Photo by lmoore1118

A Post headline in its online version today pretty much sums it up for me: “As snow melts, so does its charm.” As the region struggles to regain a sense of normalcy after Snowpocalypse ’09 (more things are open today, but there are still plenty of people staying home) we’re left to deal with snow that’s either turning to slush and left to freeze during nighttime hours or shoveled and plowed into large, virtually impassable piles along sidewalks and roads. And looking at the forecast for the week to come, that snow won’t be going anywhere soon. Then again, I still want to give Mayor Adrian Fenty a high-five for handling snow removal — especially on major roadways — like a champ. Thinking back to the blizzard of ’03, it took the better part of the week to even get out of the house safely.

Sketchy Groups Get D.C. Earmarks: In news that’s anything but shocking, the Examiner writes that in 2009 the District handed out $48 million in earmarks to groups that were either unregistered or delinquent in paying their taxes. The report by D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols found that of the 154 earmarks, one-third went to groups not licensed to do business in the city, three owed the city back-taxes and seven collectively used $11 million on themselves instead of delivering services. The investigation was prompted by Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and taxpayer funds he steered towards shady groups.

No More Times on Sunday: The Post is reporting that the Washington Times, Washington’s other newspaper, will publish its last Sunday edition this coming weekend. The Times is in the midst of a rocky transition from conservative daily to something that is yet to be fully defined, but will include free distribution in some parts of town, a larger online presence and way fewer staffers.

Metro Learned From 2003 Storm: There isn’t much good news for Metro these days, but the transit system’s performance in the wake of the weekend’s snowstorm seems to be getting some positive reviews. The Examiner reports that Metro adopted lessons from the 2003 blizzard, thus allowing it to return to full service faster. Unlike six years ago, transit officials decided to suspend above-ground service when snow on the tracks hit eight inches, thus allowing the tracks to be more quickly cleared and service to resume once the snow stopped. In related news, it looks like Metrobus service is pretty much back to normal.

Briefly Noted: 100,000 in Virginia and West Virginia still don’t have power … Line up to get that H1N1 vaccine in Virginia … Republicans in Virginia looking to take back four seats.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, the feds scaled down Mayor Fenty’s overly optimistic guess that four million people would show up on Inauguration Day.