Photo by Paige Weaver.

Well, there might not have been a knock-down, drag-out battle over the future of United Medical Center, but that doesn’t mean today’s gathering of the D.C. Council wasn’t entertaining. One big subject of discussion at the Wilson Building this morning? Emergency legislation that will allow bars and restaurants in the District to remain open until 4 a.m. on March 13 in order to make up for the hour of service they lose due to Daylight Savings.

According to the legislation, proposed by Councilmember Jim Graham and Chair Kwame Brown and approved by a count of 11-1, bars and restaurants can serve alcohol to patrons until 4 a.m. on the 13th — obviously, the extension means that such establishments won’t be have to close immediately when the clock springs forward an hour at 2 a.m. The city will collect a $100 fee from businesses interested in the extension. (Graham had initially proposed a $50 fee, but Harry Thomas, Jr. doubled it during debate.)

Despite the fact that the legislation includes a provision allowing Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier to put restrictions on bars, Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who chairs the Committee on the Judiciary, was the lone dissenting vote. Mendelson argued that he didn’t think the move was necessary, since bars gain an extra hour of service time when the clocks fall back. Other Councilmembers, like Thomas and Marion Barry, argued that the bill didn’t deserve emergency status. Barry, at one point, asked Graham how long have people known daylight savings time is coming.