Good morning, D.C. Did you have a good weekend dodging and weaving between all those digestive disease specialists in town? We couldn’t help but be impressed by the sea of 20,000 be-purple backpacked conference attendees, and kept hoping we’d meet one or two who could explain to us exactly what Crohn’s Disease is anyway. WJLA was kind enough to remind us that Digestive Disease Week will have brought in $32 million to the District when all is said and done, in addition of course to the virtually bottomless pit of fun that is our enjoyment of bathroom humor. A clear win-win for the city.

Area College Presidents Part of National Trend: We’ve speculated on this question before, but this morning the WaPo digs in to wondering why D.C. seems to send so many University presidents packing. Susan Kinzie hypothesizes that it’s not actually the city’s fault, instead placing responsibility on larger trends emerging in higher education in the United States, such as the immense pressure university presidents are under today to show results combined with the oddly democratic nature of college campuses.

D.C.’s Bond Ratings Go Up: A lot certainly has changed since the 1990s, when the District’s bond ratings were down at “junk” level. Thanks to what Wall Street sees as continued fiscal discipline within city government, Fitch and Moody’s have both upgraded the District’s bond ratings to their top scores. CFO Natwar Gandhi said the city can now save about $20 million in debt service over the life of the bonds it has issued.

Briefly Noted: HUD to auction off Sayles Place Homes apartments in Southeast … Four teens shot in Northeast playground … Work on Eastbound Bay Bridge to slow commute.

This Day in DCist: In 2005 we talked about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s (R-Tex.) hopes to have a handgun in the District and noted the appearance of the Local Blog Log in the Express.

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