Good morning, Washington. Like every other publication in town, we can’t resist a good cover photo of the baby panda. We know how little Tai Shan feels: sometimes we also feel a little apprehensive and just want to peek around corners. The photo was posted along with two other by Flickr user randomduck. Today will be cloudy with highs in the 30s.

Kaine Announces Slow Growth Plans: Virginia Governor-elect Tim Kaine announced he’s serious about implementing a controversial plan to provide local communities more power to stop rapid real estate development, the Post reports. Kaine told reporters yesterday his proposal is a “common-sense” way to control traffic, while the real estate industry loudly complained it would make housing more expensive — and their lives more difficult. The bluster aside, the home builders said they would support several initiatives supported by Kaine during the election designed to coordinate development with transportation needs: requiring better coordination between local planners and the Virginia Department of Transportation, and requiring a traffic impact statement for all proposed development.

D.C. Housing Bubble Deflating: Realtors testified at an event at the National Press Club yesterday that high housing prices in the region are slowly returning to more realistic levels, the Washington Examiner reports. Calling the market “strong and stabilizing” they said the recent double-digit increases in value may be a thing of the past. The Examiner also reports D.C. is the third-hottest market behind Miami and Phoenix, and included the statistic that “Between 1997 and 2005, regional property values rose 143 percent. But between 1990 and 1997, property values rose only 1.4 percent.” The article comes to us just as we heard about two new blogs who have set out to document the housing prices — Bubble Meter and Inside the DC Bubble. The Post today also has an interesting story about a growing trend in the city — apartment complexes who are purchased by their residents.

Briefly Noted: Saudi prince gives Georgetown $20 million … Body found near school playground … Montgomery County making plans to save inspiration for Uncle Tom’s cabin …