Photo by matvonthies.

Good morning, Washington. You know what’s awesome? When the District government promises to stop spending money it doesn’t have, but simply continues to do so. WAMU’s Patrick Madden gets the scoop of the week, reporting that despite a travel ban ordered by Mayor Adrian Fenty in October to help deal with a $175 million budget gap, nearly 20 city agencies have sent workers on city-funded trips to places like Las Vegas. All told, the travel has cost the District $70,000. The news follows similar scoops by the Washington Business Journal’s Michael Neibauer on cuts in city spending on supplies and the City Paper’s Alan Suderman on the city’s hiring freeze, neither of which have been as absolute as maybe we’d all hope.

Job-Seeking Ex-Convicts Might Get Reprieve From D.C. Council: The D.C. Examiner reports that legislation being considered by the D.C. Council would prohibit most city agencies from inquiring into the criminal backgrounds of applicants until they get an interview. The legislation, sponsored by Council member Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) and six others, would not apply to agencies like the police that are required to run background checks. Supporters say it would help the estimated 60,000 ex-felons in the District reintegrate into society, while opponents argue that it would be District residents at risk. The legislation is part of a broader movement to “Ban the Box” (the box being a question on criminal background that job applicants usually have to respond to), though this effort is more narrowly tailored to focus on city jobs.

D.C. GOP Remains Hopeful For Special Election: The District’s Republican Party may not have had a good 2010 election season (they even had a minority scare), but it’s looking forward to the special election to fill the seat being vacated by council-chair-to-be Kwame Brown. The Washington Times writes that the D.C. GOP is looking to field a candidate for the citywide seat, and drops the names of former Ward 3 challenger Dave Hedgepeth and State Board of Education member-elect Patrick Mara as possible contenders. There’s even rumors that former Council member Carol Schwartz could jump into the contest, setting up a possible 2008 re-match between Mara and Schwartz. (We’d love to see this, along with a reinvigorated Missy Reilly Smith candidacy.) A number of Democrats are likely to throw their hats in the ring, but first they have to deal with what’s likely to be a nasty internal Democratic Party appointment for Brown’s seat in the four months that it will be empty before the special election.

Fenty Takes on Teachers Union: Wait, isn’t Mayor Fenty on the way out? No worries — taking on the city’s teachers union is part of his plan to redeem his mayoralty, writes the Post’s Mike DeBonis. In recent public appearances, Fenty has criticized the teachers union, which he consistently did battle with in his bid to reform the District’s schools. (He was joined by Superwoman Michelle Rhee in fighting school-based labor.) One interesting outtake from the article — that $1 million the American Federation of Teachers was said to have spent on unseating Fenty may not actually be true. Very few observers, including a Fenty campaign official, believe that they dumped that much money into beating Fenty.

Briefly Noted: Man shot in Northeast park … T.C. Williams gets Facebook page taken down … Maryland man arrested for road rage … Your questions on the DC9 case answered … Ohio Drive to close for the weekend.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2009, Mayor Fenty promised to ditch the police escort he had used for his daily bike rides and we asked whether Metro’s new bus map was easier or harder to read than its predecessors. In 2008, we wondered if the Post was going a little far with their commemorative Obama election victory edition.