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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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Good morning from Washington City Paper! It’s Wednesday! And a good day to be Scott Walker, apparently.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS: It was a big day yesterday down at the Wilson Building. The D.C. Council voted to pass the $9.4 billion dollar budget unanimously, the Times notes. The Post covers the day’s proceedings through the frame of what’s going on with D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown, who a) shoved WTOP reporter Mark Segraves, then apologized, b) gave up a high profile committee chairmanship, but c) says he isn’t resigning in the face of a federal investigation into his campaign. The Post also covers the latest D.C. Taxicab Commission hearing, which may have gotten you closer to being able to pay for a cab ride with a credit card. House Republicans have approved a D.C. spending bill that’s fairly similar to last year’s, including the continued ban on using D.C. funds to pay for abortions, says the Post. Plus: Principals brought in by former D.C. Chancellor of Schools Michelle Rhee continue to leave DCPS. [Post] Metro employee sues over religious discrimination. [Examiner] Affordable housing in Tysons is for six-figure salaries [Times] LAX murder case lawyers ask judge to throw out guilty verdict for George Huguely. [NBC4]

YOUR DAILY QUALITY-OF-LIFE MEASUREMENT: Tuesday, City Paper‘s Needle fell one point. The damage done: Ward 2’s Jack Evans floats a ticket distribution scheme to reduce council infighting, then retracts it.

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

Kwame Brown: “I Have No Plans To Resign”: Quotable Kwame! LL rounds up Brown’s most memorable comments to the press yesterday. On shoving Segraves, he explains, “Mark ran up on me in the room that only councilmembers and staff are allowed. I didn’t know who that was jumping this close to me. So I told Mark, and I’ve known Mark for a long time, I told him I apologize if he felt as though he was being shoved. That was not my intention at all. [Turning to address Segraves directly] And I apologize. Mark, you know I apologized to you for that. I’m sorry if you felt, you know, that it was some sort of situation where I was being offensive. I wasn’t trying to do that. … If this was on the basketball court, this would be a different story.”

Why Inclusionary Zoning Isn’t Working Yet: There are some affordable condos available now, LDP notes. The problem is that most large banks don’t want to offer loans for them since they can’t be sold at market rate, so they sit empty.

Coming Soon to Rock Creek Park: Dead Deer: The National Park Service has finally approved Rock Creek Park’s strategy for reducing the deer population. “The plan is to a) bring in government sharpshooters (since hunters aren’t typically allowed in national parks), b) capture and euthanize when necessary, and c) find an appropriate birth control method for the does.” Don’t worry too much about the sharpshooters—they’ll be going in after dark when the park is closed.

Pinkberry Now Has Unfrozen Yogurt: And, Y&H reports: “D.C. and Boston are the guinea pigs for Pinkberry’s new/old product. “Pinkberry Greek” is available at the Dupont Circle and Georgetown locations as well as National Harbor, Clarendon, Fairfax, McLean, and Leesburg—all of which are now open at 8 a.m. for breakfast.”

Courier Culture Captures D.C.’s Shrinking Pool of Bike Messengers: “Couriers have long been a fixture of Washington business. People need their documents delivered; they send them on bikes. But computers are remarkably good at delivering documents, too. Same goes for print media: hello Internet, goodbye business model.”

DE-OCCUPIED PHOTOS OF THE DAY: Eviction by Matt Dunn.

LINKDUMP BELOW!

LOOSE LIPS DAILY POLITICS LINKS, by LL columnist Alan Suderman (tips? lips@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown gives away his beloved economic development committee to Michael Brown, speculation continues about Kwame’s future [Post]
  • Kwame shoves WTOP’s Mark Segraves, apologizes [WTOP]
  • The future: “It’s a chessboard of possibilities, and several council members are now studying it closely,” says Tom Sherwood [NBC4]
  • New ethics board pick Robert Spagnoletti says he won’t have a conflict of interest because he was Vince Gray‘s fence lawyer [Post]
  • Jonetta Rose Barras really likes Spagnoletti [Examiner]
  • Budget passed [Times]
  • TANF cuts delayed [DCFPI]
  • Post glad feds are looking at lotto deal [Post]
  • Spat between Jack Evans and Tommy Wells, Greater Greater Washington over freebie ticket [GGW] Evans’ response via email: “Shame on you, Mr. Wells, for criticizing others for seeking to alter a law that you have taken advantage of personally.  And shame on you, Mr. Alpert, for giving Mr. Wells a bigger microphone without first checking the facts.”

REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT LINKS, by Housing Complex columnist Lydia DePillis (tips? housingcomplex@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Brown gets economic development, McDuffie gets jobs. [Post]
  • TANF recpients get a break. [DCFPI]
  • Traffic study headache for Hine School. [EMMCA]
  • Southwest changing hands. [SWLQTC]
  • Should we put up with a little danger for cheap transportation? [NextAmericanCity]
  • JBG continues downtown buying spree. [WTOP]
  • The Corcoran’s limited development potential. [WBJ]
  • MLK Library getting even more study. [DCPL]
  • Rents still rising. [Post]
  • The District’s biggest homebuyers talk the talk. [Washingtonian]
  • Something new for 13th and Park. [PoP]
  • Today on the market: Naylor Court.

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

  • Tyler Green: “The depth of the Corcoran’s predicament has been clear for a while.” [Artinfo]
  • The Post is rich with metaphors for the Corcoran’s present situation: David Montgomery and Lonnae O’Neal Parker analyze the rocky “marriage” between its school and struggling gallery [Post], and Phil Kennicott,speaking of the institution’s possible move to the ‘burbs,says “This is at best amputation, and very likely euthanasia, except euthanasia is supposed to be painless, while moving the Corcoran is likely to lead to a slow, excruciating demise.” [Post]
  • How bad do you want your book signed by Michelle Obama next week? [Post]
  • A little love for D.C. modern funk unit Protect-U [Express Night Out]
  • Frederick Douglass statue blocked from the Capitol because of a funky law that only permits pieces from the 50 states [National Journal]
  • The Wire: the Musical! [DCist]
  • A Q&A with opera director Francesca  Zambello [Huffington Post]
  • The National Symphony Orchestra returns to Europe [Huffington Post]
  • Hey look, it’s a Chuck Brown portrait by Peekaso! [BET]

FOOD LINKS, by Young & Hungry editor Jessica Sidman (tips? hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Dreamy chefs like David Guas and Bryan Voltaggio share dating tips [Refinery29]
  • The team behind Lincoln Restaurant is opening another presidential-themed eatery:  Teddy & the Bully Bar [Washington Post]
  • President Barack Obama‘s visit to Taylor Gourmet visualized as an infographic [JESS3]
  • Ten controversial restaurant policies [Zagat]
  • Spiked snow cones at the Ritz-Carlton on 22nd Street [Metrocurean]
  • Four D.C. restaurants that make their own sodas in-house [Express]
  • Pop-up Paladar returns to Cuba Libre [Washingtonian]
  • Photos from Sunday’s James Beard Foundation dinner at Union Market [BYT]