Well, consider our faith in the capital city of the world’s superpower (mostly) restored. Despite the wintry mix of death and official emergency declaration yesterday, District kids and Federal employees are all expected to test their mettle and report for duty. Of course, the pride in knowing that long-predicted precipitation won’t bring your citizens to their knees is nothing compared to having a second straight long weekend. Lucky kids in many Virginia counties have another day to frolic in the icy, slushy remains of snow while most other suburban schools are opening two hours late.

As the cleanup of our second major storm continues, we’re pleased to give officials a tentative thumbs up. Main roads are largely salted and the timing of Sunday’s storm seemed to favor plowing crews. Now if everyone could just clear their sidewalks…

Please Lord Not Again: District police and Metro officials are still investigating an accident Saturday in which a mother says her child was knocked out of her stroller by the tail end of a Metro bus. Thankfully the little girl’s injuries were minor. In the midst of the shocking streak of pedestrian deaths in front of buses this incident highlights safety concerns at the vehicle’s back end. Visibility is a serious concern, as the bus involved in this weekend’s collision continued on its route, unaware of the activity behind it. As we reported last week, Metro is in the midst of training drivers to be more aware of pedestrians, but clearly has a lot further to go to make the mere act of walking a less deadly proposition.

At Least There Was No Recount: After years of tolerating celebrities sticking their fingers in the political arena, Washington got it’s own man the highest award in entertainment last night. As is often noted by our loyal readers, we can hardly speak of any weather event without a shout-out to Al Gore and his crazy old global warming. Well, a singular focus paid off for the former V.P. last night as he accepted the Oscar for best documentary for “An Inconvenient Truth.” Gore even managed to be charming when taking the stage with Leonardo DiCaprio, though those are some pretty easy coattails to ride.

Briefly Noted: Much needed school repairs to be announced… Metro asking Maryland to pony up some cash… Howard Theater could see new life…

This Day in DCist: Last year we wondered if we better stop snitching.

Photo by Flickr user cornflakegirl_.