Singletown U.S.A.: People complain enough about dating in D.C. that new statistics are enough to make you wonder whether anyone anywhere in the nation is having any luck—the District turns out to have the most favorable ratio of women to men (for women) anywhere in the country, and it's been rated in the top 10 cities for single men and women by a Rent.com survey. Apparently a low divorce rate worked in the District's favor in the rankings, though it's not clear how that actually helps single people find partners. +2

Go Take A Walk: And now, time for another installment of arbitrary national rankings! (Besides the installment above, that is.) Today's edition comes courtesy of Walk Score, which ranked the District the seventh-most-walkable city in the nation. New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Philadelphia beat us. No city, not even New York, got the highest possible rating in the scores. Time for some grade inflation? +2

And The Heat Goes On: Weather records are falling so fast lately, it's barely even worth writing them down. No new record was set today here, but with a high of over 90, it became the 43rd such day of the summer—which already puts 2011 in the top 20 percent of hottest summers by that mark, and leaves the current year only six 90+ days from breaking the record of 49, set... last summer. Tomorrow's expected to be over 90, too. Climate change sure is delightful! -3

Strasburgmania II: It's not every day that a Hagerstown Suns game makes the front page of The Washington Post; after all, the team plays in the lowest rung of the minor leagues, A ball, and its stadium is 66 miles from downtown D.C. But when Stephen Strasburg shows up at Municipal Stadium to pitch his first competitive game since last summer's elbow surgery, it's news—and not just because, it being August, there's not much else going on. The Nationals star only faced eight batters, going less than two innings in his first rehab start; his fastball was clocked at over 96 miles per hour, though, which is a good sign. So far, at least, there's no Strasburg Suns memorabilia showing up on eBay. +2

Friday's Needle rating: 53 Today's score: +3 Today's Needle rating: 56

Mes Que Un Irritating Bureaucracy: It's not just Capital Bikeshare, pedicabs, and dancers who have a tough time enjoying themselves on the Mall. European soccer champions FC Barcelona, in town to play an exhibition match against Manchester United at FedEx Field tomorrow night, were ordered not to do an informal training session yesterday while wandering around town. "Police authorities informed [Barça] coaching staff that without previous authorization, it was not permitted to run on the Mall," Catalan paper Sport reported. We hope to see Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Shakira paramour Gerard Piqué, and other Barcelona stars at the next rally for greater D.C. autonomy. -1

The Gas Is Too Damn High: Get into a D.C. taxicab these days, and the first thing the driver will do after greeting you is start the meter, then add $1 to the farebox, automatically. That's due to a gas surcharge the transparency-loving Taxicab Commission implemented earlier in the year. The surcharge, as of today, is sticking around a while longer, to Nov. 26. At this point, why not just raise the starting fare to $4? -1

Hot Weather Is A Trend!: Sure, it's 102 degrees out there today, which is a new record. But new heat records now come along every week or so; we're unimpressed. What does impress us a bit is the news that July 2011 is now the the hottest month ever in the District. So far, only six days have had high temperatures below 90 degrees; the average temperature for the month is 83.9 degrees, which includes evening lows, and which is four degrees higher than the usual average for July. At this point, seeing Dennis Quaid wandering down the street wouldn't be surprising. Though actually, given the heat, it'd probably just be a mirage. -2

Hail Victory: The Washington Redskins are the undisputed offseason champions of the modern-day NFL. This year, there's a new reason for July optimism: The team has signed all its draft picks to contracts as training camp gets underway. Does that mean they'll beat the Giants on Sept. 11, when the real games actually start? Well, if past experience is any guide... probably not. But hope is what the preseason's for! +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 46 Today's score: -2 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 46

Washington, Not D.C.: For residents of the District, looking at Twitter this weekend was even more alarming than usual. A charming slogan—#FuckYouWashington—threatened to take over the site. But this had nothing to do with Harry Thomas Jr.'s nonprofits, or the fate of Tommy Wells, or any of the local scandals that get myopic little twits here worked up; the hashtag was the handiwork of blogger Jeff Jarvis, and it was an expression of outrage over the (completely outrageous) inability of Congress to raise the national debt ceiling. Which is a sentiment we here in D.C. can certainly endorse, especially since it's not actually directed our way. +1

No Water, Please, We're Metro: Temperature records weren't the only things that fell during last week's heat wave; Metro also backed down on its long-standing ban of food and drink on subway cars, allowing riders to hydrate while in the system. Which probably makes sense, considering how frequently the air conditioning breaks. With today's forecast high only 92, the ban is back, but don't worry—another heat wave is predicted later this week, so you may not have missed your chance. -2

All the Brown, and All the White: And now, time for another installment of arbitrary national rankings! In today's episode, D.C. is declared the third-booziest "state" in the country, thanks to a new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Where do they drink more than here? In South Dakota and North Dakota, apparently. +1

Kastles Are Khampions: Team tennis is a concept that never made a whole lot of sense to us; we're no experts, but we're pretty sure you can't actually play a tennis match with more than four people at a time. Nevertheless, with the D.C. sports scene in as dismal state as it is, we won't quibble with the notion that a team from here won its league. The Washington Kastles, in their inaugural season at a new facility near the Southwest waterfront, went 16-0, wrapping up the World Team Tennis title this weekend by defeating the St. Louis Aces on a neutral court in Charleston, S.C. Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing. +3

Friday's Needle rating: 39 Today's score: +3 Today's Needle rating: 42

Welcome to the Heat Dome: It's both the heat and the humidity, apparently. The heat wave that swept the Midwest this week arrived in the District in full force today, bringing temperatures near 100 degrees and humidity near 100 percent, for heat index readings that the region hasn't seen in more than a decade. The good news? Thanks to climate change, any records set this week won't last for long. The bad news? Thanks to climate change, any records set this week won't last long. -4

I Saw the Sign: D.C. laws about removing signs within a certain period of time tend to be honored in the breach; it's not hard to find signs urging you to vote Clark Ray in last September's D.C. Council at-large primary election, for instance. But it turns out the rules may also be unconstitutional. An anti-war group and a Muslim advocacy group sued the city over rules that allow signs for campaigns to remain up longer than signs for general political expression, and the judge suggested rewriting the regulations might be a good idea. More speech for all! +1

Reef Madness: You've heard of beating swords into plowshares. The Navy is about to try a new variation off the Eastern Shore: beating warships into artificial reefs. The destroyer Arthur W. Radford, which was decommissioned eight years ago, will be sunk between Ocean City, Md., and Dewey Beach, Del., where it will, presumably, become an attractive vacation destination for fish. No word on what it will mean for traffic over the Bay Bridge. +1

Mean Streetcars: When the city announced a while back that the H Street NE streetcar would be delayed, officials didn't bother to explain exactly why. Turns out it's because Amtrak wouldn't let DDOT connect the line to Union Station, and it took a while to get a definitive "no" and start looking for a backup plan. Will it surprise anyone to learn the alternative plan will cost more than the direct connection, as well as being less convenient for passengers? No, it will not. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 40 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 36

The Snakeheads Are Coming: When snakehead fish first appeared in Maryland a few years back, it was easy enough to be amused at the prospect of land-borne invasive fish, at least if you didn't live near Crofton, where they were first spotted; the whole thing sounded like a horror movie concept that didn't quite make it to production. The fish, though, had the last laugh: Snakeheads have now been seen in the Rhodes River near Annapolis, which means they've escaped the Potomac and could be spreading faster. Maybe there's a b-movie plot in there, after all. -1

Feed The Meter By Phone: Parking in the District no longer requires hoarding quarters (which is probably good, as a quarter doesn't buy you much time anymore, anyway). The pay-by-phone system city officials rolled out recently is up and running, and early returns look pretty good: More than 37,000 transactions were recorded this month and last, with only 250 mistaken tickets issued—an error rate of less than 1 percent. The typical cause of a problem? Human error. If only smartphones could run everything. +2

In Bloom: The District doesn't always get the same kind of recognition from federal agencies that states do; it took a while to get a D.C.-designed quarter approved, Congress won't let us have two statues, and then there was the whole taxation without sanitation thing. But the Postal Service is showing the District some love. A stamp will debut next year featuring cherry blossoms and the Tidal Basin. Be a good D.C. nationalist, and use the stamps to mail in your angry letters about budget autonomy. +2

Energy Drain: No one would accuse today's weather of being particularly pleasant—it's in the mid-90s, muggy, and thunderstorms are brewing. But the real heat predicted for later in the week is still 24 hours or more away. Lest they be more overwhelmed than usual, Pepco issued some guidelines on how to save power when it heats up: Turn up thermostats, turn on fans, keep the refrigerator closed, shutter windows. Not mentioned: Live in a region with a reliable utility. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 43 Today's score: +2 Today's Needle rating: 45

Cocktails And Dreams: Official symbols are the stuff state and local governments are made of. Why else would jousting be the state sport of Maryland, the brook trout the state fish of Virginia, or the scarlet oak the (ahem) state tree of the District? Add to that list one new item; the Rickey, a limey libation invented across Pennsylvania Avenue from what's now the Wilson Building, is the official "native cocktail" of the city. July is also Rickey month here. Cheers! +1

Gandhi Is As Gandhi Does: Followers of D.C. politics know Nat Gandhi as the District's chief financial officer; he's the man the city's pols look to for advice on just how screwed the budget is. For a few days next month, he will also be the man audiences at the JCC of Greater Washington look to as Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi will play Gandhi in A Tryst With Destiny, a play about how India won independence from Britain and how Pakistan split off to form its own nation. Alas, the theater is in Rockville, or else Gandhi could have pushed for surcharges on ticket sales to boost D.C. revenue. +1

Freedom!: The Virgin FreeFest involves pretty much what you'd expect—music, free tickets, and lots of advertising for Virgin America. (What, you thought there'd just be a lot of virgins there?) But today's presale for the festival sold out rapidly, and naturally, now the tickets are going on Craigslist for $100. More freebies will be available tomorrow; truly, the free market is a wonderful thing. -1

Doom!: It was, officially, unbearably hot this week, especially on Tuesday. Which means we may as well just surrender now; a heat wave is building in the Plains this weekend that will hit the East Coast next week that federal weather officials are already warning will be extremely awful. Forecast models show a lot of angry red and pink areas on temperature maps. Oh, for the glory days of Snowmageddon. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 43 Today's score: -1 Today's Needle rating: 42

Games Without Frontiers: In the mid-1990s, Pokémon video games, anime cartoons, and merchandise were wildly popular, despite the fact that the TV show caused occasional seizures. Now comes news on two related fronts: Pokémon still exists, and the D.C. area is home to one of its champions. McLean resident Wolfe Glick, 15, won the Masters Division of a national Pokémon tournament over the weekend in Indianapolis, and will go on to represent the United States in a worldwide competition in San Diego in August. So what if the Capitals keep crashing out of the Stanley Cup playoffs? At least the region is a winner in something. +1

Alexandria Is Killing Us: It's been 164 years since Alexandria returned itself to Virginia, breaking off from the District. Had that never happened, Mayor Vince Gray would probably not need to involve the Environmental Protection Agency in order to close down a power plant on the eastern bank of the Potomac that may be spewing dangerous amounts of sulfur dioxide across the river to Ward 8. But since the plant is outside the D.C. government's jurisdiction, that's what the Sierra Club wants him to do. (Meanwhile, the thought of sulfur coming from Virginia confirms some of our suspicions about the state.) -3

Going Up: When Metro launched subway service in 1976, it seemed modern, clean, and cutting-edge. How far it's fallen since then can be marked by the cheers that greeted the installation of a new escalator in the Foggy Bottom station on the Blue and Orange lines, the first new escalator to come on line in the system in 15 years. Another eight new escalators will debut eventually. No word on whether Metro's official policy—that escalators are not meant to be walked on—will be changed as a result. +2

Thermal Overdrive: File this under "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows": As heat and humidity surged today, the D.C. government declared a hyperthermia alert. The wonky sounding name actually brings along some emergency measures, though; 60 cooling centers run by the Department of Parks and Recreation opened. Pools, of course, are already in business. Tomorrow's expected to be even muggier. Can we just fast-forward to October? -3

Friday's Needle rating: 51 Today's score: -3 Today's Needle rating: 48

Exploding Evidence: Around the time that the ad hoc fireworks shows around District neighborhoods were reaching a crescendo last night, the D.C. Fire and EMS department tweeted out a plaintive message—remember, those things are illegal. And in fact, some of them are; authorities busted the dealers of about $10,000 worth of fireworks in two separate raids, netting 2,710 explosives. Still, people were shooting off fireworks on almost every block in the city (well, except maybe some of the leafier blocks in Ward 3), rivaling the display down on the Mall. Next year, we're not sure officials should even bother trying to crack down. After all, who doesn't love fireworks? +2

Tuned Up: Few bars in the city have drawn as loyal—or as diverse—a following over the years as the Tune Inn. So when the Capitol Hill favorite burned last month, its fans rallied. A fundraiser is now scheduled for employees, whose lost income while repairs are made won't be covered by insurance, for July 15. It'll be at the nearby American Legion hall, which for now, at least, is as close to the Tune Inn as you get. +1

Lama Landing: Most groups that come through D.C. for rallies or protests stick around for a few hours, then pack up and leave. But the Dalai Lama is, according to tradition, the 14th reincarnation of a holy man originally born in the 14th century, so perhaps his schedule moves more slowly. The former Tibetan head of state (who resigned recently to focus on his spiritual duties) will lead a 10-day kalachkra, a complex Buddhist peace ritual, in the District starting this week. Most of it will take place at the Verizon Center; no word on just how much chanting it will take to undo the bad karma of past monster truck rallies. +3

The Heat Is On: The next time someone tells you they don't believe in global climate change, tell them you've got firsthand experience to the contrary. Last month was the third-hottest June on record in D.C., topped only by June 2010 and June 1943. Three of the hottest six Junes ever have come in the last four years. The city had 10 days at 90 or above during the month, which is more than average. But look at the bright side: Last June, 18 days—more than half the month—were that hot. -2

Friday's Needle rating: 45 Today's score: +4 Today's Needle rating: 49

"Last week, seven of the city’s Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department 25 basic life support ambulances—or 28 percent—were out of service. Many ambulances suffered from dysfunctional air-conditioning systems. One ambulance without a working air-conditioner was ordered back in service by a deputy chief even though a Department of Health inspector ordered it off the road after finding the patients’ compartment was 107 degrees. Another ambulance had a makeshift box fan to try to cool the patient compartment when its air-conditioner did not work."

The labor groups that signed the letter—National Nurses United, the DC Nurses Association, and the D.C. Fire Fighters Association Local 36—say they're bringing up the hobbled transports because the city is ub  its "second heat wave of the summer" weather season and “it is simply unacceptable for patients in need of emergency care to either not have an ambulance to transport them when needed or to have to be transported in an ambulance without a functioning air-conditioner."

We've reached out to the mayor's office for a comment. In the meantime, try not to get sick in the heat—a stifling and stuffy ride to the hospital may make it worse.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Yes, Actually, It Is Hot Enough For Me: Leave town. Now. That's the only reasonable advice for how to deal with the early heat wave that's suffocating the region today—it is, after all, still only spring. The high temperature at National Airport was 102 degrees, tying a record first set in 1874, and combined with last summer's ridiculous heat, makes this the first back-to-back years with three-digit temperatures in June since 1933-34. We had a joke to make here, but we went outside a few hours ago, and our brains are still recovering. -4

We Don't Need No Water: No matter how well the city trains its firefighters, no matter how quickly they respond to calls, and no matter how well people in a burning building remember their "stop, drop, and roll" elementary school-era instructions, there's one essential component to dealing with any fire: water. This year, unlike in past years, there should be enough of it if it's needed. Fire hydrants and underground pipes like the ones that failed in blazes at the Georgetown Library in 2007 and Peggy Cafritz Cooper's house in 2009 are now in good shape, officials say. The city set a goal of having not more than 1 percent of hydrants out of service at any one time; as of June 1, the total was .41 percent. Which is good news for everyone except the people who live on whatever block the hydrant's busted on. +2

Crimefighters-R-Us: Constituent service is the lifeblood of local politics. Here in the District, Yvette Alexander really means it, apparently. The Ward 7 D.C. Council member helped catch a guy who'd stolen a Kindle near Freedom Plaza Wednesday, then yelled at the unlucky thief as Fox 5's cameras rolled. Phil Mendelson, who chairs the public safety committee, better watch out; Alexander has hands-on experience now. +2

Two If By Sea: Driving during rush hour is bad for blood pressure; taking Metro means unexplained delays and rising fares. How about getting to work by boat? Evidently, that won't work either; American River Taxi, which launched a Southwest waterfront-to-Georgetown route in April, has shut its morning service down. The ride was $8, and took 30 minutes, making it both more expensive and slower than other, non-riparian forms of public transit. Then again, maybe it'd be worth it to be able to respond to emails on the way to work with a simple, "I'm on a boat." -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 57 Today's score: -1 Today's Needle rating: 56

Leave Doug McKelway Aloooone!: The banjo-playing WJLA-TV anchor has been suspended "indefinitely" following a run-in with station management. The cause: A fight over a McKelway report that "may have lapsed into partisan territory." Within hours, McKelway was cast as a martyr by the tortured conservative minds behind Newsbusters, which speculated as to whether the firing was more evidence of liberal bias at Allbritton Communications, which owns WJLA as well as TBD and the notoriously Pravda-esque Politico. Poor McKelway has a way of getting himself tormented by the lefty cabal: Last year, they raised a ruckus just because the anchor threatened to punch a gay blogger in the face during an interview about the ethics of outing anti-gay pols. And back in 1994, they forced him to apologize after innocently using the word "pansy" on air. What's a local TV anchor gotta do to catch a break? -3

If You Build It, They Will Come: In the first week the new Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library was open, D.C. Public Libraries officials say it issued 374 new cards. That's up from about 70 a week the last two years—when the library operated out of a temporary trailer during construction. Look out, Baltimore; soon the District will be angling for that coveted title, "The City That Reads." +3

Terrorists Take Aim At Metro: When the Department of Homeland Security warned Metro officials that "someone" had traveled to Turkey last summer to get a U.S. visa as part of a terrorist plot aimed at an unspecified station, it's not entirely clear what the feds expected the transit agency to do with the information. Search all Turkish-looking passengers? Send bomb-sniffing dogs through the system? Raise fares while simultaneously lowering the quality of service, sending would-be riders to some other mode of transportation where they're safe from terrorist strikes? (We'll take option 3, please!) Fortunately, nothing exploded today at any stations after news of the warning came out. Unfortunately, Metro continued its own terror campaign against area residents; a bus apparently rear-ended a car in Ballston, then fled the scene by making an illegal turn. -4

Congress Returns To Torment Us Anew: Living in D.C. in August isn't easy. It's hot. It's humid. NFL preseason reminds you that Dan Snyder still owns the Redskins. Usually, though, one big benefit offsets all the crap: Congress has cleared out of the District for the entire month, and members go home to bother their own constituents instead of us. Alas, there's an election in November, and that means layabout lawmakers can't afford to let people realize they ordinarily take off that much time, lest voters wonder why we need them the rest of the year. So the House returned to town today, adding a bit more hot air to the atmosphere. At least they made themselves useful during their brief visit, approving $26.1 billion to help cities and states keep the lights on this fall. See you in September! -2

Yes, Actually, It Is Hot Enough For Me: Back in February, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., sent his grandchildren out to the Mall to build an igloo out of the snow, because it proved there was no such thing as global warming. Today, after careful review of the evidence since then, Washington City Paper can report that James Inhofe is an idiot. The temperature soared above 90 degrees for the 50th time this year; that's already the most ever recorded in the region's history. The spring was also the warmest one on record. Someday, future generations may look back at Inhofe's family prank and ask, "What was snow?" -5

Yesterday's Needle rating: 42 Today's score: -11 Today's Needle rating: 31

"Giant" is an apt descriptor for the Japanese salamander.

Morning, all. It's my last Morning Roundup, I'm sad to report. (On the other hand, sleeping in an extra hour on Fridays sounds pretty nice.) We'll be rolling out some exciting new changes on City Desk. Keep your eyes peeled.

It's no secret it's been hot as Hades recently. ("Sofa king hot," as one of our followers so eloquently put it on Twitter yesterday.) This weekend, record-setting temperatures may be on tap. Hydrate, use your sunscreen–take care out there!

So that's where the extra money's going to. If you're a frequent user of the Dupont Circle Metro station, take heart: You'll see your fare increases put to use in the not-so-distant future. The 188-foot escalators, the sixth longest in the Metro system, are set to be replaced at the beginning of next year.

Maybe they're not as sexy as pandas. Nonetheless, a Japanese giant salamander's still gotta have a place to get its groove on. Thus, the National Zoo opened its new breeding center for the salamanders yesterday. The breeding center, which houses four of the lizards (the zoo's fifth is hiding under a rock in the Asia Trail exhibit), will be the first of its kind outside Japan.

Are Washingtoninans preternaturally happy? Maybe not, but at least we're among the least "miserable" in the nation. Washington has a rate of 9.35 percent on the misery index, which measures the sum of the inflation rate (1.95 percent) and the unemployment rate (7.4 percent). Only Seattle, with an index score of 5.5 percent, is less miserable. So, cheer up!

Photo: japanforum.com

A woman in Frederick County, Maryland is accused of leaving her dog inside her sweltering car as she shopped in Costco July 6, ABC 7 reports. When she came back to the car, her yellow lab was dead. Authorities say the dog died from overheating as the car's temperature likely hit 130 degrees and outside temperatures topped 104.

But the story only gets worse. When the woman discovered her dead dog, she allegedly turned back around and returned the pet supplies she just bought at Costco. Thrifty shopper or pure-evil?

A Costco employee called police, but the woman was gone before they arrived. Sure enough, a woman matching her description came into the Frederick County Animal Control Division with a dead dog shortly after the incident.

The rising mercury wasn't kind to local public utilities. About 3,000 Pepco customers in Northeast and Southeast started yesterday's scorcher with no power, thanks to a burnt cable near Linden Place NE and 12th Street NE. Meanwhile, a huge water main break in Potomac has led to mandatory water restrictions in Rockville, after several days of restrictions over the weekend for another pipe problem.

It's never a good time to dump grease on to a busy city street, but yesterday seemed like a particularly unfortunate choice. The 14th and U St. oil and grease spill's slipperiness and stench—which has been described as "a combination of rancid paint and the inside of an old boot," "trashy vomit," and "a rancid Chinese food restaurant"—combined with the heat led the Post to declare the intersection the "capital of Wednesday's weather misery."

Of course, not every one had such a hard time with yesterday's high temperatures. WTOP reporter Andrew Mollebeck successfully cooked hot dogs on car dashboard, and the residents of the National Zoo were treated to special fruit popsicles.

Another negative side effect of summer: with residents heading for cooler climes, blood donations have slowed down considerably and now the D.C. area is facing a "critical shortage" of type O negative blood.

Finally, some good news for those of you who have been resisting buying a SmartTrip due to the exorbitant cost: Metro will be lowering the price of a new SmartTrip from $5 to $2.50, effective August 29th. (Which means it'll be cheaper to go hide out in an air-conditioned subway car if we have any more heat waves later in the summer.) In less promising Metro news, though, the Examiner reported today that the increasing operational costs are outpacing ridership increases for local transit agencies.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT—"Councilmembers To Nickles: WTF,"Poll Shows Fenty Beating Gray In Ward One," "Thieves Loot Argonaut," "Runaway Horse Dashed Through Cap Hill"

Good morning. D.C. Council Chairman and Mayoral candidate Vincent Gray didn't let the Monday break go to waste. He held a Q & A with prominent local bloggers at Ben's Chili Bowl (points off for cliche setting). Gray took questions from DCist, Borderstan, We Love DC, Greater Greater Washington, and The District Curmudgeon; the bloggers covered everything from the streetcar flip-flop and education reform to small business regulations and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier. The bloggers walked away impressed by Gray's—what else?—penchant for detail and his ability to admit when he screwed up (streetcar flip-flop). But let's just get to the news that warms this substitute LL's heart: IF ELECTED, GRAY HAS PROMISED TO BRING BACK THE WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE.

DCist's Martin Austermuhle reports: "On education, Gray spoke proudly of his ambitious plan to create a comprehensive birth-through-24 system. He pledged to be more transparent and hold weekly press conferences — something Fenty has been strongly criticized for. He agreed that the District's Summer Youth Employment Program — which 'has been about a numbers game' — needed reform, as did the District's Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services. He promised that economic development would be one of the things he tackled in his first year, using regulatory reform to improve the "Byzantine system" currently faced by the District's small businesses. And yes, Gray emphasized that he was in favor of streetcars, though he did worry that not enough planning had been done before tracks were laid down on H Street NE. When asked about the budget kerfuffle which saw funding for streetcars stripped from the city's budget and then restored, Gray admitted that 'it was a misunderstanding.' 'I'm really sorry that it happened,' he added."

More coverage via Borderstan. Greater Greater Washington's Dave Stroup summed up his impression of Gray: "Any skilled candidate will provide thoughtful and compelling answers at a session such as this. The real questions are always in the nitty-gritty. There's no doubt that Vincent Gray loves the District and wants to see things change for the better. This campaign will be won or lost on Gray's ability to convince District voters that he can make these things happen. The wisest thing Gray said on Monday was that this campaign will not come down to who has the most money. Fenty has a large war chest, and a record of results. He also has vulnerabilities. This will be an extremely close race, and it will be interesting to see whether the idealistic campaign plan of Vincent Gray can weather the long, hot DC summer."

AFTER THE JUMP—Fenty friend fails and yet still succeeds, D.C. Council pissed at Peter Nickles (again), Mary J. Blige may be enrolling at Howard University, and much, much more!

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED: The Examiner's Bill Myers breaks some news on the Parks-and-Rec-Fenty-Frat-Bro narrative with today's must read: "A D.C. board issued an engineering license to a co-founder of a company with ties to Mayor Adrian Fenty even though the man has never passed the professional exam, The Washington Examiner has learned. Abdullahi Barrow has emerged as a key figure in the ongoing investigation into millions of dollars' worth of parks contracts awarded to companies owned by the mayor's friends and fraternity brothers. One of them, Sinclair Skinner, has said publicly that he relied on Barrow's expertise to win public parks contracts for Liberty Engineering and Design, a company founded by Skinner and Barrow. But Barrow failed his engineer's exam seven times since 2002, sources said and documents obtained by [The Examiner] show. In 2008, the Fenty-appointed Board of Professional Engineers unanimously granted Barrow the professional license because of his 'eminence' in the field, board spokesman Clive Cooks said. There are three ways to obtain a professional engineer's license in the District: passing the exam, having already obtained a license in another state, or for eminence. The board rarely issues eminence licenses, Cooks said. Since 2005, only four have been given out — including Barrow's, Cooks said. Barrow's lawyer, A. Scott Bolden, said any suggestion that Barrow wasn't qualified as an engineer was 'nonsense.'"

Of course, Fenty may also have his own fence problem. Myers goes on to report: "Barrow was deposed last month. Sources familiar with his testimony said that Barrow, like Skinner, had trouble recalling basic details about his company, including its first client and the last name of a third man, 'Chris,' who initially started the business with Skinner and Barrow. Barrow said, however, that yet another company co-founded by him and his wife was paid by Liberty Engineering, the sources said. The company, Providence Construction, has also been given a contract to build a fence for the city's real estate agency, sources said."

MORE PARKS AND WRECK: WaPo's Mike DeBonis reports that several D.C. Councilmembers are ticked off at Attorney General Peter Nickles, for paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars to one Rec Center developer/Fenty pal: "D.C. Council members aren't taking well the news that the city reached a $550,000 settlement last week with Banneker Ventures, the company overseeing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's controversial parks construction. Democrats Mary Cheh (Ward 3), Phil Mendelson (At Large) and Harry Thomas Jr. (Ward 5) have jointly taken exception to the settlement — in particular, the decision by Attorney General Peter Nickles to sign an agreement while the council's investigation of the parks contracts is ongoing. 'Your decision to settle at this particular time appears to be poor judgment and motivated by something other than the best interests of the District of Columbia,' the members wrote in a letter to Nickles delivered today. It goes on to suggest that the agreement was signed 'for no other reason than to bring this matter rapidly to a close.' Cheh was still more explicit about said motivations in an interview this afternoon: 'To make something that's problematic for the mayor go away.' She said the move was of a 'similar nature' to when the Housing Authority cut a check for $2.5 million to Banneker on Christmas Eve — when no one on the D.C. Council, which was already investigating the matter, could have stopped it." Nickles tells DeBonis that everything was above board. Of the councilmembers' complaint: "They really don't know what they're talking about." More coverage via Washington City Paper's new Loose Lips columnist Alan Suderman, and WBJ.

JONETTA ROSE BARRAS: The Examiner columnist thinks Gray's education plan reads too much like Fenty's education plan (which she likes). Still, she argues that the plan "lacks freshness and innovation." Barras concludes: "Undoubtedly, Gray and his campaign have deliberately exploited the reality that most voters aren't intimate with the details of education reform. But those who have closely followed such events won't find any substantial difference between Gray and Fenty's plan — except the council chairman offered his with a warm smile and the promise of tons of town hall meetings. There's one more thing: Fenty has been implementing his plan for the past three years."

POLLING: D.C. Wire's Tim Craig digs into the numbers behind the Graham campaign poll showing Fenty with a slight edge over Gray among Ward One voters: "According to the poll, the incumbent mayor leads Gray in Ward 1 by a margin of 43 percent to 37 percent. Despite that narrow lead, many observers believe Fenty needs a much greater margin in Ward 1 on Election Day to overcome Gray's expected advantage in communities in Northeast and Southeast Washington. Ward 1, the city's most diverse, is home to many of the new District residents that the Fenty campaign has been heavily courting. On July 4, a few hours before the fireworks, Fenty was spotted campaigning door-to-door in Mount Pleasant. In his successful 2006 campaign, Fenty won 61 percent of the vote in Ward 1, his best showing outside of his home base of Ward 4. Still, Graham's poll demonstrates that Gray still faces a challenge in becoming better known. Only three out of four Ward 1 residents recognize Gray's name, compared with the nearly 100 percent who knew Fenty's. And with 18 percent of Ward 1 residents undecided, there is still a path for Fenty to match his 2006 numbers in Ward 1."

HIV-AIDS: Amanda Hess writing over at WCP's The Sexist tries to figure out what Vincent Gray means when he says he won't "over promise" on this issue: "Is Gray suggesting that the District couldn’t deliver on its promises to its last HIV/AIDS director? A recent op-ed in the Washington Blade posits that Hader received 'little support' from the District, and that her 'hands were tied' by a 'local government that lacked the funds and the vision to realize the full potential of a more integrated, multi-agency approach needed to address this public health emergency.' It’s certainly going to be difficult to sugarcoat D.C.’s HIV/AIDS crisis for potential candidates. Without promises of additional resources, will the District be able to snag a director that’s nearly as effective as Hader?"

METRO MESS: The Examiner's Kytja Weir reports that the cheaper SmarTrip Cards will be ready in late August: "The agency is planning to drop the price of the cards from $5 to $2.50 to encourage riders to use the reusable plastic cards. But the change isn't slated to occur until Aug. 29, according to a Metro report. Consider this the latest confusing fare change at Metro. The transit agency boosted fares on June 27 but plans to increase other aspects of fares — including charging 25 cents extra per rail trip for users of paper fare cards — starting Aug. 1. But it won't reduce the cost of the SmarTrip cards until just before Labor Day. Other SmarTrip card changes are expected this fall. So riders may want to do some calculations as to what makes the most sense: buy the plastic fare cards before Aug. 1 if planning to take more than 10 rail trips before the end of the month? Or wait until the price drops? Bus riders already pay a 20-cent differential when they pay cash instead of using a SmarTrip card — and they lose out on the transfer discount when switching from bus to bus or train to bus if they pay cash. So buying a SmarTrip card now makes sense for frequent riders."

CITY POOLS: The District is extending pool and library hours, reports NC8: "District officials say they want to ensure residents have a place to get out of the heat. One of the places they recommend are public libraries. a location on m street was open until 9 Tuesday night and people stayed inside until the doors closed trying to cool off."

MARY J. BLIGE: NC8 reports that the singer may be enrolling at Howard University: A well-known singer could be packing more into her busy schedule to get a college degree from a well-known D.C. university. Mary J. Blige may have eight multi platinum records, nine Grammys and several number one hits. Now she's after her college diploma. 'I got accepted into Howard University for the class of 2014!! Cheers...' said Blige. That candid comment caught on stage for Good Morning America Friday is causing a big buzz on Howard University's campus in Northwest D.C." University officials refused to comment on whether Blige has enrolled. Doesn't this sound like a reality-show premise?

WE HAVE A DEAL: On the convention center hotel.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE: Confirmations of funeral boardmembers and public service commission, rent-control roundtable discussion at 11 a.m., hearing on Community Service Block Grants at 2 p.m.