Photo by savvy112

Good morning, Washington. Today, the the Post runs the third editorial in as many days focusing on the ethical controversies dogging the District’s elected officials. The newspaper’s editorial board now asks for quick resolutions where few seem to come; yesterday, it proposed a number of changes that could avoid such controversies; and the day before that, it printed an op-ed by political consultant on 10 things the District could do to prevent ethical and legal scandals of this sort. If you need a refresher on what our D.C. Councilmembers are accused of, read our handy primer on the city’s ethically challenged legislators. In a related opinion piece, political consultant Chuck Thies doesn’t think D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown should resign, rather than give up his responsibilities as the council’s top official.

Maryland Tuition Breaks for Undocumented Immigrants Move to Ballot: Enough Maryland residents have signed petitions asking that a law granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants be put to a statewide vote, writes the Post. Proponents of putting the law to a public vote, the first in 20 years, gathered over 130,000 signatures; they needed 55,000, roughly three percent of the number of people that cast ballots in the 2010 election. If the proposal survives promised legal challenges, it will go to Maryland voters in November 2012. The law, which will be suspended pending a vote, allows undocumented immigrants who have completed three years of high school in Maryland to apply for in-state tuition rates, and is estimated to cost the state $40,000 per immigrant.

Pedicabs — Awesome, or Awful?: WTOP debates the issue, wondering if the increasing number of pedicabs in the District are fun or simply a menace that must be dealt with post-haste.

Fire on U Street, All Clear: An early morning fire at a liquor store along U Street NW has been cleared up, reports WJLA. The store, located between 13th and 14th streets, suffered serious damage. We’ll have a full report with photos shortly.

Kentucky Sues D.C. Over Rolling Papers: A Kentucky-based tobacco products company has sued the District for a law that makes it harder for minors to buy rolling papers, writes WTOP. According to the lawsuit, the measure is vague and unconstitutional; city officials claim it helps crack down on the use of rolling papers by minors to smoke marijuana.

Briefly Noted: I was wondering who this guy marching in the July 4 Palisades Parade was; Harry Jaffe enlightens me … P.G. County plans to install mobile speed cameras near schools … Just call it Maryland’s Casey Anthony Law … Above-ground Dulles station or not, Virginia is worried about tolls.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2010, Carlos Allen remained in the District’s mayoral race and the National Zoo’s red panda died. In 2009, the City Paper posted some juicy recordings of Marion Barry’s voicemails and Kwame Brown wanted a texting Metro operator fired.