Good morning, Washington. With less than a month until the city's primary elections, campaign finance information is out this morning for two of the most competitive local races. Patrick Mara is challenging incumbent At-large Council member Carol Schwartz in the Republican primary, and is very nearly matching her in terms of fundraising. Mara says he's raised more than $100,000, an impressive sum for a challenger, while Schwartz reports she's got over $110,000. But as D.C. Wire points out, more than $40,000 of Schwartz's money is a personal loan from herself, meaning in terms of money raised from other people, Mara easily has her beat. Mara has also been racking up endorsements from business groups, including the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. A release from the D.C. Republican Committee, which supports Schwartz, argues that over $40,000 raised by her opponent has come from "special interest money and/or out of District money." Mara has received a lot of donations and support from parking companies and other businesses that operate downtown.

Contrast this scenario with the figures published in this Washington Post profile of the Ward 2 Council race between incumbent Jack Evans and newcomer Cary Silverman. Silverman has about $40,000 in his campaign coffers. Evans has a whopping $500,000. The amount Silverman has raised is nothing to sneeze at, but that's got to be an intimidating difference.

Man Pleads Guilty to Recording Movies at Gallery Place: The Regal Gallery Place movie theater is a bit of a cruel mistress. It's big and comfortable, easy to get to, and convenient to plenty of good restaurants. It's also often overcrowded, staffed largely by teens who don't really care if your popcorn is cold, and possessed of a bank of self-service ticket machines that appear to be out of service more often than not. So it's somehow not surprising that the AP is reporting this morning that Gallery Place was the cinema of choice for 31-year-old Michael Dwayne Logan, who has pleaded guilty to illegally recording films on an HD camera he smuggled in to the theater. What better place for a film pirate than a well appointed, Metro accessible multiplex where the staff often isn't paying attention? Although to be fair, they must have paying enough attention when they finally caught Logan. He faces a sentence of 18 to 24 months and could be forced to pay up to $48,632 in restitution.

Briefly Noted: Man shot and killed in Southeast ... Tysons redevelopment plan could be approved as early as next month ... D.C.'s traffic counters will measure snow, temperature ... Carjacking suspect arrested after crashing vehicle.

Photo by Bullneck