Photo by Biketripper

>> Parents, activists and members of the D.C. Council sat through a seven-hour hearing yesterday on a plan to close 20 D.C. public schools, reports the Post. At the hearing—the first of two—many parents expressed concern that closing schools would only accelerate the loss of students from the system, even as D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and some councilmembers said that closures and consolidations were needed to ensure that the school system’s existing resources were most effectively used. Also addressed during the hearing, writes the Examiner, were other intertwined issues, including boundaries, feeder patterns and the city’s growing network of public charter schools.

>> The D.C. Council yesterday voted to approve a bill that would mandate universal reporting of sexual abuse cases, reports the Washington Times. Under the bill, any D.C. resident who knows of or has reason to believe that a child 16 or younger has been sexually abused has to report the case to the Child and Family Services Agency, lest they face a fine of $300. Currently, 18 states have a universal reporting law.

>> A Bowie State University student who killed her roommate during a fight was found not guilty on all charges yesterday, reports WJLA. Alexis Simpson was charged with killing Dominique Frazier during a 2011 fight over loud music, but Simpson and others testified that she was acting in self-defense when the fatal stabbing occurred.

Briefly Noted: Metro discusses changes to ethics rules and standards … Mayor Vince Gray wants federal probes into 2010 campaign to move on … Violence in Middle East sparks competing protests in front of White House … Virginia’s Beltway express lanes to open tomorrow … Central Union Mission returns to downtown D.C..

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, D.C. officials rejected an autonomy-for-abortion swap and we broke down the numbers on the many Walmarts coming to D.C. In 2010, the IHOP in Columbia Heights opened its doors.