Photo by Fotomoe.

Good morning, Washington. So how was your weekend? Good? It probably had to be better than Mayor Fenty’s, which was interrupted by polling which indicated that — despite a majority of Washingtonians who feel like the Mayor has brought change to the city and that things here are going pretty well — he’s in big, big trouble. It has to be a difficult situation for Fenty to swallow — after all, as Mike DeBonis apted summarizes in a Fenty pre-obituary, “voters appreciate what Fenty has done but would like to fire him anyway.” (Though Hizzoner did get to preside over the Columbia Heights Day cupcake-eating contest, so, you know, the weekend wasn’t a total loss.) Can the Mayor, who now admits he’s “the underdog,” flip a 15 point “definite” voter deficit in 15 days? We’ll see; this morning’s opening of early voting at Judiciary Square is already bustling with activity. A small programming note: our own Martin Austermuhle will be talking about the numbers on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt this morning, so if you’re around a television, flip on over to TBD.

Same Old Metro, Just More Expensive: Metro’s morning peak-of-the-peak fare increase went into effect this morning, and it seems like people are more confused than anything else. For those of you who are having trouble following the new changes (or usually just slap your SmarTrip and sort out the financial impact later), check out WaPo’s fare increase comparison tool.

We Do Need Some Education: Even as they cut back on portable classrooms, the Examiner’s Lisa Gartner reports that school districts across the metro area are coping with record numbers of students, a boom which can be attributed to the housing market (with more people staying put, there’s more kids to educate) and a constant stream of new residents coming to partake in D.C.’s solidified job market. Waiting lists for DCPS, eh? I bet no one was projecting that twenty years ago.

Virginia’s Computers Still Down: The Commonwealth’s centralized computers are still experiencing problems after a massive crash last week, and so Virginia’s DMV will not be able to process licenses again today. It’s causing a huge headache: the state says that if Virginian’s license expired between Wednesday and today, they must go and renew in person once service is restored — and long lines are expected due to the six-day backlog.

Briefly Noted: Michelle Rhee talks teacher labor on ABC — from a studio in Sacramento…Donovan McNabb may not play in the Redskins’ season opener against Dallas…U.S. Airways flight lands safely at National despite engine fire…Losing Strasburg will cost the Nats lots of cash…Breaking: it’s been hot this summer…Lucky dogs, about to get luckier…The Oxford English Dictionary will probably never be printed again. Damn you, internet!

This Day In DCist: Last year, Alice Swanson’s ghost bike went missing. In 2007, a fire tore through Alberto’s in Dupont Circle, while a trip through the 2006 archive shows that the latest Michael Brown confusion is nothing new.