Though we’re still technically in recession, things seem to be looking up in the area — at least for homeowners. WTOP reports that home sales in the D.C. region are on the up and up, seeing an increase of 2 percent in the District, 10 percent in Prince George’s County, 12 percent in Fairfax County and 16 percent in Montgomery County. Sure, home prices are still down compared to last year, but they seem to be rising every month. So if you were waiting for the local market to hit rock-bottom before buying that dream home, you may just have waited too long.

White House Garden Planted; Dinner for Nation Ready in Two Weeks: First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and 25 students from Bancroft Elementary School in Mt. Pleasant (OMG!!!1! That’s across the street from my house!) yesterday to plant the White House’s new garden, writes the Post. They planted kale, rhubarb, arugula and 10 kinds of herbs in the garden, which will provide fruits and vegetables for the First Family. Spare a spate of bad weather, the first crop of lettuce, spinach and herbs should be ready for the Obamas in two weeks.

D.C. Council Opens Investigation in Firetruckgate: The Examiner’s Michael Neibaeur should feel proud. It was just two weeks ago that he reported on the odd donation of a D.C. firetruck and ambulance to a Dominican beach town, and now everyone is looking into the who, why, where and when of the aborted gift. Today comes news that the D.C. Council will be stepping in to investigate Firetruckgate, with Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) giving themselves subpoena power to get to the bottom of what happened. Attorney General Peter Nickles isn’t happy about the investigation, calling it a “misallocation of resources.”

Maryland Considers Saving Preakness: The government has stepped in to save banks and insurance companies, but a horse race? It looks like it. WJLA is reporting that a top aid to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley testified yesterday in favor of legislation that would allow the state to step in to save Pimlico Race Track, home of the Preakness Stakes, from bankruptcy. There are still legal issues to be hashed out, and the General Assembly will have to vote on the legislation before closing its current session.

Briefly Noted: Help find Sparky! … PG County jail officials ignored warnings … Metro adding 20 cars to Red and Green lines next week … Maryland stalls on transgender protection bill.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, Jim Graham took on U Street hotspot Marvin and we saw Capitol Hill’s Murky Coffee close down for good. In 2007, D.C. was denied one of Al Gore’s Live Earth concerts and the Nats stunk up the start of their third season in Washington. (Hey, at least they’re consistent, right?)

Picture snapped by Bullneck