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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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Prince George’s County may have barely averted a water shortage last weekend, but the D.C. region’s 1970s-era concrete water pipes are an ongoing infrastructure issue.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

  • Howard University has seen a steep decline in the number of recipients of the federally funded D.C. Tuition Assistance Grants. [Post]
  • The National Park Service will begin removing a controversial quote inscribed on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial today.  [WAMU]
  • Screen on the Green starts at sunset tonight on the National Mall with E.T. [NBC4]
  • The foul-smelling “corpse flower” at the U.S. Botanic Garden has bloomed. [WTOP]

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

Fringe Finality: As the Capital Fringe Festival enters its final week, check out our Hip Shot reviews to figure out which shows are worth catching.

A Wage for Wells: Tommy Wells will introduce his “Living Wage for All DC” bill when the City Council reconvenes in September.

Divine Support: Local clergy gathered last week to urge Mayor Vince Gray to sign the living wage bill.

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

  • Health exchange has spent $4.8 million on contractors since April. [WBJ]
  • Vincent Orange‘s staff refers questions about his consulting deal with a Northeast produce store to U.S. Attorney’s Office. [Post]
  • Anthony Williams wants a living wage veto. [Post]
  • Six people shot Friday night and Saturday morning. [NBC 4]
  • Talk radio hosts ask Orange why he doesn’t pay his campaign workers a living wage. [YouTube]
  • Post ed board approves of zoning rewrite’s less ambitious approach to parking minimums. [Post]
  • Tuition grants for D.C. students going to Howard decline. [Post]
  • Insurers lower prices in District’s health exchange. [Post]

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

  • “Gentrification overdrive” on 14th Street [Post]
  • Alabama Avenue SE shopping center for sale. [WBJ]
  • Tommy Wells offers up his own living wage bill. [LL]
  • Mayor Vince Gray is “absolutely sure” Walmart isn’t bluffing. [WJLA]
  • Take a deep dive into the Walter Reed proposals. [Walter Reed LRA]
  • Growth for program to reduce driving in D.C. [Post]
  • The Anacostia Playhouse is open. [Congress Heights on the Rise]
  • Two options for the Anacostia streetcar. [WashCycle]
  • House flipping on the rise in the region—though not in D.C. [Post]
  • Today on the market: Trinidad for a pretty penny

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

  • Today, contractors begin removing the contested “drum major” quotation from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. [AP via WJLA]
  • Wow: Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett tries to cancel a Fillmore show by Mexican group Molotov, saying the group’s lyrics are homophobic. [Post]
  • Abeselom Hailemariam gets three years and four months’ prison time for conspiring to steal from the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy parking lot. [WJLA]
  • Split This Rock has already begun to roll out the lineup for its March 2014 poetry festival. [Post]
  • Screen on the Green begins today with E.T. [WTOP]

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

  • What to do for Eat Local First week [BYT]
  • An interactive map of 14th Street NW [Post]
  • A long, long day in the life of The Coupe chef Rob Theriot [Eater]
  • Five best burgers in D.C. [Thrillist]
  • Five things to try at Nando’s Peri-Peri [Girl Meets Food]
  • Get beer-spiked pizza dough at Pizzeria Orso. [NoVa Mag]
  • Get boozy gelato at Dolci Gelati. [HuffPost]
  • Cola-flavored wine? [NPR]