Turn Out The Lights: It always feels a little Christmas-y in Adams Morgan, thanks to the illuminated martini glass, music note, coffee cup, and shoe that have been hanging from lightposts in the neighborhood for the last decade. But like a tree that's dropped all its needles and needs to go out to the curb, the lights will soon be retired. The Business Improvement District in the area is replacing them with banners, like the ones that have popped up everywhere else in the District recently. On the plus side: The lights look sort of silly. On the minus side: So do banners. +1

A Drum Major For Accurate Quotes: A mere six months after people realized the National Park Service had bowdlerized Martin Luther King Jr. in inscribing a quote of his on a new memorial to the civil rights leader, the agency is getting around to fixing it. The solution—recutting the memorial slightly to fit the actual words King uttered, not the paraphrased version—turned out to be so simple that it's tempting to wonder why they didn't just do it that way the first time around. But that way lies madness! +2

Vegas, Baby: The real test of whether local favorite Lamont Peterson benefited from home judging, as Amir Khan's fans allege, in their boxing championship match here last year will come soon enough. Peterson and Khan will have a rematch in May nowhere near the District—specifically, at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. If only the D.C. Council hadn't repealed iGaming, maybe we could just declare the D.C. Convention Center a casino and hold the fight here. -1

The Discontent Of Our Winter: Two years ago at this time, there was a record amount of snow on the ground and the District was pretty much paralyzed by the effects of two massive snowstorms in a row. This year, the winter's been so odd that the forecast for Saturday—a dusting of light snow showers—seems like the 2012 equivalent. Just ask the D.C. Department of Public Works, which commemorated the weather advisory by posting a photo of snowboarders on its Facebook page. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 37 Today's score: +4 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 43

You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here: Nothing like some nosy House Republicans to bring a protest to an end. After last week's hearing in Congress, the National Park Service and U.S. Park Police began enforcing a long-ignored ban on camping in McPherson Square today, which could be the first step toward closing up the Occupy D.C. encampment there. Now if only Congress would show similar concern about all the real problems in D.C.'s national parks. -1

Make Money Money: Turns out 2011 wasn't quite as bad financially for the D.C. government as everyone thought. An audit of the now-ended fiscal year revealed an extra $240 million in unexpected cash, thanks mostly to higher than projected capital gains and estate tax revenues. Predictably, the D.C. Council is already eyeing the windfall for an election-year tax cut. Also predictably, the city is expected to run a $150 million shortfall in the upcoming 2013 fiscal year. +3

Let Them Eat Beer: The District is suddenly awash in breweries, which means a lot of leftover zymurgical grain. The District also has a lot of people going hungry, especially with the economy the way it is. Turns out all that grain can be baked into bread. DC Brau teamed up with Pizzeria Paradiso recently to produce 65 loaves for Bread for the City, recycling barley that would have been turned into cattle feed and feeding people with it instead. The brewers eventually want to produce 500 loaves a month to donate to charity. Which could mean your bar tab is tax deductible. +3

The Circus Leaves Town: Besides the running circuses at the Wilson Building and the Capitol, the D.C. area is also home to one of the largest traveling three-ring productions in the world, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is owned by Feld Entertainment (the same company behind Disney on Ice). That may soon be changing. Feld announced plans today to relocate 190 jobs from its Vienna headquarters to a new office in Florida. Another 100 jobs will remain in Virginia. No word on where they'll send the clowns. -1

Friday's Needle rating: 34 Today's score: +4 Today's Needle rating: 38

Slideshow McPherson Square, Jan. 30th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

While the National Park Service has said that it has no plans to evict the McPherson Square or Freedom Plaza protesters, a lawyer for one McPherson group has filed a lawsuit that would prevent the Department of the Interior from evicting the occupiers without a trial. The Examiner reports:

The Park Service has already posted warnings in both Occupy camps at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza that mention trash concerns and problems with rats, he said. And on Thursday, the D.C. Department of Health, under orders from Mayor Vincent Gray, will inspect Occupy DC's kitchens after residents and business complained about rodents in the area.

There's no telling whether that inspection, or the Park Service's earlier memos, spell impending eviction for the Occupy movement. But [lawyer Jeff] Light doesn't want to take that chance.

"What you've seen around the country with so many Occupies being evicted causes a lot of concern that that would likely happen here," he said.

Park Service representatives have previously stated that they have no plans to evict protesters. But on Wednesday, Park Service spokesman Bill Line said the Park Service would let a Washington Examiner reporter know when it was "ready to make a move and communicate with demonstrators."

Photo by tedeytan via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

Occupiers on the March: The distance, on foot, from Zuccotti Park to McPherson Square is about 230 miles. The few dozen protesters who made the trip or joined it along the way as it passed various Occupy encampments arrived in the District today—a day after the so-called "supercommittee" quit work on a budget deal, but hey, that's not the protesters' fault (and besides, Congress didn't seem likely to listen to them in the first place). The more people in downtown D.C. parks, the better, after all. +2

Bikes on the Mall: The day the small crowd of people who spend their time dreaming about transportation options on the National Mall thought would never come as finally arrived—the National Park Service is proposing five Capital Bikeshare stations on its property. One would be near the Smithsonian Metro, one near the Washington Monument, one by the Lincoln Memorial, one by the FDR Memorial, and one near the Jefferson Memorial. No word on whether the bikes will be painted blue in honor of the late, not-so-lamented TourMobile. +3

Wal-Mart on the Make: When the world's largest retailer wanted to come to the District, it didn't take much persuading—D.C. officials were aching for Wal-Mart, and the store didn't really have to bring much in the way of lobbying. Which meant the city had almost no leverage to get the store to do anything outside the realm of its usual business practices, like, oh, paying a living wage, or hiring union workers. Still, the Bentonville, Ark., posse agreed today to a community benefits deal that commits it to job fairs, Bikeshare stations, not selling guns, and a few other nods to the criticism of the chain. Which, considering the way the D.C. government fell all over itself to get the store in town, is probably about as good as it gets. +1

Mummies on the Move: These days, if you want to bring in tourists, mummified human bodies just aren't enough. So the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History is going all-out, with cat mummies, crocodile mummies, snake mummies, and raptor mummies (no, not these raptors). The museum is opening a permanent Egyptology exhibit with more mummies than ever before. If only they had mummified one of the museum's popular dinosaurs, they could really pack in the crowds. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 51 Today's score: +7 Today's Needle rating: 58

You Put Your Weed Application In There: Selling medical marijuana in the District will be risky; applicants have to sign a waiver that seems all but designed to be used as an exhibit by the U.S. Attorney in a future federal narcotics case, after all. But that didn't deter everyone—city officials allowed more than 50 groups to pursue the 15 available licenses. At least a dozen people dropped out, but Montel Williams' colleagues are still in the running. +2

It's All At The Mall: Anyone complaining that tourists take all the Capital BikeShare bikes and/or parking spots before you can get to them, get ready for the real gripes. The National Park Service plans to allow BikeShare stations on the Mall, as the decades-long Tourmobile monopoly crumbles faster than a dictatorship suddenly confronted by massive street protests live on Al Jazeera. We'll take red bikes over blue trolleys any day. +2

Fully Loaded: The D.C. government has had some tough budget decisions to make recently. Fortunately for the bean-counters, one decision got made for them: The decision to spend $12,450.23 to break the lease on one Lincoln Navigator that D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown was shamed out of using, and possibly another $5,200 for another Navigator Brown rejected before anyone knew about his taste in cars, for the completely fiscally responsible reason that the interior was gray. Admittedly, $20,000 or so isn't a lot of money when split among all District taxpayers, but still—raise your hand if you wouldn't like a refund for whatever your share is. -2

Sexy Rexy: Last year, the Washington Redskins finished 6-10, a disappointing record but an improvement over the previous season's 4-12. Coach Mike Shanahan must have decided that was too fun, so he's aiming for 3-13 this year. What other explanation is there for the mysterious choice to install Rex Grossman as the team's starting quarterback? In Grossman's defense, of course, the alternative was John Beck, but what NFL team heads into September facing that Hobson's choice (especially when future Hall of Famer Donovan McNabb got canned in order to set it up)? Good thing there's no relegation in U.S. sports, or FedEx Field might be hosting Arena Football League games next year. -1

Friday's Needle rating: 55 Today's score: +1 Today's Needle rating: 56

1500 Maine Avenue, SW.   © 2011 Matt Dunn

A recent article in the local Washington, DC press documented the activities of several persons who were panning for gold in Rock Creek Park. It is critical that park visitors understand that any recreational or commercial activity that damages, harms or removes any natural, cultural or archeological resource is illegal. Violators are subject to fines and criminal prosecution by the United States Park Police.

Yes: Robert Parker, NPS Site Manager, stresses the need for planning, management, planning, resources, and...planning: "There is a process. It takes time, resources and planning. We're currently working out a general management plan with a directional format for...how we plan to manage the resources."

He anticipates that work on the site will start around 2012.

Brian Smith sets out his own time frame in the listserv debate: "...this will continue until Malia Obama is 40 years old."

Next step: A general update of the vacant properties question will be presented at the ANC2C meeting tonight.

"We will have Screen on the Green this summer," Rauch said in an interview with Washington City Paper. "And if we don’t, we’re gonna have 16,000 people with DVD players and iPhones sitting on the mall, in a flash mob or something. We’ll find a way."

Inspired by President Obama's successful grass roots campaigning, Rauch started the Facebook group "Save Screen on the Green!" in May, shortly after HBO announced it was pulling the plug due to lack of co-sponsorship.

Obama haters and skeptics of new media organizing take note. The Facebook group has picked up nearly 2,500 members and launched a letter writing campaign. All of which, says Rauch, have made him HBO's go-to D.C. contact.

“I’ve been in direct communication with their Screen on the Green coordinator," he says. "I’m, in a way, the local connection for them on this."

Rauch has been checking in with HBO and referring interested local sponsors to the company's Screen on the Green representative for negotiations. Surprisingly or not, HBO is just as intent on keeping SOTG alive as Rauch and his contacts. So far, HBO still needs a co-sponsor to put up the remaining $150,000 for SOTG.

“It seems like HBO has been working with some people," Rauch says.

"They’re working with the National Park Service to make sure that they can find dates that are in a series of times that are good for showing—I think they wanna get five movies in at the minimum. It’s a lot of logistics that HBO is working on with Park Service."

Now it's just a matter of finding that co-sponsorship.

After a fruitless e-mail blitz on everyone from Lockheed Martin to AT&T (“Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were pretty quick to tell us to stop e-mailing them"), Rauch turned to Facebook group members for help. Peppering his pleas with Obama-like buzz-words "community," "initiative," and "advocacy," Rauch see's direct appeals to members' own companies and employers as the best bet to save SOTG.

"Someone that worked for Booz Allen Hamilton got a meeting with some of their head honchos to try to promote this in addition to our e-mails," Rauch said. "Unfortunately, they couldn’t commit to it."

Currently, Rauch has no local committed investors. But, in addition to HBO's SOTG rep, he is working with the D.C. Film Alliance. Rauch's latest initiative, designing and selling "Save Screen on the Green!" T-shirts to raise money and awareness, is in the works. He's hoping the Film Alliance will help.

"I’m just a regular citizen," Rauch said. "I don’t have a corporate bank account where I can protect people's money when they buy something from me, like a T-shirt. But the film alliance would be able to do something like that."

Selling shirts and writing letters may seem ineffectual to some, but, according to Rauch, maintaining a presence and building a community of SOTG advocates is most effectual.

"We’re not going to start seeing a protest and a march down the street of our Facebook group," Rauch said. "In fact, I think what makes the Facebook group effective is we have almost 2500 in just our Facebook group alone–strength in numbers."

Rauch said he is expecting a phone call from HBO early next week with "news." He urges people to join the SOTG Facebook community for updates about the T-shirt initiative and the status of SOTG.

"I think it's patriotic for people to get involved and support SOTG," Rauch said. "It’s the only film festival that is in the nation’s back yard. It’s just important—it's free, and in a place that’s just inspiring."

In the meantime, keep practicing the HBO dance.

I lived in Mount Pleasant for 15 years, and used to bring doughnuts and bread and coffee and the newspaper there on weekends, because it was nearby and because in the spring Meridian Hill is by a far sight the most beautiful DC park I've ever been to.

But I pretty much stopped visiting since moving to Petworth in 2002.

Yet Sunday's visit confirmed all my happy memories of the park's fabulousity, and then some. The big revelation: All over the place on the top level, all sorts of wannabe circus performers were practicing their off-beat tricks.

Unicyclists. Acrobats. Even tightrope walkers!

Tightrope walkers? How long has this been going on at Meridian Hill?

And what does that say about DC? (True story: I didn't see ANYBODY in the park reading a legal brief or lobbying on behalf of military contractors.)

Eventually, somebody will speak up and say: Stop Messing With The National Mall. In recent years, we've had to endure the WWII memorial monstrosity (it's memorial as clip art!). Now comes the news that the National Park Service has issued a planning document which calls for the removal of the U.S. Capitol's reflecting pool and the obliteration of the Sylvan Theater. These are not pieces on a game board!

The reflecting pool would be replaced by some other kind of water entertainment. I'm guess a fountain. What else could it be? A Michael Phelps Memorial Bong? The Sylvan would be replaced with a bigger entertainment center or something. You know the new one will be tagged with all manner of corporate crap. Red Bull will finally get a presence on the National Mall. Thank G-d.

The full plan is available online. The plan does call for more bathrooms. There will be public meetings to vet the plan. The Post writes:

"Public meetings on the plan are scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and noon to 2 p.m. March 14. The meetings will be at the Old Post Office, 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 107."

We got a while to yell about this as the final plan isn't expected until next year.

"A bond has been set aside for the National Park Service to refurbish the National Mall. The National Park Service will determine how much it will take from the bond once it assesses the condition of the Mall.

Once the turf itself is inspected, officials say it's likely some portions of the Mall will be sectioned off for months.

'The point will be to fence it off with snow fencing for three, four, five months, to allow that turf to regenerate, to regrow, to water it, to reseed it and to make it look as good as we possibly can,' Line says.

One saving grace for the Mall is that the inauguration took place in the middle of the winter – when the grass really isn't growing at all.

'We have to look at what damage there could be into the spring and the summer, when people are going to expect it to look green,' Line says"

It seems like a lot of the Mall will be closed off until summer. Just a guess. The Mall looked pretty trashed in certain sections. At least that's what I saw.

According to an MSNBC.com article posted this morning, a turtle fitted with a GPS device meandered into a remote area of Rock Creek Park and led a National Park Service employee to a marijuana-growing operation.

A National Park Service employee was tracking a turtle with the gadget for research when the turtle wandered into a small marijuana field in a remote part of Rock Creek Park.

U.S. Park police were called and surveillance was set up to monitor the area. Police discovered a man taking care of about 10 marijuana plants in the field.

U.S. Park police and Montgomery County police arrested Isiah Johnson, 19, in Chevy Chase Wednesday.

Nice work, little turtle. I bet Mr. Johnson wasn't expecting to be caught like that.