Good morning, Washington. We hope not too many of you were making your way into the city from Montgomery County this morning, as two separate water main breaks forced road closures in Takoma Park and kids to get the day off from school in Germantown. We'll admit it -- we're pretty envious of the students at Fox Chapel Elementary School, who get to spend the day doing whatever they please while we had to show up and actually do work. Isn't it supposed to be Christmas break already? more ›

>> Mayor Fenty has named Shannon Lee Hader, an epidemiologist and public health physician who has directed the U.S. AIDS program in Zimbabwe, to head the District's HIV/AIDS Administration. [WaPo] >> D.C. Law enforcement officials are trying to seize control of a house at 1923 Rhode Island Avenue NE, a long-time location for illicit activity. [WJLA] >> A small plane crash landed in the Hollywood area of St. Mary's County. Two of three passengers... more ›

... First up, the District says that it has struck a deal with Howard University to open a hospital on 19th Street in Southeast, a quadrant of the city that is currently underserved in terms of quick access to medical care. But please note that the Post has "Deal" set off by quotation marks in its headline, saying in its lede that it is a "deal in principle." more ›

Watch out D.C. drivers, the District is deploying four new photo radar cameras for "final testing." That means that while the cameras will flash and take your photo if you are speeding, you will not be issued a ticket. more ›

Though the D.C. Department of Health is a bit slow to post its listings of health code violations, we came across its report summaries on its website. The most current listings are for Sept. 27-Oct. 3, where the Avondale Coffee Shop on Michigan Avenue NE was cited for "[b]asic inadequate sanitation," among other violations; Pen-Mar Liquors on I Street near 19th Street NW was closed for lacking hot water; and the Kantouri Fried Chicken on 14th Street NW was closed for "[e]vidence of rodents inside of establishment." There are more listings, so if you care about the sanitation of the places you frequent, be sure to check to see if they pop up in any reports. more ›

We seemed to have missed this last week, but the District announced it has chosen a developer to built a transit-oriented development at the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University metrorail station, set to open on the Red Line later this fall. The site is at 201 Florida Avenue NE, in a triangle of land between New York Avenue and the new metrorail station's northern entry. According to the District, it will include a 174-room "extended-stay"... more ›