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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On the cover this week: a special issue about Metro. We explore why Metro may never get any better, why busking should be allowed at stations, the high cost of those weird Silver Line ads, and how people anxious about underground train travel respond to deadly accidents. Plus, here’s a chart of Metro’s many delays.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• Opponents of a Pepco sale face the company’s many connections in D.C. government. [Loose Lips]
• Is charging for restaurant reservations a good idea? [Young & Hungry]
• You can now make campaign contributions in Bitcoin in D.C. [WAMU]
• A D.C. Council bill would partially ban suspensions and expulsions of preschool students. [Post]

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

Q&A: Author Claire Vaye Watkins on Girls, writing an abortion story, and more.

Someday?: DDOT won’t commit to a streetcar deadline.

Voting Record: Marion Barry‘s son Christopher, a Ward 8 candidate, never voted for his father. But that’s only because he has never voted at all in D.C.

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

• Opponents of Pepco’s sale to Exelon face company’s deep ties to D.C. Council, mayor’s office. [LL]
• Can Metro ever get better? [WCP]
• Christopher Barry‘s voting record says he’s never voted in the District. [LL]
• New DDOT boss won’t commit to a streetcar deadline. [LL, Post, NBC4]
• Muriel Bowser announces the head of new office on African American affairs. [Post]
• More communications problems in Metro for firefighters. [WAMU, Post]
• Office of Campaign Finance issues rules on accepting Bitcoins. [WAMU]
• Taking its time, NTSB won’t look into smoke death until June. [Housing Complex]
• Metro’s zany Silver Line commercials didn’t come cheap. [LL]
• Teacher fracas continues at Howard middle school. [Post]
• More details emerge in fatal Metro smoke incident. [Times]
• Where is the District on hazard rail traffic? [Hill Rag]

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

• DDOT chief: Streetcar could open in “two weeks, or two months, or two years.” [Post]
• The streetcar system’s future lines could be threatened. [NBC4]
• A visualization of every Metro station’s usage throughout the day. [Reddit]
• Does Georgetown need a gondola? A serious assessment. [CityLab]
• D.C. is among America’s top cities for technological innovation in transportation. [Streetsblog]
• Details on the 41 townhouses planned for Edgewood. [UrbanTurf]
• London is getting an 18-mile “bike superhighway.” [Web Urbanist]
• Today on the market: Glover Park 2BR—-$349,900

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

• Come to our free, all-ages concert (featuring lowercase letters and Art Sorority for Girls) at the American Art Museum tomorrow! [Arts Desk]
• An intimate conversation with author Claire Vaye Watkins on the New York Times‘ “36 Questions that Lead to Love” and writing an abortion story [Arts Desk]
• Soul singer Don Covay, who wrote “Chain of Fools” for Aretha Franklin, died last week. [Post]
• D.C. label 1432 R will release monthly mixes from local electronic musicians. [Bandwidth]
• Dunsinane‘s associate director, Luke Kernaghan, on the sequel to Macbeth [DCist]
• Alvin Ailey dancers did the Wobble at the Kennedy Center’s opening night gala. [Post]

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

• D.C.’s cat cafe will have a VIP program called the “Gentlemeow’s Club.” [Eater]
• Why D.C. restaurants no longer care about dessert [Washingtonian]
• Five ways to be original on Valentine’s Day [Zagat]
• Daniel Boulud’s CityCenterDC restaurant bests the New York original, Tom Sietsema says. [Post]
• A guide to barrel-aged cocktails in D.C. [Thrillist]
• Jumbo Slice coming to Brookland. [PoPville]