Bikeshare Explosion!: Preliminary stats out of Capital Bikeshare's first 10 days show more than 4,000 trips have already been made—which means each D.C. Circulator-looking bike in the system, on average, is being used once a day. That puts usage at about the level SmartBike D.C. had reached before it was replaced with the new program. The District may be falling down the national rankings of bike-commuting cities, but at least we know how to share. Now that DDOT head Gabe Klein has worked with successful car- and bike-sharing programs, we look forward to D.C. BoatShare in the near future. +3

Phones for Fenty: The only thing stranger than a quixotic write-in campaign on behalf of a defeated politician who's already endorsed the man who beat him? A quixotic write-in campaign on behalf of a defeated politician who's already endorsed the man who beat him that spends thousands of dollars on polling. Which is, apparently, what D.C. has on its hands now. Someone is paying for 10-minute, live interview poll calls to District voters to gauge interest in a write-in push to keep Adrian Fenty in office after the Nov. 2 general election. For clues on who it might be, check around to see who's burning piles of money because they have nothing better to do with it. -1

Rahm-antic Comedy: As expected by, oh, every single person who's ever appeared on cable television, Rahm Emanuel departs the White House, in search of a career in municipal politics. Sadly, that career will be in Chicago, not in the District. Imagine the guy whose brother inspired Entourage's Ari Gold encountering the likes of Ron Moten? Forget writing in Fenty; if you really want to be entertained for the next four years, write in Rahm on Nov. 2. (Or as he'd put it, fucking write in Rahm on Nov. 2.) +1

Maryland, My Maryland: Our northern neighbor is now officially safer habitat for cyclists and other non-automobile-sheathed living things, as new laws take effect banning cell phones while driving and requiring cars to give bikes a three-foot buffer to pass. That's the good news. The bad news? Authorities say they'll mostly enforce the passing law in cases where a driver causes an accident, by which point it's, well, obviously a little too late. Meanwhile, in Virginia, cyclists don't need any extra legal protections; they're all already carrying concealed weapons under their Spandex riding tights, and can shoot any motorists who get too close. +3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 38 Today's score: +6 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 46

Rahm Emanuel/Rosa DeLauro

Position: White House chief of staff/Democratic congresswoman

Address: 816 East Capitol St. NE (Capitol Hill)

Observations: Emanuel has stayed at this Hill townhouse, owned by Connecticut rep DeLauro, for some time, dating back to his days as a congressman. (In fact, it got him in a spot of trouble last year after questions were raised about the rent-free arrangement.) If the arrangement still exists, least Rahmbo could do is man up and shovel the sidewalks, "flinty Chicago toughness" and all. Alas, the walk hadn't been touched as of 3 p.m. Sunday.

[UPDATE, 3:05 P.M.: Reputable sources indicate that Emanuel's moved. So jeers only for DeLauro!]

Grade: F

• Alexandria Police Chief David P. Baker announced his retirement yesterday afternoon, ending a 40-year career in law enforcement.  This comes in the aftermath of his arrest on DUI charges Saturday night, following an accident that sent another driver to the hospital.  The best part about retiring now is that Baker gets to retain his full benefits, regardless of the outcome of today's court hearing in Arlington.

• Sonia Sotomayor is one step closer to joining the Supreme Court.  The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to endorse the candidate, sending her nomination to a full Senate vote next week.  She's expected to be confirmed with little struggle, but as usual, party affiliations are limiting unanimous support.
• Bruce Johnson is wondering why so many businesses are leaving Cleveland Park.  If major corporations like Starbucks and McDonalds decide to leave the neighborhood and their space can't be filled for upwards of five years, there just might be a problem.

• Borderstan is busy reporting local crimes, some occurring in broad daylight.  Highlights include a car break-in at 9:30 am and a foiled rooftop burglar on Church Street NW.

• It's no longer news that President Obama and the Democratic leadership are determined to push through their first attempt at health-care reform before the August recess.  When Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) announced to his constituency that he would vote for the health-care bill, they were upset.  So upset, in fact, that they hung him in effigy during a rally in Salisbury.  Perhaps Kratovil should spend the recess in Washington so as to avoid some of these more fanatic citizens.

• The Democrats' honeymoon is over.  After six months of working together in supposed harmony, it's back to name calling and back room deals.  So says Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who's blaming the obstruction of the Blue Dogs on Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.  Apparently he recruited them to run while still serving in Congress and has since failed to get them on board with the President's grand plans for reform.  Politics as usual, it's how the federal government runs.

Apparently, watching the funeral online was an important part of yesterday's Congressional schedule.  Politico posts this message from the head of the House's tech operations.

"The Michael Jackson event is causing even more inbound Internet BW usage.
We are monitoring both Internet connections and they are maxed out at 155 Mbps inbound."

More District news, plus Obamas in Russia after the jump.

• A Metro driver was suspended without pay for 5 days after a video of him texting someone surfaced on YouTube, according to WJLA.  Whatever the message was, it probably could not have waited for a minute until the train pulled into a station.  Metro officials want everyone to know that this video was taken 2 and a half weeks before the fatal crash at Fort Totten, so he obviously did not injure anyone by looking down when he was supposed to be, you know, DRIVING THE TRAIN.

• The City Council is discussing changes to the stalking laws that got Marion Barry into trouble this weekend.  Unfortunately for Barry, their plans will amend the current law to include cyber-stalking and other forms of Internet predation, so he's not off the hook.  In other incriminating news, City Desk reported yesterday that Barry's alleged stalking victim received $20,000 in city funds for "consulting services."  What sort of consulting services was she providing?

• Although he was in Moscow meeting with Prime Minister Putin, President Obama spent most of yesterday explaining what his Vice President and Chief of Staff meant when they started babbling incessantly about the economy and health care.  After Joe Biden announced on Sunday that the administration had grossly misread the economy, Obama clarified the economic situation with NBC's Chuck Todd.  Apparently, they did not "misread" the economy, they just had insufficient information.  The same went for Rahm Emanuel, who announced that the White House would be comfortable with a health care policy "triggered" by worsening economic developments, since the path to universal coverage is "negotiable."  Obama vaguely reiterated the need for a "public option" in comments today.  Well, when the cat's away, the mice will play.  Or just stop thinking about what they're saying.