Slideshow.  Sandy Point State Park, Md., Jan. 28.
Photos © 2012 by Matt Dunn and Mike Hicks

Stronger job growth and a healthier housing market in the region account for much of the mobility, said Lisa Sturtevant of George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis.

"While [the D.C.-area housing market] is still slow, it's possible to sell your home and move to a bigger one," Sturtevant said. "We're not anywhere close to being back to normal, but compared to other places, we don't have as many people underwater."

Repticon, Timonium, MD, Oct. 9th.   © 2011 Matt Dunn

In Which the State of Maryland Gets Rich: NBC Washington reports that the state of Maryland will erect speed cameras along a stretch of the Capital Beltway. The area between University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue, which is slated for major construction in the coming years, will be the target. According to NBC, "The speed limit will remain 55 mph, and State Highway Administration spokeswoman Valerie Edgar says drivers would have to be going 12 or more miles over the limit to get ticketed." Though the slower speeds are ostensibly for safety measures while construction's going on, DCist points out that this will be a major revenue generator for Maryland. Given heavy traffic, it's pretty hard to get up to 55 on that stretch of the Beltway as it is, but prepared to pay $40 if you don't slow your roll. -3

"So I Can Keep Track of the Visions in My Eyes": Sulaimon Brown's hijinks are gifts that have kept on giving. First, it was the sunglasses. Now, WAMU producer Michael Martinez has remixed choice soundbites from Monday's hearing on Brown's hiring by the Gray administration over Corey Hart's original one-hit wonder. (Bonus, unrelated meme-ification of local D.C. government officials: A .gif of Mayor Vince Gray rolling his eyes, courtesy of DCist editor Aaron Morrissey.) +4

Activities for all Stripes: If you couldn't tell by the arrival en masse of rainbow-printed bunting along 17th Street NW and the rest of greater Dupont Circle, Capital Pride is this weekend. There's a lot going on, but our own Arts Desk has you covered with picks for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Be sure to look for City Paper's float in the Saturday parade, wherein some staffers will be dressed as cupcakes (a D.C. take on birthday cake—appropriate as we celebrate our 30th anniversary). Not stoked enough? Look through Darrow Montgomery's photos from last year's Pride. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 56 Today's score: +4 Friday Bonus Points: +2 Today's Needle rating: 62

Potential Circulator Cuts and Reallocation Looms: The District Department of Transportation is considering whether to cut the Smithsonian-National Gallery of Art Circulator bus route in order to provide more service on the Union Station-Capitol Hill line. While it's too bad we can't have endless transit funding to do both, cutting the Mall route wouldn't drastically impact D.C. residents—and might get tourists to walk more! Exercise is good. +1

Mr. Postman: Kwame Brown has a new set of wheels these days: Mike DeBonis reports that the D.C. Council chairman is rolling up to the Wilson Building in a vintage mail truck. Of course, the lease on the much-maligned Navigator is presumably still costing taxpayers some money. No word on whether the mail truck is "fully loaded," but since it dates to the early 1980s, it's probably safe to assume there's no DVD player in the backseat. -1

Food Truck Furor: Like brick-and-mortar restaurants, D.C.'s food trucks can capitalize on foot traffic, which is why there's often more than one hanging out during lunch at Franklin Park or Farragut Square. This afternoon, U.S. Park Police—agents of the National Park Service, who control and manage the majority of D.C.'s parkland—shut down and threatened to arrest several mobile vendors gathered at the square. Food Truck Fiesta, which organizes and promotes when food trucks gather, indicated that there's no clear reason why the U.S. Park Police took action. -2

Marryland: Despite Del. Sam Arora's bewildering flip-flop-flip earlier this afternoon, the Maryland House of Delegates' Judiciary Committee approved the state's same-sex marriage legislation. The bill has been beleaguered by elected representatives who have gone absent in order to gain support for pet projects, and by an amendment that would have allowed for same-sex civil unions, rather than marriages. Still, it's progress for Maryland. Not so much for the first-term lawmaker, who has essentially lost any political capital he once had with the gay community. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 36 Today's score: 0 Friday Bonus Points: +2 Today's Needle rating: 38

Michael Wayne Edwards, Jr. , who was originally arrested on charges of a July 15 squirting incident, and then confessed to three more squirting offenses at the same Gaithersburg Giant, was sentenced Thursday to a three-year probation period. (Lawyers dropped the other three squirting charges as part of the plea bargain.)

Edwards received national attention last August (including from us) when details of his squirting campaign became public. Edwards filled a small squirt bottle (like the ones normally used for hand sanitizer) with semen, snuck up behind women in the grocery store, and sprayed them. Sometimes he took pictures of his accomplishments with his cell phone.

At the sentencing, one of Edwards’ victims spoke, saying “this was a traumatic event for me.”

As for Edwards, he says he’s ashamed for his actions, according to The Washington Post. “It’s a shameful act,” he said. “It won’t happen again.”

Judge Stephen P. Johnson, who decided on the probation, said his main goal was to ensure Edwards never did anything like this again and cautioned Edwards to shape up. He also issued two years of “back-up” time to be served if Edwards gets in trouble again.

If Edwards shows up before the court any more, Johnson warned, “we will have an entirely different conversation.”

Last Call, Last Train? When Metrorail's hours were expanded to better accommodate weekend warriors after midnight—first to 1 a.m. in 1999 and later to 3 a.m.—it was heralded as sign that the nation's capital was loosening its tie a bit and supporting its nightlife. Sure, it reduced the amount of time crews could perform track maintenance. But it also provided a way for people to enjoy a night out on the town without having to get behind the wheel. Now, some at Metro think it may be necessary to cut back operating hours to rein in spending. That idea is a tough sell, for sure. But even considering scaling back weekend hours is a sign of just how dire Metro's fiscal straits are. -2

Do You Smell Rotten Eggs? There may be a gas leak somewhere in West Virginia that is wafting over Maryland. Or it could be something else. Sometimes, mysterious interstate odors can be sweet, like New Jersey's maple syrup smell that New York City residents sometimes report coming from across the Hudson River. But what Marylanders are getting is by no means saccharine. -1

Bedbugs at CPAC! There's nothing that freaks people out more than bedbugs. They can suck your blood while you sleep. And that is scary. Apparently, the Woodley Park hotel that is currently hosting the Conservative Political Action Conference has had reports of bedbugs, if you believe the reports on the Bedbug Registry. If there's any upside to bedbugs at a hotel hosting a big political conference, it raises awareness of the nation's epic bedbug problem. Maybe Sarah Palin can make another appearance at the Marriott Wardman Park and marshal her army of devoted fans to go on the offensive against the bloodsuckers? +2

It Does Get Better: Local D.C. Republican Pat Mara, who is running for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council, just tweeted: "Gathering signatures at metro. Does life get any better?" Yes, in fact, life does get better. Especially when you're gathering signatures in warmer weather. It's supposed to get up into the 50s this weekend! +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 45 Today's score: +1 Today's Needle rating: 46

Sandy Point State Park, Annapolis, MD.  Jan. 29th. © 2011 Matt Dunn

War on Christmas: Federal officials are preparing to ditch the color-coded alert system that's been stuck on yellow virtually every day since it debuted in 2002. But it's always red alert near the Pentagon, which is why the discovery today of a blinking Christmas ornament in a trash can in the Metro station there caused officials to shut down and evacuate the stop for an investigation. Fortunately for the commuters stuck outside during the panic, it wasn't particularly cold out today. Wait, what? Oh. -2

Room Service: Working for a luxury hotel in the District often means a chance to glimpse powerful people coming and going (and we don't just mean Eliot Spitzer at the Mayflower). Unless, that is, you're a Muslim who works for the Mandarin Oriental, in which case your bosses will tell you to stay away from floors occupied by visiting delegations of Israeli government officials. That's what happened at the hotel in Southwest over the weekend, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was staying there. This might, though, present a good Middle Eastern peace plan; just move all the Israeli settlers into the now-purged-of-Muslims Mandarin, and voila—no more conflict! -1

Maryland ♥ South Korea: Living in Maryland, instead of D.C., could have its perks. There's the blue crabs, the fact that jousting is the state sport, and—of course—the whole "voting representation in Congress" thing. Add to that list now the fact that Maryland drivers will automatically qualify for South Korean drivers licenses, and the Old Line State looks pretty good. Koreans will qualify for a Maryland license without taking a test, too, which is sure to alarm Fox News Channel. Even worse: Maryland has the same arrangement with France! +1

Hoard Bread, Milk, and Toilet Paper: The District and its suburbs always handle snow with the equanimity one might expect from residents of the capital of the world's mightiest nation—by closing schools, driving like lunatics, and generally freaking out. Prepare for the first major installment of such hysteria tomorrow afternoon. No less an authority than Bob Ryan says light snow showers could yield the season's first accumulating snow during the evening commute. We'll see you all in April, when it's safe to go outside again. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 54 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 50

Thanksgiving Parade, Silver Spring, MD, Nov. 20. © 2010 Matt Dunn

"DC plan for homeless families is to provide apts. $1,500 per.Should there be limit on number of fams hsd from other states? NY Times says no"

"Overflow for homeless families is DC Gen. 135 fams now at capacity. Should DC provide unlimited capacity for other states. NY Times says yes"

More tweets after the jump!

Wells goes on to tweet:

"Fams and individs in DC have right to shelter during cold. Surrounding states do not. % of fams in DC shelters from Md has tripled.

To bal our budget we must cut foster care, pub ed, disability pymnts, juv justice, TANF, pub safety and raise taxes to get to 175 mil

Mont co and PG co have a residency req. for shelter. We shld hse when freezing but not provide apt and shld return to home state when safe.

NY Times recommends DC expand shelter capacity if needed and dun Congress for the cost. Good luck with that.

CFO said no cost savings b/c of current waitlist for homeless services. DC residents should have dibs, no?"

Not even crafters are immune to semen-spray attacks

The now infamous Gaithersburg grocery store Semen Sprayer has been pegged in another attack. This time he allegedly squirted semen on a lady at Michaels craft store in Gaithersburg. Not even the innocent knitters are safe from semen attacks! And there could be more victims out there, police say. We can't wait to hear what other types of women this suspect felt the need to spray without their permission.

Michael Wayne Edwards Jr., 28, has been charged in the two attacks.

Some more details about the attack at the Giant grocery store:

• How did semen get on these poor ladies, you ask? Well apparently he had a small bottle like those used for hand sanitizer.
• He thought his little attack was so funny/sexy/clever that he decided to snap a cell phone picture after he did it. Advice: Don't keep evidence of your crime. Just stupid.
• When the woman noticed the sticky substance on her back, she turned around to find the suspect behind her. When she asked him if he had also been hit by some unknown liquid, he played dumb.

Police are confident there are two more ladies who have this man's semen on their clothes/neck/hair. How can you figure out if you were one of them? WaPo spoke to Officer Dan Lane who helps you out:

Gaithersburg police ask anyone who may have noticed an unusual substance on their clothes but wrote it off as benign to call them at 301-258-6400. "No one would ever think that someone would do this," said Officer Dan Lane.

Well, Officer Lane, that depends on who you are talking to. It's a crazy world out there. And one quick question: Have we confirmed this is his own semen? If not, this story got a whole lot creepier.

Photo by AlishaV, via Flickr.

Good morning, Washington! The weather gods have decided to mix it up a little bit today, blessing us with a little less humidity than normal. Don't worry about big meteorological shake ups, though—temperatures will still be in the familiar mid-90s range.

The Washington Times continues its reporting on the sketchy D.C. lottery contract with the news that the two councilmembers who most vocally supported the deal, Marion Barry and Chair Vincent Gray, also had personal connections to Emmanuel S. Bailey, one of the principals of Veterans Services Corp., the local firm awarded the majority stake of the contract. Both Barry and Gray also urged the Greek gambling company Intralot to partner with a local firm.

Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested a Maryland man suspected of committing for two mother-daughter murders in Largo, Md. last year. This won't be the first serious criminal charge for the 27-year-old UPS employee (whose name is being withheld because he has not yet been formally charged); he already has gun, burglary and child porn charges on his record, according to the Examiner.

On the other end of the Maryland justice system, Charles County Circuit Judge Robert Nalley will be suspended without pay for five days for deflating a cleaning woman's car tire.

With its first payday out of the way, the beleaguered D.C. Summer Youth Employment Program has had fewer payroll problems this year than it did in previous years, the Post reports.

Some sad news for local animal lovers: six guinea pigs were found in a trash can in Southeast; the three surviving rodents are being cared for by the Washington Humane Society. Also, illegal rat poison has been found in Georgetown. Jane Huelle, who runs The Dog Shop on Wisconsin Ave., says she knows of three dogs who have died from rat poisoning in Northwest this year.

Photo by Flickr user Lisa Brewster, used under a Creative Commons license.