Neil O. Albert, outgoing deputy mayor for planning and economic development, is not happy with some of the D.C. Council's budget proposals. He dispatched a letter [PDF] today to councilmembers taking issue with several proposals contained in budget legislation scheduled for a second and final vote on Tuesday.

Two of the issues involve the fates of onetime public schools. For one thing, the council is proposing that the Grimke School, across Vermont Avenue NW from the east entrance of the U Street Metro stop and current home of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services department headquarters, to be reserved for the African-American Civil War Museum. That's a project headed and championed by former Ward 1 Councilmember Frank Smith. The problem, Albert writes, is that several developers have entered into a bidding process on the property, incurring "significant expense" to do so. He asks that the council allow the bidding process to continue.

Another point of contention regards the recently closed Bertie Backus Middle School, on South Dakota Avenue NE close to the Fort Totten Metro station.

Read More "Deputy Mayor Not Happy With Council Budget Moves" »

Good morning City Desk readers, and welcome to an especially vapid installment of Freedom Friday. A few weeks back, yours truly ran into a friend of a friend while picking up some necessities at the CVS on 14th St. in Columbia Heights. Said friend was printing out headshots for his Real World tryout. Yet at the time, there were no Real World employees in D.C. That's changing, according to the dashing reality TV reporter Andy Dehnart, who has discovered that "Bunim-Murray [the production company behind the real world] is searching for multiple production assistants who 'have a valid drivers license and insurance' and 'live in and know DC and surrounding areas.'" Twitter your feelings on the news and tag them (your feelings!) #realworlddc. Got more to say about the Real Housewives of D.C.? Tag that shit #realhousewivesdc.

Military politics, insular media rambling, and medical marijuana, after the jump.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: D.C. Gets Not Just Real Housewives, But Real Worlders" »

Keeping a decent neighborhood listserv going means posting a lot about lost dogs, reporting on gunshots, and cranky neighbors dropping weird racial stereotypes related to crime. All of these will keep the message board well stocked with posts. But few posts beat the mysterious stranger knocking on doors thread that pops up once in a while. Years ago, we chronicled one mystery woman roaming Cap Hill.

The Shepherd Park listserv has a pretty good mystery stranger story this week. A poster writes:

"There was a guy in front of my house this afternoon at about 4 ranting at people who were coming up my steps.  He was yelling about wanting to talk about real estate and how is parents watched me move in.  He said he was from the neighborhood.  I told him we were busy, but he persisted and knocked on the door.  I repeated that we were not interested in talking and he went away."

A cop then responded to the listserv.

Read More "Mystery Angry Person In Shepherd Park!" »

Now that D.C. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles has been confirmed in his post, he had to find a residence in the District of Columbia. LL intends to follow the house hunt aggressively, and he caught up with Nickles yesterday to see how it was going.

"Going great," he says.

Seems Nickles is closely monitoring developments in the financial sector before moving forward with his search. If lending guidelines ease, he says, he'll be more likely to buy than rent.

"I read in the newspaper that the Fed will come in and guarantee these low mortgage rates," he says. "If the Fed comes in with 3.5 percent...that would tip the scales."

The floor currently under discussion is 4.5 percent, so the scales may not tip as far as he might think.

Nickles warns LL that he has no plans to disclose where his future place of residence will be, citing "crazies" that have come out of the woodwork in recent weeks after his confirmation vote, leading to extra security being placed at his One Judiciary Square offices.

So the Post reports in the latest Paul Schwartzman development piece. Is anyone else surprised that the coffee shop has survived this long? I never see anyone in the shop during the week. Only on the weekend is it packed with customers either waiting in line for bad coffee or sitting at tables waiting for kinda gross food.

I'm not sure this has anything to do with Schwartzman's premise that Mount Pleasant is suffering a downturn because the neighborhood is a) too close to the Columbia Heights big boxes; b) filled with rabid NIMBYs; c) saddled with recovering from that massive apartment fire d) filled with opposing views of residents who either want a Red Derby or a McDonald's.

Mount P certainly has suffered. It has become way more known for fighting over music than having cool places to eat or shop. The best hangout is still the Raven (which is totally fine) and Heller's and Haydee's.There are very few reasons for residents outside of the neighborhood to come visit and spend their money.

In fact, there are very few reasons for Mount P residents to shop on the main drag. There is no doubt that the Target and the shops/restaurants around the Target are drawing residents from Mount P. I see that every weekend. It's this great migration across 16th.

So what do you think needs to happen in Mount Pleasant?

* Headline of Politico's VP debate preview makes me giggle. Plus: We watch for the crashes:

With all their potential for pitfalls and insta-classic moments, the pair has made the build up to the showdown, to take place here Thursday night at Washington University, feel more like a NASCAR race than a serious political forum: the audience may be tuning in as much in anticipation of cringe-inducing pile-ups as they are to watch the typical parry-and-thrust of debate.

* The Onion, on the other hand, makes me cringe.

* Financial bailout: U.S. Senate tries, tries again, this time with "higher tax breaks, FDIC limits," reports the Washington Post: "The Senate last night easily approved a massive plan to shore up the U.S. financial system, but the measure faces a tougher test tomorrow in the House, where leaders will try to reverse the stunning defeat the legislation suffered earlier this week."

* Some inside stuff: Atlanta Magazine's Steve Fennessy, a veteran of City Paper owner Creative Loafing, lends some valuable insight into the inner workings of CL and CEO Ben Eason, who Fennessy calls "a tireless networker with a love of jargon." The piece details a history of the Eason empire and its plans for the future. I'll say this: Despite the bankruptcy crunch, Creative Loafing employees and alums have been producing some great work about Creative Loafing lately.

* Catch up on Wonkette's gchat interview with "Washington's Only Wasillan." Spoiler: She's a sarcastic liberal! She's also boring enough to have to block during daytime hours to prevent that incessant gmail "ding" from disrupting your office banter. Pay $25 tonight to hang out with her at an Obama fundraiser at James Hoban’s, 1 Dupont Circle NW.

* And in this newspaper (still here!):

- Delaney, Greenwood, Janssen, and Wemple gang up on the Washington Nationals: Take my ticket, please!

- In Loose Lips: the Nats' finances are fucked, too.

- Tricia Olszewski on Bill Maher's Religulous and teenage love adventure Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

- The debut of our new real estate column, Ruth Samuelson's Housing Complex.

Photo by Jeff Kubina