Morning Roundup: The Ugly Truth Edition

Good morning, Washington. The ongoing parks and recreation building contracts dispute between the Fenty administration and the D.C. Council isn't going anywhere any time soon, as the Council now has 90 days to figure out how to permanently prevent the mayor's office from funneling projects through the D.C. Housing Authority. In today's Examiner, Michael Neibauer asks an important question: could all of this have been avoided if the D.C. Council had just let Allen Lew do the work? You'll recall that last December, the Council voted to prevent Fenty from giving parks construction oversight to Lew, chief of the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, which Neibauer reminds us "was a slap at Fenty in the midst of an ongoing war between the two branches. And it was the best thing that could have happened to Fenty's buddies in the construction industry." In other words, that both the mayor and the council are capable of acting like little children is hardly new.

D.C. Sniper Execution Set for Tuesday: Convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad is set to be executed on Tuesday night, and there are plenty of stories about the lead-up to Muhammad's lethal injection. The Post focuses on how the families of his victims are dealing with the pending execution, as does the Examiner, along with noting that Muhammad's legal team is busy filing last-minute appeals. The AP (via WashTimes), meanwhile, profiles Virginia prosecutor Paul B. Ebert.

Shopkeeper Killed During Armed Robbery: WTTG/FOX5 reports on the devastating crime that left 51-year-old shopkeeper Rufina Hernandez shot dead in her Brightwood liquor store. By all accounts, Hernandez did not resist the two armed men who held her up on Saturday night, but after she handed them money, they shot her anyway. 'Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the two suspects. The gunman is described as a medium-skinned black male between 30 and 40 years old. He was last seen wearing a flannel shirt. The second suspect is a dark-skinned Hispanic male about six feet tall, thin and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.' The Post updates that police think the two men might live nearby.

Briefly Noted: Fatal stabbing in apartment south of Rock Creek Cemetery ... Three people arrested after allegedly shooting at D.C. police officers ... Marion Barry's mother dies ... Area suffers housing shortage near job centers.

This Day in DCist: In 2007, we were introduced to Clinton Portis's newest alter ego, Choo Choo the dance instructor.