Photo by aeleazer1

Good morning, Washington. Today promises to be another exciting day at the Wilson Building as D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi testify for a second time on a new contract for public school teachers. While the contract was hailed as a breakthrough when it was first announced a few weeks ago, revelations over a budget surplus that wasn’t and foundation money for pay raises tied directly to Rhee’s tenure have battered it. Gandhi is expected to announce today that unless Rhee and city officials can find no-strings-attached money for the raises, he won’t be able to certify it. Rhee is sure to face hostile questioning from council members, and pulling a Sinclair Skinner (not showing up or answering “I don’t recall” to everything) likely won’t cut it.

Metro Users May Face 50-Cent Rush Hour Surcharge: The Examiner reports that while parking fees at Metro lots won’t increase and late-night service will remain untouched, commuters may face a 50-cent surcharge on top of hefty fare hikes for Metro. The fare hike, which will help close a $189 million budget gap, will go into effect on June 27 and will raise rail fares from $1.65 during peak hours to $1.95 and as much as $5 for the longest trips. Bus fares would rise from $1.25 to $1.50 for SmarTrip farecard users. But because parking and late-night service will remain untouched, Metro officials are considering a “peak of peak” surcharge that could add up to 50 cents to each trip.

PFOX Controversy Continues: Yesterday’s weird news that Mayor Adrian Fenty had honored Regina Griggs, the leader of the anti-gay group Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), with an award shocked pretty much everyone, the mayor included. Though he responded quickly to say that the award was a clerical error, D.C. Council Chair and mayoral challenger Vince Gray jumped on him for the flub while LGBT activists fumed at what they saw at stonewalling from the mayor’s office. GLAA Forum has all the details.

Briefly Noted: Cyclist injured in Reston crash … Michelle Obama visits Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center in AdMo … Arlington man dies after being Tasered by police … Weekend immigration protests planned.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2009, we had our first reported case of swine flu and a Democratic congressman read a list of kinky sexual acts on the floor of the House. In 2008, the District cracked down on homeowners who weren’t mowing their lawns and the one-year anniversary of the Eastern Market saw the landmark progress slowly.