Kids participating in the YMCA’s D.C. Youth & Government weekend got a visit from the city’s real boss. Mayor Vincent Gray stopped by Friday and “swore in” the delegates before they began debate about the 118 bills the students wrote ahead of the weekend. The weekend is the culmination of a project throughout the school year in which more than 180 students learn about and debate District issues. During the event, the students simulate the activities of D.C. government with each person playing a different role: mayor, member of the D.C. Council, journalists and members of the Board of Education. — Alan Blinder