Good morning, Washington. Getting going on a Monday is normally difficult enough, but we were having a few technological difficulties this morning as well, so thanks for your patience and bear with this truncated Morning Roundup while we get up to speed. Tax Scandal Triggers Reviews in Counties: Neighboring jurisdictions are apparently taking D.C.'s tax office scandal to heart and initiating big reviews of their agencies. Property tax revenues are slated to be scrutinized in......

Good morning, Washington. Can you feel the excitement in the air? That's right: it's Taxi Decision Day. Will District residents get a shiny new meter system, or have to make our peace with zones for the foreseeable future? Or will we be treated to a metered zone hybrid/abomination? It'll be just a few hours until we find out. Immigration Measures Elicit Passion, Lawsuits: The Post reports on the scene in Prince William County, where......

Former editor-in-chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Here’s an interesting question to consider: is the District of Columbia becoming less diverse? With whites once again moving into the city, the question of the sustainability of the District’s multicultural heritage has been raised, but what do recent demographic shifts actually suggest about the future of a diverse D.C.? Over the past decade, the city as a whole has become less......

Good morning, Washington. Feeling alright? We just thought we'd ask — there are two heart-trouble-related stories in the news today, and it's gotten us a little superstitious. First, Senator John Warner is in the hospital undergoing procedures to correct an atrial fibrillation that manifested itself yesterday morning (it sounds like he'll be fine). Second, Etan Thomas missed the first day of Wizards training camp due to a newly-detected cardiac irregularity. There's no word yet......

Welcome to Friday, Washington ... and the last day of August, and the beginning of your holiday weekend, and more or less the end of the summer? This particular date, as you prepare for your weekend barbecues and last-minute getaways, is always a bit of a depressing occasion. It may not be the de jure end of the summer, but it's certainly the de facto one. To cheer you up about the imminent demise......

Once again, the country is in a tizzy over a conservative Republican senator doing naughty things. According to a Post report, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Id.) was arrested earlier this month in an airport bathroom in Minnesota after he became a little touchy with an undercover police officer. (Similar allegations were made against him here, though they allegedly occurred in a Union Station bathroom.) Our favorite part? That during an interview with police after the......

>> CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry spotted Dave Chappelle hanging out outside the White House this morning. He's reportedly feeling good despite his recent hospital visit, and joked about going after Tony Snow's job. [CNN Political Ticker] >> The former mayor of the town of Dumfries, VA has been charged with running a brothel out of a sports therapy clinic he owns in a Prince William County strip mall. Melvin Bray lost his......

Good morning, D.C. Did any of you stay up watching the filibuster, or pre-filibuster, or anti-filibuster, or whatever the heck we're calling it? Yeah, us neither. We did manage to catch a moment of it while en route to the Daily Show, and were greeted with a slightly disheveled-looking legislator gesticulating wildly at a chart of a Humvee. Unfortunately, we have no idea whether the sleepless showdown is likely to produce anything other than entertaining......

This week in Transit on Thursday, we pose a stunningly dramatic series of questions... Could Metro be Smartening up? Will you get hit by Virginia's new transportation fees and taxes? Is a road better than a rail? Will your Metro trip be delayed this weekend? Find out after the jump! Photo by Terecico......

Good morning, Washington. Last night's Unbuckled concert at DC9 was a huge success, having sold-out in under an hour and providing a rocking good time for all those who made it inside -- thanks to all of you who came out! We couldn't be happier, and we'll have some photos and other details to share later on, to be sure. In the meantime, the Washington Post has some video of yesterday's topping off ceremony in......

Good morning, D.C. First, some good news: today's high temperature will be a mere 93 degrees. Bring a sweater! Next, some bad news: AccuWeather puts today's "Thunderstorm Probability" at a robust 100%. Hmm. Finally, some great news: Unbuckled is tonight! Bring your sodden, sweaty selves — it'll make the experience that much more authentically Washingtonian. Prince William Co. Approves Anti-Illegal Immigrant Measures: WJLA reports on a new measure unanimously passed by the Prince William......

We've got two words for you, D.C.: beer pops. That's right, beer pops. WTOP, along with a number of other local news outlets, has coverage of an innovation being brought to market by an Alexandria restaurant. The folks at Rustico may not be the first to come up with the idea of ale-on-a-stick, but they're the first purveyors of it we know of in the D.C. area, and we salute them for it. Here's......

Ahh. Fifty-eight degrees, Washington. Fifty-eight! That's what the temperature is right now according to my trusty OS X weather widget, and I couldn't be more pleased: with a broken office A/C office unit and a floor of the building prone to soaking up heat, things have been a little warm around here. A last-minute spring extension sounds great, and that's just what we're in for: temps will barely top 70 until the weekend (although......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It's nearly two years now since the great Housing Boom of the Aughts© peaked. While prices have leveled off or declined in many places, the affordability of homes in metropolitan areas as an issue has not gone away. In central cities in particular, where the issue of gentrification is most sensitive, prices have shown the most resilience. Certainly, matters haven't changed enough......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It's easy to focus on the problems and pathologies at the margins of a rapidly growing city. The pains of congestion and growth are frequently more dramatic in the far flung counties, where populations increase annually by astounding percentages and where infrastructure is least developed. At some point, though, you have to realize that one of the best ways to fix the......

>> Uncomfirmed reports of a messy early start to the commute on the Blue/Orange lines thanks to smoke and possibly a small fire at the Smithsonian stop. Nothing from WMATA at 5:49 p.m., so either it's already over, or it's just begun. Good luck out there. >> A local developer presented plans over the weekend to restore the historic Howard Theatre. Mari from InShaw says she's heard it all before and will only believe it......

The transit news this week is all about new beginnings! We've got a new boss over at Metro, new progress (maybe) on transportation in Virginia, a new clean cars proposal in Maryland, and a new test for senior drivers in the District. Photo by Grundlepuck......

Prince William County is earning itself quite a perplexing reputation. Last Friday, while most of us were recovering from turkey hangovers, the Washington Post reported that Prince William, whose representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates have been instrumental in defeating bills to help pay for Northern Virginia transit improvements, will consider a bill placing a one year moratorium on new home construction. According to county officials quoted in the Post story, the move would......

Update: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for southern Prince William County, specifically around Woodbridge (where the IKEA is). This follows warnings in Spotsylvania County, Fredericksburg, and Stafford County, so that means it's headed our direction. The storm is moving North at 60 m.p.h., so it may not be long before warnings are issued for our immediate area. We'll keep you apprised. Be careful going outside today, folks: The National Weather Service......

Anyone who has been in this town for more than a few hours knows that the feeding frenzy resulting from federal spending bills outdoes just about anything you've seen on the Discovery Channel. Well, it's check cuttin' time in D.C., and the District, Virginia, and Maryland are each getting a slice of the pie. Apparently, the region's planners did not read last Tuesday's DCist transportation column, because most of the money is going to the......

Discussion of recent crime activity continues today, but not in an encouraging way. The Post focuses on Chief Ramsey's comments yesterday, which noted that criminals are increasingly leaving their own neighborhoods and coming to wealthier places in the city, including areas of the National Mall. Ramsey says this is new and striking behavior, but it's hard to imagine that no one saw this coming. Luckily for Ramsey, the mayor is back and ready to begin......

It was a big week for transportation in Virginia. Legislators put off making any hard decisions yet again and the first VDOT projects are delayed as a result, Arlington strikes out on its own, Loudoun development is in turmoil, and Metro is more popular than ever. Whew! Photo by hudson......

Thanks to our friends over at FreeRide, we've learned that Sue Palka, Fox 5's weathercaster, has some fans. More than just fans, though, she has a fansite. Why? According to the site, "She's smart, she's sassy, and (we bet) she can drink you under the table. Does she get the weather right? Who cares? It's always sunny when Sue's around!" Maybe. But we've always been big fans of Michael Gargiulo and Shawn Yancy. Williams Demands......

Straight from an NBC 4 story: WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Enforcement of parking restrictions for watercraft, boat trailers, motor homes and camping trailers begins Monday in eastern Prince William County, police said. In March, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted in favor of the restrictions. They went into effect immediately, but police are waiting until Monday in order to give owners of such vehicles time to comply. Officers will issue warning tickets giving the......

Car-Jacking, Robbery Wave Hit District, Maryland: WTOP and the Post , among others, report that at least nine robberies and four carjackings took place yesterday, within four to five miles of each other. The spree began at 11:30 p.m. Sunday on Fairmont Street NW near Howard University, and ended with two suspects running into the National Zoo around 1 a.m. this morning. One was caught; police are still looking for the other in the area......

So, this week, we thought we'd start off by checking out criminal activity in Loudoun County. These were the first four entries we found. BAISH DR., 300 block, 10:55 p.m. April 1. Telephone threats were reported. CATOCTIN CIR., 700 block, 12:30 p.m. March 30. An argument at a residence was reported. CATOCTIN CIR., 700 block, 11 a.m. April 3. Police responded to an argument at a residence. DONALDSON LANE, 700 block, 10 a.m. April 2.......

Yesterday was the perfect day for playing a little hooky -- beautiful springtime weather and the Nationals' home opener would tempt anyone, including us. Some of those who gave in to those temptations weren't too good about hiding them, especially to the media or their employers. As written in a Post article on the Nats' 7-1 loss to the New York Mets: "This is our team," declared Lynette Jackson, 50, of D.C., who called......

This week the transit world has been peppered with tidbits on trains, buses, cheap bastard Northern Virginians that will ruin Metro for us and should be voted out of office as soon as possible (phew!) and abandoned children.......

The battle over transportation in Virginia has been full of laughable moments, from Delegates noting how they don't hear taxpayers clamoring for tax increases when they return home to news stories on the lack of concern about traffic in Virginia hamlets with three-digit populations. Of course, we laugh to keep from crying, or rather, we laugh to keep from tracking down these Prince William County Delegates and punching them in their smug faces. We know......

We thought it was just the DCist staff that had been under the weather recently — after all, spending your days in front of the computer screen and your nights at blogger happy hours is not exactly a prescription for robust physical health. But WTOP reports that we're not the only ones. Prince William County has noticed an increase in absenteeism among its busdrivers, for one thing. And as you can see from this not-actually-that-helpful......