This morning the Usual Suspects re-assembled at the ballpark to plant one of the 14 cherry blossom trees being installed along the centerfield concourse and at the Center Field Gate plaza. And the sun was out! That never happens! Here are some quick photos of the event itself, and check back later today for an update to my Stadium Interior Gallery with a bunch of new photos from centerfield and the plaza. (If you're a fan of my large panoramas, here's one from today taken from the Red Porch restaurant, to whet your appetite for the photos coming later.)

UPDATE: More new photos from today now posted in the Stadium Interior Gallery, mixed in with others I've posted in the past two weeks. So you have a wide range of hideously-dreary-to-fabulously-sunny vistas to look at.

And I'll keep updating this section with links to any media coverage, starting with Dan Steinberg's Sports Bog report. And, as a commenter noted elsewhere, today officials announced that peak cherry blossom time is expected to be March 27 through April 3. With Opening Day smack in the middle. Tim Lemke has a blog entry about the ceremony today as well.

* Tony Knott of the WashTimes gets snarky about traveling to the ballpark.

* If you want to see what the new Enhanced Residential Parking Permit signs look like, drive along I Street SW between Third and Fourth--on the north side of the street you'll see new red signs saying Zone 6 Permit Holders Only, 7 AM - Midnight, Monday - Sunday"; on the south side of the street are the more familiar green signs that say "Two Hour Parking Only - Zone 6 Permit Holders Exempted", but they now have new stickers slapped on that say "7 AM - Midnight, Monday thru Sunday". DDOT must have hit the streets the second the bill passed on Tuesday! And, of course, the kiosk parking meters are cropping up in more locations.

* I've been meaning to post about this when there was a lull (HAH!)--Mapquest has updated its satellite image of Near Southeast to November 2006, showing the steelwork underway at the ballpark. I've added it to the bottom of my Satellite Photos page, even though it's only a few weeks later than the last "newest" image (from Live Search). You'll see that I've tweaked this page a bit so that you can now pick and choose which photos to display (since it's getting to be a huge page)--for instance, maybe you want to see just the 2002 and late 2006 photos.

UPDATE: I knew there was something else I meant to mention. The stadium web cam shows that advertising banners are going up on the eastern parking garage.

Yesterday the city council passed an emergency version of Tommy Wells's Performance Parking pilot plan, which will be used to regulate curbside parking on streets near the ballpark (as well as in Columbia Heights, along with a new taxicab zone pilot in Adams Morgan and a Visitor Pass pilot in Mount Pleasant). I've got the text of the bill as passed, and there's much more detail than was in the draft version of the bill (though not the detail that everyone really wants, namely the rates and fines), so definitely look at it if you're looking for additional information. A few items that jump out at me (though I'm hoping that Tommy's office sends out a release soon with more info):

* The pilot is only for two years.

* The mayor gets to set the rules, fees, and fines for the zones, but the council gets to set the zones themselves.

* Parking fees cannot be increased by more than 50 cents in any one-month period (or more than once per month).

* Councilmembers and ANCs must be notified of any fee changes at least 10 days in advance.

* "The Mayor shall publish a web site that includes the following: pilot zone boundaries, rules/regulations, information about how to use new parking fee technologies, and a parking pilot project manger's name and contact information." (Until then, you can look at my page on the curbside parking regulations around the ballpark.)

* DDOT has to submit a plan to the council and the ANCs with zone-specific parking management targets and with details on parking charges.

* DDOT has to conduct quarterly public meetings to provide updates on the parking management targets and to receive public comments on the program.

* The mayor has to submit an annual report on the parking pilots with all sorts of statistics.

Speaking of parking, the March Hill Rag has a roundup on the parking plans for the area (similar to my page). And I've been very remiss in not reporting that Feb. 21 Zoning Commission hearing on allowing additional temporary surfacing parking lots in Southwest was continued to March 24 after representatives of DDOT were not in attendance to discuss traffic management plans for the new lots. The Hill Rag has a summary of the Feb. 11 ANC meeting where there was much unhappiness about these potential new lots.

UPDATE: Bad link to bill text fixed.

UPDATE II: DDOT is now announcing a public meeting on March 12 from 6 to 8:30 pm at 20 M St., SE, for "residents and business owners and operators to review and comment on the most recent version of the Transportation and Residential Curbside Management Plan (often referred to as the Transportation Operations and Parking Plan (TOPP)). DDOT will also offer their appreciation to the area residents and business owners for their support and patience during the recent street upgrades in the South Capitol corridor. The meeting is an open workshop that will highlight the numerous parts of the overall transportation and parking operations that will be in effect during events at the new stadium. The TOPP was originally drafted to address concerns by residents on the expected increase in vehicular movement during stadium events in the southeast and southwest neighborhoods surrounding the ballpark. Representatives from the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission (DCSEC) and the Nationals will also be available to address concerns and answer questions." (This is the meeting that was described in testimony at the city council last week as being "at the ballpark." I guess they used "at the ballpark" in the same literary way one could say that the Navy Yard Metro station is "at the ballpark." Ah well.)

UPDATE: Here's the Washington Business Journal article on the move.

UPDATE: I'm adding all this to my Stadium FAQ section on food offerings, but I might as well post it here as well (gleaned from one of the handouts at yesterday's home plate ceremony):

There will be 49 concession stands at the ballpark, and nearly 200 "points of sale." In addition to the local vendors listed above, the usual fare will be available: hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, pizza, nachos, popcorn, pretzels, Cracker Jacks, candy, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. There will also be specialty items available, including vegetarian burgers, hot dogs and chili, caesar salads, crab cake sandwiches, crab pretzels, Buffalo chicken sandwiches, burritos and tacos, corned beef, pastrami, turkey, and roast beef sandwiches, fish and chips, Old Bay fries, and soft serve sundaes.

There will also be additional specialty items from "around the National League." Some will be available at every game, such as Philly cheesesteaks (Phillies), Sheboygan brats (Brewers), BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (Braves), and garlic fries (Giants). Others will be available when certain teams come to town: SW Loaded Nachos for the Diamondbacks, Chicago Style Dogs for the Cubs, chili cheese dogs for the Reds, Buffalo burgers for the Rockies, Cuban sandwiches for the Marlins, Texas brisket for the Astros, California sushi rolls for the Dodgers, Knishes for the Mets, pierogies for the Pirates, fried ravioli for the Cardinals, and fish tacos for the Padres.

The concession stand in the family Strike Zone will offer kids meals, a build-your-own peanut butter and jelly sandwich bar, and other food for kids.