Photo by AWard Tour

Good morning, Washington, and Happy Walk to School Day! Thankfully, it looks like it’ll be a glorious day. Now, the news.

More on Grassgate: Yesterday Aaron provided an overview of a simmering scandal in the District over, of all things, a contract to cut grass on city-owned land. Yesterday the D.C. Council acted to extend the contracts of two firms that do all of the city’s landscaping through the end of the year, but Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) has said that she’ll hold a hearing on Friday to determine whether Mayor Vince Gray exercised undue influence over yanking one of the contracts for a Baltimore-based company. (The Post’s Mike DeBonis has a good primer on what exactly the conflict is about — basically, a local business versus one that may be from elsewhere but can do the job more cheaply.) And for the second day in a row, the Post’s editorial page weighs in on the issue, demanding to know if political considerations influenced the decision to drop one of the contracts.

P.G. County to Create Prostitution-Free Zones: The Examiner reports that Prince George’s officials are considering creating prostitution-free zones throughout the county, where anyone caught congregating for the purposes of selling or buying sex could be charged with a misdemeanor offense and face $1,000 in fines and a six-month prison sentence. The District has similarly used the zones as a means to cut down on prostitution, rolling them out in 2006 and during high-profile events like the 2009 presidential inauguration. But, you might ask, how would any of this differ from the normal enforcement of laws prohibiting prostitution? Well, just standing around looking like you’re in the game would be enough for a ticket. And how would police know you’re in the game? D.C. has an answer for that one too.

A Clash of Cultures You Need to Witness: If you’ve got nothing to do on Saturday, head down to Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th Street NW if only to bear witness to a clash of cultures — the Examiner reports that both the Taste of D.C. Festival and an Occupy D.C. protest will be taking place within a block of each other.

Briefly Noted: Well, that’s an odd file photo to use, especially considering the subject-matter of the article … There’s a good reason they call guitars “axes,” right? … Virginia Republican Frank Wolf says what we’ve all wanted to say about Grover Norquist for so long … Thirty-five percent of drivers admit to sending text messages while driving … Cleanup efforts in Chesapeake Bay get $10.9 million.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2010, Ben’s Chili Bowl started offering veggie dogs and local media outlets got excited about the potential for medical marijuana-related ads. In 2009, taxicab drivers boycotted Adams Morgan and a man died at a Logan Circle house known for throwing sex parties.