Photo by dr_kim_veis [”o ]

Good morning, Washington. You’ve got until 10:30 a.m. to print out this coupon and score a free pastry at Starbucks with the purchase of any beverage. Just be sure to plan your complimentary pastry eating schedule apart from the time you’ll spend today contemplating the salmon-and-gray color scheme that’s been incorporated into the newly launched redesign of the Washington City Paper’s web site. They’ve got some nice new drop-down menus, to be sure, but that particular shade of pink is … not exactly appetizing.

Rhee Answers Questions on Hardy Plan: DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee appeared before the D.C. Council on Monday to get grilled on her decision to reassign longtime Hardy Middle School principal Patrick Pope, which Bill Turque writes up for the Washington Post. Rhee’s decision “has sparked an intense lobbying campaign by a group of Hardy parents who have pressed their case in private meetings with almost every council member.” Looks like that lobbying is working awfully well, as nearly every council member expressed dismay over the plan to Rhee yesterday. For her part, Rhee said she still thinks her plan is the best way to go.

MPD No Longer Growing: Thanks to ongoing budget constraints, the Metropolitan Police Department is halting its efforts to expand the force to 4,200 officers, the Examiner reports. Right now, there are just over 4,000 sworn officers serving the District, and while hiring within the department will continue, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says those hires will only be to meet attrition. Also note the quote from Phil Mendelson, suggesting maybe the MPD has too many officers as it is: “The District has the most police officers per capita of any major city, and the department is backed by the U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service, said Councilman Phil Mendelson, public safety committee chairman. The MPD has never studied how many officers are needed on the force, Mendelson said, and it ought to.”

Briefly Noted: Burglars targeting Howard and Georgetown university students … Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli plans to sue over health care reform … Potholepalooza averaging 290 potholes a day … Fairfax County looks to raise residential parking fines.

This Day in DCist: In 2009, we spotted FOX News mixing up their Michael Browns, and in 2008, we learned that Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert had volunteered to look out for the interests of District residents while he’s in Congress.