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.

Defending champs come through again: Washington has retained its title as the country’s most congested city.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

  • Tommy Wells wants nurse-to-patient floor in city hospitals. [Examiner]
  • And gears up for mayoral run. [Examiner]
  • In honor of the release of Michelle Rhee‘s book today, a flashback: What’s the Harry Jaffe connection?
  • Judge says D.C. attorney general Irv Nathan‘s “honor” is in question over Pershing Park documents. [Loose Lips]
  • Hammer-wielding bandits rob Pentagon City jewelry store. [Post]
  • Metro claims mobbing floors with special chemical makes them less slippery. [Examiner]
  • Woman robs two D.C. banks. [Examiner]
  • Food truck prevails in Arlington vending case. [WTOP]
  • D.C. police, union officially at odds over contract. [Examiner]

RECENT CITY PAPER STORIES TO HELP YOU MAKE SENSE OF YOUR DAY: Photo of the Day: Two Women. 

Meatless: Meat-Free Week has arrived, just after the end of Meat Week. Here’s where to get your unmeats.

First for the Post: The Washington Post elevated National editor Kevin Merida to one of its two managing editor spots yesterday, triggering a shuffle of editorial responsibilities. Merida is also the first African-American managing editor in the paper’s history.

Downtown Gets Livelier: The Department of Commerce’s Herbert C. Hoover Building could be getting a little friendlier to pedestrians.

LOOSE LIPS, by Loose Lips columnist Alan Suderman. (tips? lips@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Tommy Wells files exploratory committee for mayoral run, Jack Evans says such things are for the weak-minded. [NBC4]
  • Vince Gray‘s One City is loaded, so Gray plans to spend on affordable housing. [Post]
  • Elissa Silverman tries to bounce John Settles and Paul Zukerberg from the ballot. [NBC4]
  • Post: All hail Nat Gandhi’s “noble tenure.” [Post]
  • Barras: The good that CFOs do lives after them; The evil is oft interred with their bones. [Examiner]
  • Cathy Lanier says Human Rights Watch juked its stats on sex assault cases, says it found 109 of “missing” 170 cases. [Post]
  • Wait! Now it’s 116! [NBC4]
  • Impasse on police contract. [Examiner]

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

  • The S bus commute could get less unpleasant. [GGW]
  • Another residential building is coming to Adams Morgan. [UrbanTurf]
  • How do you solve a problem like Potomac? [GGW]
  • DDOT really doesn’t want cars in the L Street cycletrack. [DCist]
  • Craigslist is getting more user-friendly. [UrbanTurf]
  • The city doled out 1.8 million parking tickets last year. [WJLA]
  • Today on the market: Four-level Capitol Hill house

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

  • Washingtonian sees a play at the 16th Street Scientology Center, exposing the church’s scheme to convert visitors by plying them with free sandwiches [Washingtonian]
  • Premiering next week: The Sherman House Webisodes, a documentary series about a bunch of roommates in a D.C. group house. Gabriel is the new Puck. [Pink Line Project]
  • An oral history of Sockets Records [DCist]
  • Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton celebrates the Frederick Douglass statue’s arrival at the Capitol [WTOP]
  • Ten new shows added to Fugazi Live website [Dischord]

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

  • The Passenger‘s Derek Brown to open a sherry- and ham-focused bar called Mockingbird Hill in Shaw [Post]
  • Broodjes & Bier is bringing Dutch-style sandwiches to Capitol Hill. [Eater]
  • Where to eat on Valentine’s Day [Washingtonian]
  • Judge dismisses loitering charge against Seoul Food truck operator. [ARLnow]
  • Inside Beuchert’s Saloon, opening soon in Eastern Market [BYT]
  • When is it time to break up with a restaurant? [Zagat]
  • Ten great Restaurant Week deals [HuffPost]