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

Unsubscribe any time.

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.

The ultimate accessory at this weekend’s Capital Pride? A copy of Washington City Paper‘s Gay Issue, out today, featuring a genderfluid Batman and D.C.’s friendliest leather bar.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

  • Fire destroys Frager’s Hardware on Capitol Hill. [City Desk]
  • Parking tickets down in D.C. [Post]
  • Council hearing on cab passenger safety turns into hearing about driver safety after Adams Morgan murder. [Examiner]
  • Washington Post paywall goes up June 12. [City Desk]
  • Council chairman Kwame Brown resigned a year ago today. [Examiner]

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

Hungry for Staff: D.C.’s food boom is driving some restaurateurs to poach staff from their competitors.

Unexpected Art: The D.C. area’s performance art scene is booming…in Rosslyn.

A Metro Of One’s Own: Is the District building its own transit authority?

Take Two: After veoting the last attempted reform of the city’s Certified Business Enterprise program, Mayor Vince Gray is trying again.

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

  • On the anniversary of his resignation, D.C. Council says it’s over Kwame Brown. [Examiner]
  • Fire burns down Capitol Hill’s Frager’s Hardware. [WTOP]
  • Council bill that would make it easier for transgender people to change their birth certificates clears committee. [WAMU]
  • Better meters mean fewer parking tickets in D.C. [Post]
  • Council roasts cab commissioner Ron Linton over lack of safety stats at hearing. [Examiner]
  • And Linton tells WAMU that it’s unfair “to view us as a dinosaur.” [WAMU]
  • Following the ACLU report on racial disparity in pot arrests, Mayor Vince Gray asks Deputy Mayor Paul Quander to talk about the report with Chief Cathy Lanier. [NBC 4]

Housing Complex Links will return tomorrow.

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

  • Corcoran sells a Persian carpet for more than $30 million, but the money can’t go to operating expenses. [Post]
  • OK Go and NPR team up for a music video that documents the great migration of the Tiny Desk to NPR’s new headquarters. [Huffington Post D.C.]
  • Textile Museum goes on the market for $22 million. [WJLA]
  • The Eisenhower Memorial Commission begins to unveil its “E-Memorial.” [Post]
  • Despite zero pay, unbearable weather, and an audience of indifferent commuters, performing at Metro stations still sounds like a plum gig to some artists. [Post]
  • The Smithsonian calls off the Bubble, and now, Barry Manilow is playing the National Mall’s Fourth of July celebration. The Mall is officially terrible. [Huffington Post D.C.]

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

  • The nine best barbecue spots around D.C. [DCist]
  • Simple Bar and Grill coming to Brightwood. [PoPville]
  • Six bars to look forward to this spring [Drink DC]
  • Taylor Gourmet coming to Ballston. [WBJ]
  • Twenty-five last meal destinations around town [Eater]
  • Top Chef contestant Bryan Voltaggio will compete on Top Chef Masters. [Post]
  • The decor at Mi Cocina is better than the food. [Bethesda Mag]
  • Where rockers eat [Express]