National Mall

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Visitors to the National Mall and to Arlington National Cemetery will have new transportation options in time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. A new shuttle and tour service begins operating Monday at Arlington cemetery, the park service said. The new shuttle, which covers just the cemetery, costs $8.75 per person. For the National Mall, a new express bus service will begin operating March 12. It will run in a loop from Union Station to the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington cemetery, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Smithsonian Metro station.

Some came with their kids, not wanting to miss the opportunity to impart a message of political leadership in a live civics classroom hundreds of thousands of people strong. Others arrived with their own place in history in mind, considering President Barack Obama's second inauguration a second shot to celebrate the significance of the nation's first black president and be a part of it themselves. Whatever the reason, Maryland residents joined people from all across the country on Monday who braved the cold weather and long security lines to be on the National Mall for Obama's ceremonial swearing in. 'A piece of history' Matt Jacobson, 30, and friends Chris Franzoni, 31, and Stan Kimmel, 32, were on the mall early after celebrating the Ravens' win the night before at a D.C. bar, where they'd put a Ray Lewis jersey on an Obama cut-out.

I must take exception to the conclusions David Zurawik draws ("Laughing on the way to the voting booth?" Oct. 24) regarding the use of satire in political discourse and the use of the National Mall as a mass meeting place. First, there is nothing "sacred" about the mall that prevents it from being used as a rallying ground for protest and political dialogue; it has been used countless times for this purpose. The point of the rally has an indeed sobering point to make, that political discourse has crossed the boundaries of extremity and works to make our leaders and commentators more polarized than we the people are or want to be. Second, satire has long been a powerful form of political commentary, offering both enlightenment and release in times of confusion and tension.

The National Rifle Association's response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School - that is, placing blame for it on everyone and everything except the NRA and its all-guns-all-the-time credo - was utterly predictable. But this time it won't matter. With that speech on Friday, the NRA's outspoken vice president, Wayne LaPierre, officially declared the organization's new status: irrelevant. There isn't much an organization like this, hunkered down in the failed policies of the past, can do to stop what's coming - a sustained, populist, bipartisan demand that Congress start taking action to stop mass killings.

Owings Mills-based Carroll Tree Service Inc., has been awarded a contract to prune and preserve Elm trees at the National Mall in Washington, the firm announced Monday. The terms of the contract were not disclosed. The Baltimore County commercial tree care company was tapped by Annapolis Junction-based Corman Construction, which was hired by the National Park Service to restore the reflecting pool. Carroll will work to preserve the trees throughout the project, which is scheduled to be completed by spring 2012.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Park Police announced five arrests yesterday in a recent series of armed robberies and sexual assaults of nighttime visitors to the National Mall, the capital city's leading tourist attraction. The Park Police, charged with patrolling the Mall, said the suspects are local teenagers and young adults. City officials hailed the arrests and offered assurances that the Mall, which features the Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and major Smithsonian museums, is safe for visitors at any time of day. Washington has long battled a significant crime problem but has strived to insulate the Mall and other historic sites favored by tourists.

It's a long and winding Silk Road, and you can explore its sinuous twists and turns through Sunday at the National Mall in Washington. The Silk Road is the name given to the historic trade route that connected the peoples and traditions of Asia with those of Europe, and it's being featured at the Smithsonian Institution's 36th Folklife Festival. Musicians, dancers and craftsmen from more than 20 nations are represented, including Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Mongolia and Japan.

The National Mall is being flooded with people taking part in what is billed as an annual "rite of cultural democracy" - the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This year's rite promises such things as absorbing stories of the African-American experience, told by the likes of North Carolinian Mitchell G. Capel, aka "Gran'daddy Junebug;" the distinctive music of Mexico's La Huasteca region, performed by Los Camperos de Valles; and the dynamic sounds of Only Men Aloud, 20 guys from Wales who mix folk songs, hymns and Barbra Streisand showstoppers with aplomb.

WASHINGTON - The National Mall here is getting crowded.To protect the 2-mile strip of land between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, a federal planning agency wants no more museums on the Mall."

On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the National Mall will be overrun by avid readers and more than 80 award-winning authors, illustrators and storytellers. The free National Book Festival is sponsored by the Library of Congress. First lady Laura Bush is the host. It features pavilions for many interests: Home and Family, Poetry, Teens and Children, Fiction and Imagination, Mysteries and Thrillers, History and Biography, Storytelling, Let's Read America and Pavilion of the States. Festival-goers can buy books or bring their own for authors to sign.

The present controversy over the proposed Eisenhower National Memorial centers on the relationship between the meaning and significance of Dwight David Eisenhower's service to the nation and architect Frank Gehry's scheme to commemorate that service. Does the design fulfill the requirements and standards of monumental civic art? Does it, in a seemly manner, recognize and honor the achievements of General Eisenhower as supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Europe in World War II and as president of the United States from 1953 to 1961?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Visitors to the National Mall and to Arlington National Cemetery will have new transportation options in time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. A new shuttle and tour service begins operating Monday at Arlington cemetery, the park service said. The new shuttle, which covers just the cemetery, costs $8.75 per person. For the National Mall, a new express bus service will begin operating March 12. It will run in a loop from Union Station to the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington cemetery, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Smithsonian Metro station.

Sunday marks the 48th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I have a dream" speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and if not for Hurricane Irene, the day would have seen another mass gathering on the National Mall and another round of speeches, this time a gathering to honor his enduring legacy. Whenever the official dedication of the King memorial takes place - organizers think sometime this fall - the speeches by members of the King family, President Barack Obama and leaders from across the country will draw deserved national attention on the character and accomplishments of one of the great figures of 20th century America.

If you're planning on catching the fireworks in D.C. today, you might want to get there a few hours early. While the fireworks aren't until nightfall, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival runs all day on the National Mall. Every year, the 10-day festival celebrates the culture of a different country; this year, it's Colombia. There, you can learn the slinky salsa or romantic tango from traditional dancers, feast your eyes on leather goods and colorful costumes, or listen to the rhythms of different forms of folk music.

Maura Gillespie turns the corner beside her desk and unlocks a door to the balcony. Laid out below her, perfectly symmetrical, is the National Mall, with the Washington Monument rising like an exclamation point at the end of the expanse. "People say it's the best view in D.C.," says the 22-year-old, who graduated last month from Loyola University Maryland. Strictly speaking, the balcony does not belong to Gillespie. It goes with the office occupied by her boss, John Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and the highest-ranking Republican in the country.

Rome wasn't built in a day, so Washington has given Italy five months. La Dolce D.C. is a celebration of all things Italian with arts, architecture, culture and food, running March through July. Honoring the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, La Dolce gives visitors and locals a taste of international culture through exhibitions, performances, fashion, music and of course delectable Italian meals. Whether you're stopping by for a day or planning a romantic getaway, there's an itinerary for everybody.

WASHINGTON -- When President Clinton unveils the design for a new World War II Memorial on the National Mall today, its planners hope to quell critics' fears that the structure will encroach upon a postcard-perfect vista.The memorial, to honor the veterans and the war's role in American history, will be built between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the Mall's primary axis.Some worry that the sightline leading from the west front of the Capitol -- a cherished panorama framed by the open space of the National Mall -- will be obstructed.

It has been called "the nation's front yard," where monuments sprout instead of crabgrass. Tourists - who long ago replaced robins as the harbinger of spring in Washington - visit The Mall to pay their respects at memorials and to mug for pocket cameras, to extract a little taxpayer's revenge by dawdling inside all those free Smithsonian museums. But if you live only a few blocks away on Capitol Hill (as I did for a dozen years), it's different: You come to The Mall almost every day. To jog. To bike.

I was happy to see the hundreds of thousands of people pack the National Mall in Washington D.C. Monday in support of the human rights of the unborn. In recent years the Supreme Court has short-circuited the democratic system by eliminating the most contentious moral issues — like marriage and abortion — from the public square and deciding them unilaterally from the court itself. In 1963, on Good Friday, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from the Birmingham jail, wrote that a just law is a man-made law that comports with the natural law or the law of God. Roe v. Wade is an example of a man-made law that violates the natural law. Everyone, including President Obama, knows that a human embryo is a human being.

Owings Mills-based Carroll Tree Service Inc., has been awarded a contract to prune and preserve Elm trees at the National Mall in Washington, the firm announced Monday. The terms of the contract were not disclosed. The Baltimore County commercial tree care company was tapped by Annapolis Junction-based Corman Construction, which was hired by the National Park Service to restore the reflecting pool. Carroll will work to preserve the trees throughout the project, which is scheduled to be completed by spring 2012.