Photo by mosley.brian

Good morning, Washington. Yesterday may have been the first day of school, but that doesn’t mean things are starting to pick up just yet in the local news department. Local reporters and news makers are still on vacation for the most part, if this morning’s headlines are any indication. Consider, for example, this fun-filled Washington Post visit to the WMATA sign shop, which allows us to learn that Metro sign makers are also responsible for hanging the signs they make, and that the people who work there don’t think signs will “ever go away,” even if they are “a little old-fashioned.” Too bad the Post didn’t send someone to the DDOT sign shop.

O’Malley Planning Layoffs, Furloughs: If you thought the revised budget process here in the District was a disaster, wait until you take a closer look at Maryland’s: Gov. Martin O’Malley is proposing that Maryland state employees be forced to take as many as 10 days of unpaid leave, along with another series of modest layoffs. The furlough plan would save more than $60 million this year, according to the Post. Could you survive missing out on two weeks of pay this year, if it meant you got to keep your job?

Condos In, Carry-out Out in Hill East: The Examiner writes about the Carry Lofts at 257 15th Street SE, which have finally opened in the spot where the New Dragon, an old carry-out long associated with drugs and violence, once stood. As far as nearby residents are concerned, it’s great that the carryout is gone, but they also don’t think they needed any more condos over there. Fair enough.

Briefly Noted: 87-year-old charged with murder in Howard County … Maryland requests federal funding for rail service improvements … Homeless man, ‘tired of living on the streets,’ charged in bank robbery … Virginia delegate charged with steering money to create job for himself.

This Day in DCist: In 2008, the D.C. delegation to the Democratic National Convention met for breakfast for the first time in Denver.