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 Thursday! Go out and get your copy of the paper! It’s our best one yet.

LEADING THE MORNING NEWS: Mayor Vince Gray wants to repay city workers for the four furlough days they were forced to take last year. [Times] Virginia Democrat switches his vote, giving the state a Republican-sponsored budget. [Times] Two laptops stolen from the D.C. Auditor’s office. [Examiner] A new trial has been set for the seven men charged with the 1984 murder of Catherine Fuller. [WTOP]

YOUR DAILY QUALITY-OF-LIFE MEASUREMENT: On Wednesday, City Paper‘s Needle ticked up three points. The bad news: Everything on a food blog isn’t a review. The good news: Gray to close some DCPS schools. Take a look here.

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

An Oral History Of “Da Butt”: This week’s cover story is a an oral history of “Da Butt,” the hit go-go song by EU, commissioned by Spike Lee for School Daze. Sarah Godfrey talks to the musicians and go-go historians to get to da bottom of it. Read it while listening to this.

UIP Rising: Lydia DePillis‘ column this week is about Urban Investment Partners’ “insatiable” desire for property—and how they manage to protect current tenants, for a small price: “They get residents to waive their rights to buy the building, in exchange for substantial renovations financed by large rent increases down the line. That preserves affordable rental housing for the people who live there now. But it also means there’s less of it in the future.”

32 Post Guild Members Take Post Buyouts: But the total number could be close to 50. Concerning is that a high proportion of people leaving the newsroom are minorities—following a national trend.

Night Moves: This Is Why D.C. Diners Can’t Have Nice Things 24/7: In his column this week, Chris Shott explores the limited late-night food options in D.C.—and why things are this way: “it turns out the main thing that’s holding late-night dining back in D.C. right now is booze.”

No Age, High Places to Perform at “Song 1″ Happening at the Hirshhorn: “In May, the Hirshhorn will hit mute on the marquee indie-rock soundtrack accompanying Doug Aitken‘s monumental ‘Song 1’ installation, and replace it with…a marquee indie-rock concert. A four-hour ‘happening’ on May 11—co-sponsored by Pitchfork and Wired magazine—will feature live outdoor performances by No Age, High Places, and ‘a slew of others,’ according to the Hirshhorn’s Jenny Leehey.”

Local LGBT news editors disagree on Trayvon Martin: “A couple of weeks ago, Blade editor Kevin Naff wrote an editorial complaining about how some sectors of the LGBT community rallied around Trayvon Martin’s death. Naff, it seems, didn’t quite understand how or why gay activists would want to align themselves with a movement that isn’t an LGBT problem.”

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY COWBOYS FANS IN D.C.?? PHOTO OF THE DAY: Cowboys Umbrella

LINKDUMP AFTER THE JUMP!

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

  • LL is on vacation this week.

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

  • Inside 52 O Street. [TBD]
  • Fairground fail! [JDLand]
  • Fashion on a truck? [WBJ]
  • Park Service finally playing nice with pedicabs. [TBD]
  • 459 residences and lots of retail for Hechts Warehouse? [WBJ]
  • How are those new bike facilities working out for us? [Washcycle]
  • Head-slapper at Silver Spring transit center. [Examiner]
  • Marines give up on private land for new barracks. [JDLand]
  • Sustainable design expo on the mall this weekend. [Curbed]
  • Making a fuss over affordable housing. [Housing4All]
  • Today on the market: Lot for sale.

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

  • Garry Winogrand and Roy Lichtenstein retrospectives coming to National Gallery of Art in 2014. [Style Blog]
  • Georgetown University Professor and Pulitzer Prize jurist Maureen Corrigan is ticked off the annual prize declined to honor a work of fiction this year. [Post]
  • Lumen8Anacostia, this time in video form [Pink Line]
  • A roundup of recent releases from D.C. musicians [D.C. Music Download]
  • When Black Cobain went to London [D.C. Mumbo Sauce]

FOOD LINKS, by Young & Hungry columnist Chris Shott (tips? hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • R.J. Cooper‘s Rogue 24 to offer shorter tasting menus with larger portions, cheaper prices [Eater]
  • La Forchetta‘s Roberto Donna is taking it easy with the eggs these days [Post]
  • Spike Mendelsohn‘s “Sunnyside” burger is messy, but it doesn’t suck. [Burger Days]
  • Have a drink and vent with Raynold Mendizabal at Black & Orange [Blade]
  • Try the pork-laden sticky buns at PS7s [Urban Daddy]
  • Take a peek inside Maple in Columbia Heights [Washingtonian]
  • Meet a “food truck addict” [Washington Times]
  • Keep critters away from your basil plants [Borderstan]