Parents Question Schools Lockdown: Well, it seems like we weren't the only ones questioning the lockdown of the District's public schools last Friday during a gunfire scare at a House office building. WTOP is reporting that some parents are asking why the entire school system was locked down, instead of school in the immediate area of the U.S. Capitol.

Metro Plans to Improve Lighting in Stations: Though the low lighting at many underground Metro stations has long been a signature of the system's spartan look and feel, WMATA officials are hoping to start brightening things up a little bit, reports the Post. Metro's interim general manager Dan Tangherlini has promised to make improving lighting in stations a number one priority, responding to complaints that many stations are just too dark. A new policy enacted by Metro promises that burned-out light bulbs be replaced within 10 days as opposed to the traditional three months, and brighter bulbs will be placed on top of the rectangular pylons found in many stations. Of course, then there is the problem of the light bulbs along the track -- each station has some 288 of them (bigger stations have more, though), and changing them often requires 13 workers on overnight shifts.

National Mall Attacks Raise Fears: Three recent robberies and attacks on the National Mall have raised concerns of safety on the tourist landmark, writes NBC 4. A 17-year-old girl was robbed and sexually assaulted while walking near the Mall with her boyfriend on Sunday night, following two similar attacks on May 25. The attackers have been described as three black males, though all of them wore masks. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton frantically demanded that the Mall be blanketed with police, stating, "We need to blanket the Mall to send a message to the thugs who have discovered a new place that the Mall is not for you."

Briefly Noted: Car crashes into Hecht's ... Two Washington Wizards players arrested in Florida ... Thirty-five displaced by Mt. Pleasant fire ... Jury deliberations start in sniper trial.

This Day in DCist: On this day last year, we spied new Metro arrival signs and we saw one local blogger sign off.

Picture snapped by maxedaperture