It’s not everyday that you run into a marching band on the District’s streets. Yesterday was one of those days, though. After attending a brief meeting in the Judiciary Square area, DCist emerged to find a high school marching band clad in yellow t-shirts bearing the slogan, “Brown for Mayor.” And suddenly it all made sense — Michael Brown, son of the late Clinton era Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, officially declared his candidacy for mayor yesterday amidst musical fanfare and alongside a group of devoted followers that traveled to the city’s eight wards to spread the gospel. So far Brown, at right, faces Council-members Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) and Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5), Council Chair Linda Cropp, and former Verizon executive Marie Johns in next September’s Democratic primary. If anything, the race will be colorful — Brown’s yellow-themed campaign schwag will contrast nicely against Fenty’s green, Cropp’s red, Johns’ turquoise, and Orange’s — yep, you guessed it — orange.

Area Becoming More and More Crowded: The Washington area just had to go an get all popular, now didn’t it? WTOP is reporting on a Council of Governments study which found that the Washington metropolitan area grew by 352,000 people from 2000-2004, bringing the region’s total population to just under five million.

Funding Summit for Metro Planned: In a quest akin to finding the Holy Grail, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments agreed yesterday to hold a regional summit on funding for WMATA, the region’s troubled transit agency. The summit, scheduled for October 3, will discuss plans for a dedicated source of funding for the agency, upon which $1.5 billion in federal aid proposed by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) is conditioned.

Regional Emergency Plans Reconsidered: In the wake of the federal government’s lacking response to Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, local leaders are planning on reworking emergency plans to put less focus on federal assistance, reports the Post. Officials from Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Fairfax counties have asked city and county managers to review and revise current plans within a month.

Barry May Run for Council Chair: Well, at least he’s not running for mayor. Marion Barry — now a Council-member for Ward 8 and formerly a four-time mayor and one-time convicted felon — may run for the City Council’s top position, writes NBC 4. Ummmm, yay? If so, he’ll face some stiff competition from fellow Council-members Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3).

Briefly Noted: Shaq and Marion Barry visit evacuees in D.C. Armory … D.C. firefighters sue to keep beards … Allies of Mayor Anthony Williams prosecuted.