Photo by slack13

Good morning, Washington. After this week’s monumental 15-hour hearing on how best to close the District’s $188 million budget gap — just imagine how long the hearing will be next year, when the gap is estimated to grow to $345 million! — D.C. Council Chair and Mayor-elect Vince Gray is meeting individually with his colleagues to hammer out exactly what gets cut and if tax increases will even be a part of the proposal. The Examiner’s Freeman Klopott reports that Gray will present a plan by next Tuesday, when it will face a first vote. (A second and final vote is expected on December 21.) The big question is whether or not any tax hikes will be put on the table, a move supported by many social service organizations and council members.

Parts of the National Mall May be Fenced Off: Tired of the National Mall looking like a dust bowl? So is National Park Service, and it wants to fence off an area of the mall between the Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol to allow grass to finally grow again. According to the Examiner, the areas would be closed off to foot traffic for everything but protests and special events, and the park service hopes to install new soil and sod and an irrigation center that would run the length of the mall.

Lead in D.C. Water Not a Crisis, Say Officials: After news broke yesterday that elevated levels of lead in the District’s water may still be affecting thousands of households, local and national officials are pushing back and claiming that things are likely to be okay, writes the Post. Both D.C. Water and the Centers for Disease Control claim that while partial lead pipe replacements that took place between 2004 and 2008 may actually have caused a spike in the levels of lead in some homes, recent measurements show that lead levels in the city remain below federal guidelines. Regardless, D.C. Water General Manager George Hawkins said that if residents have any doubts — especially if they’re pregnant, very young or with weak immune systems — they should drink only filtered water and get their water tested.

Protesters Decry Censorship at National Portrait Gallery: TBD reports that about 100 people showed up last night to protest the removal of a controversial piece from an exhibit in response to complaints from conservative and religious groups. At the protest, local artist Adrian Parsons projected the 4-minute portion of the 30-minute film “A Fire in My Belly” by artist David Wojnarowicz that was removed by museum officials earlier this week. The City Paper reports that the Transformer Gallery and the Washington Project for the Arts yesterday asked the Smithsonian to reinstate Wojnarowicz’s piece.

Briefly Noted: New Washington Teachers’ Union president vows “progressive” administration, but also promises to protect job security for D.C. teachers…White’s Ferry cables snap, carrying ferry downstream…Amazon invests $175 million in D.C.’s own Living Social…FBI questions P.G. County police officers involved in March beating of Maryland college student.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2009, Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-TN) daughter was carjacked outside the Verizon Center and the D.C. Council considered sports-themed vanity plates. In 2008, the council sent President Barack Obama a letter asking that he put the city’s “Taxation Without Representation” license plates on his presidential limo. Still waiting on that one, President Obama.