"Beginning on Apr. 12, 2012 gates at the east and west end of the waterfront promenade (Riverwalk) at the Washington Navy Yard (WNY), will open for unlimited public access.

"The gates at both ends of the WNY Riverwalk will remain open for public access from dusk to dawn and will be open as a thoroughfare to facilitate access to the WNY and neighboring areas after sunset. There will be no loitering allowed between the hours of sunset and sunrise and the Riverwalk may close, without notice, to support WNY operations. [...]

"The Display Ship Barry, located along the WNY Riverwalk, will be open to the public with access directly from the Riverwalk during normal operating hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday."

The release also quotes Naval Support Activity Washington commanding officer Cmdr. David Varner as saying that this is "supporting the community's desire to have a walkable riverfront."

The Navy Yard's portion of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail runs from just next to the 11th Street Bridges down to the Yards Park.

(Note that April 12 is also the day of the Nats' home opener.)

UPDATE: For those who haven't been following along, I should note that it was last year that the Navy Yard first opened their promenade to limited public access, first just from 8 am to 5 pm Monday-Friday, then starting at 5:30 am, then to seven days a week until "official sunset."

First, a few new entries in the What's New Around the Ballpark? lineup:

* On Tap Magazine surveys the neighborhood with "The Hidden Gem That is the Capitol Riverfront." (Another jewelry metaphor to go with the Post's "Diamond in the Rough" piece from Sunday.)

* WJLA wandered around looking at the ballpark environs.

* The Post's Going Out Gurus blog checked out the Fairgrounds' sneak peek on Tuesday. (Though what's the deal with the photos that look like they were taken through a veil? Will this Instagram obsession never ebb?)

* WTOP runs down the options for arriving at the ballpark by water taxi. (American River Taxi, by the way, says that they are almost sold out for the April 12 home opener.)

Some other items:

* Two reports from MLB.com on the Wounded Warrior Amputee charity softball classic, played Tuesday after the Nats-Red Sox exhibition. The Warriors pounded their celebrity challengers 17-4.

* "DC Modern Luxury" magazine's Men's issue picks the Foundry Lofts as one of the city's "Best Bachelor Buildings." Go here, then click on the Best Bachelor Buildings subhed to get to page 62, then look at the bottom of the page. (As an aside, the write-up sounds even better if you imagine it being spoken by Stefon.)

* Or, if you like your tidbits a bit less glossy, Multihousing News has "Foundry Lofts Blazes Trail on DC Riverfront."

* Bluejacket gets a big write-up and cover photo in Beer Advocate magazine, though we don't get to read it online. You'll just have to make do with the Sept. 2011 batch of photos from inside the Boilermaker Shops the brewery has put up on their Facebook page.

* Nineteen "experts" have picked the Nationals to make the playoffs this year. No pressure!

* The 11th Street Recreation Bridge meeting happened while I was out of town, but here's Greater Greater Washington's write-up of it. But, before the meeting, WCP's Alex Baca posted four thoughts about the concept, with some items of concern worth noting (though "it is a cool idea!" is the first bullet point).