Good morning, Washington. Are ya ready for some embezzlement scandal news? Of course you are! This morning’s update comes not from the embattled Office of Tax and Revenue, but rather from the D.C. Public Schools front office, as the Examiner reports that Eugene Smith, the former director of internal audits for DCPS, entered a guilty plea yesterday to charges of stealing nearly $50,000 from a charter school account. Smith was fired by the school system…

>> Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee will reportedly ask city officials for an extra $81 million to fix D.C. Schools’ totally screwed up special education system. Expect D.C. Council chair Vincent Gray to totally lose his shit tomorrow. [Examiner] >> Amazon begins offering same-day local delivery to D.C. [DC Metblogs] >> 6 reasons the Maryland Renaissance Festival did not suck. [Arjewtino] >> Police are investigating an apparent murder on the grounds…

Good morning, Washington. More news today on the Virginia abusive driver’s fees front, this time even closer to home. Arlington residents will be cheered to hear that an Arlington County General District Court judge has ruled that Virginia’s abusive-driver fees are unconstitutional. Judge Dorothy H. Clarke is the fourth District Court judge in Virginia to make such a ruling, but the first one in Northern Virginia. Naturally, the state will appeal the decision, and this…

Yesterday we threw together a list of the people in the District we considered influential, taking after a similar annual list put together by GQ that compiles the movers and shakers on the federal side of the city. One of our nominees was Dorothy Brizill, a well-known civic activist and political gadfly who runs DC Watch, the closest thing we have to a citizens’ inspector general. And as we expected, last night she offered us…

Poor Victor Reinoso. First the acting Deputy Mayor for Education gets caught up in a plagiarism scandal, then D.C. Council chairman Vincent Gray delays his confirmation vote, calling into question whether Reinoso should be in his job, or if anyone should have his job in the first place. The guy could only be more embattled if he had a sex scandal hanging over his head. What’s that you say? The Examiner reports that one of…

Good morning, Washington. If you haven’t already, make sure to take the time to read one of the stories that ran over the weekend about one of the important legacies Lady Bird Johnson left behind for our city: the work of her Committee for a More Beautiful Capital, which created more park space and added D.C.’s signature tulips, daffodils and cherry trees to existing triangles throughout the city. The Post has an excellent overview…

Via Consumerist, an alleged eye-witness report of staff members of Mayor Adrian Fenty cutting in line to buy iPhones on Friday. And here we thought Council chairman Vincent Gray would win the most entitled public servant of the week award. …I work in downtown DC and went to the AT&T store on 17th and Pennsylvania around 4:45 to get in line. About 35 people were in front of me, everyone was nice, people from AT&T…

Via the DCist Tipline, we get this photo and story from a reader who spotted D.C. Council chairman Vincent Gray running over to speak to a U.S. Park Police officer in the hopes of talking him out of towing his car Wednesday evening. While playing softball down by the FDR memorial this evening, my team was a little shocked when we saw a park policeman not only issue a ticket to an illegally parked…

Browsing around the site a few days ago, we were struck by how much the photo of local informercial crazy guy Matthew Lesko resembled Ward 1 Council member and club shutter-downer Jim Graham — there’s the poofy silver hair, the 1950s glasses, the bowtie. It would only be better if Graham rode around in a question mark-covered Scion. But it got us thinking: who else in D.C. looks like somebody else? So after the jump…

Good morning, Washington. Well, it was great while it lasted. But while it’s true that last night’s rains may have added to the treacherous icepack, and although WTTG has made a yeoman’s effort at convincing us that icy death could plummet onto us from above at any moment, we still can’t help but feel like the golden age of this winter’s weather paranoia may be drawing to a close. That’s Barely $2M Per Seat!:…