District Line Daily: A Plan for the Homeless

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

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D.C. is set to adopt ambitious targets for addressing its homelessness crisis, including a goal to end chronic homelessness by the end of 2017.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

Mayor Muriel Bowser ditched a policy held by her predecessor and now backs the position that the 2013 referendum on D.C. budget autonomy has legal force. [Loose Lips]
Graduation rates are up at DCPS, down at public charters. [Post]
Civic hacker prods Amazon shoppers to visit D.C. libraries instead. [WAMU]
Mayor seeks tech cred for D.C. at South by Southwest. [WTOP]

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

Tenants’ Fights: The owner of a Chinatown apartment building that’s been a battleground for the affordable housing debate is suing D.C. over its efforts to intervene.

Drawn Together: A Northern Virginia-based group raises global support for jailed or punished cartoonists.

The Prosecution Rests: U.S. Attorney Ron Machen resigns with the Vince Gray investigation still unresolved.

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

Ron Machen resigns, without charging Vince Gray. [LL, Post, Times, WAMU,
Unlike Vince Gray, Muriel Bowser will support budget autonomy referendum in court. [LL]
Bowser releases plan to close D.C. General. [Post]
Owner of apartment complex at center of affordable housing legislation sues the District. [Housing Complex]
Cyclists: Where’s the love? [WAMU]
Two Metro buses hit the same car. [Post]
Bill banning gay conversion therapy for youth goes into effect. [Blade]

HOUSING COMPLEX LINKS, by Aaron Wiener (tips? awiener@washingtoncitypaper.com)

D.C. rents are dropping, but they’re still three times the national average. [Apartment List]
Two buses hit a parked car in Anacostia. [Post]
A dual residential-church project is planned in Southwest. [UrbanTurf]
The streetcar trend wavers. [NYT]
D.C.’s not the only city where landlords are exploiting rent-control loopholes. [CityLab]
What keeps people from biking, according to a national survey. [GGW]
Lawsuit alleged four D.C. cab companies discriminate against the blind. [WJLA]
Today on the market: Glover Park 1BR—-$319,900

ARTS LINKS, by Christina Cauterucci (tips? ccauterucci@washingtoncitypaper.com)

Beauty Pill‘s releasing a new album, performing three shows in the round, and writing the score to Taffety Punk’s Hamlet. [Arts Desk]
Rare Essence will be the first go-go band to ever play at SXSW. [Bandwidth]
Photos of Sylvan Esso at the 9:30 Club [BYT]
One-time actor and current apologist for all things despicable Ben Stein ate at District Commons. [Post]
At the Kennedy Center, What I Heard About the World takes on global urban myths. [Post]

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

Restaurants from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, owners of Daikaya, and chef Tim Ma coming to Shaw. [WBJ]
D.C.’s 10 best Irish bars [Thrillist]
Where to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day [BYT]
Where to eat like Michelle Obama [Eater]
D.C. food writers name their essential eats [Post]
Seasonal Pantry staying in D.C. and looking for a new location. [PoPville]
A look at Peter Chang‘s new Arlington restaurant [Washingtonian]