Photo by pablo.raw.

Good morning, Washington. It appears to have been a nightmarish morning commute for many out there, with delays on Metro’s Green, Yellow and Blue Lines and a fire inside the Ronald Reagan Building which shut down a large section of Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street NW. Apparently, several fires started when grease ignited inside a kitchen duct at Cajun Grill in the food court on the concourse level of the Reagan Building. The complex was evacuated and gridlock ensued when 14th Street NW was shut down between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, fully clotting one of the main arteries for Virginians traveling into the city. The fires now appear to be under control and the building is slowly being reoccupied, but the traffic delays are still causing some big problems — road closures are expected to last until 11 a.m. in the area.

What’s A Whole Foods Worth?: Is the benefit a Whole Foods brings to a neighborhood in transition worth the city dropping $8 million in tax revenue? That’s the price tag that the grocer and a developer have put on plans to possibly build a Whole Foods inside a residential development at 800 New Jersey Avenue SE. On the one hand, there’s no denying that the grocer has helped to spur growth in other areas of the city, like around 14th and P Street NW — and the developer, William C. Smith, says that the complex won’t go up without a grocery anchor and appears dead set on bringing on Whole Foods. (Smith’s been negotiating with Whole Foods since 2002.) On the other hand, the city isn’t really in the position to be handing out large tax abatements at the moment, and there’s some questions about whether comparing the ballpark revitalization district to somewhere like Logan Circle is really a fair comparison.

Marion Barry Wants To Hire More Men: Yesterday, we noted Councilmember Muriel Bowser’s reaction to some comments directed by Marion Barry at new Department of Employment Services chief Dr. Rochelle Webb during a Council hearing, but Alan Suderman has all the ridiculous details. Barry, who during the hearing claimed he was a “strong advocate of women in non-traditional positions,” basically told Webb that he didn’t like the fact that her leadership team consisted of all female members. Webb, to her credit, kindly informed Barry that such a stance was ridiculous.

Briefly Noted: D.C. planning on using data from IMPACT evaluations to grade more than just teachers…Man shot and killed in Oxon Hill…Dulles rail Tysons bridge begins construction on Wednesday….Council holds legislative meeting today, future of United Medical Center among the day’s considerations…D.C. to look into low DCPS HPV vaccination rates…Georgetown issues warning after forced entry into student’s home.

This Day in DCist: Last year, snow rendered a D.C. Public Schools professional development day a total bust; in 2009, Gawker argued that D.C. would “never be cool.”