A morning roundup of news, opinion, and links from City Paper and around the District. Send tips and ideas to citydesk@washingtoncitypaper.com.

“The mayor saw it with his own eyes last night—eyes that were beyond tears, almost beyond blinking.”

It’s been fifty years since civil rights champion Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, and fifty years since subsequent city-wide riots that permanently changed the landscape of the District. WTOP spoke with reporter Paul Delaney, who worked for The Washington Evening Star in 1968 and shadowed then-mayor Walter E. Washington the night of King’s murder.

Here’s how the city is commemorating his life, and where you can go to reflect on it.

City Paper will host a discussion at The LINE Hotel tomorrow about what it meant to live in D.C. all those decades ago, told through the experiences of residents who lived here.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• In the war on assault rifles, it’s Florida Senator Marco Rubio versus… himself. [WTOP]

• A look inside the MLK Library renovation. [WCP]

• Cherry blossoms are finally here, but the wind is trying to destroy them all. [WTOP]

• Full-time Howard University professors will begin voting today on a “no confidence” referendum, a move that could determine whether embattled president Wayne Frederick stays or goes. [Post]

• What happens when primary schools phase out suspensions? [WAMU]

• The city’s proposed replacement for United Medical Center will be half the size of the original facility. [Post]

• Eighty-three percent of office space that opened in 2017 is within half a mile of a Metro station. [WTOP]

LOOSE LIPS LINKS, by Andrew Giambrone (tips? agiambrone@washingtoncitypaper.com)

• Under Bowser plan, new Southeast hospital to have far fewer beds than UMC. [Post]

• Candidate for D.C. Council chairman Ed Lazere wants Amazon HQ2 hearing. [WBJ]

• Well-heeled Bowser campaign sends out thank-you notes to petition-signers. [Twitter]

• Child made famous by Michelle Obama portrait viewing visits Bowser’s office. [Twitter]

• Chuck Todd sees red over the state of D.C. road work, then tweets about it. [Twitter]

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

• Curtis Pope, who lead the Midnight Movers in the ’60s and ’70s, recalls how the 1968 riots changed D.C. for touring black musicians. [Post]

• Studio Theatre announces 2018/2019 season, featuring Steven Levenson’s If I Forget and Joshua Harmon’s Admissions. [Post]

• The 34th annual Helen Hayes Awards will take place May 14 at The Anthem. [DC Theatre Scene]

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

• Food truck operators surprised by a new regulation that will hurt business. [WCP]

• Georgetown is getting a fast-casual Burmese salad restaurant this fall. [WCP]

• Mike Isabella sexual harassment lawsuit expands to cover company’s use of NDA’s. [Post]

• Heads up if you’ve dined at Panera Bread and used your credit card to pay. [Eater]

• Volunteer at these local farms and take home some produce for a more interactive CSA. [Washingtonian]

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

• What to do when D.C. towing royally dings your car. [PoPville]

• How the city’s weird little triangular slices of land came to be. [WAMU]

• A progress report, of sorts, on DC Water’s new headquarters. [PoPville]

• Minority owners of the White Flint Mall claim they’re being pushed out to make room for Amazon. [Post]

• What $400,000 gets you in D.C. [Curbed]

• Montgomery County Planning Department released a handy tool for tracking development in Bethesda. [Curbed]

HAPPENING TODAY

• ANC 8C meets today at 6:30 p.m. 2730 MLK Jr. Ave.

• ANC 3D meets tonight at 7:00 p.m. 4500 Massachusetts Ave. NW.

• ANC 1C also meets at 7:00 p.m. 2355 Ontario Rd. NW.

• ANC 2F meets at 7:00 p.m. tonight as well. 1501 14th St. NW.

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