Photo by Paul Frederiksen.

Good morning, Washington. The hot political news last night and this morning is Vince Gray’s victory in the Ward 4 straw poll, which is a huge political win for the Chairman in his quest to unseat Mayor Adrian Fenty. We’ll have a full report on the scene and the results of the straw poll later this morning, just as soon as our Martin Austermuhle can recover from the insanity.

Sigh: It’s August, so the news is a bit slow. But that’s no excuse for the Washingtonian media to be spending this much time on the debut of Bravo’s Real Housewives of D.C. WTOP trumpets the show as “D.C.’s newest sleaze-fest,” while the one housewife on the show that actually lives in the District tells NBCWashington.com that she was “surprised” at being the only woman of color on the show, “because D.C. is such a diverse city and it is known as choclate [sic] city.” (I’d argue that examining the dynamics of American race relations through the Real Housewives is probably a waste of time.) Post columnist Robert McCartney sure spends a lot of words on an “honor for the parasitic social climbers,” while in this week’s City Paper cover story, Mike Riggs blames Washington for just not being a very good town to film a reality show in. (Hard to argue.) My one big question, which, despite the coverage, has gone unanswered: is anyone actually planning on watching this?

You’ve Got A Friend In Me: Freeman Klopott reports this morning that Robert Hildum, interim director of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services — who worked directly under Attorney General Peter Nickles, a man who is very close with Mayor Fenty — has hired Linda K. Harllee-Harper — who has worked directly with Ron Moten, who is very close with Mayor Fenty — to serve as the agency’s head of internment. As part of the job, Harllee-Harper — who sat on the board of Peaceaholics while the D.C. Council investigated DYRS’ awarding of no-bid contracts to the organization — will, of course, be responsible for awarding DYRS contracts to organizations, including Peaceaholics.

Heat Advisory In Effect: High temperatures and humidity in the city today means that a heat advisory is in place for the District, beginning at 11 a.m. this morning. The heat index could reach 105 this afternoon, and severe thunderstorms could be on their way early this afternoon. On the bright side, this weekend looks absolutely marvelous.

Briefly Noted: Rend Smith investigates MPD’s “private security branch”…Medical marijuana may be required to be discounted for low income residents…”For better or worse, Gilbert Arenas is D.C.’s spirit child.”…Arrest made in synagogue vandalism…Va. sales tax holiday kicks off tomorrow…Anyone want to adopt a port-a-potty?

This Day In DCist: In 2008, SmartBikeDC opened for business and we lamented the fact none of us were hot enough to even be nominated for Fishbowl DC’s annual Hottest D.C. Media Types list.