District Line Daily: Good Cop, Bad Cop

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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In this week’s paper, available today: MPD Chief Cathy Lanier inherited 18 cops that the department wanted to fire, but couldn’t. Her attempts to fire them again made things even worse.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS:

• Is Jack Evans too white to be mayor? [Times]
• Green Line fire leaves riders stuck. [Post]
• Crackdown on U-turns on Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane begins. [Examiner]
• Nats’ season tickets now on a SmarTrip-like card. [WTOP]
• Task force decision on whether to bury D.C.’s power lines delayed. [Examiner]
• Should D.C. ban ski masks because they’re popular with robbers? No. [Times]
• Ex-Metro cop sues for discrimination, alleges that white and Asian-American officers get away with worse. [City Desk]

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

Photo of the Day: Today’s Weather.

Phoenix?: Capitol Hill’s divey Hawk ‘n’ Dove got an update. But can a bar that some patrons say now feels like a cruise ship keep its gritty charm?

Jack’s Squat: The National Park Service wants to evict Jack’s Boathouse in Georgetown. But why are the feds picking on a beloved neighborhood boathouse?

RIP, Sockets: D.C.’s Sockets Records is closing after an eight year run. Its legacy: chronicling D.C. DIY’s weird years.

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

• LL’s cover on the rotten state of MPD’s internal affairs, where investigators sign off on reports they don’t actually believe in. [WCP]
• Who died and left the District $50 million? [WBJ]
• Task force studying whether to bury power lines blows deadline, much to Jack Evans’ annoyance. [Examiner]
• Kenyan McDuffie wants to know what the inspector general is doing with his $15 million a year. [Post]
• Taxis that take credit cards? Maybe in May. [Post]
• Vince Gray announces new resource center for ex-cons. [Examiner]
• Vincent Orange calls shenanigans on contracting dispute at United Medical Center. [Times]
• It would be nice if the president mentioned D.C. in State of the Union address. [Post]
• Marion Barry wants to spend $100 million of the city’s current surplus, will probably fail. [Post]

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

• City issues call for Walter Reed master developer. [WBJ]
• Fratty bar building in Dupont alley to become single-family house. [UrbanTurf]
• Condos coming to former auto repair shop space on Park Road NW. [Park View DC]
• Renderings of the firehouse/hotel coming to E Street SW. [Southwest TLQTC]
• Ceremonial work begins where actual work was already underway at Fort Totten Walmart. [WBJ]
• Big surprise: Walmart doesn’t like the big box living wage bill. [WBJ]
• Of all the country’s Sunday parking disputes, D.C.’s are the weirdest. [Atlantic Cities]
• City life diminishes a person’s powers of attention. [Atlantic Cities]
• The final report from the mayor’s task force on Bloomingdale/LeDroit flooding. [OCA]
• Today on the market: Six-unit Brightwood Park building