A deliberative roundup of one city’s local politics. Send your tips, releases, stories, events, etc. to lips@washingtoncitypaper.com. And get LL Daily sent straight to your inbox every morning!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

  • Gray to Barry: Knock if Off
  • Ward 4 Council Race Gets Crowdeder

    • Good afternoon sweet readers! LL has specific but unconfirmed report that he’s grown tired of earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, and wannabe-terrorists. News time:

    Anything You Can Do: Troublemakers: Put Maryland-based attorney Jimmy Bell at the top of your speed dial list for when you get in a pinch. Bell is representing Cornell Jones, a former drug kingpin who is being sued by the city for allegedly misspending city AIDS funding on fixing up a warehouse so it could be used as a strip club. Now Jones is fighting back with a $2 million lawsuit of his own, claiming he’s been the victim of racial discrimination. ““I’m going to get biblical on you,” Bell told the Post. “Moses was a murderer . . . and he was rehabilitated and changed his life. . . . My client paid his debt to society and is helping people better their lives.” Note to lawyers: now that’s how you give a quote to a newspaper.

    AFTER THE JUMP: Middle School Wars; Jobs Jobs Jobs; Wal-Mart Confusion…

    Where Have All the Middle Schools Gone?: The Post‘s Bill Turque, who LL is gonna bet didn’t get an invite to Michelle Rhee’s wedding, covers an interesting back and forth between Ward 6 Councilmartyr Tommy Wells and Maria Jones, a Ward 5 parent upset that there aren’t any middle schools in her ward. “The wealthy and well-organized Ward 6 parents casually networked over bubbly wine and cheese and presented a school plan to Chancellor Rhee that she lauded and immediately implemented,” said Jones at a recent roundtable on middle schools. Wells told Jones not to “demagogue by demographics,” but Jones says she’s just speaking the truth.

    Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Mayor Vince Gray finally gets some press related to his campaign platform: creating jobs.

    In Other News:

    • Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh flipped over her bike, broke collarbone.
    • Wal-Mart demolition confusion. Whistleblower cops getting screwed, Jaffe says.
    • One of few good 9/11 stories.

    Gray sked: 2:30 p.m. event at 11th street bridge with DOT’s Ray LaHood; 5 p.m. interview with Fox5;  6 p.m. H.D. Woodson football game.