* MORE GROUND BROKEN: I had posted a photo last week of the new fence at not-Ballpark Square but wasn't quite ready to say that construction had started. However, the pile driver has arrived, and steel beams are already sticking out of the ground, so I think it's now safe to add the residential/hotel portion of the project to the ludicrous lineup of developments currently underway. (The office component at 99 M is expected to get started before long as well.) It's also the fourth to break ground just within the past month or so, joining residential projects 909 Half and 82 I and the Homewood Suites hotel at 50 M. And I think that's probably it for major projects getting started until the end of this year or early next year.

* BONCHON GETTING CLOSER: The paper is off the windows, so I was able to see where things stand at Bonchon--and it's looking well along. (Not pictured are the five or so boxes containing large flat-panel TVs.)

* DEMO PERMIT APPS: Applications have been submitted to demolish two buildings on the DC Water site--a 50,000-square-foot brick building and a 1,980-square-foot wood shed. Whether these are on the footprint of the planned movie theater/accompanying residential, I cannot tell you.

* SPRING! SPRING! There's now quite the inventory of outdoor tables at Willie's Brew & Que, and work is underway for a patio at the Big Stick (photo by Mr. JDLand):

* MORE ABOUT FOOD: I mentioned it in passing before, but there's been enough tweets sent my way to mention again that work has now started at the Scarlet Oak space at 909 New Jersey. And there's purty window ads now, to both get their name out there and to THWART my PEEKING. And closer to the river, at the Lumber Shed, both Due South and the Navy Yard Oyster Company have gotten their building permits.

With all that cleared out of the hopper, I now may be a bit scarce for the rest of the week. Hopefully the site will behave, though.

On to the tidbits:

* SNOW CANCELLATIONS: The BID's Mardi Gras celebration planned for today has been cancelled (except for beads still being handed out), and the Van Ness Elementary fundraiser at Nando's has been rescheduled for March 24. (But the latter gives me an excuse to mention that I have finally built a Van Ness project page!)

* SNOW CANCELLATIONS/CSX: Today was supposed to be the hearing on the Committee of 100's move for an injunction to prevent CSX from moving forward on the Virginia Avenue Tunnel until the lawsuit itself is heard, but Mother Nature has forced a postponement, to a date to be determined. But you can still read the Post's preview piece on the hearing.

* TRAPEZE SCHOOL MOVE: It had started to seem like the Trapeze School's long-planned move to the southwest corner of Spooky Park at New Jersey and Tingey wasn't necessarily a given, but HillNow reports that the school has now confirmed the move, likely to happen this fall. In the meantime, there's a zoning case to be heared in March to allow them to stay in their current spot during this year, while their new home is prepped.

* SECURITY THEATER: The photo of construction outside the Nats Park centerfield gate at right that I posted a few weeks back brought much speculation, but it's now confirmed that the work was/is to install magnetometers (WaPo).

* CHANGE AT WILLIE'S: Eater DC reports that both chef Rock Harper and his brother/general manager Ed Howard have left Willie's Brew & Que. No hints on why.

* THE GLOBAL REACH OF SNARK: Technically off-topic, but I learned last week that tossing out snarky comments on Twitter can sometimes have a reach beyond just my followers. (See paragraph #5.) Thank heavens I spelled "artisanal" correctly.

* BANFIELD: The sign is now up, and "early 2015" looks on track for the Banfield Pet Hospital at Twelve12 on Tingey Street in the Yards.

* 82 I: The lot has been cleared of cars, a new fence has been put up and construction-related signage ("Hard Hats Required") has appeared on the northwest corner of New Jersey and I, where Graystar's 234-unit residential building appears to be ready to get underway the second its shoring/excavation permit comes through.

* FLORIDA ROCKIN': Excavation permits for the first phase of Florida Rock's redevelopment were approved a few weeks ago (hence the beginning of earth-moving), and as of Friday there's now an approved permit for the nine-story apartment building itself. The project's ceremonial groundbreaking is scheduled for tomorrow morning (Dec. 9) at 10 am--in a tent, thank heavens. Given that it took more than a decade to get this project to the digging phase, you can't blame developers MRP Realty and Florida Rock Properties for going beyond the normal speeches and ornate shovels: they are having a pig roast as well, after the ceremony until about 3 pm.

* 100 MONTADITOS: It looked very very close to opening last week, but there appears to have been some sort of fly in the ointment (or a Spaniard in the Works, if you will). The Yards tweeted this morning that it is opening this Thursday. Mr. JDLand is monitoring the situation closely. UPDATE: A missive from the Montaditos folks confirms the Thursday opening, with a "Dollarmania" promotion through Sunday, Dec. 14, with all Montaditos sandwiches selling for $1. There will also be $2 beers and sangria and $3 premium beer and wine for the eatery's first 100 days.

* WILLIE'S: Now offering brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm.

* OSTERIA MORINI: "Morini Mondays" begin tonight, with $10 pasta dishes.

* TRUCKERBOO: As mentioned elsewhere, Friday brings the Halloween-themed version of Truckeroo, the last food truck shindig of 2014, starting at 11 am.

* WILLIE'S HAPPY HOUR AND "GRAND OPENING" - Willie's Brew & Que at 3rd and Tingey has now launched Happy Hour, weekdays from 4 to 6 pm, with $5 drafts, wine, rail drinks, and vodka or gin gimlets. And Saturday night is said to be its official "grand opening," though there's no recent mention of it on Willie's Facebook page, Twitter feed, or web site. (There will be quite the show outside that night, though.)

Speaking of libations, Willie's "smoked ice" got a rave review from the Post's Going Out Guide.

* BLUEJACKET TURNS 1: The actual anniversary was on Oct. 29, but on Sunday, Nov. 2, Bluejacket Brewery and its Arsenal restaurant will be celebrating out on the patio at 4th and Tingey streets SE from 1 to 5 pm. The wood-fired grill will be operational, with "pig-chetta on the rotisserie plus other bites," and the brewing team is going to break into the vault of barrel-aged brews. And EaterDC has some stats from Year One, starting with 2,396 barrels produced, and 15,715 soft pretzels baked.

Also, with the arrival of baseball's off-season comes the return of Saturday tours at the brewery.

* UNLEASHED OPENS: Hey, pet food is food too, for some critters! Don't forget that Unleashed by Petco officially opens in the Boilemaker Shops on Tingey St. SE on Monday, Nov. 3.

* TEETER'S GRAND OPENING: As momentous as any food event in the neighborhood's recent history is the pending arrival of Harris Teeter at 4th and M SE, in the Twelve12 building. The signage has been announcing the official opening on Wednesday, Nov. 5, but on Nov. 4 at 5:30 pm there will be a ceremonial ribbon cutting, followed by a "Taste of Teeter" sampling event, running until 8 pm. (Because no one in Washington DC will have anything going on the evening of Election Night!) The 50,000-square-foot store will be open seven days a week from 6 am to midnight.

* OSTERIA MORINI TURNS 1: Bluejacket isn't the only one celebrating a first birthday, for on Wednesday, Nov. 5, Chef Michael White will be in the house as Osteria Morini marks its own anniversary with a special five-course menu for $85 per person ($125 with wine pairings). Reservations are available between 5:30 and 9 pm--RSVP via e-mail.

* JUBILEE WINTER HOURS: Not that ice cream isn't wonderful any time of year, but I'm sure we can all respect a switch to shorter hours at Ice Cream Jubilee until the weather warms again. It will still be open from noon to 9 pm every day.

And before long it'll be time to start breathlessly awaiting the 2015 arrivals of the Navy Yard Oyster Company, Scarlet Oak, and Bonchon.

(One would think Subway Café and the Big Stick will arrive at 20 M before Dec. 31, but we shall see....)

As to whether it *will* open Friday at 5, well, we'll see!

Willie's is located on the west end of the Boilermaker Shops, at 3rd and Tingey streets, SE.

If you want to read about the long road to this point, have at it.

In other food news, TaKorean is now going to be open on Sundays from 11 to 7.

UPDATE: In non-food Boilermaker Shops news, the Yards folks also tweeted that Unleashed by Petco is scheduled to open Nov. 3.

(Left) The new Parc Riverside signage has been hung along 1st Street by the sales trailer, though at least I have the River Parc signs recorded for posterity.

(Right) There's a bunch of new signage on the black fences along Half and N, presumably to at least in part draw attention away from the big hole in the ground behind them. One portion of the sign is a map of places to see things, eat food, drink beverages, and spend money, placed by the Capitol Riverfront BID. And it helpfully provides confirmation of the Unleashed by Petco coming to the Boilermaker Shops, and lets the cat out of the bag (ahem) that the pet hospital at Twelve12 will be a Banfield.

It's been a busy day on the page, with a new logo posted ("Willie's, Est. 2014") as well as photos of the interior, including shots of the point of sale kiosks with the caption "Computers almost up and running!" There's no news there of an opening date, but the About page is well filled out with details. (The WilliesBBQ Twitter feed is silent so far, however.)

Certainly with October baseball looking staggeringly likely, it would behoove any restaurant or bar in the neighborhood to rush preparations to completion in order to capitalize on hordes of wild-eyed Nats fans converging on the area. However, the long delay in building out the space, followed by the bankruptcy and associated falderal surrounding owner Barracks Row Entertainment earlier this year, have made it easy to be skeptical that the restaurant would actually ever open.

So, keep an eye on the western end of the Boilermaker Shops (at the corner of 3rd and Tingey) to see if white smoke from barbeque equipment signals the arrival of a new restaurant.

* MORE CBS RADIO: WBJ provides more information on CBS Radio's move to 1015 Half Street, which was officially announced on site by the mayor and other poobahs on Monday. A CBS Radio exec is quoted as saying that the street-level studio and performance area "will allow an unfettered look into how we operate and provide fans of our stations with the chance to meet some of the top names in the music business and our own beloved personalities.” Another quote says that CBS Radio "wanted a ‘Today Show’ type street-level studio and the only place they could get that was in the city.” Construction on the space is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

* MORE XAVIER: Not exactly sure why the Wall Street Journal is so all-over the Barracks Row Entertainment bankruptcy, but here they are again with more details: "Lawyers for eight restaurants including Hawk ‘n’ Dove, Molly Malone’s and Boxcar Tavern [and Park Tavern and Willie's] said in new court papers that Xavier Cervera, who became a consultant for the restaurants in August after selling the restaurants in late 2012, intentionally hindered their performance," so that the new owners would struggle to make payments and then Xavier and his partners could retake the properties. There's a battle over a scooter, too.

* MORE RIVERWALK: DDOT announced this week that work is about to begin on the four-mile-long stretch of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail from Benning Road through the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to the DC/Maryland line.

* MORE FAT: Mark your calendars, the Tour de Fat returns to Yards Park on May 31. (Yes, the link includes the beer list.)

* LESS INCENTIVE: In the latest step to make all my work completely unnecessary, you can now go back in time on Google Street View. (But it's only to 2007, so at least my 2003-2007 photos aren't totally useless.)

* CSX II: ANC 6B writes to Mayor Gray: "We have serious concerns about the VAT project proposed in the draft environmental impact statement, and we urge you to ensure those concerns are adequately addressed before the District issues the requisite approvals for the project."

* POCKET CHANGE: The Wall Street Journal reports that "Investors who own the storied Hawk ‘n’ Dove bar and other Capitol Hill eating spots owe more than $9 million to D.C. restaurateur Xavier Cervera and his partners who sold the restaurants to them in late 2012." An earlier WSJ piece gives a wider view of the mess of financing this all appears to be.

* FOR THE RECORD: In Precinct 131 (Near Southeast), Muriel Bowser received 40 percent of the vote, Tommy Wells 30 percent, and Vince Gray 24 percent. And in the Ward 6 council race, Charles Allen beat Darrel Thompson 57-43. A grand total of 444 people cast ballots out of the 2,085 registered voters in the precinct. So, yay to 21.29 percent of you!

* BLUEJACKET AND BASEBALL: It seems like the brewery has already been here forever, but Bluejacket is about to embark on its first season of providing refreshments to Nats fans. They've announced that they will be "tailgating" on their patio at 10 am Friday for the season opener, and that their new outdoor grill will be open for business "weather permitting, all season long Thursdays through Sundays from 11 am until 10 pm and on all game days beginning two hours before the first pitch."

* SWEET!: Sweetgreen has gotten its tenant layout permit to begin the buildout of its space in Twelve12, on 4th Street across from Bluejacket.

* THROWBACK THURSDAY: I did a bit of purging in my office over the weekend, and found at least two museum-worthy items (here and here). That's in addition to the Canal Park groundbreaking shovel I still trip over on a regular basis.

Barracks Row Entertainment is also behind the Park Tavern at Canal Park, and the will-it-ever-open Willie's Brew and 'Que at the Boilermaker Shops at the Yards, and those two entities are part of the bankruptcy as well. The filing says that the company has "between $1 million and $10 million in debt."

What does it all mean? I guess we will just have to see....