Sleep for the Mall: Tourists love to troop around the Mall, and now, some of them will be paying for it. Not through access charges, though; Marriott has announced it'll donate $5 per room at area hotels to the Trust for the National Mall through September. By which point the grass down there will really need the help. Also, former First Lady Laura Bush has joined in the cause, and all told, officials want to raise $350 million. At only $5 a pop, that's a lot of hotel stays. +2

No Autopilot: That jerky feeling as a Metro train glides toward the front of the subway platform, then the operator realizes it's not quite in the right spot, will continue. Metro officials say the manual mode they ordered after the fatal Red Line crash nearly two years ago is here to stay, at least for a while. The theory behind the order is that it's safer; no word on whether the real goal is to reduce the risk of future injuries by just making people find other modes of transportation to avoid the jerky rides. -2

Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got that Statehood Swing: The latest weapon in the District's battle for statehood: Go-go. Local legend Chuck Brown will headline a concert on Capitol Hill next week to promote the cause. Because the concert is taking place in federal D.C., a panel discussion will open for him. We just hope Sen. Joe Lieberman doesn't get confused if Brown plays "Run Joe." +2

Go to the Beach! Please!: Gas prices have dipped lately, but weeks of media hysteria over how much it costs to fill up the tank may have officials at nearby resorts a little nervous that Washingtonians won't bother driving a few hours away for summer fun. Ocean City has decided it has the solution: Give gas away. Originally, the city was going to give out $1 million in gas cards at beachfront hotels; they've scaled that back to $100,000 now, probably to prevent the town's year-round residents from burning down city hall. Still, who doesn't like a free trip to the beach? +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 58 Today's score: +3 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 63

Qatar? I Hardly Know Her: A collection of D.C. bigwigs turned up at the Newseum this morning, preparing to celebrate word that FedEx Field would host up to seven matches in the 2022 World Cup, which would, of course, be played in the United States. Everyone from D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. to Greater Washington Sports Alliance president Bob Sweeney, who acted as emcee (and at one point joked about getting a phone call from former President Bill Clinton, who didn't actually call him), to D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen was there. A few hundred people decked out in U.S. soccer gear came to watch. There was a live feed from Zürich via ESPN. And then finally, the great moment came for FIFA chief corruption officer strongman Sepp Blatter to announce that the 2022 World Cup would be held in... Qatar. ("This is bullshit!" one guy at the Newseum yelled out, and who are we at Washington City Paper to disagree?) Finally, Americans could join the rest of the world in the great passion of hating Sepp Blatter; joining the rest of the world in the great passion of international soccer, alas, may have to wait. Good news, though: There are plenty of flights from Dulles to Doha. -3

Unleaded, Please: The District recently spent $93 million to replace service lines to about 15,000 homes whose water was contaminated by lead. It turns out that may not have fixed much. D.C. Water officials now say anyone whose home got the, uh, upgraded service lines should test their water to be sure it's safe if they have small children, pregnant women, or anyone with a compromised immune system living there. Could be worse, though; just think how expensive the repair job would have been if it actually worked! -4

Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Grammy Swing: Finally, go-go may mean something to people outside the D.C. area besides "Da Butt"—the legendary Chuck Brown was nominated for a Grammy for a duet with Jill Scott, "Love." The relatively geriatric tastes of Grammy voters being what they are, Brown's probably better off being nominated now, when he's 74, than he would have been earlier in his career. +2

Bike Parking Police: The District has some wonderfully progressive laws mandating that buildings included dedicated parking spaces for bicycles; the idea is to support alternative means of transportation and get people out of their cars. Up to now, though, the laws have been entirely unenforceable. That could change, as the D.C. Council is considering legislation to allow fines against building owners who don't comply. Which makes for a win-win, as either more bike racks appear, or the empty city coffers get replenished—so more money can be spent painting bike lanes around town. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 53 Today's score: -3 Today's Needle rating: 50

Where did Mayor Williams stand on the issue of go-go? "No one would be surprised that I'd ask, 'What's go-go?'" Hizzoner replied.

Oh, how far we've come. For all its shortcomings, the Fenty Administration at least knows what go-go is.

Go-go vets Sugar Bear and Junkyard Band are endorsing Fenty at a press conference Sunday at the Old Congress Heights School, according to a media advisory (pictured).

No word yet as to which candidate Chuck Brown is endorsing.

As proof that the Post can be stuffy
They're turning DeBonis less scruffy
Goodbye Sally Quinn
And hello, Mike's chin!
His hair and her column…both fluffy

Why stop, here's another cheap shot:
So how 'bout those numbers Vince got?!
The data provided
Counts just folks "decided"
And what does that mean? Not a lot

This race needs a little more heat
But now it at least has a beat
It sure ain't Chuck Brown
But Fenty gets down
The airwaves have this on repeat

Admittedly, it's a cliché
But where there's a will, there's a way
No more will seniority
Hold top priority
Quality now links to pay

Hey! It's Thursday! Pick up our paper. It has another typo on the cover. Erika, please come back here soon! Otherwise this is an excellent issue, with a great story by Jeffrey Anderson about Peaceoholics' Ronald Moten, as well as all the usual bozos. Please don't forget to patronize our advertisers, especially anyone who can drop a giant cube on your enemies.

ITEMS:
• Hippies and punks—IN ONE PLACE! Wait, there's still hippies and punks?
• Riggo, the world's greatest man.
• Cheap parking spurned. Who pays? [sadtrombone.wav]
• Jawbox to reunite, on Fallon! "I think we’re all a bit taken aback that anyone is paying attention," Jawbox's J. Robbins told us yesterday.
• I will adhere to these new Michael Pollan rules and talk loudly about them, because it makes Riggs go coconuts.
• A friend IM'd me about the Chuck Brown feature Godfrey and I wrote for this week's paper; it bounces off the terrible Chuck Brown feature in last Sunday's Washington Post Magazine. In the intro, I mentioned that twice, author Robin Rose Parker mentioned that Brown's audience was "30- and 40-something African Americans" and took her to task for some sloppy math (Brown is speaking at a high school when her piece opens she says his 1979 hit “Bustin’ Loose” was released “decades before his high school audience was born.") Short decades, right? Says my pal: What about the 30- and 40-something African Americans? How old were they in 1979? Boom!

BIKE COMMUTING CORNER: If your ride is longer than a mile, you might want to have different clothes for biking and working. However! Now you have to get your nice clothes to work and keep them dry. Solution: a bag! However! What bag? Backpacks are great for short rides but get kinda hot on your back, especially in the summer. Messenger bags, sure why not? On my usual bike, I have a set of Ortlieb panniers. They have a nice Tron-ish look to them and are superwatertight. They cost a lot. That part I can't endorse. Many companies make panniers, but some of them require you to put covers on them when it rains, which seems like way too much trouble to me. Also, make sure you don't pronounce it "pann-i-AY." Pronounce the "r" or people in bike shops will laugh at you. I learned this firsthand!

I gotta bounce! Obey the Cube! Follow me on Twitter!

Bloomingdale (for now) observes the slow neglect of a huge brick home on Seaton Place. "16 months have passed, and the tyvek wrap continues to blow off the building, exposing the wood underneath to the elements. enormous amounts of water from the rains of the last year must have managed to seep down into the walls of this old rowhouse," the blogger notes.

River East Idealist posts five reasons to support the relatively new IHOP on Alabama Ave. We paid a visit when it first opened and walked away impressed. Unfortunately, we never again saw the waitress that we so loved. We have gone back many times. Sometimes the service absolutely sucks. Sometimes it's over-the-top awesome. The food is still IHOP food. Only this IHOP has rules like no sideways ballcaps. Sweet. River East Idealist gives kudos to the staff, the overall atmosphere, the fact that it exists, among other reasons.

Southwest...The Little Quadrant That Could presents a handy list of alternative ways to get to President-Elect Obama's swearing in. List includes ways to get to the Mall on foot, by water taxi, and by bike. Good luck. Soon after the inaugural, we may get tired of the motorcades once again. Even when it's Obama stopping traffic, it's not that fun.

Capital Spice offers a handy map detailing all 213 bars, restaurants and clubs that have extended hours for the inaugural week.

Pop Cesspool hates on Thievery Corporation (and the 9:30 Club). I wonder what the blogger would think about the duo's new video featuring Chuck Brown. The Cesspool writes: "...The Thievery dudes, with their XPN-approved album and their unflagging good taste, and they're blazingly recession-proof, at least in D.C., where lots of youn'ins still apparently have lots of disposable income and want to do things that are more 'benignly stylish' than 'dangerously interesting.'"

Planners of the city hall ball had speculated about bringing Brown in when they announced their event in December, but the Godfather of Go-Go was already booked for the Inaugural D.C. Ball, scheduled for the Old Post Office Pavilion.

The 51st Staters caught a break when organizers of that ball were forced to cancel last week, after logistical concerns about loading in equipment, food, and musical gear made the event impossible. So Brown will move his act three blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Allen Tubis, an event planner who organized the Inaugural D.C. event as a benefit for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (he's a longtime member of the organization's board), says the traffic and security restrictions meant holding the ball at that location would be impossible. For one thing, he says, the Secret Service needed the Post Office Pavilion loading dock for storage space. "Our situation is, if you can't load in the food, the sound system, you just can't do it," he says.

Tubis explored alternatives, such as a smaller ballroom at Metro Center, but "we started looking at the logistics of it, the cost of it [and] it just did not work."

So though ticket sales were brisk, Tubis was forced to pull the plug last week—the first time he's had to cancel an event in 25 years in the business, he says—and he's offering full refunds to folks who had shelled out up to $150 for a ticket. (Another ball held nearby, the MTV ball at the Ronald Reagan Building, was canceled last week for similar reasons.)

But the Boys and Girls Clubs' loss is the statehood movement's gain. "A lot of the people coming to our event wanted to see Chuck Brown. So we've been notifying them," Tubin says. "For $51, you can get a ticket to see Chuck Brown."

Ayawna Chase, a staffer for Harry Thomas Jr. who's planning the city hall bash, said Friday she's sold about 200 tickets so far out of 2,000. Folks from across the country have expressed interest, and Chase—active in the local Young Democrats—says she's gotten a lot of interest from fellow Young Dems looking for a low-cost party option.

Some roadblocks remain: LL is told the organizers still have to get insurance for the event and logistics still need to be worked out, but Chase says that'll be worked out soon. Come Jan. 20, she says, expect the Wilson Building to sport a "semi-ballroom kind of feel."

Flickr photo by dalesun