Photo by Jessica Juriga

Good morning, Washington. No doubt many of you have been following the news of longtime fugitive and admitted sex offender Roman Polanski’s recent arrest in Switzerland. For many — including some at our hometown paper — the case has revealed a confounding moral dilemma: should we punish those who break the law even when we sort of like them? Truly, this is a question with no easy answers, as two area governments are discovering for entirely different reasons:

D.C. Considers Giving Funeral Attendees a Pass on Parking: Councilman Michael Brown has introduced legislation that would exempt funeral attendees from parking enforcement for five hours, according to WJLA. Critics have called the five hour window too long, and pointed out that many of the church congregations likely to benefit from the legislation have largely suburban memberships.

Montgomery County Cops May Have to Pay Speed Camera Tickets: The Examiner updates us on the ongoing argument between Montgomery County and its police officers. A lower court found that four on-duty officers who were caught speeding by automatic cameras did not have to pay the accompanying fines. The county is seeking to have that overturned. Be sure to check out the comment left at WJLA’s site by Fraternal Order of Police representative Walter Bader, who claims that the real issue is the county’s improper transfer of liability from the vehicle owner (the county) to the driver (the officer). See, normally the ticket goes to the vehicle owner, who can then offer proof that someone else was driving, who may then be ticketed. Since the county knew who was driving, they skipped straight to ticketing that person, which Mr. Bader appears to consider improper.

Briefly Noted: Metro announces plans for more cameras on buses, trains and elsewhere… License of gun shop connected to D.C. Sniper to remain revoked… Accused Holocaust Museum shooter being evaluated for competence to stand trial in N.C…. Naked man’s body found on playground of P.G. County church… D.C. parents protest city’s decision to remove students from Virginia special ed academy… “Oh my God…the PTA has disbanded!”… String of burglaries hits Southeast neighborhood… City fires school database vendor…

This Day In DCist: One year ago we checked out the big names at the book festival and D.C. Vote released a music video.