Photo by LaTur

Good morning, Washington. More of that winter that Potomac Phil predicted yesterday is coming over the next few days. And by that we mean sun and temperatures reaching into the 50s. Ahhh, winter.

D.C. Surplus Won’t Be Easy to Spend: Recent news that the District came across a $240 million budget surplus at the end of 2011 has provoked plenty of requests for money from interest groups in D.C. WAMU reports that social service organizations want $45 million of the cash for programs that were cut in the past, just as fiscal hawks want to use it to roll back a tax increase on the city’s richest residents. But budget officials said yesterday that the money has gone to rebuild the city’s savings account, so it won’t be available for any one cause.

Federal Judge Rules Against Occupy D.C.: A federal judge sided with the U.S. Park Police yesterday in denying a request from two Occupy D.C. protesters that it be prohibited from enforcing anti-camping rules in McPherson Square, writes the Washington Times. The ruling simply means that Park Police can enforce camping regulations, as they say they have been doing since Monday, but still have to give warning if they plan on closing the park completely or order an eviction.

Red Line Work Won’t Be Done Anytime Soon: The Examiner reports that Metro busiest line is set to undergo another three years of track work, which means that commuters can expect ongoing delays through 2015. But don’t celebrate yet — the Red Line is the first to undergo such work, and there’s no timeline on how long work on other lines will take.

Briefly Noted: Man dressed as woman Transgender person stabbed at bus stop … Student molested at D.C. school … MoCo gets closer to school bus cameras … D.C. wants increase in bond rating … Virginia officials to start work on new I-66 lane … Trial in University of Virginia slaying to start Monday … WAMU to move to new building … D.C. fire trucks, meet historic preservation rules … $400,000 for a tent? Sure!

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, Dan Snyder accused the City Paper of anti-Semitism, Ralph Nader called on President Obama to liberate the District and we learned that Butterstick was living the good life in China. In 2010, D.C. WASA searched for a new identity and we prepared for 12 to 20 inches of snow.