Bad day to sleep in if you’re a resident of Arlington or Alexandria. After failing with email and phone early warning emergency alerts, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to try using a siren system, which it will test today in Northern Virginia. Residents can expect a wail (in London, whale), followed by instructions regarding the appropriate action to take.

D.C. Officials to Next Try Huffing, Puffing: Back in the fall, the city made the decision to take over the titles of properties on the South Capitol Street baseball stadium site through the use of eminent domain. Now, with an apparent construction deadline looming, the city has asked a Superior Court judge to forcibly evict remaining tenants by February 7th. While a lease agreement remains unsigned, the district plans to begin construction work in order to open the stadium March 1, 2008. The Post notes that negotiations over fair value for the seized properties could stretch on for years.

Virginia Poised to Continue Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants: In a strategy that appeals to much of the state’s electorate but which could be economically damaging for the Commonwealth, the Virginia House and Senate are prepared to consider some 40 bills this year to limit illegal immigration. Potential bills include measures to restrict employers’ ability to hire, reduced access to education for undocumented workers, restrictions on bilingual driving tests, and denials of marriage licenses without documentation of one’s immigration status. Any bill that passed the Virginia House and Senate would go to Governer Tim Kaine for approval or veto.

Briefly Noted: Businesses in an uproar after spate of Adams Morgan attacks…D.C. Auto Show a big deal…Police to crack down on meter jammers, cheaters…Maryland father charged after 8-year old shoots 7-year old.

Picture taken by IntangibleArts.