8 things to start your Monday, and the new Silver Line’s true test: Its first work week

Posted on by Nick Ruiz

Good morning and welcome to your Monday. Here’s some of your business:

1. AM News Talkers:

The Phase 1 construction is over and the ceremonial events of the weekend are in the rearview: It’s the first rush hour of Metro’s new Silver Line. That’s this morning and later this afternoon as the western-most reach of Metrorail gets on track.

We set you up with stories and slideshow s over the previous weeks, but the rubber — or metal? — meets the rails today as commuters figure out the new hassle, from fresh parking garages — or lack thereof — to figuring out how to get to Dulles International Airport by rail until Phase II launches (you can, but for now, you have to take a bus from a Silver stop).

Five new stations adorn the Silver, which meets up with Orange Line routes and adds the ever-growing Tysons-Reston corridor to downtown D.C. and over to Maryland. More growth, it means nothing but good news for the Reston-Tysons region . The opening of Metro’s Silver Line will transform land use in Northern Virginia, according to the Coalition for Smarter Growth — and we’ve told you this in numerous WBJ stories.”That transformation will be most prominent in Tysons where a traffic-choked, suburban office park with two large malls is planned to become a walkable, urban center with 100,000 residents and 200,000 jobs, but it will also be seen in Reston, Herndon and Loudoun,” said Executive Director Stewart Schwartz.

After Saturday’s opening ceremonies, some 10,000 riders boarded Silver Line trains, The Associated Press reported. Roughly 25,000 riders per day will be Silver riders. Early reports today said things were going smoothly and riders were generally pleased with the new stations, according to The Washington Post.

Does one Dollar and another Dollar equal two Dollars? How about $9.2 billion? Discount retailer Dollar Tree is acquiring another deep discounter with ”dollar” in its name, Family Dollar, in a blowout deal announced over the weekend, T he Wall Street Journal reports. The boards of directors of both companies approved the merger. Both chains have hundreds of stores in the greater D.C. area.

2. Weather: Are you off this week? Or need a reason to be? Check out the weather,starting with today. Gorgeous. A high of 85 and the humidity’s outta here. And the week ahead? Even more gorgeous-er. Here. Have a look.

3. AM commute alert: In the 7 a.m. hour, nothing major to report, but we’re eyeing Silver. As you were.

4. Business travel: Check the status of your flight. And Flightstats.com also has the details. Before you take off, take a look at the national weather foreca st. The nation cools down.

5. Trending on Google biz news this AM:

  • Yukos
  • Meat
  • Coal
  • Visa Inc.
  • Reckitt Benckiser
  • Ryanair
  • Sales
  • Groupe Danone
  • United States Dollar
  • Dollar Tree

6. Trending in the D.C. area on Twitter this AM:

  • #ShawnToNumber1
  • FaceTime
  • #nostallin
  • Wiz Khalifa
  • #SilverLine
  • YESS
  • Tryna
  • Tyler
  • Taylor

7. NEW! The biz rap from around the nation:

8. Sports smack for the AM coffee run: Nats time: The Reds get it good from Doug Fister, picking up his 10th win of the season as his team wins 4-2, backed by Rafael Soriano picking up his 200th career save. Great pitching, yo. … And as the Redskins roll through training camp, it’s becoming clear the NFL team’s new coach knows how to delegate.

That’s it for today. See you bright and early Tuesday.

 

To read original story, please click here.

Photo courtesy of Washington Business Journal.