Photo by yonas1.

Good morning, Washington, and here’s wishing our fair city’s namesake a happy, happy birthday. (Even though technically, ol’ Georgie boy wouldn’t have turned the ripe age of 279 until tomorrow. But who’s counting?) In celebration, we’re all taking the day off! (Note: day off does not apply to bloggers, retail employees, several private sector workers, and a whole bunch of other people.) Here’s to you, our dentally-impaired revolutionary! Of course, the usual federal holiday closures are in place around town — one thing you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for, though, is Metrobus’s modified Saturday schedule, which includes several routes that simply aren’t in operation at all.

Will The Government Shut Down? When they aren’t busy trying to take money away from an already cash-strapped District, Congressional Republicans are threatening to bring the federal government to a halt. This leads the Post to think back to 1995 and 1996, when a similar scenario led to the temporary halt of federal operations in the city. (Including “piles of elephant manure [piling] up in a National Zoo parking lot because workers [couldn’t] ship it away for composting. Delightful!) The shutdowns in ’95-’96 lasted for about 20 days, and federal agencies are preparing for the possibility again. If any of you reading this were around D.C. the last time a shutdown happened, we’d love to hear some stories how it affected the city — drop us a line!

Killed Cardozo Student “In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time”: Lucki Nancy Pannell, the 18-year-old Cardozo High School student who was shot and killed on Saturday night in her Columbia Heights front yard, may have taken the bullet for another target. Reactions from the usuals (Jim Graham, Ron Moten) are pouring in to decry the crime; before being killed, Pannell posted to her Facebook account that she was “sitting on my porch with my bestfriend chilling.” Police are still searching for the shooters.

Briefly Noted: Prepare yourself for a little bit of snow tonight…Quantifying Metro’s late night traffic…WMATA wins arbitration ruling, will not have to offer retroactive wage increase to union members…Is D.C. Councilmember Michael Brown’s refusal to hold public hearings on Walmart technically a walkback?…Amanda Hess has some fun with the rather pointed America’s Next Top Model application.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we looked at the role of the Taiwanese flag during the annual Chinese New Year festivities; in 2009, D.C. paramedics were having more legal issues and we recapped another successful DCist Exposed opening.