Photo by philliefan99.

Good morning, Washington. What was already expected to be a long, contentious day inside the Wilson Building got even more interesting this morning, when Greater Greater Washington broke the news that Council Chair Kwame Brown is expected to strip Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells of his chairmanship of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), who will take Wells’ place on the transportation committee, confirmed the story this morning. Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) will assume Cheh’s place on the Committee on Government Operations, while Wells will reportedly take on Bowser’s post at Libraries, Parks and Recreation. Brown had set a deadline of July 15 to reshuffle the Council’s committee assignments after Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5) stepped down from the Committee on Economic Development; Brown will keep the economic development committee under his purview in the Committee of the Whole, but will create a new Committee on Small and Local Business Development, which will go to Michael A. Brown (I-At-Large).

The shuffling may be politically based — and possibly payback for Wells’ probe into Navigatorgate earlier this year and his successful push to make a tax on municipal bonds, which Brown opposed, permanent. (This morning, Brown called such claims “not true at all.”) In his post, GGW’s David Alpert calls for readers to email Brown and the Council to “express…disappointment that personal grudges are trumping good policy” — and the whole situation sounds a lot like when then-Council chair Vince Gray pulled funding for streetcars, and we all know how that ended up. (Then again, without an election on the horizon, it’s probably going to be a lot tougher to change Brown’s mind.)

What Else Is On The Docket: The committee reshuffling will obviously be getting a bulk of the attention today, but there are several other votes of note which will take place before the Council goes on summer recess. The legislature will vote on capping the salaries of police chief Cathy Lanier and schools chancellor Kaya Henderson, emergency legislation to allow the District to sell and transfer guns to citizens (which is expected to pass), some sweeping reforms to the city’s gas distribution laws, and…

Marion Barry’s War On Renters: …this piece of claptrap from Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, which states that “No District of Columbia government agency shall issue any permit for the construction of any apartment buildings in Ward 8.” Barry apparently wants to encourage home ownership in his ward, but also tells Lydia DePillis that he believes “Renters will allow drug dealers in the neighborhood. It’s a fact. It’s a doggone fact.”

Phew: And with that, you should be all set to watch today’s Council session, which begins at 10 a.m. and can be streamed via the magic of the Internet.

Briefly Noted: Mayor Gray withdraws contract for security firm headed by associate over concerns over employment practices…New York eatery Boqueria planning D.C. location at 1837 M Street NW…19-year-old arrested for 2008 murder…Ruff and Ready Furnishings going out of business in August.

This Day in DCist: Last year, we debated whether the District should levy fines against businesses that run their air conditioning full blast and leave the front door open, the city was looking for a “parking czar,” and current Council candidate Ron Moten compared then-mayor Adrian Fenty to Jesus.