Good morning, Washington. We hope you had a pleasant and restful evening despite the howling wind and bitter cold. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee had a bit of a rough night last night herself, as she was greeted by throngs of angry Ward 5 parents at the first community meeting that allowed her to present the school closures plan to the public. Ward 5 D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. had set up the separate meeting…

Good morning, Washington. It looks like California’s still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase “firefighters all but concede defeat,” and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast. Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the…

Good morning, Washington. As you make your way into work on this fine morning, a note to fans of Canadian super group Stars: “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”? Good song. “Set Yourself on Fire”? Good song. Setting your ex-lover on fire? Apparently not cool. Attack of the Dubyas: Washington Post Radio (WTWP) is shifting to a “personality driven talk format.” And whose personalities (I hear you cry) will be driven into us courtesy of the once-anodyne…

Good morning, Washington. Just one day after officials did their best to reassure metro area drivers that our bridges are safe to travel on, the Washington Post has pored over U.S. Department of Transportation statistics that show that a dozen bridges in the District, hundreds more in Maryland, and nearly 1,200 in Virginia are listed as “structurally deficient,” — the same rating as the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis Wednesday. Still, DDOT says that…

Ahhhh, the real start of summer: The consistently warmer temperatures … the first night you venture wearing skimpy clothes out … the year’s first Code Orange Bad Air Quality Day. However you prefer measuring the start of the season, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is predicting our first Code Orange air quality day today, meaning ozone levels are predicted to be extremely high and the air quality very poor. The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission…

Good morning, D.C. It was an eventful weekend across the District, with big to-do’s tying up traffic in every direction. We hope you didn’t spend too much time stuck in it. While we’re genuinely thrilled to hear that Oprah Winfrey’s commencement speech at Howard University was a big hit and was reported on all over the world, we’re pretty disappointed to have it be Monday morning and still have zero reports from any of our…

>> Ward 1 council member Jim Graham hopes the residents of Ward 5 won’t mind if he moves some strip clubs displaced by the new Nationals stadium into their neighborhood. Here’s a tip to make sure there’s no local resistance: Ward 5 residents get in for free! [Examiner] >> Don’t miss Tamara Jones and Roxanne Roberts’ merciless ribbing of President Bush for almost accidentally suggesting Queen Elizabeth II was over 200 years old. The…

Good morning, Washington. We hope you had as pleasant a weekend as we had, running around in that gorgeous warm sunlight and forgetting you ever complained about the weather in this city in the first place. Not even the threat of rain later this week, nor the mess of traffic on Saturday night that resulted from what was reportedly the least fun White House Correspondents’ Dinner ever, could ruin our overall improved moods. Seasonal affective…

The nation is still transfixed on the latest coming out of Blacksburg, especially the startling images and words that have come out of the package Cho Seung-Hui apparently sent to NBC News between his two shooting sprees. It’s also of course talking about the day’s two biggest stories coming out of Washington: The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the so-called partial-birth abortion ban, and the start of Congressional testimony by embattled Attorney General Alberto…

Good morning, Washington. Today is the day of the Voting Rights March. If you can, gather at Freedom Plaza at 2:30 p.m. to march to the capitol with your friends from DCist and other Washingtonians. Or, just meet us for the rally planned at 4 p.m. at the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Either way, we hope you make it out for at least one hour to show your support for District voting rights. Don’t let this…