Good morning. Today will be partly cloudy this morning and clearing later with highs around 40. Today is also the first publication date for the Washington Examiner, Washington’s new free daily newspaper. (Although their website hasn’t launched yet – see dcexaminer.com.) The paper is available for free in red boxes around town and delivered free to some neighborhoods. (Seen in the Ambivalent Images photo to the right.)

Housing Costs Continue to Increase: The Post started today a major series exploring the increasing cost of housing in the region. The first articles discusses 15 to 18% increases in property values in D.C., 50%+ increases in Northern Virginia in the past three years, and increases over 60% in the past three years in Mongomery County. The Post cites a strong local economy and the desire to avoid a long commute with the astronomical housing costs.

Police Investigate Lent Media Murder: Police are investigating a case where a 14-year-old shot a 16-year-old in the face over a dispute over “CDs or DVDs.” The attack victim survived, but is in serious condition in the hospital. Sometimes our roommates are a bit touchy about people borrowing their DVDs, but thus far stop short of attempted murder.

Briefly Noted: Virginia is in the black by $1.2 billion … why.i.hate.dc has a new crusade – not the D.C. murder rate or corruption, but a TV show called Dance 360: “Excuse me, but are there any breakdancing battles on Tucker Carlson’s new show? Because if there are, then maybe I would watch. As it is, I believe the number of TV shows in Washington that feature breakdancing battles stands at a puerile zero.” … John’s Pondering reprints Chris Otten’s activist agenda for the week … Ever had an office romance? WTOP wants the details …

New D.C. Blog review: A lot of new blogs have been popping up recently, including megzilla, shesbitter, ionarts. Who are you reading?