Good morning, Washington. It’s Fat Tuesday! It’s Super Tuesday! It’s the Tuesday after President Bush’s proposed 2009 budget was introduced! Can you feel the excitement, D.C.? The Post writes that our metro region’s leaders aren’t exactly pleased with the way next year’s budget came out, saying it would strip millions from environmental programs designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay and keep pay raises for civilian government workers below those of military personnel. The budget does call for a few bright spots for the District, however: Bush called for $500 million to begin construction of a giant Homeland Security Department headquarters in Southeast, which is a big victory for D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton; and a $6 million increase, to $14 million, in the amount the federal government contributes to the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority to reduce sewer overflows into rivers and creeks. Otherwise, Budget Tuesday isn’t looking all that Super, unless you count the hurricanes currently being blended all over town in anticipation of the possibility that we could soon know which new bozo will be crafting budget proposals next year.

Council to Vote on Paid Sick Leave: The D.C. Council is taking up a lot of different legislation in its session today, but perhaps none more interesting than the mandatory paid sick leave bill. The bill, which would make D.C. only the second jurisdiction in the country, after San Francisco, to require sick leave for all workers living within its borders, is expected to be changed by amendment before it’s voted on today, and support within the Council appears to be too close to call at this point. Mayor Fenty has already expressed concern about the bill’s potential effect on small businesses.

Introducing the Dulles Bus Project: You know folks are hopelessly cynical about the Dulles Rail project when they’re considering scrapping the whole thing in favor of more buses. Virginia lawmakers predisposed to bus rapid transit to the airport are bringing back the BRT argument, reports the The Examiner. Could dedicated bus lanes actually solve the Dulles Rail mess?

Briefly Noted: Judge says D.C. officials ignored special-ed crisis … New Clarendon Center project gains approval … Opponents of the D.C. gun ban filed their briefs with the Supreme Court yesterday … Police search for missing mother and her three young children.

This Day in DCist: In 2007 we got excited about how well area women’s basketball teams were doing and noted a format change at 94.7 FM.

Photo by chinchillax