It was a real head-scratcher: in reporting the excellent news regarding 2009’s rock bottom homicide totals, the Washington Post ran with a total of 140, while WTOP and the Associated Press settled on a final tally of 143. So what’s the deal? The Post sheds some light on the discrepancy this morning: the final number was corrected after a staggering five people were killed in the final 29 hours of 2009, pushing the actual total number of homicides last year to 143. The final figure is still the lowest one-year total in D.C. since 1966. Here’s hoping that District police can keep up their good work — MPD closed 75 percent of last year’s homicide cases — considering this disturbing eruption of violence.