Good morning, Washington. Despite the event posing a dire enough threat to merit extensive coverage by the national media, it appears that most of us have survived yesterday’s early Starbucks closing time. Still, this is no time to get complacent.

Committee Rejects Md. Texting-While-Driving Ban: Via WTOP the AP reports that a proposed ban on sending text messages while behind the wheel has died in committee in the Maryland legislature. Lawmakers opposing the ban said that it was redundant since reading or composing SMSes while driving would already violate statutes against reckless driving. However, they still warned that they might have to pass such a ban in the future.

D.C. May Face Budget Shortfall: WTOP is reporting that slumping sales tax revenue has unexpectedly put the District $75M into the red. Declining tax revenues have been a problem for many local governments due to the troubled real estate sector, but D.C. had been expected by many to be largely immune to these effects. Although a deficit was projected for the year, the news of its size and source have both come as a surprise.

Immigration Policy Proves Pricey: One week ago news arrived that Prince William County was emptying its contingency fund to pay for its new anti-illegal immigrant measures. Now NBC4 reports that that money won’t be enough. The county’s supervisors were presented with a revised budget for the initiative yesterday, and it now comes in at nearly three times the initial estimate. Although a final vote on the matter won’t come until April, increases in property taxes are being proposed to balance the county budget, which is suffering both from the new expenditures and the aforementioned housing market downturn.

Briefly Noted: Kaine announces $4.25 million for farm preservation, anti-foreclosure measures… Meningitis case at UMD puts 30 on antibiotics… Metro considers $500k for review by outside consultants… Fairfax gym theft operation broken up, nets five arrests… Sculpture rejected as terrorism memorial… N. Va. Imam may have aided Al-Qaeda…

This Day In DCist: One year ago we expressed solidarity with Puerto Rico and frustration with the fate of our own (doomed) voting rights legislation.

Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user esshots