I too enjoy DC when I visit and how the non-federal portion of the city has gradually become far more bike-friendly by removing parking and car lanes, much of it with local tax dollars and some federal funding that pretty much every other city gets, including Portland. I particularly enjoy the very long leading-interval pedestrian signals, sometimes up to 90 seconds before cars are allowed to turn or move forward. The subway is top-notch.
DC gets no state funding but pays federal income taxes and local taxes. Its license plate motto says, “Taxation Without Representation”, since it has no votes in congress or the senate.
