Good morning, Washington. Catch any of last night’s Republican Convention? If not, you missed some firebreathing by Fred Thompson and a fairly un-Zell-Millerlike performance by Joe Lieberman, but otherwise not too much of note. Tonight will bring a speech by Gov. Sarah Palin which, given the recent media storm surrounding her, should make for some pretty interesting viewing. In the meantime, if our credentialing woes have left you jonesing for locally-oriented convention liveblogging you might want to head over to the Post, where some area delegates are contributing updates.

Virginia Braces for Cuts: Governor Tim Kaine has warned state agencies to prepare for as much as a 15% reduction in their budgets, according to WJLA. The state’s constitution makes it impossible for Virginia to run a deficit, and collected revenues are making it look like the year will end with a significant shortfall. Agency chiefs have been instructed to prepare budgets that reflect 5, 10 and 15 percent reductions in funding, and to avoid proposing cuts that would shift costs onto other departments or which are obviously untenable.

Pennsylvania Avenue Gets Spruced Up: The Post notes that work has begun on repaving Pennsylvania Avenue in preparation for the next presidential inauguration. The road was last repaved for the 2000 inauguration, and DDOT’s chief engineer Kathleen Penney admits that this work isn’t yet truly necessary. But Penney says the “showcase” nature of the street justifies the $2 million project, some of which will be paid for with federal funds.

Snakeheads!: Alright, it’s not exactly breaking news. But the general creepiness of the snakehead is always worth noting, and the Post has a particularly horrifying account of an encounter with the fish. Charles County sheriff’s corporal Gary Owen was leading a documentary TV crew through the woods when he found a puddle containing a pair of adult snakeheads and 165 of their spawn. The fish were destroyed, but as the article points out it’s probably all for naught: efforts to contain the invasive species haven’t yet had much success.

Briefly Noted: Montgomery County set to enact stricter runoff rules… Robbery/bomb threat in Fairfax… Va., Md. sending teams to help in New Orleans… Teens scamming riders at Tenleytown Metro… Post follows Gilmore at the RNC… Woman dies after ATV crash at home of Redskin Chris Samuels… Two DCPS police officers accused of bribery scheme…

Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user Cocoa Dream