Photo by Mr. T in DC

Good morning, Washington. Plenty of news going on today, so let’s get straight to it. Keep it here with DCist as we follow a D.C. Council hearing on taxicab modernization, another hearing on looser gun registration rules and the imminent clash between Occupy D.C. and U.S. Park Police over camping.

Maryland Loves Slots: While the District continues grappling over its Internet gambling program, Marylanders are pledging their support for old-school gambling in the form of slots. The Post reports that 54 percent of Marylanders think that slot machine casinos have been a good thing for the state, and 61 percent support allowing table games like blackjack into the five permitted slots casinos. (Three have been built so far.) Additionally, 57 percent of all Maryland residents and 57 percent of Prince George’s County residents agree that slots should be allowed in new locations, such as the National Harbor. (The full breakdown of numbers is here.) Proponents see the expanded casinos as a way to compete with similar gambling opportunities in nearby states, while opponents worry that of crime and the social ills associated with games of chance.

Where are all the Good Teachers?: Despite complaints to the contrary, the Examiner reports that D.C. public school teachers rated “highly effective” and “effective” are pretty evenly distributed across the city. According to an analysis of teacher evaluations done by the newspaper, Ward 3 does have the highest proportion of highly effective teachers, but when second-tier teachers ranked as “effective” are included in the picture, things even out in school across the District. Of course, this news brings to light a related question — if good teachers are to be found in just about every school, what accounts for the ongoing achievement disparities? Poverty and family involvement, for one, say DCPS officials.

Virginia, Maryland Continue Pondering New Potomac River Bridge: It’s certainly not a new idea, but it’s also not one that seems to goes away. WTOP reports that officials and Virginia and Maryland continue to debate the merits of another bridge spanning the Potomac River, one which would most likely be located north of Dulles Airport. For some, the bridge is needed to handle increasing traffic flows from the Old Dominion to the Old Line State. For others, though, a new bridge would likely slice through existing protected lands in Maryland, cost close to $1 billion to build and probably be underused.

Briefly Noted: Two suspects die and two police officers hurt in weekend D.C. police chase … Metro sues union representing white-collar employees … Thousands jump into Chesapeake Bay for annual Polar Bear Plunge … Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley responds to comments made by his wife called same-sex marriage opponents “cowards” … Nat Pack hopefuls participate in tryouts … More trouble at D.C. youth jail, with two inmates and one guard ending up in the hospital.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, we said goodbye to the paper Metrobus pass and the Grey Market got its start. In 2010, residents said goodbye to Tai Shan, while in 2009 Michelle Obama dined with Michelle Fenty at Georgia Brown’s.