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

Sign up: To get District Line Daily—or any of our other email newsletters—sent straight to your mailbox, click here.

Fred Pagan, an ex-staffer for U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), was arrested last April in his Sixteenth Street Heights home for an alleged drug scheme reportedly tied up with sex. Pagan later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and now faces years in prison at his sentencing tomorrow. How did he become a key figure on the dark side of Washington’s “party and play” lifestyle?

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• The D.C. Council will hold a second hearing on a proposed, generous paid-leave bill this morning. [NBC4]
• A component of a rocket-propelled grenade found in a home on the 5700 block of 3^rd Place NW yesterday was deemed safe after homes nearby were evacuated. [Post, WUSA9]
• The newly elected chair of the D.C. Police Union signals a collaborative relationship with the chief. [Post]
• Post editorial: “The D.C. fire department still has a long way to go.” [Post]
• Why do D.C. residents constantly ask: “What do you do” for a living? WAMU is on it. [WAMU]
• A former football player is challenging Yvette Alexander for her Ward 7 D.C. Council seat. [Loose Lips]
• D.C. nonprofits got money and beds yesterday to help tackle LGBTQ youth homelessness. [City Desk]

RECENT CITY PAPER STORIES TO HELP YOU MAKE SENSE OF YOUR DAY:

• All Songs Considered, Considered: The hosts of NPR’s popular music show reflect on its “Sweet 16.”
• Pot Data: The number of distribution-related marijuana arrests in D.C. dropped more than 80 percent between 2010 and 2015.
• Pizza Pop-Up: Timber Pizza Co., soon expected to have a spot in Petworth, is running a pop-up Fridays through Sundays in the former Blind Dog Cafe space.

LOOSE LIPS LINKS, by Will Sommer (tips? wsommer@washingtoncitypaper.com)

• Dan Snyder keeps blowing off Muriel Bowser. [Post]
• Former football player takes on Yvette Alexander—and maybe Vince Gray—in Ward 7. [LL]
• CM Elissa Silverman pushes reforms for hourly workers. [Post]
• Police union vote ousts leadership, picks less confrontational replacement. [Post]
• Business group: paid family leave bill will create huge deficit. [WBJ]
• An NFL stadium at RFK could be good but probably won’t be, says GGW. [GGW]
• Metro employees accused in SmarTrip scheme. [NBC4]
• How is James Fallows going to write Atlantic articles with all this noise? [Post]

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

• Beauty Pill‘s Describes Things As They Are comes in at 97 in Village Voice’s annual Pazz+Jop music poll. [Village Voice]
• How Studio Theatre’s elevator operators are part of the performance. [Post]
• Wale opens State of the Union address, maybe announces new album. [Arts Desk]
• And speaking of Wale, here’s what’d he do with $1.5 billion, had he won the Powerball. [Arts Desk]
• There’s going to be a D.C. music pop-up museum at the MLK Library on Saturday. [DC Music Download]
• Taking a selfie during intermission at the theater: In poor taste, or nah? [Post]
• Meet Pentagrvm, the D.C. area’s connection between hip-hop and metal. [Arts Desk]

YOUNG & HUNGRY LINKS, by Jessica Sidman (tips? jsidman@washingtoncitypaper.com)

• A wish list for the D.C. food and drink scene in 2016 [DCist]
• Fast-casual Ethiopian eatery to open in Columbia Heights. [Borderstan]
• La Limena is opening a second Peruvian outpost in Rockville. [Post]
• Todd Kliman reviews Momofuku CCDC [Washingtonian]
• Breastaurant chain The Tilted Kilt is poised to invade the D.C. suburbs. [Eater]
• Five new dishes to try at Blue Duck Tavern [Zagat]
• Five gluten-free dishes to try [Express]