Good morning, Washington. Getting going on a Monday is normally difficult enough, but we were having a few technological difficulties this morning as well, so thanks for your patience and bear with this truncated Morning Roundup while we get up to speed. Tax Scandal Triggers Reviews in Counties: Neighboring jurisdictions are apparently taking D.C.'s tax office scandal to heart and initiating big reviews of their agencies. Property tax revenues are slated to be scrutinized in......

Good morning, Washington. Can you feel the excitement in the air? That's right: it's Taxi Decision Day. Will District residents get a shiny new meter system, or have to make our peace with zones for the foreseeable future? Or will we be treated to a metered zone hybrid/abomination? It'll be just a few hours until we find out. Immigration Measures Elicit Passion, Lawsuits: The Post reports on the scene in Prince William County, where......

Good morning, Washington. Feeling alright? We just thought we'd ask — there are two heart-trouble-related stories in the news today, and it's gotten us a little superstitious. First, Senator John Warner is in the hospital undergoing procedures to correct an atrial fibrillation that manifested itself yesterday morning (it sounds like he'll be fine). Second, Etan Thomas missed the first day of Wizards training camp due to a newly-detected cardiac irregularity. There's no word yet......

Welcome to Friday, Washington ... and the last day of August, and the beginning of your holiday weekend, and more or less the end of the summer? This particular date, as you prepare for your weekend barbecues and last-minute getaways, is always a bit of a depressing occasion. It may not be the de jure end of the summer, but it's certainly the de facto one. To cheer you up about the imminent demise......

Once again, the country is in a tizzy over a conservative Republican senator doing naughty things. According to a Post report, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Id.) was arrested earlier this month in an airport bathroom in Minnesota after he became a little touchy with an undercover police officer. (Similar allegations were made against him here, though they allegedly occurred in a Union Station bathroom.) Our favorite part? That during an interview with police after the......

Good morning, D.C. If you live in Wards 1 or 2, don't forget to turn out to vote today in the special election for District I member of the State Board of Education. There's only one name on the ballot, that of veteran education reporter Mary Lord, but as we mentioned before, there's also a write-in candidate, first-year teacher in DCPS Jason Crawford. Check out each candidate's web site and decide for yourself. If......

>> CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry spotted Dave Chappelle hanging out outside the White House this morning. He's reportedly feeling good despite his recent hospital visit, and joked about going after Tony Snow's job. [CNN Political Ticker] >> The former mayor of the town of Dumfries, VA has been charged with running a brothel out of a sports therapy clinic he owns in a Prince William County strip mall. Melvin Bray lost his......

Good morning, D.C. Did any of you stay up watching the filibuster, or pre-filibuster, or anti-filibuster, or whatever the heck we're calling it? Yeah, us neither. We did manage to catch a moment of it while en route to the Daily Show, and were greeted with a slightly disheveled-looking legislator gesticulating wildly at a chart of a Humvee. Unfortunately, we have no idea whether the sleepless showdown is likely to produce anything other than entertaining......

Good morning, Washington. Last night's Unbuckled concert at DC9 was a huge success, having sold-out in under an hour and providing a rocking good time for all those who made it inside -- thanks to all of you who came out! We couldn't be happier, and we'll have some photos and other details to share later on, to be sure. In the meantime, the Washington Post has some video of yesterday's topping off ceremony in......

Good morning, D.C. First, some good news: today's high temperature will be a mere 93 degrees. Bring a sweater! Next, some bad news: AccuWeather puts today's "Thunderstorm Probability" at a robust 100%. Hmm. Finally, some great news: Unbuckled is tonight! Bring your sodden, sweaty selves — it'll make the experience that much more authentically Washingtonian. Prince William Co. Approves Anti-Illegal Immigrant Measures: WJLA reports on a new measure unanimously passed by the Prince William......

We've got two words for you, D.C.: beer pops. That's right, beer pops. WTOP, along with a number of other local news outlets, has coverage of an innovation being brought to market by an Alexandria restaurant. The folks at Rustico may not be the first to come up with the idea of ale-on-a-stick, but they're the first purveyors of it we know of in the D.C. area, and we salute them for it. Here's......

Ninety-six degress, Washington. That's what weather.com is predicting for today's high. That should put the heat index safely into the hundred range, and the city as a whole into the "justified complaining" range. And it's what made this photo from phillefan_99 catch our attention. It's hard to look at it and not think wistfully of summer days at Cameron Run, rubbing our backs raw on the waterslides and bobbing in the suspiciously salty wave......

Ahh. Fifty-eight degrees, Washington. Fifty-eight! That's what the temperature is right now according to my trusty OS X weather widget, and I couldn't be more pleased: with a broken office A/C office unit and a floor of the building prone to soaking up heat, things have been a little warm around here. A last-minute spring extension sounds great, and that's just what we're in for: temps will barely top 70 until the weekend (although......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It's nearly two years now since the great Housing Boom of the Aughts© peaked. While prices have leveled off or declined in many places, the affordability of homes in metropolitan areas as an issue has not gone away. In central cities in particular, where the issue of gentrification is most sensitive, prices have shown the most resilience. Certainly, matters haven't changed enough......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It's easy to focus on the problems and pathologies at the margins of a rapidly growing city. The pains of congestion and growth are frequently more dramatic in the far flung counties, where populations increase annually by astounding percentages and where infrastructure is least developed. At some point, though, you have to realize that one of the best ways to fix the......

>> Uncomfirmed reports of a messy early start to the commute on the Blue/Orange lines thanks to smoke and possibly a small fire at the Smithsonian stop. Nothing from WMATA at 5:49 p.m., so either it's already over, or it's just begun. Good luck out there. >> A local developer presented plans over the weekend to restore the historic Howard Theatre. Mari from InShaw says she's heard it all before and will only believe it......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. "Has a second core emerged?" asked a Bureau of Labor Statistics report this week, drawing the metropolitan area's attention to the remarkable growth in business and professional employment in Virginia's Fairfax County. Headline after headline emphasized the county's new status as second pole in a newly bipolar metropolis, after we learned that Fairfax had pulled to within 100,000 jobs of the District......

Prince William County is earning itself quite a perplexing reputation. Last Friday, while most of us were recovering from turkey hangovers, the Washington Post reported that Prince William, whose representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates have been instrumental in defeating bills to help pay for Northern Virginia transit improvements, will consider a bill placing a one year moratorium on new home construction. According to county officials quoted in the Post story, the move would......

>> Is that a branch of Rock Creek or is Q St. just happy to see us? It's wet out there and many D.C. streets and sidewalks are swelling over. Parts of our area are still under siege from a storm front that turned deadly in N.C . A flash flood and tornado watch for D.C. should expire at 6 p.m., but don't expect to find completely dry conditions on the commute home. Elsewhere, Stafford,......

Update: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for southern Prince William County, specifically around Woodbridge (where the IKEA is). This follows warnings in Spotsylvania County, Fredericksburg, and Stafford County, so that means it's headed our direction. The storm is moving North at 60 m.p.h., so it may not be long before warnings are issued for our immediate area. We'll keep you apprised. Be careful going outside today, folks: The National Weather Service......

Jim Webb and George Allen might be stuck in a tight battle for the Virginia Senate seat, but no such contest existed for a constitutional amendment forbidding same-sex marriage or civil unions. As the Post is reporting, the amendment — one of eight across the country — was approved by an overwhelming 57 percent of Virginia voters, somewhat proving the power of the commonwealth's social conservative tendencies. And even though Northern Virginia has tended towards......

In D.C.'s own rendition of manifest destiny, our suburbs seem to be expanding with all the vigor of well-watered kudzu. It's how DCist imagines the old horror standard The Blob, if it were retold by John Cheever: the mucilaginous mass slowly gorges on pastoral countryside, dusty antique shops, and quaint Main Streets, leaving only Bed, Bath, and Beyond in its wake. While taking a look at the political implications of these population shifts, the Post......

Discussion of recent crime activity continues today, but not in an encouraging way. The Post focuses on Chief Ramsey's comments yesterday, which noted that criminals are increasingly leaving their own neighborhoods and coming to wealthier places in the city, including areas of the National Mall. Ramsey says this is new and striking behavior, but it's hard to imagine that no one saw this coming. Luckily for Ramsey, the mayor is back and ready to begin......

Thanks to our friends over at FreeRide, we've learned that Sue Palka, Fox 5's weathercaster, has some fans. More than just fans, though, she has a fansite. Why? According to the site, "She's smart, she's sassy, and (we bet) she can drink you under the table. Does she get the weather right? Who cares? It's always sunny when Sue's around!" Maybe. But we've always been big fans of Michael Gargiulo and Shawn Yancy. Williams Demands......

Straight from an NBC 4 story: WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Enforcement of parking restrictions for watercraft, boat trailers, motor homes and camping trailers begins Monday in eastern Prince William County, police said. In March, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted in favor of the restrictions. They went into effect immediately, but police are waiting until Monday in order to give owners of such vehicles time to comply. Officers will issue warning tickets giving the......

Good morning D.C., and happy Earthday Eve (if that's a thing). It looks like Mother Nature will be providing plenty of mud in which to celebrate the observance: the weekend forecast is for rain, rain and more rain. Md. Gets Electricity Rate Relief: WTOP reports that Governor Ehrlich has reached an agreement with Baltimore Gas & Electric to forestall the 72% rate hikes that had been looming for Maryland utility consumers. Customers opting into the......

Car-Jacking, Robbery Wave Hit District, Maryland: WTOP and the Post , among others, report that at least nine robberies and four carjackings took place yesterday, within four to five miles of each other. The spree began at 11:30 p.m. Sunday on Fairmont Street NW near Howard University, and ended with two suspects running into the National Zoo around 1 a.m. this morning. One was caught; police are still looking for the other in the area......

Written by DCist contributor Colin Peppard Today we look at the battle for Metro funding in Prince William, Governor Kaine’s big vetoes, the future of MetroAccess, and the power of the cherry blossoms!......

Yesterday was the perfect day for playing a little hooky -- beautiful springtime weather and the Nationals' home opener would tempt anyone, including us. Some of those who gave in to those temptations weren't too good about hiding them, especially to the media or their employers. As written in a Post article on the Nats' 7-1 loss to the New York Mets: "This is our team," declared Lynette Jackson, 50, of D.C., who called......

The battle over transportation in Virginia has been full of laughable moments, from Delegates noting how they don't hear taxpayers clamoring for tax increases when they return home to news stories on the lack of concern about traffic in Virginia hamlets with three-digit populations. Of course, we laugh to keep from crying, or rather, we laugh to keep from tracking down these Prince William County Delegates and punching them in their smug faces. We know......