Forty Acres and a Mule, DC Style

The Post unveils a Bush Administration proposal to grant substantial tracts of federal property to the District. The idea is that a "mini-urban land rush" will help offset the "structural deficit" in DC finances caused by 42% of the land and 66% of payrolls being off-limits to local taxation.

In other development news, Sunday's Post confirmed a Bhaus story last week that DC sports officials are looking for a "signature" ballpark that will depart from the Orioles Park model and "set a design vocabulary for this district on the waterfront." (Concept photo here -- note that home plate faces the Capitol dome, instead of the grungy Anacostia River.)

P.S. Enjoying the warm weekend weather, I biked down to the proposed stadium site yesterday. Don't let anyone fool you with bleeding-heart stories of some endearing, hard-luck neighborhood fighting off evil gentrification orchestrated by city hall -- that place is a wasteland. (See Jacqueline Dupree's excellent website for pictures.)