Good morning, Washington. And the rain, it continues, though today looks as if it will be better than yesterday. As Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck was quoted as saying in an AP article on cnn.com, “It’s going to be a challenging week.” Challenging indeed — time to order some rain boots. WaPo tells us all about the rain, and though WJLA says crews are still pumping water out of Constitution Avenue, the traffic situation thus far is better than yesterday. Metrorail is expected to be resuming normal service today, and if you’re driving in, check out WTOP’s traffic report before hitting the road. Now time for some non weather-related news:
Williams Asks for Approval of Stadium Parking Plan: While the rain pitter-pattered outside our windows last night, the D.C. Council listened to the details of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams’ plan for parking at the new Nationals stadium. The Post tells us that the plan involves both underground parking with “above ground spaces wrapped inside 13-story towers, along with shops, restaurants, condominiums and a hotel.” As for money issues, the tab that D.C. will pick up for the garage project is $21 million, with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System financing the $300 million project. We’ll see what the council decides.
District Hears HIV Numbers, Launches New Program: In what is the first public estimate in regards to the number of people in the District infected with HIV, officials stated that as many as 25,000 people in the District may have HIV, which is more than four percent of all residents. The statistics were presented to the Mayor’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS, which is organizing a city-wide effort that starts today to urge all District residents between 18 and 84 to get tested. What the Post calls the “centerpiece” of the plan is an oral swab that gives results in 20 minutes with 99.8 percent accuracy. D.C. is outpacing other major cities in regards to the numbers of those with the HIV infection as well as the number of diagnosed AIDS cases.
Ten Commandments Will Stay Up in front of U.S. Supreme Court: Looks like a monument of the Ten Commandments that a Christian group decided to display on public space without any sort of a permit in May has been granted a stay of execution. WTOP tells us that the DDOT considers the issue to be regarding the First Amendment and freedom of speech issue, thus it will be allowed to stay on public space without having been placed there legally.
This Day in DCist: We did a mock NBA draft, interviewed Pat McGee, and expounded on the wonders of dollar sushi.
Briefly Noted: Nats get their top choice … Fireworks spark trouble for VA firm… After a shooting, crowd tries to push its way into a Columbia, MD triage … Fenty starts going door to door … Tom DeLay lives and breathes VA.
Photo snapped by IntangibleArts
