May 4 may well be remembered as the happiest day in D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams’ political career. It is today, at 10 a.m., that Williams and new Nationals owner Ted Lerner will come together to break ground on the new $611 million stadium in Southeast. The Nats may have come back to Washington in September 2004, but their longevity in the city was consistently tested by bruising battles over stadium financing and team ownership, the last of which ended yesterday. Will Williams be able to ride out the last few months of his term on the happiness of having sealed the baseball deal? Maybe. But he’s still got the battles to fight over the new hospital and the new central public library. We’ll at least give him today to celebrate.

D.C. Pols Make Nice With New Nats Owner: Council-members Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) aren’t the types to be held to what they say. First they were against the baseball stadium, then they were for it. First they accused new Nats owner Ted Lerner of “renting some blacks” for his bidding group, then they were all smiles as they joined him on stage yesterday for the formal announcement of the sale of the team, notes the Post. Members of the D.C. Council and Williams expressed their happiness with Lerner’s acquisition of the team, though they did express hope that he would try and do everything from improve the quality of the hot dogs at RFK to kick in $20 million for underground parking at the new stadium.

Slots in District Get Another Shot: The D.C. Board of Elections has allowed a voter initiative for legalized slot machines to go forward, reports WJLA. A group of offshore gambling promoters from the U.S. Virgin Islands are looking to build a gambling hall with 3,500 slot machines in Southeast, and need to collect 18,000 signatures to place the issue on the November ballot. This is the second time they’re trying to get slot machines legalized — their first try two years ago led to massive fines against the organizers for fraud and forgery in the collection of signatures for the petition.

Moose’s 15 Minutes of Fame Over: Charles Moose, the former Montgomery County Police Chief who led the hunt for the D.C.-area snipers in late 2002, is training to be a beat cop in Honolulu, Hawaii, writes WTOP. After the snipers were captured, Moose fast became a celebrity, writing a book on the months-long chase while fighting a police review board that sought to stop him from making money from the sales of his book. The book bombed, and Moose moved away.

Briefly Noted: VDOT to use optical effects to slow drivers … Faculty joins protest at Gallaudet University … Jose Guillen’s girlfriend robbed … Wal-Mart and Wegmans coming to Prince George’s County … D.C. to study adult illiteracy.

This Day in DCist: Around this time last year, we mixed up some spectacular Margaritas, saw a member of the D.C. Council square off against Big Pharma and had a damn tasty burger.

Picture snapped by DC Matt.