Photo by Kevin H.

Good morning, Washington. Your morning was probably less eventful than Speaker of the House John Boehner’s — voting rights advocacy group DC Vote organized a march to and protest outside of the Ohio Republican’s Capitol Hill home earlier today. The group aired grievances about Republican proposals to curtail D.C. funding for abortions and needle-exchange programs, among other issues. DCist’s Martin Austermuhle was on hand to report on the protest — we’ll have a complete recap later, but if you can’t wait, Martin’s shared some observations and photos via his Twitter feed.

Gray and Cronyism: Earlier this week, it was reported that the city had hired two children of advisors to Mayor Vince Gray despite the hiring freeze still being in place; today, Gray is coming under more accusations of cronyism. The Washington Times reports that Gray’s transition team selected Ward 4 activist Cherita Whiting, a big supporter of Gray during his campaign for office, to fill a “special assistant” position at the Department of Parks and Recreation. The position, which pays $65,000 per year, reports directly to DPR’s director and was awarded to Whiting after being shifted to “excepted service” status, meaning the transition team did not have to go through the standard competitive hiring processes. The Times also notes that Whiting, who also has connections with D.C. police Chief Cathy Lanier, may not have properly disclosed a 2001 conviction on wire fraud charges when she applied for the job. Also, speaking of cronyism: check out Benjamin Freed’s profile of D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development director Crystal Palmer, who was reinstated to the job by Gray in January after being dumped by former mayor Adrian Fenty in 2008.

Trimming the Education Budget: The Mayor’s office is gearing up for this spring’s budget crunch — Bill Turque reports that Gray has made a pro bono arrangement with accounting firm Deloitte to conduct an audit of the D.C. Public Schools budget in order to find places where the city could cut back. Cuts to the school system’s budget, which consists of more than $1 billion of the city’s annual expenditures, could result in potentially larger class sizes across the board. Gray must submit his 2012 budget to the Council by April 1.

Let’s Not Mince Words: A Bethesda woman makes a rather blunt argument in opposition to late-night weekend Metro closures: “I could afford a taxi if Metro were closed early. But unlike me, there are many, especially young people, who cannot or will choose not to pay for a taxi home. If Metro closes at midnight, some of those kids may end up dead or injured if they drive home after too many drinks. Or they may kill or injure someone else.”

Briefly Noted: Suspected case of tuberculosis discovered at George Washington…Walmart coming to D.C. is a hot-button issue, but the retailer sure seems to have won over Ward 6…Amtrak to expand wireless internet service along Northeast Corridor…Could the long, entrenched Congressional battle over flight caps at National Airport be nearing an end?…Environmental groups upset with potential cuts to Chesapeake cleanup plan…Ben’s Chili Bowl artifacts go on display at G.W.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we highlighted the most revealing findings of the investigation into alleged ethics violations by D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry.