Photo by thisisbossi

Good morning, Washington. There’s plenty of news out there on this steamy August Friday, so let’s get straight to it.

Latinos Moving Out of Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights: While gentrification is often described as simply a black-white switch, the Examiner reports that the District’s Latino population is similarly being impacted by rising home prices in Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights, two neighborhoods it has long settled in. Between 2000 and 2010, the Latino population in the two neighborhoods fell close to 25 percent, while it consequently rose in Georgia Avenue neighborhoods like Park View and Brightwood by roughly 50 percent. The shift is attributed to housing costs and stock; both Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights are simply more expensive than they used to be, and both feature more condos that are less family-friendly.

Virginia Wants to Quantify How Awful Your Commute Is: If you’ve ever been on I-66 during rush hour (or at any hour, really), you’ve known the pain of never-ending traffic jams all too well. And according to the Post, Virginia now wants to help you better understand how painful those backups can be — starting Monday, three electronic signs from Gainesville to the Capital Beltway will tell drivers how long they can expect to sit in traffic until they get to their destination. The signs will remain for two months, and then state officials will determine whether or not they’re worth keeping.

Now There’s a Second Good Reason to Visit Rosslyn: Beyond serving as a gateway to Iwo Jima, there hasn’t been much to visit in Rosslyn since the Newseum decamped for its new Pennsylvania Avenue digs. Until now, that is. WTOP reports that a historical marker has been placed outside the innocuous parking garage that served as a meeting place between the Post’s Bob Woodward and his Watergate informant. The two met in space 32D, where the informant, the FBI’s Mark “Deep Throat” Felt, fessed up to what would eventually become the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.

Briefly Noted: Latino activist Saul Solorzano passes away … OK, so it’s not carmageddon, but it’s something like it … Virginia has budget…surplus? Lucky them … First execution using new drug cocktail takes place in Virginia … Welcome back to school, now watch those new speed cameras … D.C. getting 67 acres of Walter Reed campus.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2010, a District resident got himself a drivers license (though it wasn’t his) and we spotted a great correction. In 2009, we spoke with The Gibson’s Derek Brown and protestors held a kiss-in at the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring.