Photo by AWard Tour.

Good morning, Washington. On the same day that the U.S. Census found that the District’s African American population dropped 11 percent over the last decade, Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) went on something of an offensive, complaining of what he called “apartheid” in his ward. “I believe in integration, but I don’t believe in the apartheid we have in Ward 8. You don’t see corner stores in Ward 3. You don’t see the liquor stores,” said Barry in a Post article on the Census numbers. In an Examiner article, Barry was quoted as hinting that he’d like to see Ward 8 expand during redistricting to include other mixed-parts of the city, possibly pieces of Ward 6 near the new baseball stadium. That’s not likely to happen, though, according to officials in charge of redistricting. For a great primer on how redistricting in the wake of the Census numbers could be a heated process, read the City Paper’s take on it from last October here. For more takes on the Census numbers and their impact on the city, read this and this.

Wells Investigating Chauffeurs: The Washington Times reports that Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) is planning on using hearings set to start on Monday to ask D.C. agency heads about whether or not they had staff members drive them around the city, which would be a violation of city law. This week, Department of Employment Services head Rochelle Webb admitted that a staffer drove her to and from her temporary residence during the first two months of the year, but Wells says that not all agency heads have been similarly forthcoming with such information.

Many Local Residents Experienced Periods of Hunger: A new report has found that hundreds of thousands of individuals and families across the country experienced food insecurity in recent years, reports the Post. The national average stood at 16.6 percent; the region came in under that, with the District leading at 15.8 percent, followed by Prince George’s County (13.3 percent), Manassas (11.4 percent) and Montgomery County (7.8 percent). Locally, that amounts to over 400,000 people that have experienced periods of hunger. Speaking to the new face of hunger in the region, local residents exceeded the national average in terms of people who go hungry but don’t qualify for federal assistance. (The national average is 30 percent, while Loudoun County hit 70 percent and Falls Church 73 percent.)

Lululemon Arrest Caught Everyone By Surprise: TBD’s Erik Wemple has a good write-up on Brittany Norwood’s arrest in the Bethesda Lulelemon slaying, essentially saying that no one — journalists, cops and residents who left tips on a police hotline — expected Norwood to be the eventual suspect, no matter how much “Law & Order” we’ve all watched. One one person in the region seemed to have called it, and it was a guy who called into the Sports Junkies on 106.7.

Briefly Noted: Interim Councilmember Sekou Biddle lands the first media endorsement of the season, though it’s not really a ringing one … Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell vetoes P.E. bill … D.C. street to renamed after the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown … Maryland House approves $34 billion state budget.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2010, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis reached an agreement to purchase the Washington Wizards from Abe Pollin and the U.S. Senate defeated an amendment that would have forced the District to vote on marriage equality. In 2009, a number of congressmen were caught illegally exploiting a D.C. tax break and we encouraged everyone to give to the Statehood Delegation when they filed their taxes.