In New York and Texas landlords have filed federal lawsuits, claiming that laws denying them access to the courts to pursue evictions violate their constitutional property and contractual rights.

A week ago the D.C. Court of Appeals handed down a decision that answered lingering questions about condo super priority lien foreclosures. It is a potentially a huge blow to mortgage lenders and a windfall to the investors who bought up these foreclosures by the dozen.

Yes, cups, innocuous plastic, Styrofoam, paper cups. If you are licensed to sell or serve alcohol, it is illegal for you to sell for a nominal charge or give away cups to your customers to consume alcohol off premises. To use the statutory language, it is a violation for an establishment to provide a customer “go-cups” which D.C. Code §25-101 defines as a “drinking utensil” at “no charge or a nominal charge” for the purpose of “consuming an alcoholic beverage off the premises.”