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 Friday! After last night’s season finales of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, we’re pretty sure Shonda Rhimes should be put in jail for televisual malpractice.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS: RGIII was pretty adorable with Jay Leno last night (but no, WTOP, he didn’t beat off). [NBC4] Metro still trying to figure out why those Red Line train doors opened while the train was moving. [WTOP] What it’s like to be Marion Barry‘s comms director. [Post] Eleanor Holmes Norton barred from testifying at House hearing on D.C. abortion ban. [Post] In honor of Bike To Work Day, Petula Dvorak manages to stereotype everyone who has ever been in a car or on a bike, ever. [Post]

YOUR DAILY QUALITY-OF-LIFE MEASUREMENT: On Thursday, City Paper‘s Needle ticked up 1 point. The bad news: Norton silenced. The good news: So many tributes to Chuck Brown are pouring in. Take a look here.

SIX CITY PAPER STORIES FROM THE LAST 24 HOURS TO HELP YOU MAKE SENSE OF YOUR DAY:

HTJ Still Doesn’t Want To Pay Drug Prevention Money He Used For Party: LL reports that disgraced former councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. is still trying to hammer out what he has to pay back to the District. “Part of Thomas’ criminal behavior, for which he was sentenced earlier this month to spend 38 months in prison, involved steering $110,000—from a drug prevention fund to which D.C. taxpayers had voluntarily contributed—to cover the costs of the 51st State Inaugural Ball, an event held at the Wilson Building that Thomas helped organize. Of that amount, $7,500 went directly into Thomas’ pocket, while the rest went to vendors, court records show.” HTJ only wants to pay back the $7,500, but the attorney general says he should pay the full amount.

Baseball-Oriented Development? Perspective Please!: LDP suggests those praising Nationals’ stadium for economic development may want to slow their rolls: “The baseball stadium is clearly an economic benefit to the city, especially when the Nats are winning. But crediting the stadium with the creation of a new neighborhood is just too convenient: With D.C. on the rise, for a transit-served area between Capitol Hill and the waterfront, it was only a matter of time. Even A. James Clark, who built the stadium, said as much in 2006.”

Who Testified At Yesterday’s Abortion Ban Hearing: Since Norton was denied the opportunity to speak, Shani Hilton takes a closer look at three doctors who were allowed to testify in favor of the 20-week abortion ban in D.C. (None of whom, it’s worth noting, live or work in D.C.) “The first doctor is Anthony Levatino, a self-professed ‘former abortionist’ who apparently found the procedure too gruesome and personally stressful, and stopped providing them to women in 1985.”

The Making of the Presidential Sandwich 2012: Contributor Sam Hiersteiner goes behind the scenes to find out how the presidential sandwich at Taylor Gourmet was made: “Behind the scenes, they were the coolest people,” co-owner David Mazza says of the Secret Service agents and White House advance staffers. “They really put us at ease. We made lasagna for them, talked over the event and took some photos.”

Artists Remember Chuck Brown, “The People’s Champ”: “If you’re in the DMV area, and you’re doing a show with Chuck Brown, he is the headliner,” Foreign Exchange frontman Phonte Coleman tells Arts Desk. “It was his artistry, just seeing him control the crowd like that.”

Stuff You See At An Architects Convention: Many, many different kinds of desks.

JUST LOOK AT THAT BABY’S FACE LOOK AT IT PHOTO OF THE DAY: Mother and Child by Matt Dunn

LINKDUMP AFTER THE JUMP!

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

  • What’s it like being Marion Barry‘s flack? “Never promise him something and then forget to do it. Because he will not forget. And he will haunt you.” [Post]
  • Baseball-related development, in perspective [HC]
  • Someone else driving your car gets a speed camera ticket? Tough luck, pal [Examiner]
  • Congress is being unduly mean to the District [Examiner]
  • Dems mad that Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton can’t talk about a bill affecting her jurisdiction [Times]
  • Voting rights activists to bombard Rep. Trent Franks‘ office [WAMU]
  • Look ma, no hands [Post]

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

  • Georgia Avenue businesses get a little help. [DC]
  • Bikeshare trips on the rise again. [TBD]
  • Even white-shoe law firms get evicted when they don’t pay rent. [Post]
  • What’s the relationship between density and innovation? [CityBlock]
  • Nobody wants to build in the middle of nowhere. [WBJ]
  • D.C.’s tech jobs are more substantive than Silicon Valley’s. [WBJ]
  • Why does Stephen Breyer’s house keep getting robbed? [Post]
  • D.C.’s white babies make for unique trend. [DCist]
  • Georgetown Park DMV may or may not ever reopen. [Examiner]
  • This Philly parking palace is the dumbest thing ever. [Inquirer]
  • Anti-poverty group wastes time, money spraying street with words you can’t read. [WTOP]
  • Today on the market: 2030 Tunlaw.

ARTS LINKS, by Jonathan L. Fischer (tips? artsdesk@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Chuck Brown‘s legacy will live on at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture when it opens. [Around the Mall]
  • An explanation of pneumonia, with which Brown was hospitalized this spring [HuffPo]
  • Planning Brown’s funeral might take a while. [DeBonis]
  • The Gospel of Spiv [Art21]
  • Matthew Gardiner, Signature Theatre’s fast-rising, 28-year-old associate artistic director, profiled [Post]

FOOD LINKS will resume shortly.