D.C. area forecast: Cloudy and cooler today, increasing chance of showers tonight; Fast Casual Madness: The final matchup awaits; Maryland universities ramp up efforts to help students, faculty create companies; Police identify man fatally stabbed in Fairfax; What’s the story behind that big, black sculpture at Vermont and L NW?; Washington-area obituaries of note; Gun store opens in Arlington County to strong support and business; Frances W. Shaffer, a woman of adventure, dies at 100; Fairfax supervisors lose free pass to county pools, golf courses and carousels; Paul A. Quander, former D.C. deputy mayor for public safety, dies at 61; Debate over Maryland criminal justice bill heads to House of Delegates; See the cherry blossoms from a kid’s perspective; Couple gets engaged at Washington’s Cherry Blossom Festival; Fairfax County man found with stab wound dies; A playwright who wants to change society, not merely observe it;   Essential news for the Greater Washington area   Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post Cities begin to challenge a bedrock of justice: They’re paying criminals not to kill D.C. and a dozen other cities consider a California model of paying $1,000 a month to shooters if they don’t pull the trigger By Aaron C. Davis  •  Read more » D.C. area forecast: Cloudy and cooler today, increasing chance of showers tonight Well, at least we got in one near-perfect day this weekend! Cloudy and cooler conditions move in today. By Brian Jackson  •  Read more »   Fast Casual Madness: The final matchup awaits Voting to determine the winner of Fast Casual Madness will begin March 31. By Going Out Guide staff and Express staff  •  Read more »   Maryland universities ramp up efforts to help students, faculty create companies Attempts to help turn discoveries into businesses lag far behind that of other colleges. By Carrie Wells  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   Police identify man fatally stabbed in Fairfax A roundup of news from the Washington region. Read more » What’s the story behind that big, black sculpture at Vermont and L NW? The abstract piece was created by Louise Nevelson, famed for her epic assemblages. By John Kelly  •  Read more »   Washington-area obituaries of note Obituaries from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Read more » Gun store opens in Arlington County to strong support and business Neighborhood residents who have opposed the store chose to protest blocks away. By Patricia Sullivan  •  Read more »   Frances W. Shaffer, a woman of adventure, dies at 100 Mrs. Shaffer was born in India and traveled widely throughout her life. By Bart Barnes  •  Read more »   Fairfax supervisors lose free pass to county pools, golf courses and carousels New Virginia ethics rules prompt Fairfax County attorney to advise against using free park passes. By Antonio Olivo  •  Read more »   Paul A. Quander, former D.C. deputy mayor for public safety, dies at 61 Mr. Quander was a federal prosecutor before becoming a deputy mayor under Vincent C. Gray. By Bart Barnes  •  Read more »   Debate over Maryland criminal justice bill heads to House of Delegates Several senators hope for changes that would further reduce prison population and costs By Ovetta Wiggins  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   See the cherry blossoms from a kid’s perspective Note: To use the 360 functionality, use your cursor over the video above to scroll around the room. If you’re viewing on a mobile device, open the link in the YouTube app. To capture this year’s cherry blossoms in at the Tidal Basin, we decided to try something a little different: put ourselves in the hands […] By Phoebe Connelly  •  Read more »   Couple gets engaged at Washington’s Cherry Blossom Festival The annual Cherry Blossom Festival brings millions of people to D.C. On the second day of peak bloom, The Post headed to the Tidal Basin. We ran into a couple from Baltimore. Here's what happened. Read more »   Fairfax County man found with stab wound dies Police are treating the case in the 5100 block of Celtic Drive as a homicide. By Keith L. Alexander  •  Read more »   A playwright who wants to change society, not merely observe it Motti Lerner has found a powerful ally outside his native Israel in Washington’s Ari Roth. By Peter Marks  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   Going Out Guide What to do and where to go in the Washington area, in your inbox twice a week. Sign Up »         Share Local Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Local Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071