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

“We’re talking about Peeps as art. It just seems kind of ridiculous, but I love it.”

The results of City Paper’s second-ever Peeps diorama contest are out this morning. Our staff culled the top 10 contenders from 96 submissions during several (contentious) rounds of voting. The finalists forced us to ask the difficult questions: Which dioramas, through concept and execution, draw you into their imagined, sugary worlds? Which creations fully embrace the Peep as a medium for artistic expression? Some that made the cut: a marshmallow-ed ode to The Shape of Water, peeps embracing their neighborhood speakeasy, and American Ninja Warrior: Trump edition, to name a few. You can see these dioramas in person at the Cherry Blossom Pop-Up Bar in Shaw until April 2.

More entertainment in City Paper:

  • Am I just being a shitty gatekeeping asexual? [Savage Love]

  • Do I have to learn how to change a flat tire? [Gear Prudence]

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

  • Mayor Muriel Bowser released her fiscal year 2019 budget Wednesday afternoon. [WCP]

  • The pressure is on for the D.C.’s inspector general, who is investigating the schools. [WCP]

  • The student who shot and injured two students at a Maryland high school specifically targeted those people, officials said Wednesday. One of them was a girl with whom the shooter had a relationship. [WTOP]

  • Some D.C. area schools will remain closed Thursday due to inclement weather, while others are merely delaying their start times. [WTOP]

  • What does it take to cancel school? [Post]

  • One of the few good things about Wednesday’s snowstorm: an impromptu snowball fight on the National Mall. [PoPville]

  • The only domestic violence shelter in Prince George’s County is privately operated with little oversight. Its condition is dire. [Post]

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

  • Metro funding may come via higher taxes on Uber, commercial properties. [WBJ, FOX5]

  • The budget Mayor Bowser proposed yesterday also includes new hospital funding. [WBJ]

  • Activists say low-income people would get shafted under tweaks to Comp Plan. [WAMU]

  • Op-ed: The heart of the Trayon White scandal is about “disinformation bubbles.” [Post]

  • Ongoing court case sheds light on how guns travel along I-95 to the District. [District Dig]

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

  • On their debut recording, free jazz trio Heart of the Ghost creates its own musical language. [WCP]

  • Watch Keeper perform live at Arlington’s Bean Good Coffee Pub. [YouTube]

  • Thanks to a new collaboration between U Street Music Hall and Liaison Records owner Becky Marcus, go-go is returning to U Street. [DC Music Download]

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

  • D.C. is the second hardest place to operate a food truck. [WCP]

  • Alfredo Solis of El Sol and Mezcalero is opening a Cuban restaurant. [WCP]

  • You won’t believe this pork-themed video game aimed at Trump. [Eater]

  • Should Mike Isabella still be eligible for RAMMY awards? [Post]

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

  • Housing authority passes measure amid questions of conflicts of interest. [WCP]

  • D.C.’s 20001 zip code represents one of the country’s most significantly altered communities over time, a study says, with median household income increasing from $37,000 to $97,000 annually between 2000 and 2016. [Post]

  • Is the District’s architecture structurally sound? [WAMU]

  • The Walter E. Washington Convention Center’s owner is moving forward with plans to dramatically reinvent the space. [WBJ]

  • ICYMI: The Council’s roughly 14-hour Comprehensive Plan hearing wrapped up at 3:42 a.m. Wednesday morning. [WCP]

HAPPENING TODAY:

  • ANC 8D meets at 7:00 p.m. today. 4601 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. SW.

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