Mayor Bowser's a big no on congestion pricing.

The big picture: Bowser released a long-awaited study on the idea yesterday, only to declare it "deeply flawed" and the wrong move for a downtown still recovering from its telework and DOGE-induced rut.

• Not to mention, Congress would likely come down hard on local D.C. charging visitors a tax to see the nation's capital, the Bowser administration believes.

🏁 What they're saying: "Taxing people up to $10 to drive into Downtown DC is a bad idea — especially now," Bowser wrote in an accompanying letter to the D.C. Council, which fought her for years to publicize the study.

The intrigue: Before the pandemic, downtown D.C. was growing and the idea of a congestion tax was catching on among both transit boosters and business groups.

• The study was commissioned in 2019, completed in 2021 and was supposed to have been released two years ago at the latest.
• But after the pandemic decimated downtown, Bowser didn't want to put it out.

🗂️ Its secrecy spawned a "mythological reputation" over its contents, D.C. city administrator Kevin Donahue admitted yesterday.

• The city finally decided to share the findings to rebuke advocates who think a congestion tax could help solve the city's current budget gaps.
• It won't, he said — the years-old report says a congestion tax would raise $345 million annually, but "assumes we live in a world that just doesn't exist anymore."

Zoom out: Bowser says D.C. isn't New York, where a congestion tax debuted last year in Manhattan.

👀 What's ahead: Some council members still back the idea, including mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George.

• She tweeted that the report could now be a jumping-off point for the city to look at "opportunities to reduce congestion, improve air quality & public health, & strengthen public transit."
• A key recommendation? "For a congestion pricing program to succeed in D.C.," the report notes, "transit service would need to be improved."

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You've probably heard Live Nation and the Justice Department have settled the latter's antitrust claims — the live music giant has agreed to cap service fees and allow venues to partner with alternate ticket providers like StubHub.

Why it matters: The deal could modestly change ticket sales, but D.C. and state officials say consumers are being shortchanged.

👀 State of play: Attorneys general from the DMV are rejecting the settlement and vowing to continue legal action.

• "D.C.'s live entertainment scene is vital to our local economy and culture, and the recently announced settlement is simply not adequate," D.C. AG Brian Schwalb said in a statement.
• D.C., Virginia and others still suing could proceed to trial on Monday if they can't strike a deal with DOJ lawyers, per the New York Times.

Under the settlement Live Nation and DOJ reached, service fees would be capped at 15% of face value.

• Live Nation's concert venues would have to allow other promoters to book shows — and those promoters could sell up to half the tickets themselves.
• Live Nation would divest 13 exclusive booking agreements with amphitheaters nationwide.
• Ticketmaster, which Live Nation acquired in 2010, would offer both exclusive and non-exclusive ticketing proposals to major venues, which could also choose to distribute a portion of tickets through other primary marketplaces.

💵 Context: D.C. has the highest per-capita Ticketmaster sales in the country, according to the AG's office.

• And Live Nation is the exclusive ticket provider to nearly all sizable venues in D.C., per the AG — it's the dominant concert promoter in the region.
• So, for most major DMV shows, fans have little choice but to buy through Ticketmaster — and critics say that lack of competition drives up prices.

Zoom out: Maryland recently passed an anti-scalping law banning junk fees on resale tickets and prohibiting speculative ticket sales.

• The D.C. Council is weighing similar legislation, including a proposal to cap resale markups. A markup and full Council vote are expected.

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Ed Martin, senior DOJ official and D.C.'s former U.S. Attorney, is facing local disciplinary proceedings over a letter he sent to Georgetown's law school, where he inquired about whether it was using DEI practices and demanding changes, if so. (WaPo)

🦪 Maryland officials report one of the strongest oyster reproduction years in decades — a signal of continued recovery for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and seafood industry. (ABC7)

⚡ José Andrés' first-ever Marvel comic, "Spider-Man: Meals to Astonish #1," is out today. (Axios)

For $10.75 million, you can move next door to the Veep.

The big picture: The stucco "Heurich-Parks" house at 3400 Massachusetts Avenue NW is on the market. It was originally built in 1925 and underwent a compete renovation nine years ago.

🏡 Between the lines: Whether or not you want to be JD Vance's neighbor, there are pros to owning the estate just steps away from the Naval Observatory's main gate.

• Like the best security you could imagine.
• And amped-up emergency response if, say, someone became ill, as once described to Washingtonian by its current owners: Dispatchers "sent all the equipment in the world because they thought" it involved the VP.
• Possible downside: Regular motorcades outside your front door.

🏊 Zoom in: The Spanish-style residence spans 13,900 square feet — 7 bedrooms, 9 full baths and two half baths.

• Plus ... an indoor swimming pool, sauna, exercise room, two-car garage and circular driveway out front.

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