Once a butterstick, now a “solid little Tonka truck,” the baby panda that has transfixed attention on the District’s National Zoo and provided much-needed fodder for slow news days is six-weeks old today, almost half-way to the 100 days at which it is officially named. Zoo vets examined the cub yesterday for 14 minutes, reports the Post, weighing it in at four pounds and noting that teeth and open eyes are the next developments to come. All this panda love is great, but once Borf-like graffiti of the District flag with panda paw-prints starts appearing, as the picture above snapped by furcafe indicates, we know we might be taking this just a touch too far. Then again, with the new panda’s widespread popularity and can’t-go-wrong appeal, is a mayoral run in the offing? Everyone else is doing it, after all…

Beware the Off-Duty Speed Traps: If you’re driving through the Hillcrest section of Southeast anytime soon, watch out — an off-duty officer at the Metropolitan Police Department has been using his free time and a radar gun against speeders, writes the Post. The officer, Wendell Cunningham, stepped into the spotlight recently when he clocked MPD’s Assistant Chief Willie Dandridge doing 46 in a 25 and unsuccessfully tried to issue him a citation, resulting in an internal affairs investigation and an official rebuke of Dandridge’s actions. MPD hasn’t looked to kindly upon Cunningham’s off-duty hobby — he was officially chastised last month.

Alexandria Mayor Opposes Metro Searches: Fearing that random searches of bags would worsen crowding at stations and deter people from using Metro, Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille is seeking to dissuade the transit agency from instituting such searches, reports WTOP. The Metro Transit Police has been contemplating the security move since the July 7 bombings in London, and recently sent a delegation to New York, which started random searches in its extensive subway system in late July.

Debate Over Day Laborer Site Heats Up: A decision by the Herndon Town Council to approve a taxpayer-funded gathering place for day laborers, many of whom are illegal immigrants, has generated inter-county controversy, notes WTOP. Loudoun County officials yesterday pledged to block the site — which straddles that county and Fairfax County — by employing zoning restrictions on the 12-acre site. In related news, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich publicly disagreed with Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan, who recently stated that illegal immigrants should be embraced and provided with social services.

Briefly Noted: Stray bullet results in 118th homicide victim in District this year … Extradition of Washington area sniper to Maryland to be decided today … Increasing gas prices affect local police forces … Mysterious online boosters for Anthony Williams identify themselves.