There's no getting around the fact that parking is going to be tighter this year, thanks to the following:

* Lot F at 1st and M, and the cash lot that sprouted immediately to its south last year, are both gone, thanks to the beginning of construction on Ballpark Square, the large residential/hotel/retail project.

* Season ticket holders' Lot P in the garage of 1015 Half Street has exited the inventory thanks to the fact that the building is finally starting to get tenants. (And Bonchon!)

* The cash lot at Half and M is no more, because construction has just started on a Homewood Suites hotel.

* Also gone is the cash lot at New Jersey and I, where work is now underway on a new apartment building.

(Are you sensing a pattern?)

One bright spot in the offing, though--a 220-space lot will return to the northeast corner of 1st and N on the former Spooky Building 213 site, but it still has to be built--they are hoping it'll be done later this summer.

I have confirmed that the cash lots at South Capitol and M, South Capitol and N, and the two Yards lots on N and Tingey streets will be available this year. But confirmation on some of the other cash lots--especially the ones on the west side of South Capitol--will have to wait until this weekend or Opening Day. (Any and all intel on these lots will be much appreciated!)

Also watch for lots of construction around the neighborhood, with some street parking eliminated (but you weren't using that anyway, RIGHT?). And the walk from your lot to the ballpark might require tiptoeing around some closed sidewalks, especially on the west side of 1st Street south of M.

As for getting to the stadium, note that, if you use Maine Avenue in Southwest to get to the ballpark, the construction at the Wharf may impact your route--plus it has done quite a number on the asphalt along there.

Finally, if you use South Capitol Street alongside the ballpark, keep it to 25 mph, because there are currently speed cameras set up in both directions.

Check the parking page for more information.

From lots of new food to the new Norfolk Southern club level to the new not-for-plebes Club 24 to the new grass to the soon-to-be-new team store to the new mumblemumble metal detectors, there was a lot to cover.

Which means I took a lot of photos. Virginia biscuits? Check. Korean BBQ tacos? Check. Grilled cheese sammiches? Check. Club-level choo-choos? Check. Stormtroopers? Check. (No, really.)

Here's a smattering (click to enlarge), but go look at the gallery, which also has a lot of detail about what you'll see during the 2015 season. I'll also be adding here links to the more straightfoward coverage of the day.

UPDATE: Here's the Post on the new food and the Sam Adams 10th anniversary offering. Here's MASN's coverage. And Eater's. And MLB.com's.

* ALL-STAR GAME: The rumors keep flying that Nationals Park will be the site of the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but when Tom Boswell says he is "virtually certain" he will be happy with the 2018 announcement when it is made, well, one does take notice. Official word could come on April 6, when new commissioner Rob Manfred comes to Nationals Park to throw out the Opening Day first pitch.

* NLRB MOVE DELAYED: There's been some wondering about when the National Labor Relations Board will arrive at 1015 Half Street, and WBJ has the story of the "costly planning snafu" that delayed the move by six months (it looks like late June may now be the date).

* 11TH STREET BRIDGES VERSION 1.0: DDOT's latest dive into its photo archives includes a shot of the construction of the highway version of the 11th Street Bridges, back in 1964, before there was a highway to connect them to. It also shows the original "local" bridge.

* 503 ERRORS: I know that the site is throwing "503 Service Unavailable" errors with some frequency these days. I'm begging the hosting company to get them fixed, but in the meantime, at least the errors generally never last more than a few seconds. Count to 10 and hit refresh, and your requested page should appear (though then sometimes it takes a little longer for images and formatting to return). UPDATE: And then the site took a breather for an hour early this afternoon, which seemed to finally get the attention of the hosting folks, though I think there are still all manner of configuration issues that they need to fix. Why this has to happen in March and not December, I don't know....

* NATS PARK MAGNETOMETERS: There was a media event on Monday to unveil the new magnetometers at all entrances to Nats Park. (I'll note that this sign about the procedures will probably not be met with glee.) I wasn't at the event, but I did get my own shot on Sunday of the new installations at the Center Field Gate, as you see at right. The new security screening procedures will be in place starting with the April 4 exhibition game against the Yankees. Arrive early! (WaPo)

* US-NY CIRCULATOR CHANGE: "From 3/29, catch the Union Station bus to Navy Yard only at Mass Ave and Columbus Cir 1st & 2nd St stops discontinued." (@DCCirculator; more here)

* YARDS PARK WORK: "We're almost ready for Splash Season! Please 'pardon our dust' as we prepare the water features and basin. We'll update here when finished!" (@YardsPark)

* PEEKING AT CSX: At right is a shot of the now-cleared area just south of the freeway and behind the 70 and 100 Capitol Yards apartment buildings. This work has had hearts aflutter that there could be some new development coming there, but it is actually just CSX clearing its considerable tract of land as prep work continues for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel.

* PEEKING AT EVERYTHING ELSE: I'm going to have to recalibrate my normal mission to over-document projects in blog posts, given the breadth of work underway in the neighborhood. That said, I can't pass up a quick sharing of the cellphone photos I took Sunday afternoon while peeking through fences at the Homewood Suites, 82 I, Hampton Inn/Ballpark Square, and 909 Half sites. (Click all to enlarge.) It would have been even better if I had included the other holes in the ground, at 1111 New Jersey, 800 New Jersey, and Florida Rock, but I failed.

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.

* NATS TICKETS/PROMOTIONS AT THE BALLPARK: Single game tickets for the Nats' 2015 season go on sale to the general public Thursday, Feb. 19, at 10 am. (Season ticket holders get their shot on Wednesday.) Believe it or not, this will be the Nationals' 11th season in DC (and the 8th at Nats Park), so there are a whole slew of anniversary-related promotions planned this year, including 10-Year Tuesdays, six games that will feature special guests, pregame ceremonies, and giveaways. Other offerings of note include the Great Moments in Nationals History Bobbleheads, the Jayson Werth Chia Pet, and the Anthony Rendon Garden Gnome, plus six Pups in the Park days and a Star Wars day.

* FAT TUESDAY AT CANAL PARK (SORT OF): The Capitol Riverfront BID will be celebrating Mardi Gras on Tuesday, Feb. 17, with a "Second Line" march scheduled for noon in Canal Park, featuring local band Brass Connection. There will also be king cake served in the light cube, and of course beads will be flung. (Checking to find out whether they will be marching through the snow. UPDATE: No parade, no band, no cake, but beads are still to be flung.)

* VAN NESS FUNDRAISER AT NANDO'S (MAYBE): Tuesday, Feb. 17 is also the Van Ness Elementary fundraiser at Nando's Peri-Peri. From 6 pm to 10 pm, the restaurant will donate 40 percent of its receipts from all sales made to people with the fundraiser flyer in hand. (And if you didn't RSVP, that's okay.) UPDATE: If there's a heavy coating of snow, this may get pushed to March. The call will be made on Tuesday morning. UPDATE II: It's been snowed out--the new date is March 24.

* JOB FAIR AT ARENA STAGE: Newly minted councilmembers Charles Allen and Elissa Silverman are co-sponsoring the latest edition of the DC Job Fair, at Arena Stage, on Friday, Feb. 20, from 10 am to 2 pm. Businesses that will be there looking to hire include Giant Food, Clark Construction at the Wharf, CSX, DC Water, Sears, Big Bus Tours, the Architect of the Capitol, and others. There will also be a number of organizations represented that provide support services for those looking to re-enter the job market.

* LIVE MUSIC AT BLUEJACKET: Because they aren't packing enough people in on Friday nights, the brewery at 4th and Tingey is launching a live music offering on alternate Fridays up until the start of baseball season. It starts on Feb. 20 at 10 pm with Crystal Youth. No cover charge.

* LASER CAT AT THE YARDS: If you're near 3rd and Tingey this weekend and are wondering about the lasers, music, and cries of "Pew! Pew!" emanating from the old Building 170, it's Laser Cat, being presented by the Washington Project for the Arts. The free tickets appear to be gone for the Friday/Saturday night sessions (oops), but you can still RSVP to Laser Cat Kids on Saturday, Feb. 21 from noon to 2 pm. There will be cat-ear making, balloon and glitter tattoo artists, the inevitable face painting, and of course, a huge freaking feline.

* SECURITY EXERCISES: From Feb. 2 to Feb. 13, naval bases and installations in the DC area will be conducting an annual security training and readiness exercise, dubbed SOLID CURTAIN-CITADEL SHIELD 2015. "Measures have been taken to minimize disruptions to normal base operations, but there may be times when the exercise causes increased traffic around bases or delays in base access. Area residents may also see increased security activity associated with the exercise."

* BLOOD DRIVE: There is a community blood drive on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 10 am to 4 pm. The truck will be parked outside of Lot 38 Espresso at 2nd and L streets, SE, and Lot 38 is offering a free drink for each donor. Reservations encouraged but not required. Read more here about Davon and Kai, the young residents whose need for blood products inspired the event.

* NO MORE LOT P: A season ticket holder was informed by the Nationals that Lot P--the garage below 1015 Half Street--has been dropped from the lineup of parking lots available to season ticket holders. With CBS Radio and the National Labor Relations Board preparing to move into the building (and with Bonchon in preparations to open in the ground floor), it's perhaps not a surprise that there may not be quite so many spaces available in the building anymore. But at least a a surface lot should reappear at 1st and N (the old Spooky Building 213 site) in the coming months after being out-of-circulation last year.

The pre- and post-game festivities two blocks east of the ballpark have expanded somewhat since the initial announcement a few days ago. This is all free, open to both ticket holders and schlubs, and is the work of the Capitol Riverfront BID:

Saturday, Oct. 4:

The Natitude outside the ballpark had already started ramping up over the past few weeks, as evidenced here, but no doubt there will be much more to come before Friday's opening game of the National League Division Series.

After my jaw came up off the floor, I raced down to get this batch of "before" photos of the ballpark's footprint and immediate surroundings. A lot of my all-time favorite shots are in this lineup, including the one at left, of Half and M.

While there were plenty of plans for the neighborhood already in the pipeline, the jolt that this provided changed the trajectory of the area's redevelopment from a somewhat leisurely pace to a rocket blasting off. And it certainly changed my life.

See the rest here.