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>> It’s been four years since D.C. awarded its lottery contract, yet questions and controversies still surrounded what exactly happened—and whether any of it was illegal. The Post reports that D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi refused to answer questions about how the lottery contract was awarded during a hearing yesterday, while Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) spoke up to deny claims that he had acted improperly in trying to sway its outcome. The process that led to the granting of the lucrative contract is subject to a federal investigation, and Gandhi has been sued by a former procurement officer who worked on the contract for wrongful termination.

>> You’d think most D.C. firehouses would have fire extinguishers and functioning smoke detectors, as all residents are urged to have in their homes, right? Nope. The Washington Times writes that a report by the D.C. Inspector General has found a multitude of problems at the city’s firehouses, including rodent infestations and even bedbugs in bunk rooms that forced firefighters to sleep in trucks or their personal cars. D.C. Fire/EMS has already started addressing some of the issues, while others remain.

>> Hate crimes might be on the decline across the country, but they’ve jumped by a third in D.C., reports WAMU. All told, there were 92 reported hate crimes in the city in 2011, up from 68 the year before. This year, there have been 75 hate crimes, the majority targeting LGBT and African American residents. LGBT advocates say that the numbers don’t accurately paint a picture of what’s happening since many victims are scared to report hate crimes and the FBI doesn’t categorize crimes based on perceived gender identity and expression.

Briefly Noted: Virginia Democrats offer competing bills to make voting easier … Gov. Bob McDonnell offers Virginia teachers a two percent raise … Drunk driving fatalities rose in region … Plenty of Arlington restaurants not paying their taxes … The Cooch gets the Santorum nod … Kwame Brown claims thief used his phone to send nasty tweets.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011 Uber arrived in D.C. (that went smoothly, huh?) and the city’s pedicabbers complained of police harassment. In 2010, Metro debated adding the Nats’ curly-W to the Navy Yard Metro station name and a SuperShuttle driver went on a rampage.