Good morning, Washington. Today will be partly cloudy in the morning and then clearing with highs in the 80s. This photo of the Potomac at sunset was posted to DCist photos by the flickr user “adrummer_boy” who also uploaded a couple others we liked – one of the C&O Canal at dawn and another Potomac sunset photo. If you’ve got a blog you can get your meetup on tonight at the monthly meetup.com event for Washington area bloggers. We’re meeting at 7 p.m. at Pharaoh’s Bar & Grill in Adams Morgan – stop by.
We’ve heard about odd things happening on the Ides of March, but what about the 16th of August? Whatever it was, some odd things were afoot in the D.C. area: a rabid beaver running around Maryland, two accidents on I-95 south had that artery clogged up, down in Richmond “several people” were injured in a laptop stampede, and someone was even attacked by a police impersonator. In the District things were a bit more in control, but we suppose it’s not every day that Mayor Williams blasts graffiti in a Dupont Circle alleyway. What else is going on in the area this morning?
D.C. DMV Struggling: The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles is in a “crisis” state the AP, via the W. Times, reports. For one thing their phone number is down because the A/C at their leased temporary headquarters has broken causing the agency to cancel hundreds of hearings. Three agency facilities are under construction, so relief is on the way.
City HIV/AIDS Official Fired: D.C. Health Director Gregg A. Pane fired D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration director Lydia L. Watts yesterday in response to increased pressure on the city to be more proactive in their effort to combat the virus, the Post reports. The firing came in response to a critical report issued by the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice that claimed D.C. has underfunded and understaffed their AIDS efforts. Watts told the Post she did her best in the position with limited resources and support.