Photo by Dan Lawrence 62

>> Two men were killed when a fire engulfed a vacant home in Southeast D.C. yesterday, reports the Post. The two were squatting at the house, and while police and city agencies had responded to the house on a number of occasions for different reasons, no one ever entered the house or knew that it was being occupied. Three firefighters were injured while battling the two-alarm fire.

>> So, is traffic on the Beltway really the worst in the country? One study released yesterday said so, but according to the Examiner a number of other studies have said that while the D.C. region’s traffic is bad, there are places where it is worse. It may all end boiling down to how and where traffic is measured; yesterday’s study didn’t include measurements of smaller roads used by at least one-third of commuters.

>> Parking might get more expensive in certain parts of town, writes WTOP. The D.C. Department of Transportation is considering instituting performance parking in Georgetown and Adams Morgan, allowing hourly rates to rise at peak hours as they do in Columbia Heights, parts of Capitol Hill and around Nationals Park. Any changes wouldn’t come until late 2013 or early 2014, and residents would be offered a chance to comment (complain?) before then.

Briefly Noted: Virginia House speaker expected to sink Senate redistricting plan … D.C. man shot in the face after lunging at police with a knife … Virginia pols give go-ahead for state takeover of failing schools … D.C. man leaves $28 million to social service non-profit … Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan dies in Senate.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2012, Occupy D.C. tried to figure out what came after McPherson Square and we remained jealous of 2010’s snow. In 2011, HR-57 remained quiet on a possible move to H Street NE.