures in single-family home zoning, some Alexandrians looked north as a hopeful example and others as a warning of what could be ahead… Just hours after the vote, leading advocates in favor of eliminating single-family zoning said the next step of the fight is in Alexandria.” [ALXnow]

It’s Friday — Rain throughout the day. High of 71 early in the morning but cooler most of the day, with a low of 48. Sunrise at 7:07 am and sunset at 7:25 pm. [Weather.gov]