We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.

Unsubscribe any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

A morning roundup of news, opinion, and links from Washington 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.

Our latest cover story looks at why D.C. let a disbarred lawyer serve as a workers’ comp judge, enabling him to issue hundreds of decisions through the Department of Employment Services that now could be overturned.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

  • Metro Transit Police mistakenly handcuffed and questioned a Dunbar High School teacher in front of her students on their way back from a field trip at the Holocaust Museum. [News4]
  • It turns out there’s no way to win a snowstorm. Mayor Vince Gray‘s effective response to the snow emergency hasn’t earned him positive editorials or praise on the campaign trail; snow removal, it seems, is just something voters expect. [Loose Lips]
  • The Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design announced Wednesday a plan in which it would be absorbed by the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. [Arts Desk]
  • Mayor Vince Gray will ask the D.C. Council for emergency power to change the right-to-shelter law in order to stop the flow of the record number of homeless families into taxpayer funded shelters this winter. [Post]

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

Sign of the Times: An increasing number of H Street NE bars and restaurants are working to cater to the deaf and hard of hearing community, many of whom are students or staff at nearby Gallaudet University.

Debate This: The best mayoral debates of the season are back: Join Washington City Paper for some legendary debates with the candidates in March at the Black Cat.

Deported? Local mixologist JP Caceres could be deported to his native Bolivia Friday.

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

  • Former Google exec Harry Wingo will replace Barbara Lang as head of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. [WBJ]
  • Andy Shallal‘s education white paper blames standardized testing focus for “war on teachers.”
  • Mayoral hopefuls warn ministers about “war on churches,” promise more parking. [LL, Post]
  • Post ed board cautiously backs “ban the box” bill to help ex-offenders get jobs. [Post]
  • Vince Gray campaign trashes Post for article headline, calling Jack Evans “pallid.”[LL]
  • Tommy Wells picks up former Gray staffer. [LL]
  • Activist Ron Moten and friends want a go-go voting bloc in April. [LL]
  • Gray and Evans head to New York to see bond rating agencies. [WJLA]
  • Office of Tax and Revenue closes chic restaurant over tax bill. [WBJ]

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

  • DC Water’s reluctance to move throws a wrench in Capitol Riverfront cinema plans. [WBJ]
  • Huge brawl leads to increased police presence at Anacostia High School. [WJLA]
  • Streetcar route begins to take shape between Columbia Heights and Takoma. [GGW]
  • Google Fiber could come to 34 new cities; D.C. isn’t among them. [The Verge]
  • A 130-apartment building is coming to Adams Morgan. [WBJ]
  • Thought D.C.’s rents were high? Try Williston, N.D. [Atlantic Cities]
  • Grocery delivery service expands to wards 7 and 8 after criticism. [DCist]
  • The East End of downtown has America’s second-highest office rents. [WBJ]
  • Today on the market: 400-square-foot Columbia Heights condo—$249,900

ARTS LINKS, by Ally Schweitzer. (tips? aschweitzer@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • It has come to this: The Corcoran to be dismantled, split up between National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. [Arts Desk, Post, New York Times]
  • A timeline of the Corcoran’s woes [Post]
  • Tyler Green analyzes the Corc meltdown, saying it’s been in the tea leaves since 2008. (Though some would argue it’s been longer than that.) [Modern Art Notes]
  • A summary of the big theater summit/Q-and-A Peter Marks led at Arena Stage Monday night [D.C. Theatre Scene]
  • On The Daily Show, Kevin Spacey calls Congress “performance art.” [Post]
  • Phil Kennicott and the Hirshhorn’s Kerry Brougher talk vandalism and art. [Post]
  • Gehry‘s Eisenhower memorial, slapped down yet again. [Washingtonian]
  • Robin Wright has it on good authority that D.C. reporters have sex with their sources. [Post]
  • D.C. unveils its latest crop of public artists. [DCist]
  • More details on the Barnes & Noble coming to Brookland [WBJ]

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

  • Buy a whole or half pig and learn how to butcher it at Three Little Pigs. [PoPville]
  • Why are craft cocktails so pricey? [Food & Wine]
  • Fabio Trabocchi opens Fiola Mare on the Georgetown waterfront Friday. [Post]
  • Where to eat when you hit the slopes [Eater]
  • Four Mexican soups to try around D.C. [Zagat]
  • Trummer’s on Main resurrects pop-up burger bar. [NoVa Mag]