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Hello out there, Washington! It’s a weekend of firsts. Obviously, we’ve reached the tasty cream filling of 2010’s first three-day weekend. (Don’t worry, there’s another one right around the corner in a little over a fortnight.) You’ve appropriately nursed the year’s first hangover, paid your first five cent bag fee, and cringed at one of the first terrifying crime story of the year.

So is it time to get down to the first business of the new year? Heck no! Let’s enjoy the first Saturday of 2010, shall we? (But do bundle up out there: there’s is a small chance to see the first few flurries of this winter tonight.)

On the reading list this morning:

>> The Post mourns one of their own, former ombudsman Deborah Howell, who died after being hit by a car in New Zealand on Saturday. Howell was the paper’s public editor for nearly four years between 2005 and 2008.

>> The City Paper’s Black Plastic Bag blog highlights the cultural contributions of recently deceased real estate magnate Robert H. Smith.

>> It’ll now cost you a bit more to ride on the Dulles Toll Road. The extra cash is going towards construction of the Silver Line.