Maybe it was just the desolate path we walked to work, but it really feels like D.C. is a ghost town this week. Appreciate it while it lasts – inauguration festivities will be starting up in not too long, and they’ll be as elaborate and crazy as it gets. For example:”The Ritz-Carlton plans to give its guests white chocolate cowboy boots, yellow roses and red, white and blue cocktails with a special ‘handmade’ Texas vodka.”

City Wants More Local Firms for RFK Renovation: After the district granted a $18.4 million contract to renovate RFK in time for the National’s April opener to New York-based construction firm Tompkins Builders, D.C. Council members and others are saying that more local businesses need to be involved.

Tompkins Builders is based in the District, but it is owned by Turner Construction. That arrangement has sparked outrage among local contractors, who fear locally owned and operated contractors won’t get a fair share of the RFK contract, according to Mr. Green. He said Tompkins Builders should not be considered local.

“The local businesses in this city need this work, and they deserve it,” Mr. Green said.

Marion Barry Recommended to Sit on Metro Board: Linda Cropp is recommending Barry replace D.C. Councilman At-Large David Catania as an alternate on the regional board that oversees Metro. No reason was given for why, exactly, Cropp thinks Barry would be able to help Metro out, but Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said Barry would be welcome on the board. Mayor Williams will most likely make his appointments to the board in January.

Girl Gang Violence Grows in D.C.: The Post reports that female gang violence is on the rise, with gangs like the Knockout Honies and the Most Wanted Honeyz (who have about 200 members between them) becoming particularly violent during the winter break. No one has yet been killed in the girl gangs, but confrontations have become more violent in the past two years:

The talk of violence is not idle. Tiny metal braces jut from the top and bottom of Washington’s mouth. The wires do not straighten her smile, but bind her jaw together. It was broken this summer, she said, when members of the X-Rated Hunniez gang “stomped [her] with boots” on a city street.

Briefly noted: A 12 year-old female komodo dragon died of a blood vessel rupture last night at the National Zoo … Local immigrants are organizing aid efforts to help those affected by the tsunami in Southeast Asia …