Peace Out, Plotkin: Just the other day, we at Washington City Paper had a little laugh at the expense of WTOP's Mark Plotkin, poking fun at his obsession with symbolic slights against D.C.'s colonial status. Little did we know that'd be our last chance! Plotkin, a fixture on the District's airwaves for decades, was canned today by 'TOP after nearly 10 years at the station. The Post's Erik Wemple reports that Plotkin was fired over his behavior in the newsroom, not his work on air. Plotkin tells TBD's Bruce DePuyt he'll be fine. Listening to the radio won't be the same without him, though—and the real crisis, of course, is how much longer this will set back the District's efforts to get a statue in the Capitol. -3

Pay Up Or Go Home: The District has been bending over backwards lately to collect on unpaid traffic tickets, running a months-long amnesty program to let drivers settle old debts without a penalty. And what does the city get in return? Not much in the way of cash from Maryland or Virginia drivers. Our neighbors still owe $140 million despite the amnesty, accounting for 83 percent of the unpaid tickets D.C. is still waiting to get paid for. So the next time you see a Virginia or Maryland license plate, feel free to yell at the driver until he or she pays up. -2

Goodbye, Grande: When the first Starbucks on the East Coast opened on Wisconsin Avenue in 1993, no one could have predicted that, eventually, the chain would expand to the point that it now has more than one store in D.C. for every 10,000 residents (which is to say, 65 stores in our 68.3 square miles of turf).That first foothold is now closing up shop. Given the retail pattern in the city, our bet is it's going to turn from a Starbucks into a CVS. +1

Run Or Pass Or Score, We Want A Lot More: Twenty years ago today, the Washington Redskins won their last Super Bowl by spanking the Buffalo Bills in Minneapolis, 37-24. The current Vegas odds on the title drought ending in 2013 are 100 to 1, which is actually probably pretty generous (though it's the worst odds the bookies are giving). The chances of the drought ending in 2012, of course, have been at 0 percent ever since the team was eliminated from playoff contention in early December. Meanwhile, Super Bowl XXVI quarterback Mark Rypien might be available to start next season; he played a game as part of a promotional stunt six years ago, which might make him as game fit as John Beck or Rex Grossman is. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 43 Today's score: -6 Today's Needle rating: 36

The Los Angeles Times reported that Johnson, who made Prince George's County one of his early targets along the way to developing his post-NBA pro-minority-business-ownership persona, sold his 105 Starbucks franchises back to the corporation. He has owned at least four Starbucks in the D.C. market.

Johnson opened his first Starbucks in P.G. County in Hyattsville in March 2000, and subsequently put franchises in Largo, The Boulevard at the Capital Centre (on the site of impoded arena where he and the Lakers used to crush the Bullets once a year)  and Rivertown Commons.

The NBA all-timer also opened up a Washington Mutual Home Loan Center and an eponymous movie megaplex in Prince George's. He's made frequent appearances over the years promoting the county with its chief executive, Jack Johnson.

Former Bullets/Wizards owner Abe Pollin was a big supporter of Johnson's local efforts. Johnson became the first tenant to sign a lease when Pollin's Capital Centre site was developed for retail.

The Starbucks divestiture comes right after Johnson unloaded his stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to a well-heeled fan, and as Johnson is rumored to be drumming up cash while he's on the prowl for an NBA team or some other sports franchise to buy. He still owns AMC Magic Johnson Theaters and the home loan outfit in the county.

For now.

Don't Blame the Reporters!: The Washington Post Company may face a credit ratings downgrade from Moody's. But for once, it's not being blamed on writers, photographers, statisticians or any of the other journalistic types Wall Street usually picks on. Instead, it seems, proposed changes in student loan guidelines could hurt business at Kaplan, the profitable education division that pulls in the majority of Post Co. revenue. Luckily, LaVar Arrington's blog content is already paid for. -2

Even More Expensive Coffee Ahead: What recession? Washington will be one of 12 markets for Starbucks Reserve "ultra-premium, single-origin coffees." Tall cups start at $2.95; a half-pound bag will set you back $12.50. The first of the reserve lines comes from the Galapagos Islands. "Sometimes we encounter a truly rare and special coffee," says the firm's vice president of coffee and global procurement. And sometimes we understand why dimwit globalization protesters throw things through windows! -3

The Pimps of Petworth: Police made a significant number of prostitution arrests over the weekend near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Taylor Street NW. But even as hookers were being rounded up, the up-and-coming neighborhood scored a marketing coup: One dispatch from the scene noted that around a dozen arrests took place in front of the once-blighted area's Yes! Organic food store. +2

So Much for the Smoke n' Ride Program: Suburban Falls Church announced that financial woes have forced it to cancel its eight-year-old GEORGE bus service ferrying riders to nearby Metro stations. The town's police, however, don't seem to have any similar resource problems: Cops arrested 13 people for smoking in "non-designated areas" of local Vietnamese restaurants. -3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 42 Today's score: -6 Today's Needle rating: 36

According to police, the armed suspect entered the java joint in the 2200 block of Georgia Avenue NW and (instead of specifying tall, grande or venti) demanded cash.

The man fled after the crime, but police caught up with him. "A subsequent search resulted in the recovery of a weapon, a bag used in the commission of the crime, and drugs," writes Lt. Alberto Jova in an email.

The same coffee shop was robbed on March 22 as well, around the same time. Cops don't yet know if it's the same perp.

Cafe Mozart (1331 H St. NW): Open, yes, but only for the deli and carryout. Restaurant is taking the day off.

Cafe Saint-Ex (1847 14th St. NW): Open. Says individual: "We've gotten a bunch of calls and a handful of folks are here right now. It's just going to get busier, I'd imagine."

Starbucks (2010 P St. NW): No answer–guessing that it's closed.

Starbucks (1301 Connecticut Ave. NW, aka "Dupont South" branch): No answer—guessing that it's closed.

Starbucks (1700 Connecticut Ave. NW, aka "Dupont North" branch): Closing as of around 1:30 pm.

Hmmm, starting to see a trend here: Indie cafes are braving the elements in order bring their products to their customers; they're rooted in the community and must scratch and claw for every customer. Starbucks, meanwhile, appears to be taking a pass. Let's check with another Starbucks outlet:

Starbucks (1801 Columbia Road NW): Open, yes, but only till 3:30 pm—just when this bliz' is supposed to calm down a touch! This indie v. Starbucks snow fight merits more investigation:

Starbucks (1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW): Open till (just!) 2 p.m.! Now let's test this Starbucks trend of either closing altogether or closing really early against another indie outlet. Here we come, Tryst! (Come on, answer the phone, Trysties! And stay open till like 1 a.m.)

Tryst (2459 18th St. NW):OPEN! And till what time? "Normal time," responds the individual on the other end of the phone. What's normal time? "1 a.m.," comes the response—no lie.

Open City (2331 Calvert St. NW): Open. How can you close down when you have that name?

Colbert King recently wrote a column on the racial paranoia bubbling up on Cleveland Park's listserv. He followed up our own blog post on the subject. Whether residents there are racist or not we can not say. Those stories only prove that people still live in Cleveland Park. There are always the holdouts.

Video and more, below the jump!

With all the bad news surrounding Cleveland Park, we were a bit scared to visit its Connecticut Ave. strip. Had it succumbed to a sort of lawlessness? Were people freaking out over their 'hood losing its Slurpee machine? Would there even be anyone around to talk to? Had its residents started migrating to the hipper Van Ness, a neighborhood that can actually support a Starbucks?

One thing we did prove: You can still get a parking ticket in Cleveland Park.

One staffer at the Mayoral Bullpen at the John A. Wilson Building walked into the office at approximately 8:55 am carrying four Starbucks beverages. The Keurig machine in the bullpen doesn't get much rotation. Says communications chief for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty: "People use it for tea a lot."

Reporting by Mike DeBonis

Now, your average grammar geezer would say something in a high, annoying, contestant-on-Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me voice like "A toasty warm WHAT? A savory delicious WHAT?" But I don't think one noun-deficient ad is anything to get Carl Kassel all worked up about. In fact, you could really liven up your Friday by unclenching and giving this language a try. E.g., "For lunch, I would like to get a tasty saucy and spicy cheap"="I think I'll try something at that food fair on Euclid and Champlain today."

I have tried to get in touch with Starbucks about this sudden leap forward in the English language, but all I've gotten is one rather vague e-mail from a contract publicist on Tuesday asking me to clarify what ad I'm referring to. I did, and that was that.

Which is too bad, because the back of the card raises another question (besides, you know, what the hell is a piadini). Are breakfast sandwiches not going away? In fact, they are not.