Washington, D.C. having an office boom

Washington, D.C. is set to topple New York City as the most expensive office rental market in the country. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports why everyone -- from corporations to lobbyists -- is vying for real estate in the nation's capital.
Stacey Vanek-Smith: Washington, D.C. is set to topple the Big Apple as the most expensive office rental market in the country. Nancy Marshall Genzer has more.
Nancy Marshall Genzer: There are no bargains here. Washington rental prices are only down about 3 percent from last year. Compare that to New York, where they're off nearly 20 percent
Real estate analysts say New York is still struggling to recover from the financial crisis. Washington, on the other hand, is booming. That happens a lot during recessions, when the government is doing most of the hiring and needs extra office space.
The Wall Street Journal says the Department of Homeland Security wants to lease about a million more square feet of office space. Corporations are moving to Washington to be closer to the government. Northrop Grumman announced this week that it's relocating to D.C.
And lobbyists are jostling for more office space here. They're lobbying furiously on health care, energy and other hot topics on Capitol Hill
In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.

Source:marketplace.publicradio.org/

Safety Inspectors Nearly Hit by Oncoming DC Train

While true irony is hard to come by these days, the Washington, D.C., Metro has managed to produce a bit of its own.

Independent safety inspectors investigating the D.C. subway system's tracks last month were nearly hit by an oncoming train that didn't follow procedures requiring it to slow down as it approached them.

A report released Wednesday by the Tri-State Oversight Committee, which reviewed the train's safety system in May and December, says its inspectors "were forced to quickly scramble out of the way to avoid being struck by the train in question."

The report comes after the deadliest year in Washington Metro history, according to The Washington Post. In June, a metro train smashed into another one stopped on the tracks ahead of it, killing nine people.

In addition to nearly being hit themselves, the safety review team found multiple other instances of workers not complying with safety regulations. They cited trains speeding up too quickly after passing track workers, multiple track workers giving hand signals to oncoming trains at the same time, and track workers who had their backs to oncoming trains.

The safety team began its inspections in May, before the deadly summer crash, but were barred from the tracks by Metro for six months. In the meantime, two Metro workers were hit and killed by trains: Michael Nash in August and John Moore in September.

Coincidentally, the same day the inspectors were nearly hit by the oncoming train, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., testified in front of a Senate transportation subcommittee, saying that Metro's managers paid "lip service" to safety issues and accountability, and calling on the Metro board to take action.

"This is outrageous," Mikulski told the Post on Wednesday when she learned about the incident. "It shows again that safety and accountability are not yet priorities at Metro. It is another example of why greater oversight of Metro is needed."

Michael Taborn, Metro's chief safety officer, said in a statement Wednesday that an investigation into the near-miss is ongoing and that Metro is moving aggressively to implement the safety plan outlined in the report.
Source:sphere.com/