For a region that often runs in terror at the mere sight of snow, Washington and its environs managed the weekend’s snow-dump with a relatively calm and mature demeanor. This DCist was shocked to awake yesterday to cleared roadways and open businesses, though power outages were reported in some areas and local airports struggled to get air traffic in and out. Today should proceed regularly — an unfortunate truth for those of us whose employers follow the federal government’s lead on delayed openings — though some local school districts are playing it safe and closing altogether.

Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter: So this may not be at all related to on-goings in the District, especially since it happened in Texas, but we figured we may as well get in on the action and let DCist readers crack some jokes. Long story short, Vice President Dick Cheney shot and wounded — accidentally, or so says the VP’s office — a hunting companion. And…go.

MLB Officials Question Stadium Lease: Please, please let it be a joke. Over the weekend MLB officials expressed doubts over the stadium lease that the D.C. Council passed early last Wednesday morning, notes NBC 4. As is stands, the lease agreement caps the city’s contribution at $611 million, a provision that MLB officials stated might contradict provisions of the initial agreement they signed with the District in late September 2004. According to a Post story on the issue, Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox and chairman of the Expos’ relocation committee, has even gone as far as to push for binding arbitration, a step which would delay the project even longer and cost the city millions of dollars in fees.

Motorcades Cost District Millions: We’ve all seen Vice President Cheney’s motorcade flying through stopped traffic at 5 p.m. on any given day, making its usual way from the Old Executive Office Building to his residence at the Naval Observatory. But how much does that motorcade cost, and who is paying for it? WTOP reports today that the District — which, like any city or town visited by a senior official, is responsible for paying for police, fire, and EMS support for motorcades — shelled out $1.5 million last year for 1,300 motorcades through the city, pushing the total since 2000 up to $10 million. Cheney’s trip home — which could just as easily be completed using public transportation, we found — costs $2,000 to District taxpayers each time. District officials are obviously not happy with the arrangement, and have long been trying to get the feds to pay them back.

Briefly Noted: Complaints with MetroAccess jump 445 percent in one year … District paramedic beaten in ambulance … Gaithersburg police join the Segway revolution … Spotsylvania County police visit prostitutes undercover.

Picture snapped by MatthewBradley.