Apparently DHS Director Clarence Carter's confusing-as-hell letter to homeless advocates did little to settle the issue of just how much money will be cut from the homeless services budget. Homeless service providers will be holding a press conference at 11 a.m. on the steps of the Wilson Building to address the looming cuts and perhaps Carter's sloppy management of the budget shortfall.

Organizers preview the talking points in a press release:

"A coalition of homeless services providers, advocates and homeless individuals will hold a press conference to share new information on the impacts of the recently-announced budget cut for homeless services in the District of Columbia. They are calling on the Fenty administration to commit to full-year funding, rather than funding for only the five-month hypothermia season. They note that the funds are available in a federal block grant but have been diverted to other programs."

Prince of Petworth posts on the effort/petition to save the Black Rooster. One reader's response:  "i LOVE the black rooster. if the peace corps really closes it down…i just…i might just not go to happy hour anymore, ever, anywhere. and that would make me terribly sad. save the rooster!"

Penn Quarter Living debuts a new column called High Rise Life. The first one is on elevator etiquette. It's not so much a column as bad comment bait of which I am sometimes guilty of. Here's a sampling from PQL's rookie effort on sharing an elevator: "Fob in and offer to push buttons or don’t offer and make sure others belong in the building? Remind neighbors that bicycles and their owners usually ride the freight elevator or zip it? Heel your dog or let him/her sniff around and be friendly? What is good neighborly elevator etiquette?" Fascinating.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: A Metrobus Strikes Again" »

On Sunday, WaPo reported that WEAVE, a non-profit which provides legal and other supports to domestic-violence victims, was set to cease  operations. WEAVE had become a victim of city budget cuts. The Post writes:

Eleven days ago, WEAVE's board of directors decided it didn't have enough funds to keep operating and voted to begin the process of shutting down. The organization is still hanging by a thread: Some of its most loyal donors are scrambling to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to save WEAVE.

"We haven't completely given up hope," said board Chairwoman Marcia Marsh. But they are running out of time.

WEAVE has launched an online fund-raising drive to make up for the loss in city funds. Save WEAVE states that they must raise $85,000 by September 30. So far they've raised more than $53,000. That's a pretty great start.

Tomorrow, the nonprofit will be holding a fundraiser at Topaz at 5:30 p.m. Let's hope they reach their goal.

Read More "WEAVE Launches Campaign To Save Itself" »

This morning, LL was all over Fenty's announced District gov job cuts. Our aggressive political scribe reported: "Of the remaining 776 employees the mayor is proposing to lay off, 250 are in DCPS—mostly teachers aides and support staff, Tangherlini says." This may not seem like scary news, but it is.

I know what your thinking: teachers aides and support staff seem like easy cuts. What the hell do teacher aides do? What does support staff mean? Let me guess what they do: they help handle over-crowded classrooms, offer tutoring, lesson planning and generally help teachers get through the day. I'm not sure about support staff. But it could mean social workers, guidance counselors, secretaries, and librarians.

Do we really want to cut funding for these jobs? These cuts are coming on the heels of all those school closures last year. Catania made the argument today on the Politics Hour that enrollment is down at DCPS and that more and more kids are going into charter schools. But for every successful charter school, there are stories like City Lights Public Charter which recently had to close its doors before the school year even finished.

Read More "Fenty’s Proposed Layoffs Should Avoid DCPS" »