Good morning, Washington. We’re on the brink of the symbolic end of summer. Labor Day traditionally signals the conclusion of our dog days, the retiring of certain white attire, and the ushering in of cooler weather. But, of course, Labor Day is much more than a seasonal marker or a fashion barometer; in a year when public sector unions and their opponents were often in the spotlight, this weekend could be a good time to brush up on your holiday history.
Gallup also saw the yearly observance as an opportunity to take the country’s pulse on unions: A new poll found that a slim majority of Americans, 52 percent, approve of labor unions and, not surprisingly, that the difference between how Democrats and Republicans feel toward unions has reached record levels.
>> Today is slated to be the nicest of the holiday weekend, so enjoy it. The humidity is back, temperatures should be in the 80s, and there is a chance of rain for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
>> In sports, the Washington Nationals lost to the New York Mets 7-3 Friday night, and a federal judge ruled Friday that Roger Clemens will face another trial on charges of lying about drug use.
>> Maryland state Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) was arrested Friday in front of the White House during a demonstration of civil disobedience against what is now becoming an infamous planned pipeline. Approximately 166 people were locked up. “It doesn’t stop at our borders,” Pinsky told the Washington Post prior to his arrest. “This is the wrong direction. We should be moving ahead with clean energy … we have to get the word out.”
>> A new barbering school known as “54th and Cutz,” located in the Richardson Dwellings public housing community, is working with teens in some of Northeast D.C.’s most troubled neighborhoods.
>> This week, Lydia DePillis looked at the debate around adults in Georgetown who are seeking to limit student representation through ANC redistricting. Now, a Georgetown graduate student weighs in: “In the debate between Georgetown University students and representatives of the Burleith and West Georgetown neighborhoods over redrawing the ANC 2E’s single member districts, it’s clear that the students are acting like adults and the ‘adults’ are acting like children.”
>> Fairfax County residents who live near the Beltway’s four new lanes of traffic are saying the company building the $1.5 billion dollar Beltway HOT lanes in Virginia — to help with congestion — failed to put up a promised sound barrier before they opened new lanes. Now cars and trucks are thundering by just feet from residents’ bedrooms.
>> Harry Jaffe takes a look at UDC’s struggle to “shake off its reputation of mediocrity.”
>> D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton wants a redo.
>> Who needs a high-speed rail network when you can have your own antique rail car?
>> I don’t get it.
