The Early Brunch Catches the Worm: A leisurely weekend morning spent guzzling mimosas and bloody Marys typically wouldn’t get started until nearly noon; after all, the Venn diagram intersection of “people up early on a Sunday” and “people who want to drink on Sunday mornings” isn’t usually very large. But the city’s coffers need a boost, and so booze service at brunch could soon start at 8 a.m., instead of 10 a.m., which would bring in more alcohol tax revenue. We’ve got a civic duty here, folks. Drink up. +2

Big Republican Brother is Watching: Bad enough Congress decided to dictate what the District could do with its own local revenues—now lawmakers have decided to get snippy about it. A large group of Republicans sent Mayor Vince Gray a letter recently, demanding answers about how much money the city spent on abortions last year. Particularly galling to the GOP: District officials are likelier to cooperate with The Washington Post than with Congress on requests for information! Finally, an area where we at Washington City Paper can find common ground with Michele Bachmann. -2

Blast-ed: First they came for Four Loko, and we did not speak up, because we did not drink Four Loko (mostly because we are not 19 years old). Now Maryland authorities are after Pabst Brewing Company’s “Blast by Colt 45” fruit-flavored alcohol bombs, calling the 23.5-ounce drinks a “binge in a can.” Again, we will not speak up, because, frankly, the stuff sounds kind of gross. At any rate, you can still buy it in D.C., even if Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler has his way in the Old Line State. +1

A Streetcar Named Delay: Streetcars were initially supposed to be running along the District’s roads by next spring. And if you believed that, you’ll believe anything. The official launch has now been pushed back to next fall, instead. So far, funding for the H Street-Benning Road line is secure. But if you believe it’ll stay that way, you might also have believed the line would open on the original schedule. -2

Yesterday’s Needle rating: 66 Today’s score: -1 Today’s Needle rating: 65