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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The D.C. Council sued the mayor for the first time in a decade Thursday, challenging the mayor’s decision to disregard a voter-approved ballot measure that would grant the city more budget autonomy from Congress. But D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan and the Government Accountability Office having issued legal opinions on the measure, saying it has no legal effect and only an act of Congress can change the District’s budget process.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• D.C.’s current zoning codes were already outdated in 1973. [Greater Greater Washington]
• Police say the two  men they found near an exit close to Interstate 295 and Pennsylvania Avenue likely died of hypothermia. [Post]
• Mayor Vince Gray wants criminal penalties added back into the food truck laws. [Washington Business Journal]
• The long winter could make for an extra intense allergy season. [News4]
• Mayor Vince Gray launched his rapid rehousing outreach program Thursday, but questions still remain about the program’s effectiveness. [Housing Complex]

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

The Final Picture:  The financially strapped Filmfest D.C.’s 28th and likely last year kicked off this week with a line-up of more than 80 films over the next 10 days, including the opening-night selection of The Grand Seduction and the closing-night film The Bachelor Weekend. Read our guide of what to see and what to skip.

Everyone’s Doing It: Are you running for D.C. Council this year? Here’s a handy chart to check.

Behind the Scenes: The art director of the FBI video that tries to pass off D.C.’s Chinatown for Shanghai speaks to City Desk and explains his decisionmaking process.

The Fall of Amazon: A new brick and mortar independent bookstore is coming to Petworth.

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

• D.C. Council sues Vince Gray and CFO Jeff DeWitt over budget autonomy. [Post, Roll Call, Washingtonian, Times]
• Gray launches housing program for 500 families. [Post, Housing Complex]
• Are you running for D.C. Council? Here’s a handy flowchart to figure it out. [LL]
• Pot activists celebrate Tommy Wells. [City Desk]
• Hypothermia blamed for I-295 deaths. [Post]
• School Without Walls parents oppose school merger. [WAMU]
• Post ed board wants punishment for lieutenant in Medric Mills case. [Post]
• NoMa gets WiFi. [WAMU]
• Traffic safety campaign launches in DMV. [WAMU]
• Man wanted in three bank robberies. [Post]

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

• Office building with ground-floor parking is coming near Brookland Metro. [Elevation]
• A new bookstore is opening in Petworth. No, really. [Arts Desk]
• Hill East neighbors not enthused about five-story condo building, allowed by zoning, amid rowhouses. [Post]
• D.C. population could near 900,000 by 2040. [GGW]
• Suburbs like Chevy Chase and Potomac are losing their young people. [NYT]
• Next week is Architecture Week in D.C. [AIA]
• Today on the market: A house that stands out in Brightwood Park—$650,000

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

FOOD LINKS, by Jessica Sidman. (tips? jsidman@washingtoncitypaper.com)

• Mayor Vince Gray wants to add criminal penalties for food truck violations. [WBJ]
• 21 bars for every occasion [Post]
• Yamas Mediterranean Grill coming to U Street NW. [PoPville]
• Bearnaise launches Sunday brunch menu with pig feet hash. [Eater]
• Four Sisters Grill opens in Clarendon. [Washingtonian]
• Liquid nitrogen ice cream shop Nicecream Factory coming soon to Clarendon. [ARLnow]
• Best places for a kid’s tea party in northern Virginia [NoVa Mag]