Heidi Goes Cable: On Nov. 17, 1968, the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets played an exciting football game that went down to the wire—and that no one watching on TV in the eastern half of the country saw the finish of, because NBC switched from football coverage to a made-for-TV movie, Heidi, about a young girl living in the Swiss Alps. Last night, Comcast viewers in D.C. watching the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants play to determine who went to the Super Bowl must have wanted to yodel. Local ads for the cable company's Xfinity service cut into the football feed late in the game, prompting outrage on Twitter. Probably not as much outrage as 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams later prompted, though. -2

School's Out: District officials have gone to some lengths lately to tout progress made in D.C. Public Schools, boosting enrollment and slowly changing the system's reputation. Maybe a bit too slowly, though, for word to reach the deputy mayor for education, De'Shawn Wright. Wright told a forum in Ward 4 recently that he wouldn't send his kids to Roosevelt or Coolidge high schools—which, as it happens, quite a few Ward 4 parents do send their kids to, as they're the DCPS high schools in the ward. Wright says that's not what he meant. Wisely, he did not add that the Ward 4 parents probably misunderstood him because they'd gone to crappy Ward 4 schools. -2

Memorial Trench Warfare: It's not enough that Congress gets to muck around in the District's budget and our laws; now some House Republicans want to take our memorials, too. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is trying to resist an effort by Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, to turn the District of Columbia War Memorial to the dead of World War I into a national monument instead. Of course, Norton doesn't actually get a vote on the matter, so if Poe really wants to seize the memorial, there's not much she can really do. +1

Always Low Prices (On Pot): The District hasn't finished deciding who will get to sell legal medical marijuana yet, but it turns out you may not need to wait around too long. A store popularly known as "the Walmart of Weed," hydroponic supplier WeGrow, is set to open up on Rhode Island Avenue NE, selling everything necessary to produce massive amounts of medicine, for anyone lucky enough to get a license. Or of weed, for anyone who doesn't. +1

Friday's Needle rating: 42 Today's score: -2 Today's Needle rating: 40

Yes, Virginia, You Put Your Weed In There: In the near future, Virginia may no longer just be the place to buy legal guns and cheap tobacco. It'll also be the place to go buy pot! Legislators in the Old Dominion are studying whether to allow marijuana sales at state-owned liquor stores. Prediction: This won't happen. But if it does, it'll generate a lot more cash than lotto does. +3

Trent Franks For D.C. Council: Election year abortion politics are complicated. Conservative lawmakers want to show they're fighting the culture wars, but they don't really want to deal with a backlash from constituents who—reasonably—don't want their own rights restricted. Fortunately for Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks, there's always the District! Franks will introduce legislation next week to ban abortions after 20 weeks of a pregnancy—never mind that D.C. is overwhelmingly more pro-choice than his own state is. The National Right to Life Committee is a big fan; they say there's no need to consult District officials about the bill because, hey, Congress can do whatever it wants. -4

Whose Court? Our Court: The Supreme Court became the latest seat of national power to be occupied today, as Occupy D.C. protesters marched, sang, and chanted outside to protest the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling that more or less ended any pretense that big corporations don't run politics in this country. Police arrested 12 demonstrators. Had the protest managed to actually take over the building, we presume the court would have been renamed (a la the People's Pentagon) the People's Court. Chief Justice Joseph Wapner presiding? +2

Let It Mix: Is there any weather term drearier than "wintry mix?" None of the excitement of a blizzard, none of the beauty of a clear day, not even the sheer terror of, say, a hurricane. That's what's in store for the District and environs tonight through early tomorrow afternoon. On the plus side, it's Friday night, so most people's commutes won't be ruined. On the minus side, your Saturday may be. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 41 Today's score: 0 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 42

Seriously? Snow?: The rumors turned out to be true—the D.C. region is under a winter storm watch for tomorrow, and yes, it could snow. It is, for the record, still October. No word on what this means for February, but honestly, we don't want to know. -3

Occupation Without Representation: Earlier this week, Occupy D.C. marched to the Wilson Building for a protest. Once there, they took down the District flag from in front of the building—adding insult to our colonial status injury. Today, the Occupiers apologized for the snub, writing to DCist, "we stand with the citizens of dc [in] solidarity against the institutional disenfranchisement of its population." Next time, maybe find a federal building to pick on? +1

Oh Deer: It's been quite a week for wild animals in our urban midst. First came word of a mountain lion in Glover Park; then, today, a deer got stuck in a fence in Mt. Pleasant, while another fell into the Tidal Basin. No, there's not a full moon. Yes, we are staying away from the vicinity of the National Zoo this weekend, just to be safe. -1

You Don't Put Your Weed In There: This may not be the weekend to go try to pick up a new bong for, uh, tobacco. Police raided two more shops in Adams Morgan today, a couple of days after arresting seven people at two Capitol Hemp locations. Apparently they seized a lot of pipes, which, thanks to inane federal drug laws, are technically not intended to be used to smoke marijuana. Maybe someone needs to get the Metropolitan Police Department brass some medicine? -3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 53 Today's score: -6 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 49

Muller is accused of trying to send a pound of pot to another veteran through the mail, according to charging documents. Police say they intercepted the parcel. A manager of the FedEx store Muller allegedly used to commit the crime told police Muller had come around to dispatch packages before, and that he was memorable on account of his wheelchair and his unique sounding laugh, which was similar to the laugh of "one of the characters from the film Revenge of the Nerds," say filings.

Documents are posted after the jump.

The founder of Vietnam Veterans of America has had his Ritz-Carlton dwelling tossed by cops looking for evidence of pot distribution after he allegedly sought to mail a package of marijuana at FedEx, according to recently filed police documents.

In papers filed this month in D.C. Superior Court, police say their search of the 23rd Street NW penthouse of wheelchair-bound anti-war activist Bobby Muller turned up plastic bags and a mason jar filled with "green weed," scales, packaging material and "bank documents."

Muller, whose veterans group went on to co-found the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines, has apparently not been arrested.  He did not respond to phone calls or email messages requesting comment. Metropolitan Police Department officials also did not return calls.

The warrant's description of how cops came to focus on an activist who has shared a stage with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and blogged for the Huffington Post would seem a lesson in drug handling 101. First pointer? If you're going to ship 1.03 pounds of cheeba through the mail, don't use your real name and address.

According to the warrant, which was obtained by a member of the Metropolitan Police Department's Intelligence Branch, that's exactly what Muller did, though the officer wrote that he scrawled "R. Muller," rather then his full name, on the alleged contraband.

On September 2, workers at the FedEx store located at 2020 K Street smelled what "they believed to be the odor of marijuana" coming from the package, which was headed to an address in Brattleboro, Vermont, says the document. The warrant says that the sniffing workers turned it over to police, who seized the mail and found the smoke.

Someone could theoretically have stolen the vet's info, of course. But the warrant says there's evidence the package was his: Muller allegedly used a credit card to pay for shipping. "Mr. Muller also returned to the Fed Ex location on Tuesday Sept. 6, 2011, to find out why his package wasn't delivered on Saturday, and to file a claim with Fed Ex," say the papers. "Both this incident and the delivery of the package were documented on the Fed Ex surveillance cameras."

Interestingly, Muller hasn't shown up in court records yet, indicating he hasn't been arrested. MPD didn't respond to inquiries about the case this morning.

Around the web, and even in a book, Muller is referred to as a Nobel Peace Prize winner—a distinction that might make him the only Nobel laureate to have his home searched for refer. As it happens, the description isn't quite accurate. "Bobby Muller was the co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, which in turn was one of six organizations that founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1992," says Kate Wiggans of ICBL. But according to Allegra Grevelius of the Nobel Foundation, the ICBL's 1997 Nobel was awarded only to the organization and its leader at the time, Jody Williams. Muller is "not a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate," says Grevelius.

Photo by Eric Caballero via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Legalize, Or At Least Discount, It: The District's medicinal marijuana program is moving along, albeit not as quickly as some might like. But what about those of us who don't qualify under the strict regulations? Turns out we're overpaying for pot. A study by Floating Sheep published in Wired this month found D.C. pays, on average, $460.70 per ounce of the non-medical stuff—more than anyone in any state. The lowest prices were in Oregon, at $255.80 per ounce. In the area, Maryland paid $436.30, and Virginia $411.90. Somehow we don't suspect Gov. Bob McDonell will be attributing that stat to his allegedly pro-business policies. -2

Bumper For Life: Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry has had his fair share of problems with cars, from registering to parking. Now his ride has more existential trouble. Barry drove up to the Wilson Building today with the bumper on his Jaguar hanging off the car. He told reporters he'd been hit a few weeks ago by a stolen car making a quick getaway, and that "when you live in the ghetto, all this happens." At least the car isn't leased by the D.C. government, in which case we'd all be on the hook for the repairs. -1

Power To The People: There's a reason they don't build massive coal-burning power plants in the middle of densely populated neighborhoods anymore. Admittedly, that reason is that the land the power plants might occupy is more valuable as the site of condos and luxury boutiques than as a place to generate electricity. But burning coal isn't the healthiest thing you can do for the people nearby, either, so the news that Alexandria's Mirant facility, operated by GenOn Energy, will close next October is welcome for anyone sick of breathing ash. No word yet on what price the condos that will, inevitably, wind up in the building will fetch. +3

Canned Food Frenzy: Spooked by the earthquake, many Washingtonians decided disaster preparedness was no laughing matter as Hurricane Irene approached, as anyone who made the mistake of setting foot anywhere near a grocery store (or Costco) Friday or Saturday can testify. But since the storm's fury was a little softer than expected, most of the stockpiled food people bought up wasn't needed. No need to binge on sardines or potato chips, though; area food banks say they'll happily accept your non-perishables. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 55 Today's score: +2 Today's Needle rating: 57

Eleven of the citations were given in predominantly black police districts east of the Anacostia River. Only one was issued in the Second Police District, which contains some of D.C.'s whitest neighborhoods. That snapshot of the District's criminal justice landscape would seem to reflect past statistics, which say black residents are eight times more likely to be arrested for sparking a blunt than their white counterparts.

That's despite the fact that the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use & Health says whites and blacks use marijuana at near equal rates: 9.6 percent of blacks 12 and older use pot, and 8.8 percent of whites.

One theory as to why black residents are apprehended on pot charges more often involves how the two populations both smoke and acquire their weed. Whites tend to light up and deal inside their homes, and blacks on the street, goes the thinking.

Court records for some of those arrested east of the river back that belief up. They describe vice officers spotting suspects engaging in open-air blazing or buying from street corner dealers. One subject "was walking down the street smoking a brown cigar" when cops spotted him. The recklessness involved would seem to disqualify disparate rates of marijuana arrests in the city as a civil rights issue: Black smokers are choosing to be flagrant about their pot use and so attracting the attention of cops who have no choice but to grab them.

But even if assumptions about smoking and dealing habits are solid, that doesn't mean there's no problem with the way marijuana laws are currently being enforced in black and white neighborhoods. Taking my own experience as an African American who grew up poor into account, I remember some family and friends who puffed outside—whether that involved a pack of Kools or a joint meticulously sculpted from Top rolling papers—out of respect for others in their household, particularly where there was more than one generation (and therefore more than one set of moral values) under one roof. Dealing inside the house would have been all the more inappropriate. Although that's certainly not the situation for every black person who tokes up or does a hand-off in Ward 7 or Ward 8, the idea is that you can't just assume they're being belligerent, and therefore asking for repercussions.

Police do seem to be obligated to arrest you once they catch a sight of a spliff, as a matter of policy in the District. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says her department isn't pushing marijuana arrests at this time, but if ”we encounter someone in possession of marijuana, we are obligated to make an arrest."

Still, there are plenty of crimes, like jaywalking (which gets sporadic enforcement) that cops regularly ignore, despite the law. When the crime is so minor and ubiquitous that making a big deal about it would do more harm than good, officers typically walk on.

The federal survey on drug stats says that marijuana use—which has been approved for medical purposes in the District—may be a misdemeanor, but it's certainly become ubiquitous. An "estimated 104 million Americans aged 12 or older have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetimes." I doubt law enforcement is interested in arresting all those people, so why swoop into black D.C.?

When black people bear the brunt of marijuana arrests, the prime suspect ends up being the country's teetering but still functional mechanism of racial oppression. The fix is obvious: Legalize marijuana, and the problem disappears. Or at least this manifestation of it does.

Photo by futureatlas.com via Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0

Kids R Us: Don't believe the hype about how no one can raise children without moving to the 'burbs! A new ranking from Parenting magazine declares D.C. the best city in the country to raise kids (in the latest installment of Arbitrary National Rankings we collect here). The District edged out Austin, Texas, Boston, and Minneapolis/St. Paul to come in first. In D.C.'s favor: Museums, and lots of 'em, as well as restaurants and the cherry blossoms. So don't tell Parenting about the beavers. +2

Hands Off D.C.: The level of federal meddling in next year's District budget appears to be limited to a dull roar. The GOP's spending plan would ban the city from using federal money on medical marijuana, needle exchange programs, or abortions for poor women—but it wouldn't restrict how local money is used. Which means if you support medicinal pot, your best bet is to rack up a lot of parking tickets. +1

Two Counties for Old Men: Expect a general increase in crotchety old-timers who fondly recall the way the Washington area was decades ago. A new study shows Fairfax and Montgomery counties rank number one and number three, respectively, in life expectancy for men in the nation. For women, Montgomery was the fifth-highest, and Fairfax the eighth. (Women everywhere live longer than men.) Back in our day, these studies weren't big news. +1

I Share, You Share, We All Share With BikeShare: No one likes to be left out, not even states. Which is why news that Rockville may join D.C., Arlington, and Alexandria in offering Capital BikeShare use isn't a surprise. A $1.9 million federal grant would pay for 200 bikes at 20 stations around the Rockville and Shady Grove stations on Metro's Red Line. (You could ride one from Shady Grove downtown, but chances are you wouldn't be able to do it in the 30 free minutes you get before fees kick in.) Cue the wait for some overzealous House Republican to complain about federal dollars being spent on bikes. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 57 Today's score: +6 Today's Needle rating: 63

Court documents connected to the plea reveal new details about the harrowing event. Fields, Dayvhonne Sealy, and Akeem Cayo entered 1011 Irving Street NE through an unlocked front door. Sealy and Cay wielded hand guns, while Fields toted an assault rifle. "Once inside the house, Mr. Cayo, Mr. Sealey and the Defendant ordered eight of the victims to lay on the ground and turn over their wallets and cell phones," say papers.

Though the raiding party quickly subdued everyone downstairs, they missed those upstairs, giving two visitors to the house a chance to hide in a closet and call 911. Though the crew eventually found them and put them with the others, the cops were on their way.

"During the course of the incident, the Defendant, Mr. Cayo, and Mr. Sealey alternated the responsibility of watching the victims and searching the house. The person assigned with the duty of watching the victims generally held the assault rifle, while the other two subjects searched the house."

Fields would later tell police that they were looking for the stash of a drug dealer he called "the weed man." Police haven't given any official clues as to whether the weed man exists or who he might be.

"Approximately 15-20 minutes after they entered the house, the suspects saw officers of the Metropolitan Police Department arriving on the scene." Panic set in. The three began running around the house, peeking through windows, trying to figure out if the cops had surrounded them.

As if they were in the middle of some trite action flick, they decided to make a run for it. "The defendant hid the assault rifle in the house, and the three suspects gathered near the front door of the house. After giving a quick countdown, the three suspects opened the front door and ran out of the house."

Fields watched his colleagues get picked off. He followed Cayo down the front steps and "heard gunfire." Cayo collapsed. Fields turned to the right and followed Sealey toward the backyard. "The defendant heard more gunfire, and he dropped to the ground and surrendered himself to the police." Sealey had been fatally shot, too. Calls placed to Fields' lawyer weren't returned.

Charging documents say that Cayo exchanged gunfire with the police after bursting out the front door, implying the three were attempting to shoot their way out. Fields will be sentenced on August 1.

Photo of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located adjacent to the Catholic University of America, by Gore Fiendus (Jerry Frausto) using an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

The Great Eradication of Nero: Though Park View D.C. reported some success in cleaning up graffiti in the neighborhood the other day, a member of the MPD 3D email list living in Adams Morgan has questions about a specific tagger: "Does MPD have any leads on who 'Nero' is? Has he/she been seen? Obviously they have not been caught yet? 'Nero' caused a lot of destruction of property in Adams Morgan and we continue to clean up after him on a regular basis. Would be great if MPD could get this person off the streets." Nero was previously troublesome in Park View, too.

Chronically Judging: The Crestwood email list continues to debate the correctness of smoking marijuana after an initial charge that unknown teens were smoking, inside of a blue Prius, outside someone's house. A particularly vocal commenter is advocating for the right to smoke, anywhere, including behind the wheel: "More likely someone would be driving too cautious and drive a bit too slowly.  I'm not saying everybody should smoke dope, just saying its not for anyone to pass judgment on how we like our coffee, how much T.V. We let our kids watch, or whether to drink or smoke or whatever. Legally? Are you the police now?  What about morally?  Should you or the guy on blagden terrace really be the arbiters of right and wrong?  And does it help to parent others kids?  Or project on another, of any age, our personal slanted belief systems? I say we all need to let go of the tendency to control others, and projecting our 'stuff' on to them." In response to that rant, another member writes, "Dude, you shouldn't drive a car stoned.  End of story."

Bring On the Burritos: Though it appeared yesterday that Cleveland Park residents were opposed to Chipotle's opening because it would erode the neighborhood's character and charm, a slew of email list members have vocalized their support for the—gasp!—chain restaurant. Some even believe that it will succeed, despite the nearby presence of California Tortilla. Though there are still a few naysayers, one writes, "I support it. The neighborhood has plenty of charm and variety, and it seems that only chains or restaurants can compete in that location with the rents as they are. Given the nail and tanning salons next door, I think it will actually make that strip more attractive." Another says, "I think it would be a great addition to Cleveland Park. The Chipotle near the Woodley Park metro is usually quite busy during meal 'rush hours' and Chipotle's exterior design is not gaudy or flashy, I think it will not detract away from the neighborhood charm. I also would love for their to be more options for "fast food" (though this is hardly the typical fast food "joint") in the neighborhood. California Tortilla is fine, but I would love to see Chipotle join the neighborhood."

Everything's Coming Up 14th Street: There's many an update on 14th Street NW storefronts filling up. U Street Girl reports that Peregrine's second location, at 14th between R and S Streets NW is close to opening. Borderstan says that the ground floor of the View 14 condo building at 14th Street and Florida Avenue NW will be home to the YWCA and Beta Academy, a mixed martial arts center relocating from Columbia Heights. And 14th & You takes away from a recent ANC meeting that PN Hoffman's renovation of the Verizon building on 14th and R Streets NW will "have room for one ground-level commercial tenant, most likely a restaurant. (The developer has plans for the eventual installation of some kind of sidewalk seating.) The building will have four levels of residences, including a penthouse level with private rooftop decks/gardens for each unit, along with a communal rooftop area. The penthouse structure will very closely resemble the rooftop structure at the top of the Room and Board building at 14th and T streets."

Legalize It? In response to a post from a Crestwood email list complaining about teenagers smoking marijuana in a car last Friday, another fires back, "I got stoned a few thousand times when I was a kid on your street and probably every other in Crestwood, but it wasn't in a blue Prius... it was a faded gold Toyota Corolla. Two questions: 1. Am I in trouble with you too?  2. Do you have absolutely nothing better to do than harassing young people bonding? Perhaps they are stumbling and making some mistakes along the way, but these 'kids' are clearly minding their own business...why don't we save the gossip for boring crap that doesn't infringe on peoples rights like: 'whoa! watch out folks there's a pothole on Taylor street that's a doozie!!' Or, 'Mrs Johnson is wandering in the middle of argyle terrace again! don't run her down!'" Still another list member feels this response was "inappropriate."

Animal Kingdom: A posting about a found cat on the Tenleytown email list didn't garner any specific connections, but had some members thinking about another cat that went missing last week. Turns out that cat, Mookie, was found and reunited with its owners. One neighbor was ecstatic: "YEAH!!! I am doing the happy paws dance. I just read the happy news about MOOKIE finding his way home after his neighborhood romp!! It is Spring and they have been cooped up all winter and dreaming about the goodies outside(not that I endorse their hunting)." Another was more inclined to cold-blooded humor, writing in a separate thread entitled, "Are You Missing Your SNAKE?" "I was reading the paper and enjoying my coffee and a nasty-ass snake slithered across the floor of our fifth-floor apartment."

What to Do? 14th & You has noted that the corner of 14th and Corcoran Streets NW has been "cleaned up." The corner was previously "home" to a homeless man named Michael, who in an interview with People's District claimed that he preferred to live outside and not seek shelter or city resources. Though the interview received many favorable comments, his pile of stuff on the corner continued to grow to some consternation and bafflement. 14th & You commenters are conflicted as to whether or not the decision to remove Michael's things was a good one or not. Writes one, "Sad story, and a shame that Michael cannot get the help he so clearly needs." Another disagrees: "I live just around the corner. Last week or so, after the signs went up but before the "pile" was removed, Michael had begun to exhibit new signs of dementia, loudly hollering at no one in particular. Yesterday morning, walking my dogs, he was wandering both sides of the block and appeared to be stalking and again yelling. As I passed along on the opposite side of 14th he was yelling that he was going to get me and my dogs. This occurred very eary Sunday morning."

Just Not Good Enough: When Georgetown Metropolitan reported that Paul Bakery would be opening in the neighborhood, commenters where aghast at yet another chain infiltrating M Street NW and beyond. One waxes, "While worthy local businesses struggle to stay, we hail the arrival of more chains that supplant local real estate, charge more and care less about neighbors, friends and customers. I encourage the G-town world to continue to have their great breakfasts at Furin’s . What chain has the consistent familiar smiles, staff, delicious pancakes, lunch salads and will go out of its way to treat customers as neighbors and bring food its ill patrons? I and so many others have had the benefit of the care, friendship, great breakfasts, cupcakes and good food from Furin’s." Another agrees, writing "More like Furin’s, more like Poupon, more like Leopold’s…and fewer chains, please." But the blog notes that despite the appearance that Georgetown is completely chain-ified, that simply is not the case: " While it’s fair to complain about the lack of genuinely exciting or even interesting restaurants in Georgetown, one of the things Georgetown’s definitely not is chain-dominated. As of GM’s latest count, there are 126 restaurants in Georgetown. Of those, only 20 are part of a big chain. An additional 5 more are part of a regional chain (i.e. Five Guys). So even if you lump the regional chains in with the national chains, there are still only 25 chain restaurants in Georgetown. That’s less that 20%. (And the number of chains is unchanged from last year, while the number of independent restaurants has increased)."

Free Lunch Isn't Free: Deals like the ones LivingSocial was offering today don't come along every day—and thank God, because if they did, it would mean no one would ever be able to get into a restaurant for lunch ever. The debut of the coupon site's instant $1 lunches led to long lines and near anarchy at the several dozen participating places. By 11:30 a.m., only 30 minutes after most of the restaurants involved even opened for lunch service, 24,000 vouchers had been sold. How many of them were used, though, is another story; we waited 5 minutes to try to get in on a deal in Adams Morgan, then gave up when we realized that saving $14 was nice, but waiting four hours to do it didn't make it worthwhile. -2

Smoke It If You Got It: Marijuana is against the law, so of course it's completely impossible to find any here in the District. Or at least that's what the people behind the nation's drug laws must tell themselves every night. But don't dispair, D.C. residents: The day when some of you may get to see what this whole "pot" thing is all about—legally— is one step closer to reality; Mayor Vince Gray officially issued regulations for the District's medical marijuana rules today. Within 90 days, or sooner if the D.C. Council votes on the rules, the city can assemble a five-member board to start issuing licenses for dispensaries and growers. +3

School's Out: On a day like today, it's easy to imagine sneaking out of work early. Apparently, for 13 percent of D.C. Public Schools students, it's also easy to imagine sneaking out of class early many days. A new study reports 13 percent of DCPS students missed 15 or more days of school during the first half of the 2010-11 school year without what authorities considered a valid excuse. The excuses they considered invalid, though, included lack of Metro fare to get to school, unsafe conditions between school and home, and "teen dating violence." Those actually do sound pretty valid; probably easier to shake your head at truancy, though, than to fix the underlying problems that contribute to it. -2

Budget Fundraising: President Obama signed the budget deal he and Congress worked out last week into law today—and along with it, the provision barring the District from spending any of its own local tax dollars on abortions for low-income women. The D.C. Abortion Fund, though, has been busy raising money to fill the $62,000 gap the budget rider would leave. A board member told Washington City Paper the fund raised $2,600 over the weekend, immediately after the budget deal; since then, an emergency appeal helped bring in thousands more. Fund president Tiffany Reed says the group took in nearly $12,000 just on Wednesday night and Thursday. By this afternoon, apparently, that was up to over $25,000. Just goes to show Congress isn't as powerful as it thinks it is. More District activists got arrested today protesting the deal, too—which shows the Capitol Police are as powerful as they think they are. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 61 Today's score: +1 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 64

You might want to smoke or toss what you have, fast. K2 officially became contraband today. According to a statement put out by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, synthetic marijuana products like K2 are now illegal to possess and sell. The substances mimic the euphoric effect of pot when smoked. They also don't show up in drug test results. The DEA "exercised its emergency scheduling authority" to ban five chemicals used to make the fake pot. "This emergency action was necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health and safety," says the DEA.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be studying synthetic marijuana in order to figure out if the temporary ban should become permanent. In D.C., At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson was working on legislation that would outlaw the stuff, which can be bought at some District shops (three grams costs about $40), but it doesn't look like that'll be necessary. Critics of the drug have said it can cause side-effects like serious respiratory problems. The ban will last for at least a year.

Update: Thirteen minutes after opening, Capitol Hemp is already clean. The Adams Mill Road NW head shop, its green walls decorated with neon bright art work, doesn't have to worry about the authorities bursting in. When, as the store gets ready for the day, a customer calls asking for Spice, a worker politely explains the store no longer carries it and hangs up.

"We gave it up two months ago," says owner Alan Amsterdam. Amsterdam says the business had been closely following the DEA's intentions to outlaw man-made pot, and that he "saw the writing on the wall" by the end of December. At that point, the store gathered up all its fake pot products and had a party at which the entire stock was burned. "We don't sell anything illegal nor do we want to," says Amsterdam.

But he also says that not being able to sell the products has definitely hurt some financially."It was really popular," says a smiling Amsterdam. After two months of not selling the product, there are still three to four customers coming in a day looking for the expensive herbs, technically sold as incense. Amsterdam says that his business model works fine without the product, though.

Amsterdam also tells that the controversy may not be over. He's been getting calls from salespeople who purport to have a way around the new restrictions. The reps say they've developed K2-like products that don't use the chemicals JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497 or cannabicyclohexanol, the synthetic marijuana compounds that are now illegal. Currently, Amsterdam doesn't have designs on buying.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

For those keeping track of the District's progress in the medical marijuana game, today is not the small milestone it appeared to be.

DCist reports that the medical marijuana rules released in November 2010 will go into effect... not today, but shortly: "It seems that while the rules should be taking effect today due to the timing of when they were submitted to the D.C. Council, they only become legally valid once published in the D.C. Register, which should happen next week."

The rules themselves are hardly liberal: The District will allow only five dispensaries and ten cultivation centers. (City Paper looked at one proposed center, to be run by a rabbi in Takoma, in August.) Patients will only be allowed to purchase two ounces a month. And whenever they take effect, it won't exactly signal the advent of a medical marijuana culture around these parts. Mayor Vince Gray still has to appoint a four-person board to oversee the operation and handling of related policy, and the Department of Health will undertake rules applying to patients and doctors.

DCist notes that "the glacial pace with which the program has progressed has been of some frustration to advocates, many of whom have found leases left hanging until they could be sure that the rules would take effect and have someone to govern their implementation." We wish upon NORML-ites and their compatriots a heavy does of patience; expect Gray's deliberateness to shine in this arena.

Photo by Neeta Lind via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Though it looked as if CBS Radio journalist Howard Arenstein would get away scott-free after having his Georgetown marijuana crop raided by cops, his luck eventually turned: Arenstein will have to do 90 days of probation, according to recent court documents.

Arenstein and his wife, Orly Katz, had been accused of cultivating a forbidden garden of pleasure in a swank, upper-class neighborhood. On Nov. 16, charges were dropped when a police officer scheduled to testify failed to show up at a preliminary hearing. But prosecutors had the choice of reissuing charges, and they did three days later.

Initially, authorities seemed to think Arenstein and Katz were drug dealers, as the couple faced "possession with intent to distribute marijuana" charges. But once the case was reopened, Arenstein was the only one still in trouble—and not for dealing, either. On Nov. 23, he was pegged with the lesser charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Arenstein waived a trial and was given "probation without adjudication of guilt." Which means he's taking on his sentence without technically admitting to the crime. There were no charges refiled against Katz.

Now that Arenstein has taken the rap for the 11 large pot plants vice officers, acting on a tip, carted away from his home in October, he'll be treated like a run-of-the-mill criminal. Besides being on probation, he'll have to attend a drug treatment program and submit to regular drug tests.

It'll be awkward for the award-winning reporter, but it's definitely better than doing time for something as benign as weed. And in D.C., that's still possible. Marijuana possession charges can earn you up to a year behind bars. One wonders if Arenstein, who has pretty much been outed as pot-head, will feel inspired to speak out for the decriminalization of marijuana after being run through the system like this. His notoriety and status would help that sensible cause along.

Photo by Eric Caballero via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0