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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This week’s cover story is a profile of Andy Shallal, the owner of Busboys and Poets and a longshot mayoral candidate who’s hoping his status as the outsider in the race can lead him to victory—or at the very least get people talking about the issues surrounding race and class in D.C.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• People were initially quick to criticize the D.C. government for giving LivingSocial $32.5 million in tax breaks provided the company met certain conditions. But two year’s later, the firm isn’t doing well, and the tax breaks aren’t looking so bad for the city. [Housing Complex]
• Valentine’s Day is one of the worst days for restaurant reservation no-shows. Most people, however, don’t realize how not showing up for a reservation can squeeze a business’s profits. [Young and Hungry]
• Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe says a newly retired lieutenant will be held accountable for reportedly telling one of her firefighters that he could not respond to an elderly man who collapsed, and later died, in front of a fire station. [News4]
• A man was struck by a Metro train at the Dupont Circle station and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities are still investigating whether he intentionally put himself on the tracks. [Post]
• The Maryland Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would ban high-proof alcohol, like Everclear, from liquor stores. [WAMU]

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

Ice Ice Baby: Whether you wanted them or not, there are now Boyz II Men and Vanilla Ice inspired Cocktails at Hank’s on the Hill.

Post Delivery: The Post announced that three more of its journalists would be leaving the newspaper to join Ezra Klein‘s new venture at Vox Media.

Howard Woes: The financially-plagued Howard University will be cutting around 200 staff positions, or almost 4 percent of its workforce.

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

• LL goes long on Andy Shallal, 2014’s mayoral outsider.  [WCP]
• Vincent Orange gets no love from his Council colleagues in his attempt to get Vince Gray‘s campaign report. [LL]
• Pre-order Marion Barry‘s autobiography and learn all about “the night of embarrassment” at the Vista Hotel. [Post]
• Fire lieutenant tied to Medric Mills‘s death outside a fire station applies for retirement. [NBC 4]
• Mills’s family hasn’t decided whether to sue. [Times]
• This morning, a Superior Court judge hears arguments on keeping the District’s first attorney general election on the 2014 ballot. [Times]
• The LivingSocial tax breaks were a good idea after all. [Housing Complex]
• Bowser has the edge on getting the Post endorsement, says Harry Jaffe. [Times]
• Taxicab commission boss Ron Linton leaning towards making new regulations for Sidecar and Lyft. [WAMU]
• Tommy Wells talks pot bill. [PostTV]
• Howard U cuts 200 positions. [Housing Complex]

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

• Northwest One will displace the Farm at Walker Jones. [DCist]
• North-south streetcar meetings are coming. Should there be dedicated streetcar lanes? [GGW]
• 182-unit building on Florida Avenue NE will start construction next year. [UrbanTurf]
• Georgetown bowling alley will open this weekend. [DCist]
• More renderings of the Atlantic Plumbing building. [PoPville]
• Radio Shack reinvention could mean empty D.C. storefronts. [WBJ]
• Today on the market: Union Row townhouse—-$919,000

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

• Library of Congress debuts a new, massive “Songs of America” database. [In the Muse]
• Even before its second season premieres, House of Cards gets a third season, and Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey talk about it. [Huffington Post]
• Rhino Bar to host a Philip Seymour Hoffman retrospective. [DCist]
• Local comics roast Dan Snyder; lots of tasteless jokes happen. [City Desk]

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

• Red Light, replacing Bar di Bari, will be a dessert and cocktail bar. [Washingtonian]
• Rappahannock Oyster Bar has a new happy hour with $1 oysters. [Zagat]
• Day of the Dead-inspired Gringos & Mariachis opens next week. [Eater]
• Roberto’s 4 to become Roberto’s 8. [Post]
• Thaaja near the NoMa metro becomes Mint Indian Cuisine. [PoPville]
• Where to find Olympic-themed happy hours. [BYT]
• With Mango Mike’s gone, owner Mike Anderson will open two new restaurants. [NoVa Mag]