Good morning, Washington. WTOP is carrying an interesting story on Metro today, writing about a report that analyzes Metro’s less-than-stellar reputation with area commuters. According to the report, Metro suffers from a “reputation deficit” that makes it harder for the transit agency to promote and advance transit solution for the region. The report also finds that Metro’s real traffic-saver is the bus, not the train; that Metro should be commended for its role in promoting economic development and that infrastructure problems will dog the system no matter how much it works on improving quality and personnel training. If Metro overcomes these challenges, writes the report, it will be able to serve as a model for mass transit across the country. That’s quite an “if,” but nice to think about nonetheless.

Holocaust Museum to Re-Open Today: After the tragic shooting on Wednesday of security guard Stephen Johns by white supremacist/nut-job James von Brunn, the Holocaust Museum is set to re-open its doors to the general public today, writes WTOP.

Details Emerge in Columbia Heights Shooting: Extra police presence or not, a man was still shot and killed in the heart of Columbia Heights on Wednesday night, writes the Post. Rahiem Moore was killed steps away from a police post that had been set up in response to a number of violent incidents in the neighborhood and around the corner from a security camera. The incident has some residents asking what good the additional police have done.

Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Referendum May Come Today: After a lengthy and heated hearing on Wednesday, the Board of Elections and Ethics may rule as early as today on whether or not a referendum on legislation that would allow the District to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states can go forward or not. The Washington Times reports that the board’s two members may make a decision by today because if allowed to, organizers of the proposed referendum would only have until July to gather over 20,000 signatures to put the question on the 2010 ballot. Yesterday Attorney General Peter Nickles added his voice to the debate, siding with those that argue that the referendum would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act.

Briefly Noted: Security guard that shot Holocaust Museum shooter is retired D.C. police officer … Great Chesapeake Bay Swim on Sunday … Most obvious headline of the day: “Wrong-way Driving Leads to Crashes.”

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, Mayor Adrian Fenty ordered Attorney General Peter Nickles to review the city’s options regarding same-sex marriage and Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) called Maryland drivers “the devil incarnate.” In 2007, we found out that the Beltway/I-270 bottleneck is the seventh worst in the country.

Picture snapped by blueiris2006