Doin' It In The Park: Rock Creek Parkway runs, as its name implies, through Rock Creek Park, which is, of course, a national park. So it might be reasonable to expect that the National Park Service, which manages it, would follow environmental regulations when performing work on the parkway. Reasonable, that is, but apparently not realistic. Construction has been halted, and $10,000 worth of work will have to be redone, on upgrades to a 700-foot stretch of the parkway near Oak Hill Cemetery, because a 2006 environmental assessment's requirements hadn't been obeyed. -2

Burger Market: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 423 points today, a 3.9 percent increase that didn't quite make up for the massive sell-offs that occured on half the other days of the week. But if you're still mourning your 401(k) balance—since, chances are, it'll tank again tomorrow—don't forget to look on the bright side. Z Burger will give away free hamburgers on days after the market loses 500 points or more. The bad news: You won't be able to afford to buy food if things keep up the way they've been. The good news: You won't have to. +2

Wait, Another Triathlete?: Here at Washington City Paper, we refer to D.C. Council Chairman Kwame "Fully Loaded" Brown by that nickname, in honor of his choice of leased cars. But now we may need a new nickname for him: Kwame "Adrian Fenty II" Brown. Brown is planning to race in the Nation's Triathlon this year, complete with a 1.5 kilometer swim in the Potomac River, a 40 kilometer bike ride, and a 10 kilometer run. Admittedly, our former mayor would have probably said that only counted as a morning warm-up. But still—is there something in the water in the Wilson Building that makes people get all athletic? +1

Today In Depressing Weather News: The 90-degree streak is temporarily over, it's gorgeous outside, and there's very little humidity. So how can Mother Nature fulfill its apparent mandate to make us all feel like the world is ending? Drought! The D.C. region is officially in "moderate" drought condition—not nearly as bad as Texas and Oklahoma, where lakes have all but evaporated away, but dry enough to damage crops (or gardens) and make water use restrictions start to seem like a good idea. (Which may explain why, the last time we mowed our lawn, the end result was basically just a few scorched pieces of straw-looking mess.) Rain this weekend might help alleviate things; chances are, that'll wind up meaning floods. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 60 Today's score: -1 Today's Needle rating: 59

The "Free Burger Day" coupon in this week's issue has generated a long line of freeloaders today looking to cash in at Z-Burger, the Tenleytown joint that hopes to, one day, rival the Five Guys chain for sheer volume of restaurants. David Walker, City Paper's advertising sales director, tried to stop by and order himself a free ground-beef sammie. The line was so long, he went to McDonald's instead. (As far as pure beef flavor goes, I'd argue there's not much drop off there.)

It's not too late to take advantage of the offer. It goes til 10 p.m., when Z-Burger closes. But after you bums finish off your burger, you should thank Walker and account executive Andy Minarik, who are responsible for this freebie. When Z-Burger's owner was fishing around for ideas on how to advertise his budding chain, the pair suggested Free Burger Day. He agreed. He may be regretting it now. I don't know. I tried calling over there, but the dude on the line essentially hung up on me.