At a press conference today, Mayor Vince Gray announced that the District is filing a lawsuit against a surprising target — the Travelocity gnome.

Gray and Acting Attorney General Irv Nathan announced that the lawsuit would target four online travel giants — Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and Priceline — for failing to pay full taxes on hotel rooms they sell in the District. (In early February, legislation went into effect in the District that forces online travel companies to pay taxes on the full cost of the room, not the discounted rate.) Nathan estimated that the losses amounted to between $4 and $10 million a year, and that the lawsuit would be demanding that the companies pay what they owe dating back to 1998. He also said that 40 similar lawsuits have been filed around the country, and three attorneys in his office would be responsible for litigating the case. (The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute does a better job explaining the problem here.)

In other news from the press conference, we go to the time-tested bullet points:

• “I am tweeting,” announced Gray, happily explaining that he had finally entered the social media realm. Here he is on Twitter, and here on Facebook.
• The State of the District Address, scheduled for next Monday, has been moved from the Convention Center to Eastern High School on Capitol Hill, Gray said. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and it’s free to the public.
• Gray stated that he had received 2,000 responses on a budget-related survey posted over the weekend. Given that the budget has been in the works for months and has to be closed out this week, it remains to be seen if that public input serves any real purpose. Gray did promise to attend community meetings on his budget, due April 1, throughout the coming month.
• WTOP’s Mark Plotkin asked Gray what his take on the U.S. war in Afghanistan was, a question Gray batted away. “I’ll stay focused on local policy,” he said. “It’s the safer place to be.” He did stress that he finds it hypocritical that D.C. residents can be sent to fight for democracy in other countries, when they don’t even really have it here.
• Gray said he did not know whether the FBI wanted to speak with him regarding the claims made by Sulaimon Brown, but he’d be asking his attorney about it today. He also argued that while he didn’t think a congressional investigation into Brown’s allegations was necessary, he’d be forthcoming with whatever is requested from the Hill.
• On the search for a new chief of staff, Gray would only say that he was moving ahead with “all deliberate speed.” And yes, even he chuckled when he realized he said “deliberate speed.”