Yesterday DCist broke the news that Rep. Henry Bonilla, a Texas Republican, was looking to rename 16th Street NW after Ronald Reagan — adding one more dedication for the nation’s 40th president to the 67 that already exist in 24 states. Word spread fast — before the end of the day, Rep. Tom Davis III (R-Va.), whose committee would review the legislative proposal, encouraged Bonilla to “name anything else he has to look at his own district in San Antonio,” Council-member and mayoral candidate Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) fired off an angry letter decrying “another example of the United States Congress’ attempt to trample on home rule in the District of Columbia,” and D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams issued a statement saying, “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of a plan that made so little sense.” Williams even went as far as to remind Bonilla that 16th Street could not logically be named “Ronald Reagan Boulevard,” since boulevards tend to have medians, and that the changes would set the District back $1 million in changing road signs and maps. DCist can’t help but giggle — after all, we were one of the “neighborhood Web logs in the overwhelmingly Democratic city [that] crackled with disbelief,” according to the Post.

Traffic Cameras Activated Today: If there was ever a time to drive a touch slower and friendlier, it would be today. According to Fox 5 News, today marks the day that nine red light cameras and three photo radar cameras are activated, replacing mere warnings with stiff fines. These will join the 39 cameras already in use, none of which are particularly loved by the District motorists who have commented on this site in the past.

Homeless Man Strikes It Rich: In the District, the quickest way to fast fortune is wrongful imprisonment, according to the Post. Joseph Heard, a deaf and mentally unstable District man, was wrongfully jailed for two years, fitfully trying to correct the mistake by scrawling “innocent” on scraps of paper and handing them to fellow inmates. A District court has ordered the city to pay Heard between $1.2 and $1.5 million for his ordeal, which was only uncovered when mental health officials could not locate his file in the D.C. Jail.

MPD Officers Ask for Break: Officers in the Metropolititan Police Department, exhausted from extended shifts brought on by heightened security, have asked Chief Charles Ramsey to replace 12-hour+ shifts with mandatory overtime, reports the Examiner. Most officers have been charged with patrolling Metrorail stations in the wake of the July 7 bombings in London, in addition to normal duties.

Briefly Noted: Baltimore man arrested for aiding a foreign terrorist organization … Heat not deterring men from wearing suits … One killed, three injured in daring daylight shooting in District … Girl Scouts robbed, now in debt … Novak suspended for on-air no-no.