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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Mayor Vince Gray‘s office threatened to derail the Emancipation Day parade when the event’s chief booster, At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange, went $116,000 over budget for the sparsely attended event. But on Tuesday, the mayor’s office agreed to swallow the costs for today’s parade. In exchange, the D.C. Council said it would hand over control of the event to the mayor’s office next year.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• Three more D.C. firefighters will be charged in connection with the death of Medric Mills. They’ll each face an individual trial board hearing next month. [News4]
• District officials are considering creating carpool and toll lanes on part of the 14th Street bridge and other parts of city highways next year. [Post]
• The District’s DMV will start issuing licenses to undocumented residents next month. [WAMU]
• Gay Democrats will have to decide in November’s mayoral election whether they want to vote for their party or vote to elect the city’s first gay mayor, independent David Catania. [Post]

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

2014 Best of D.C:.Make sure to read Washington City Paper‘s Best Of D.C. 2014 issue—-192 pages of the best in everything that D.C. has to offer. There are staff picks, reader picks, and everything from Best Metro Driver to Best Restaurant to Bang In.

R.I.P.: A tribute to Akil Nadir, a man who influenced the course of D.C. hip-hop and died over the weekend at the age of 34.

Shanghaitown: The FBI released a new video that takes place in China but tries to pass D.C.’s Chinatown as Shanghai.

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

• Today’s Emancipation Day parade survives after D.C. Council agrees to give up future parades to the mayor’s office. [LL, Post]
• Ousted Housing Finance head admits he used agency credit card for personal expenses, still thinks he shouldn’t have been fired. [LL]
• Charter school at center of alleged self-dealing scheme will likely stay open. [Post]
• Councilmembers mull ditching power over contracting.  [Post]
• Despite being GPS-monitored, man eludes District police. [Post]
• DC Water makes new headquarters plans. [Housing Complex]
• Courtland Milloy says the Emancipation Day parade should move outside District government. [Post]
• Former city administrator Julian R. Dugas died Saturday. [Post]
• Bad weather is good news for homeless families. [Housing Complex]
• Online dating or the District’s mayoral field? [Blade]
• DMV will start providing undocumented immigrant licenses in May. [WAMU]
• District rents jump. [Housing Complex]

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

• The three proposals for the Capitol Riverfront WMATA chiller site [UrbanTurf]
• D.C. is producing an increasing share of the region’s housing [OPinions]
• The New York Times discovers the H Street streetcar. [NYT]
• H Street church could be radically transformed [Papadopoulos Properties]
• Tax filings show a jump in very high-earning Washingtonians. [WAMU]
• DC Water tunnel project will mean extended street closures around Shaw/Bloomingdale. [SALM]
• Yesterday’s storm took its toll. [CarolJoynt.com]
• Today on the market: Southwest Waterfront junior 1BR—$218,900

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

• Listen to Exhume, the new EP from local dream-pop duo VEDAS.  [DC Music Download]
• Five marketing tips for artists [ArtSee DC]
• Who knew Peter Pan‘s Captain Hook and Crocodile had such a passionate bromance? [WJLA]
• Union Market’s drive-in movie series starts this Friday. [Post]
• A recap and photos from last weekend’s Damaged City Fest [Noisey]

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

• Where to eat ramps, fiddleheads, and other spring ingredients [Post]
• Critic Pete Wells visits Peter Chang‘s restaurants [NY Times]
• Phillips Flagship Restaurant closes April 28 to make way for the Wharf development. [PoPville]
• The best beer bars in 10 different neighborhoods [Thrillist]
• The Red Hen went through 8,200 rigatoni dishes in its first year. [Eater]
• Five new rooftop bars and restaurants across D.C. [Zagat]
• Ciao Osteria opening in Centreville, Va. [NoVa Mag]