Obama Starts Bus Tour; Oily Surface on Anacostia: Morning Links

Good morning. Capital Weather Gang says it will be partly sunny, breezy, and in the mid 80s today.

President Obama Starts Bus Tour: Yesterday President Barack Obama started a bus tour in Iowa to shore up support for a jobs package he plans to ask Congress to pass next month. Obama isn’t the only one to use the political bus tour strategy. You remember Sarah Palin used it earlier this summer, but check out our brief primer on other politicians that have used bus tours to promote various causes.

Oily Surface on Anacostia: WTOP reports that an oily substance is covering part of the Anacostia River, but that authorities do not yet know what the source of the substance is. The DC fire department began containing it last night using booms on the water. Fire and hazardous materials crews worked to contain the unknown substance from 6 PM yesterday to 2 AM today.

Panera Opening “Soon” in Columbia Heights: New Columbia Heights reports that a sign posted in a window of DCUSA says Panera will be coming to the development complex “soon,” with a target arrival date of October. NCH also has a good map of business expected to open in the neighborhood.

Sunday Rains, Faulty Pumps Shut Down Blue, Yellow Lines: Kytja Weir at the Washington Examiner noted that a combination of faulty water pumps and severe thunderstorms that brought on flash-flood warnings  on Sunday disrupted commutes on the Blue and Yellow lines on Monday morning. Service was restored by 9:30 AM.

NoMa Development Moving Forward: Skanska, a DC developer, is moving forward with an office development project at First and M streets, Northeast, despite not having signed up a single leaser, DCmud reports. Still, the NoMa neighborhood has a vacancy rate of just 9 percent.

Arlington Road Closures for 9/11 Ride: The annual America’s 9/11 Foundation Memorial Ride will come to Arlington this weekend, resulting in multiple road closures, ARLNow reports. Authorities will be shutting down I-66 from 2:30 to 4 on Friday afternoon as riders come into town. The organizers will also shut down Army Navy Drive from 6:30 to 9:30 on Friday for a street fair. The ride will go from the Pentagon and across the 14th Street Bridge on Saturday morning on its way to New York City.

Briefly Noted: DCist checks in with beloved former National Zoo panda Tai Shan at his new digs in China. . . .  Greater Greater Washington has a satirical take on what the fire department would be like if it was run like the ABRA, the alcohol regulating board. . . . Apparently there’s a karaoke cab in Arlington. . . . DC Councilman Tommy Wells nearly hit a deer while vacationing in Minnesota, totaling his wife’s car.

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Kay Steiger