Photo by Nivad

Good morning, Washington. It’s the middle of August, and local journalists are clearly straining to come up with story ideas at a time when everyone they might want to talk to is out on vacation. Here’s just a few of the ways you can tell: In the Post’s Metro section, we find a story titled, “Rise in Drunken-Driving Arrests of Women Deplored,” in which the author attempts to tie recent increases in female DUIs to the popularity of shows like The Real Housewives of New Jersey; the top “Local” story on the Examiner web site is a wire story about Hurricane Bill; and the Washington Times, apparently unable to locate any salacious stories about same-sex marriage or illegal immigration today, gave its top local slot to a wire story about a possible hate crime in Baltimore.

Arlington Sues to Stop HOT Lanes on I-395/95: Poor Arlington. Looks like it’s come down with a bad case of the NIMBYs! The County filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in an effort to stall plans for high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on interstates 95 and 395, citing air pollution concerns. Gotta wonder if that means Arlington is happy with the status quo on Shirley Highway, which is generally a parking lot. The state of Virginia has actually already delayed installing these lanes, however, due to the weakened bond market, so looks like Arlington won’t have to worry about trying out variable congestion pricing for a while anyway.

Norton Pressing On Spring Valley Munitions Sites: D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton toured World War I munitions burial sites in Northwest on Wednesday in an effort to reassure residents that the Army Corps of Engineers had everything under control, the Post reports. Norton’s been hammering away at the 16-year long cleanup project in Spring Valley since workers uncovered a vial of Agent Mustard earlier this month.

Briefly Noted: City to celebrate improvements to Marvin Gaye Park … Neighbors remember Charles ‘Gus’ Williams, who was shot and killed in Southeast last week … Va. medical assistant charged with sexual battery … Police charge man in Clarendon Apple Store shooting.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we got excited about the possibility of a Gilbert Arenas reality show, and two years before that, a man was shot at the Florida home of DeShawn Stevenson.