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Happy Friday, D.C. Expect sunshine, moderate humidity, and temps in the mid-80s today.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

  • Metro announced this week that its Office of the Inspector General is taking over an investigation of flawed concrete panels installed during the second phase of the Silver Line’s expansion. “We are in­iti­at­ing this re­view to ensure that WMATA—and by ex­ten­sion, its fund­ing juris­dic­tions and the re­gion’s tax­pay­ers—can be con­fi­dent that they will be re­ceiv­ing a qual­i­ty pro­ject that is safe and re­li­able for rail op­er­ations,” the inspector general said in a state­ment.

  • The D.C. Council gave final approval this week to the Nonbinary Identification Cards Amendment Act of 2017, a bill that will require the Department of Motor Vehicles to offer a gender-neutral identifier on its licenses, permits, and other ID cards.

  • As Howard University continues to make repairs to steam pipe infrastructure on campus, students and faculty will go without hot water this weekend.

  • A suspect in the fatal stabbing of 35-year-old Wendy Martinez was charged with first degree murder while armed. The man, 23-year-old Anthony Crawford, allegedly stabbed Martinez seven times in the neck and head.  

THE BULLETIN:

  • Metro update: Trains are mostly running on schedule this weekend. Are we dreaming?

  • Missed connection: “We met on the perhaps seedier side of CL. You happened to be an EMT in pg co and were studying for an even better career change…I always admired that, really. You were also Caucasian, dark hair cut short, slender build, maybe late twenties early thirties, mysterious and although our correspondence is long gone, your email had the word “euphoria” in it. I think our first meet up was in Adams Morgan in NW.”  [craigslist]

LOOSE LIPS LINKS, by Morgan Baskin (tips? mbaskin@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Dodged questions and barely-concealed hostilities at a Council education hearing. [WCP]

  • HyeSook Chung is out as the Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services. [WAMU]

  • Bowser reportedly attended a fundraiser for Dionne Reeder last night on U Street. [Twitter]

YOUNG & HUNGRY LINKS, by Laura Hayes (tips? lhayes@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • How are D.C.’s classic pizza places doing in the age of UberEats and &pizza? [WCP]

  • How’s The Thai Kitchen in Bethesda? [Bethesda Mag]

  • Be humane and get your lobsters high. [Post]

ARTS LINKS, by Matt Cohen (tips? mcohen@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Escape-ism manufactures a forgotten relic on The Lost Record. [WCP]

  • If you don’t know DMV rapper Rezt, well, you should. [Post]

  • The language is dicey but performers shine in Olney’s South Pacific. [WCP]

  • Trillectro is back and better than ever. [DCist]

  • Today in “ugh:” A new political board game that’s “like a D.C. version of Settlers of Catan.” [Washingtonian]

  • How Alice Gerrard and Hazel Dickens’ long-lost folk album found the light of day. [DCist]

  • Film review: Ethan Hawke shines behind the camera with Blaze. [WCP]

  • Another film review:Lizzie is a tender portrait of the infamous Lizzie Borden. [WCP]

HOUSING COMPLEX LINKS, by Morgan Baskin (tips? mbaskin@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • ICYMI: A legal tango between the Catholic church and Edgewood residents has the tenants nervous they’ll be evicted. [WCP]

  • HUD Director Ben Carson has routinely promoted the loyal, not the qualified. [Post]

  • Advocates make an effort to draw attention to homelessness in Columbia Heights. [PoPville]

  • Everything we know about the fire at a public housing complex for seniors. [WCP]

  • Ted Leonsissells his Georgetown condo for $2.65 million. [Post]

  • Prices rise (surprise surprise) in Michigan Park. [Urban Turf]

SPORTS LINKS, by Kelyn Soong (tips? ksoong@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • The Overwatch DC esports team has signed Molly “AVALLA” Kim, who will become The Overwatch League’s first female coach. “Will work hard,” Kim wrote on Twitter. “I gave up law school to coach here.” [Dot Esports]

  • Oh, how quickly the time has passed. It’s possible that the Nationals final homestand of the season will be the last time Bryce Harper plays in D.C. in a Nats uniform. A fan wrote a touching letter to Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post about what Harper has meant to the her and her family. [CBS Sports]

  • Lavoy Allen is getting another shot with an NBA team after the Wizards invited the veteran forward to their training camp. [NBC Sports Washington]

HAPPENING TODAY, by Kayla Randall (tips? krandall@washingtoncitypaper.com)

OFFICE OF FUTURE PLANNING

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