Photo by PZAO

Good morning, Washington. Expect a lot of activity inside and all around the John A. Wilson Building this morning, as Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee prepares to face the D.C. Council in a Committee of the Whole hearing scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Protesters on both sides of the debate, both those who support Rhee and those who are deeply suspicious of the recent reduction in force, should be visible out on Freedom Plaza this morning. But tensions will arguably be higher inside the building, as frustrated Council members finally get the opportunity to question Rhee on her decision making process on these most recent layoffs.

District Reaches Settlement with Group Homes: The D.C. government has reached a settlement agreement with David Wilmot’s IDI, a non-profit that operates a network of group homes for the developmentally disabled, the Post reports. “Under the terms of the agreement, an outside monitor will oversee IDI’s compliance with the settlement and will have the authority to impose fines and to order the revocation of its licenses and certifications, the District said in a joint statement from the attorney general and IDI.” In the last month, the city had tried to take over two of IDI’s homes, and had questioned the high salary of Wilmot, who is paid $300,000 a year.

H Street Martini Lounge Shut Down After Fight: A large fight that broke out Tuesday night at the H Street Martini Lounge injured two firefighters and caused D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier to order the bar closed for four days on an emergency basis, WTTG/FOX5 reports. D.C. Police and ABRA will now investigate whether the bar’s patrons have contributed to violence in the immediate area. Bar owner Cliff Humphries told FOX5 he thinks the closure is unfair.

Briefly Noted: Guiliani stumps for McDonnell … Funds for D.C. wildfires rebuked, then restored … Largo man charged with killing witness in federal drug case … Small turnout for Intercounty Connector meeting … Troy Fenwick, 23, dies in Northeast shooting.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we tried to determine how long we would have to keep paying the taxicab gas surcharge, and the year before that, we checked out the D.C. Zombie Lurch.