Photo by philliefan99

Morning, Washington. The Washington Post checks in on the dire case of D.C. street food, which, improved though it may be, is still far from what it ought to be in a city of this size. What explains the lag in D.C. street food? The story begins with the case of one Shemondy Haile, a hot-dog vendor who experimented with selling Eritrean food from his cart before the city struck him down.

Though the city has made efforts to draw hot-dog vendors into more diversified trades, the Post reports, hot-dog vendors say that it’s just too hard to operate a food truck that sells anything else. So while D.C. issues hilariously awesome education sections named “You Don’t Have to Sell Hot Dogs,” the city overregulates anything that isn’t a hot dog. Plus, the vendors say, the depot owners who store their carts sell them their hot-dog makings and make it known, apparently, that they should keep selling hot dogs. (Sounds like a Chicago-style dog to me.)

The Post quotes a District food-safety official: “Now it’s not going to be easy, and we’re going to put you through a lot.” That doesn’t sound like a whole hill of encouragement, does it?

Another MARC Breakdown: ABC7 reports that yet another MARC train broke down yesterday after leaving Union Station. Unnamed Amtrak officials told ABC7 that the recent heat has “overwhelmed the electrical traction system this week which supplies power to most Marc Trains.” Here’s one upside: While passengers who got stuck on the train that broke down on Monday received just one free ticket, it appears that riders who got stuck yesterday received VIP passes.

Strasmas Hits eBay: NBCWashington notes that a signed Stephen Strasburg rookie card is going for more than $100,000 on eBay. As of this morning, more than 140 Strasburg nuts have bid on the card. Some of them appear to have substantially deep pockets. For the baseball card collector on the bubble: Shipping is free. Maybe street vendors ought to consider selling the Strasburger?

Did You See That?: The clouds during sunset were intense. Heat lightning illuminated the sky shortly after sunset and the cloud formations throughout were especially dramatic.

Briefly Noted: Barn collapses in Montgomery County . . . Specialty Hospital of Washington-Hadley hit with tax lien . . . North Virginia businessman brings United Football League to Norfolk . . . Downed power lines close I-270 overnight.