Photo by Paul Frederiksen.

Good morning, Washington. Like it or not, one of the most influential endorsements in this year’s tight mayoral race likely belongs to Marion Barry. But the Ward 8 Councilmember and Mayor-for-Life isn’t quite ready to make a decision. Barry endorsed Fenty during the 2006 mayoral race, but not until the last minute — Fenty barely touted the endorsement, not that he had a whole lot of time to do so. So who will he go with? On Vince Gray, Barry has told the Post: “”I have a self-interest in this race. We want major development east of the Anacostia River. People want jobs, training programs. And [Gray]’s just going to have to be prepared for that.” According to D.C. Wire, Barry plans to “play an active role in this year’s campaign,” but it looks like he’s playing it close to the chest for the moment.

Council Criticizes Summer Youth Employment Program: The D.C. Council held a long hearing yesterday to consider whether to extend the Summer Youth Employment Program for another seven days. Several Councilmembers used the hearing as an chance to slam the program’s fiscal management. D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols called the program “a threat to other vital District programs and the District’s fiscal stability in these austere economic times,” while many Councilmembers attacked Mayor Adrian Fenty’s and his administration for hastily shifting $8.5 million to the youth jobs program from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds. The Council will vote on Fenty’s request for an extension today.

Looking To Go To The Winter Classic? It’ll cost you. According to hockey beat writer Ted Starkey, who shared the seating chart for the game, the cheapest seat inside Heinz Field for the Capitals’ New Year’s Day outdoor clash with the Penguins is $99. The tickets go up to as high as $250 a piece for the nicest seats. With those face values, if you were thinking about trying to get tickets on the secondary market, well, good luck.

National Night Out, Yo: Tonight is National Night Out, which means that plenty of D.C. residents will be spending their Tuesday night on the streets in a show of solidarity against crime. Chief Cathy Lanier will spend her evening at the citywide NNO event in Trinidad, which will be followed by a bike ride along the Metropolitan Branch trail. Several local businesses will donate ten percent of their sales tomorrow to organizations that help the families of local officers who have died in the line of duty, and police are sponsoring plenty of parties and other events.

Briefly Noted: Drivers of the City of Paris Bus Company’s 38 bus have started their own website to “talk about our bus driver’s job and to let you know about our line from the inside.” Now imagine Metrobus drivers doing the same…$10.75m UDC investment bill approved by House subcomittee…Delta adds flights at National…Ledroit Park Market robbed…Be sure to check out Michael Grass’ overflow material on Gray “crony” Bruce Bereano…ICYMI: dc.gov finally got its makeover yesterday…”FIFA will tour stadiums in the New York, Washington, Miami, Dallas and Houston areas in early September as part of the process to select the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups”.

This Day In DCist: In 2007, our Martin Austermuhle live-blogged his participation on a voting rights panel at the YearlyKos Convention, while in 2006, we tried making the greatest gyro ever.