A joyous Friday morning to you all, D.C. So, fess up. Did you, despite all of our warnings, get stuck in last night’s National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony traffic? How bad was it? Or maybe you actually attended, as it seems Flickr contributor philliefan99 did. We’ll have a brand new video feature shortly on the pageant rehearsal that took place earlier in the day on Thursday.

It’s also beginning to look like plans for the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 have officially taken control of the local news cycle …

Police Union Grumbling About Bar Hours: The Post leads off the Metro section with some comments from Kristopher Baumann, the head of D.C.’s police union, on how worried he is about the D.C. Council’s decision to allow bars and restaurants to stay open 24-hours and to serve alcohol until 5 a.m during the inaugural week. Baumann is worried that a police department stretched so thin will be unable to respond effectively to neighborhood crime.

No Metro Escalators for Inauguration: WTOP is reporting that Metro expects to turn off a lot of its escalators on the day of the inauguration, much like it does at some stops on the 4th of July. It’s a safety issue, according to the transit agency, which says the move will help prevent those escalator backups you can often get when platforms are overcrowded.

Briefly Noted: Arlington County youth basketball coach pleads guilty possession of child pornography … Planners settle on two designs for the new National Mall levee … Suspect In officer-involved Montgomery County shooting apprehended.

This Day in DCist: Last year, there was drama at the D.C. Council breakfast, and the year before that, it looked like crime was actually going down from the previous year.

Photo by philliefan99