Economist.com Cities Guide: Washington, DC Briefing - May 2005

News this month

False alarm

Panic briefly gripped Capitol Hill on May 11th when a single-engine plane flew into restricted airspace over the city. This prompted evacuations of the Capitol building, the White House, the Supreme Court and other important sites. People leaving the buildings were reportedly ordered to run.

The Cessna, which flew within three miles of the White House, was quickly intercepted by a pair of F-16 fighter jets. Within minutes the alert was over and employees reported back to their offices. But for many the experience was a grim flashback to September 11th 2001, when a plane crashed into the Pentagon, killing 189 people, and another was downed while presumably en route to either the White House or the Capitol. The errant Cessna has raised fears of the capital's vulnerability, despite the increased security measures of recent years. The plane was escorted to an airport in Frederick, Maryland, where two men from rural Pennsylvania were taken into custody. George Bush was away from the White House, but Laura Bush and Dick Cheney, the vice president, and Nancy Reagan, who was visiting, were all escorted away.

Together, but filing separate

Same-sex couples who have been married may not file joint tax returns in the District of Columbia, the city’s chief financial officer ruled in early May. The official, Natwar Gandhi, informed a married gay couple that while District law does not specifically bar the recognition of gay marriages, it allows joint filing only when couples can do so under federal law. But the Defence of Marriage Act, in effect since 1996, prohibits federal joint filing.

The case had been controversial, ever since the DC attorney general advised the couple that they could file their returns together. The newly minted chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s District subcommittee, Sam Brownback, a Republican senator from Kansas, is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriages. He warned that the attorney general’s ruling could endanger they city’s federal funding.

Following the flames

After two years and 46 residential fires, police say they finally caught a serial arsonist at the end of April. Thomas Sweatt, the alleged criminal, helped manage a fast-food restaurant that was near a half-dozen of the fires, and his apartment was close to several of the others. Most of the blazes were in the District, generally in the eastern half, with several in Maryland and a handful in Virginia.

Investigators caught up with Mr Sweatt after finding a pair of Marine dress trousers at one fire; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service subsequently led them to Mr Sweatt, who was suspected but not charged in a series of car fires. DNA on the trousers and at several crime scenes led to Mr Sweatt, who also implicated himself under interrogation (without suggesting a motive). There were initially 11 arson-related charges against him, relating from three fires in the District and two in Maryland, but more charges are expected. The fires started appearing in 2003, killing one elderly lady and wounding more than a dozen others. The arsonist started them with plastic jugs filled with petrol.

No service

To the dismay of commuters, Amtrak suspended the services of its high-speed Acela trains in mid-April. A routine inspection found millimetre-sized cracks in the brakes, forcing company officials to pull all 20 Acela trains from the tracks. At a speed of 150mph (240kph), they had provided high-speed service between Washington and New York 15 times a day, and between New York and Boston 11 times a day. Amtrak authorities say the trains will return to service by summer, though they have not been specific about dates.

Roughly 300 of the trains' 1,400-odd brakes were found to be cracked. Fortunately for Amtrak, which has lost $500m annually for the last decade, the railroad will not have to pay for the repairs as the trains are still under warranty. While a House subcommittee approved a three-year, $6 billion funding proposal for the firm in April, its fate remains uncertain—it is a favourite target for conservative budget cutters in Congress.

Toxic but necessary

A law banning rail shipments of toxic cargo through the District of Columbia was suspended in early May by the US Court of Appeals. The city council had passed the law earlier this year in response to concerns that terrorists could attack such a train to produce a poison cloud. The law was scheduled to take effect on April 20th, but CSX, the firm operating the trains, went to court to repeal the law. It had prompted other communities to consider similar rules, and CSX argued that the ban could cripple rail commerce across the country. The city had argued that DC faced a unique threat as the nation’s capital.

Will Rosslyn rise?

Washington is famous for its skyline, or rather its lack of one. In accordance with the wishes of Pierre L’Enfant, who originally planned the city, it has remained low-slung, dominated by the 555-foot tall Washington Monument and the 188-foot tall Capitol dome. That may change soon, at least across the Potomac. According to the Washington Post, an Arlington County task-force is recommending a significant increase in the height of office buildings in Rosslyn, a Virginia city just across the river.

Rosslyn’s buildings are now capped at 300 feet, but under a proposal for a “signature skyline”, buildings would be allowed to rise to 500 feet. Plans also include a public viewing deck to take advantage of the unmatched views of the neighbouring District. While Arlington officials argue that a spectacular skyline would enliven the area, critics fear that towering buildings would literally overshadow the nation's capital. They also argue that a 500-foot tall building could be a safety hazard, as Rosslyn is just north of Ronald Reagan National Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration has asked that any new building be capped at 390 feet.

Underbelly belly up?

The Whitehurst Freeway, the three-quarter-mile long elevated road that runs over K Street, along the Georgetown waterfront, may be in its death throes. Proponents of tearing down the elevated roadway, which lets drivers bypass Georgetown when going to or from Rosslyn, argue that it creates a grimy underbelly alongside the glitzy waterfront. To accommodate the 42,000 cars crossing the freeway each weekday, they suggest widening K Street.

Critics point out that planners would not only have to create ways to handle the extra traffic, but would also need to connect K Street with Canal Road at the Key Bridge end of Georgetown—and the road is 60 feet above the waterfront. Such a a connection had been bandied about a decade ago, but District officials chose to rebuild the freeway rather than replace it.

Catch if you can

May 2005

Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre

Until June 12th 2005

Don't be fooled by the order of the title: this exhibition is far more concerned with the lurid Parisian neighbourhood than this absinthe-swilling painter who lived there. Though Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings and lithographs advertised his neighbourhood, he was not the only artist to be so inspired. This excellent show features work from plenty others, including Manet, Picasso, Ramón Casas, Van Gogh and Degas. The blend of styles and media here—from lithographs to oil-on-cardboard to watercolours—bring a vibrant district to colourful life.

The National Gallery, on the National Mall, East Building, Mezzanine and Upper Level. Open: Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm; Sun, 11am-6pm. Entry: free. For more information, visit the museum's website.

More from the Washington, DC cultural calendar