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 If only the D.C. Council hadn't repealed iGaming, maybe we could just declare the D.C. Convention Center a casino and hold the fight here.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

The Post vs. Its Staff: The Post will be offering staff buyouts in an attempt to get rid of 48 employees, including Metro section staffers. Though the Metro staff is huge and covers a large region, we really hope the staff cuts don't mean stories about Falls Church dads who can't build treehouses go away. Also: We love a good acronym, but the so-called Separation Incentive Program, a.k.a. SIP, ought to come with a bottle of booze to sweeten the deal. These are journalists, after all. -3

Snow vs. You: It's wet and cold outside—and federal workers were allowed to work from home today in case the expected snow, which has yet to materialize, would lead to a repeat of last year's long march home. Heavy handed, yes, but better safe than sorry and all that. +2

D.C. vs. Harry Thomas Jr.: HTJ probably won't be paying the District back the $300,000 he owes, and going after his house isn't a viable option since it's in his wife's name. DCist notes: "Beyond what Thomas owes D.C., he's still on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes on the money he stole. He's to be sentenced in May for stealing the money, and face anywhere from three to four years in prison." (And a theory from your Needler: There are very few cases in which someone whose name isn't on the deed of the house he lives in—and presumably pays—for isn't trying to get over, right?). -4

Cameroon vs. Harvard University: Harvard University wants the building currently being used by the Cameroon embassy vacated: "the university is arguing that the African nation's mission in Washington had the option to extend its lease for the building but failed to do so. And now Harvard wants Cameroon out. The embassy signed a lease with the university in April 2010 to use the entire Georgetown building as its chancery building on Massachusetts Avenue was being renovated." In the battle of diplomats versus the university with a multi-billion dollar endowment, we wonder if it's possible for them both to lose. -2

Monday's Needle rating: 41 Today's score: -7 Today's Needle rating: 34

Dead Groundhogs See No Shadows: The little town of Punxsatawney, Pa., has a nice racket going with its Groundhog Day celebrations. So now the District is trying to get in on the act, too. Today marked the inaugural D.C. Groundhog Day festivities, complete with Potomac Phil, a stuffed, dead groundhog. Officials determined (perhaps by consulting a Ouija board?) that Phil had seen his shadow this morning, which means six more weeks of winter. But considering "winter" in 2012 means 70 degree days, who's complaining? +2

Too Fast, Too Foxhall: A speed camera on Foxhall Road NW recently irritated chef Geoff Tracy, owner of various D.C.-area restaurants and husband of CBS News's Norah O'Donnell. So Tracy did what comes naturally to a socially-connected chef: He emailed everyone in his restaurants' customer database with a map showing where he got a ticket and hired a guy to hold a sign warning drivers. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier says Tracy's efforts haven't done much: The camera doled out 31,000 tickets in two months. -1

No Reelection For You: There must be something in the water in the District that makes it hard for incumbent politicians to manage the relatively basic task of qualifying for the ballot. First Tony Williams had to run a write-in campaign for his second term as mayor, and now Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander faces the prospect of getting booted from April's Democratic primary over allegedly bogus signatures. The Board of Elections and Ethics will rule by Monday on the fate of Alexander's campaign. -1

Snow's Last Stand?: The winter, as noted above, has been pretty mild. But there's a possibility that a snowstorm set to ravage Denver soon could leave us with some bona fide winter weather this weekend. Chances are still good no snow will fall—but it's never too early to start stockpiling bread, milk, toilet paper, and clips of Pat Collins just in case! -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 37 Today's score: -1 Today's Needle rating: 36

The skis are leaning against the wall, forlorn, cornered by the bikes.

The tulip bulbs are popping up in January, the Occupiers stayed outside way longer than anyone thought they could.

And the only thing sliding on Capitol Hill is America’s faith in Congress, not sleds.

This Warmageddon is getting old.

I know some of y’all like this. The Bocce leagues and kickball teams are back outside. Cafes are using their outdoor tables.

It’s supposed to be in the mid-60s on Tuesday. But what about my cute suede boots?

You could be wearing shorts and then a puffer jacket in the same week. Don’t even talk to me about getting dressed every morning. No way to do it without checking in on the Capital Weather Gang — we’ve had more highs and lows than Newt Gingrich’s poll numbers.

Fears about global warming aside: This is the best winter ever. Cold and snow are so inconvenient (though of course, there's nothing as beautiful as snow while it's falling), and there's something just so darn pleasant about having a run of spring-like days in January. Chalk it up to my California upbringing, but I'm not mad about it at all. Are you?

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

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

You For President: Normally we stay as far away from presidential horse race politics as we can, but today was a weird day. First up, the guy everyone was so fired up about six months ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out of the race (even though he's on the D.C. ballot). Erik Wemple ranks the reasons the local punditry gave for Perry's flameout from 10 to 1. Then Newt Gingrich's second wife claimed he wanted an open marriage (insert schadenfreude over the Defense of Marriage Act's biggest defender wanting to step outside of his own marriage). Then, businessman and pizza man Herman Cain endorsed...wait for it...You. You for president. Yeah. We don't even know, but thanks for the warm fuzzies. +2

Let It Slush: Unlike the surprise snowstorm last week, it looks like we'll at least have some notice for the next one. Flurries may develop tonight with some wintry mix tomorrow. The "winterless winter" isn't likely to get much colder than this, though, at least if historical averages hold true. And we're not complaining: An extended spring is always welcome. +3

What's $0.20 Among Friends? Virginia lawmakers are proposing a 20-cent bag tax in the state. The steep price isn't going over well, though one of the state's representatives says, "Responses on my blog ran about 64 percent of the people were perfectly fine with a nickel." On! His! Blog! That's social science for you. Here in the District, of course, the bag tax is a mere 5 cents. +5

Yesterday's Needle rating: 33 Today's score: +8 Today's Needle rating: 41

Snow in New Hampshire may have stopped a delegation of high-profile District pols. But it hasn't stopped artist/ex-hunger striker Adrian Parsons. Mayor Vince Gray, D.C. Council Chairman Kwame "Fully Loaded" Brown, Councilmembers David Catania, Michael Brown, Mary Cheh, Yvette Alexander, Vincent Orange, and Marion Barry and a slew of activists were slated to fly up to the Granite State to testify tomorrow in favor of a resolution in favor of voting rights for the nation's capital. But New Hampshire's legislature has cancelled all business ahead of a looming snowstorm, stopping the Washingtonians before they even got on a plane.

Unfortunately–or possibly fortunately–Parsons, who was going up to lobby as an ordinary citizen activist, left earlier than his more famous allies. Parsons and four fellow veterans of Occupy D.C. left by car a couple days ago, stopping at Occupy encampments along the way. Washington City Paper contributor Kriston Capps reached out to him to find out if he'd stopped, too. No way, says Parsons, who last year waged a 25-day hunger strike on behalf of D.C. voting rights. He reported that he was on Interstate 93 and nearly there. "We're an hour away," Parsons tells Capps by text message. "Scrambling to meet the author of the DC voting rights resolution."

Weather won't stop the Occupiers: "We'll be there even if the rest of D.C. can't make it," Parsons says

Will a private, snow-day visit from an emaciated D.C.-based artist who once circumcised himself during a group exhibit help the cause? We'll update when we hear more.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Connecticut Avenue NW, January 9

Photo Slideshow: Top 10 Snowflakes on Washington City Paper's Parking Deck

Snow in January—it's not just a good sign that yes, indeed, it really is winter out there, it's also a good opportunity to gin up some web traffic. Don't take our word for it, though: Ask Huffington Post D.C., which featured a slideshow of Twitter posts about the snow as the lead story this afternoon. (Naturally, it began with one from Luke Russert.)

That got us thinking—just how desperate are Washingtonians for photographic confirmation of what they see looking out their windows and/or glancing at their Twitter timeline?

This slideshow of the Top 10 Snowflakes on Washington City Paper's Parking Deck 2012 should answer the question. (Alternate title: The World's Dumbest Slideshow 2012.) Enjoy! And stay warm.

I Can't Pay My Taxes: Being on the D.C. Council comes with a few perks—the chance to weigh in on important matters of public policy, the ability to use donations from powerful business interests to buy things to make your constituents like you, free Lady Gaga tickets. And oh, yes, also an average salary of $130,538 a year for a part-time job. So it's a bit of a mystery why Ward 8's Marion Barry has so much trouble filing federal income taxes properly. But he does, and the IRS has now filed a lien on the house he owns on Orange Street SE, seeking $3,267.19 in unpaid taxes from 2010. Which, of course, still doesn't even make him the councilmember with the biggest IRS worries. -2

Ho Ho Ho: 'Tis the season to be jolly, as the saying goes—or, perhaps, to attack your neighbor's Christmas light display with baseball bats, doing $7,000 in damage. Which is what happened in Fairfax Station over the weekend. Unfortunately for the grinchy teenagers suspected of doing the deed, the homeowners whose lights they smashed (and ran over with their Ford Taurus) caught the whole thing on a security camera. Someone will find out who's been naughty, in other words. -1

Boom: Metal detectors have popped up all over the city in the years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and sometimes it's tempting to wonder whether they serve any purpose. Especially after the news that undercover police officers have managed to smuggle fake bombs into the Wilson Building and other government offices more than a dozen times recently. Only the security at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters was able to catch every attempt to bring a simulated explosive into the building. -2

Snow Problem At All: The District will not be caught unawares the next time a snowstorm hits. So vows Mayor Vince Gray, who lined up snow removal equipment on Pennsylvania Avenue NW yesterday to demonstrate all the tools at the city's disposal to keep roads clear in icy weather. The new plan for dealing with winter actually mostly involves keeping people where they are, rather than sending them all out onto the street at the same slippery time. Another key piece of the official D.C. strategy: "Build snow people." Meanwhile, new forecasts say there probably won't be much snow to worry about this winter, anyway. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 37 Today's score: -4 Today's Needle rating: 33

Oh, Good, Wintry Mix: Late November and early December were downright California-esque around here. Those days are officially over: The cold, heavy rain that's been drenching the District all day is expected to turn to some sort of sleety, slushy snow before ending. When it's over, it'll be in the 40s, instead of the 60s. But hey, at least it gets dark at 4 p.m. -3

Occupied: The weather didn't stop the Occupy D.C. folks, who staged protests around downtown as part of a "day of action" that ended with dozens arrested. The protests targeted lobbying firms, steakhouses that cater to lobbying firms, offices in Congress where lobbyists spend lots of time, and other outposts of democracy. Which means you can look forward to some friendly lawmaker introducing a bill to ban the protest soon, no doubt. +1

LivingSocial It Up: The economy is still generally lousy, but don't tell LivingSocial. The home-grown tech firm has already raised $176 million of a planned $400 million in new investments, which will fund more expansion (including, apparently, a slow, but steady, takeover of all the District's vacant commercial real estate). No word on whether tomorrow's deal will involve discounted stock options. +1

Smile, You're On Candid Camera: Crooks in the Metro system are pretty hardcore. That's the natural conclusion to draw from a report that cameras in subway station parking lots didn't deter crime at all—which is to say, the people who broke into cars or robbed passengers didn't care who saw them do it. Then again, since Metro's police department no longer has an auto theft unit, maybe that's not a surprise. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 57 Today's score: -3 Today's Needle rating: 54

Now Hear This: For years, tuning your radio to 99.1 FM meant one thing, and one thing only—alternative rock. Lately, of course, it's meant bachata, merengue, bomba, and other Latin pop, as the former WHFS became El Zol on Jan. 12, 2005. The station's changing formats again at the beginning of next year—to all news, all the time. CBS Radio bought another frequency, 107.9 FM, to move El Zol (which it also owns) onto, and will launch a competitor to WTOP. Prediction: Between 'TOP and the new station, you will be able to get traffic and weather on the eights and on some other minute. +1

Bienvenidos Al Museo: The Smithsonian Arts and Industries building has been closed for renovations for a while now. By the time it reopens, it may have a new purpose, as the home of a proposed National Museum of the American Latino. Lawmakers have introduced a bill to put the museum there; doing so would cost $200 million, but that's probably cheaper than building a new one elsewhere. No word on whether the budget includes money to battle conservatives who complain about the very concept. +3

Bad Sign: After Uniontown owner Natasha Dasher was arrested on allegations of drug trafficking, patrons and neighbors rallied to the restaurant's defense. But D.C. liquor authorities may not be so forgiving. The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration is starting its own investigation into the establishment; if Dasher is eventually convicted of a felony, she wouldn't be eligible to hold a liquor license. And everyone knows how well dry restaurants do in D.C. -2

Snow Days Ahead: Get those Snowmageddon-esque puns ready! Weather forecasters say this winter could see several "ferocious" storms (to borrow Bob Ryan's phrase), especiallyin January and February, in another year of extremes. There's a La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific, which usually means an easier winter, but is it really a surprise that a few months after an earthquake hits D.C., the usual patterns are being thrown out the window? Speaking of which, it's cold, close that window. -2

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

The Dry Run showcased about 250 pieces of equipment, including front end loaders that fill the plows with salt, tow trucks used to remove vehicles parked illegally during a snow emergency, and tanker trucks used to pre-treat the major roadways.  In addition to drivers, team members include IT, quality control, safety and salt dome staff.

What about you? Are you ready? Will you sit under a pile of blankets on the couch next to your bony greyhound and watch a Drop Dead Diva marathon on Netflix? Will you stand outside in defiance and let the snow and rain cover you in tiny crystals?

Or will you just go about your business and laugh like John Travolta at the rest of us?

Full DPW release after the jump.

(Washington, DC)  The DC Snow Team (Department of Public Works and Department of Transportation) conducted its “Dry Run” today, giving heavy and light plow truck drivers and other equipment operators the opportunity to practice their skills before the first snowfall, which might be tomorrow, October 29.  The Dry Run showcased about 250 pieces of equipment, including front end loaders that fill the plows with salt, tow trucks used to remove vehicles parked illegally during a snow emergency, and tanker trucks used to pre-treat the major roadways.  In addition to drivers, team members include IT, quality control, safety and salt dome staff. 

Saturday’s forecast calls for rain mixed with snow in the afternoon, ending around 7 pm to 8 pm.  Any snow mixed with rain is expected to melt on the roadways, and pavement and air temperatures are expected to remain above freezing.

“The District will deploy several plows during the day to monitor bridges and other elevated structures and apply salt if necessary,” said DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr.  “If the snow doesn’t materialize, we will stand down.”  He added, “It is a coincidence that the Dry Run occurred the day before the first flakes are predicted for the District.  Tomorrow’s forecast of rain mixed with snow kept us focused, and we will be ready if Saturday’s forecast becomes more severe and we have to deploy more plows.”

“Our Snow Team is a year-round operation. From the moment it stops snowing to the moment it starts, we are preparing our plan, our people and our plows for the snow season,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “The Dry Run brings it all together and allows us to fine tune everything before the real work begins. This is also a good time for the public to look ahead and develop a personal plan for their families and their commutes in bad weather.”

Photo by nutmeg66 via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

High Heeled Sneakers: When it first began 25 years ago, the Dupont Circle High Heel Race must have been shocking indeed—a group of drag queens running down 17th Street, taking shots along the way, at a time when the nation barely wanted to acknowledge that gay culture even existed. These days, the race has gone mainstream—Mayor Vince Gray will preside, and starting next year, it'll be run by Historic Dupont Circle Main Street—but it's still a street party, and who doesn't like an excuse for public drinking? +4

Licensed to Drive: It's been a tough year transportation-wise for Sulaimon Brown, the former mayoral candidate who claims the venom he directed toward then-Mayor Adrian Fenty last summer was prompted by Vince Gray aides. First his bike was stolen outside the FBI building while he was being interviewed in connection with his allegations; now he's facing possible jail time if he doesn't swap his Maryland driver's license for a District one. But at least he keeps finding ways to get his name in headlines. -1

Beer, Bear, What's The Difference?: Driving into the C & O Canal to avoid hitting a bear sounds like the best of bad options; sure, submerging the car is bad, but hitting the bear could be worse, right? Unless, that is, there is no bear, and you've just driven your car into the canal because you're drunk. Which is what police say happened last night near Foxhall and Canal roads NW. The man driving the car was charged with DWI. No word on whether his defense lawyer has already set out bear traps. -1

SNOWTOBER: Apparently the D.C. area is thinking of going as Reykjavik for Halloween. Some weather models show the possibility of heavy snow on Saturday, which would make for some of the earliest-ever runs on grocery stores (though it would also get Pat Collins back in primetime TV). Chances are those models, which seem to be run on the same European computer programs that determined it would be a good idea to lend massive amounts of Euros to Greece, are incorrect. But just in case, everybody panic! -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 61 Today's score: 0 Today's Needle rating: 61