Photo by Nick Strocchia.

Good morning, Washington. The Examiner’s Freeman Klopott won the evening last night with a report about the District’s troubles with enforcing drunk driving laws. According to Klopott’s story, D.C. attorney general Irv Nathan has been dropping dozens of drunk driving cases left and right over the last week because the District’s breath analyzers continue to be inaccurately calibrated. D.C., who has had trouble with breath analyzers for years, recently bought new devices, but the Office of Medical Examiner is refusing to certify them — meaning that there currently isn’t any easy way for District police to assess how drunk a driver when they pull them over. Perhaps the most shocking part of the story: stripped of any useful breath technology, police are now taking urine samples from drivers in order to ascertain their level of intoxication. Not so shocking: there have been issues with that strategy, like one woman who accused two police officers of watching her as she urinated.

Silver Spring Teacher Accused of Beating Students: Susan Lee Burke, a first-grade teacher at Greencastle Elementary School in Silver Spring, was charged yesterday with beating several of her students on school property. Police claim that Burke choked, kicked and punched eight of the 16 students in her class in December; authorities say that none of the students were injured to the point where they showed visible signs of abuse.

Teacher Firings Reversed — What’s It Mean?: Speaking of educators, a team of TBD reporters ponder whether the reinstatement of 75 D.C. public school teachers, fired by Michelle Rhee in 2008, is a blot on the former chancellor’s legacy. The firings, of probationary teachers who were not yet certified, were some of the more uncontroversial during Rhee’s reign; the reason that the teachers’ were brought back — because DCPS failed to provide one-page principal evaluations to teachers when they were let go — appears to be more of a DCPS logistical issue than something which will sway public opinion about Rhee or her reform efforts.

Briefly Noted: D.C. police detective convicted on assault charges…Woman severely injured after being hit by a car at intersection of North Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue near Union Station…Breaking down some of D.C.’s tough-to-pronounce place names…Pepco president says he’ll forego bonus this year…Silver Spring man claims he killed wife…G.W. students criticize revamped noise ordinance…Benning Neighborhood Library nominated for Building of the Year award.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we were trying to figure out if the massive snow accumulation would wipe out an entire week of productivity; eventually, we just embraced the cabin fever.