Photo by Colusite.

Good morning, Washington. The wave of murders in Prince George’s County continued last night — a man was stabbed fatally on the 2400 block of East University Boulevard, the tenth homicide in ten days within the county’s borders. Police told the Washington Post that the deceased and another man who was also stabbed “may have been attacked by gang members who mistakenly thought they were rivals.” The attack appeared to have been random and police are unsure if there is any connection to another stabbing on University Boulevard which occurred on Saturday. The County is trying to beef up their forces and have assigned a major to work on curbing 2011’s murder-a-day pace; but whatever they’re doing so far, it’s not working.

District Schools Barely Avoid An F: Maryland’s schools are the best in the nation, according to Education Week’s annual report — but the District’s schools struggled to earn a passing grade. D.C.’s public schools earned a D+, on par with South Dakota and Nebraska in the magazine’s rankings, but next-to-last in the country when considering the numerical value associated with that grade. Maryland earned a B+, though they did take a hit for their handling of poor and minority children. Virginia finished fourth with a B- grade. Some contend, however, that EW’s methodology gives wealthier jurisdictions unfair weight.

Yeah, About That Open Government: The press were invited to the first full meeting of Mayor Vince Gray’s cabinet yesterday — but they didn’t get to stick around for long, despite the fact that one of the things handed out was a copy of Gray’s memo on increasingly open government. Freeman Klopott reports that reporters got to the meeting, were handed a copy of the memo, got an introduction to the cabinet members, then were kicked out of the room. Nothing says transparency like removing the media! Perhaps Gray’s idea of open government is less allowing media to report on his cabinet meetings and more giving awkward video tours of his new office.

Briefly Noted: Former Councilmember Carol Schwartz will not run in April special election…Meet Washington’s new fire chief…Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. answers questions about economic development of Rhode Island Avenue NE…Artisphere has its first executive director, Jose Ortiz…Arrest made in murder of D.C. teenager…Female falls from building on Georgetown campus at 37th and O Streets NW, taken to hospital in serious condition…BeyondDC has the visual proof of Southwest’s painful urban renewal.

This Day in DCist: Last year, Washingtonians were battling a huge water main break, playing some hockey on the frozen C&O Canal and checking out the newly-opened Big Chair Coffee ‘n Grill.