Afternoon Read: Unemployment Down in DC, Up in Maryland, Virginia

The District unemployment rate fell in June, but unemployment numbers increased slightly in neighboring Maryland and Virginia.

According to The Washington Examiner, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that the city unemployment is now at 9.1 percent, its lowest level since March 2009, but still well-above the national average of 8.2 percent.

"For yet another month, the District can report job growth and a drop in our unemployment rate," D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said in a statement. "Nonetheless, unemployment is still too high."

In Virginia, unemployment rose from 5.6 percent in May to 5.7 percent in June.

Maryland fared a little worse. The unemployment rate increased 0.2 percent to 6.9 percent.

Both Maryland and Virginia’s unemployment rates are lower than they were in June 2011.

* A newly created political action committee, VIRTUSpac, aims at electing conservative women candidates in Virginia, according to The Washington Post.

There are other groups in Virginia advocating for Democratic women, or women who support abortion rights, including the Farm Team and the Women’s Strike Force.

* The Arlington County Board will vote Monday to either approve or reject the Columbia Pike streetcar, according to Greater Greater Washington.

The transportation blog is advocating that the council vote in favor of the street car because it would “transform Columbia Pike from a suburban commercial strip into a dense, walkable, urban mixed-use neighborhood.”

* Read Governors Bob McDonnell and Martin O’Malley recall their first political campaigns.

* The District it is still waiting for a response from President Barack Obama to see if it will receive federal disaster aid for the June 29 derecho, according to The Washington Examiner.

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