Baseball again on track to make D.C. home.
After a series of "on-again, off-again" manuevers that more closely resembled the high school dating scene than governance of the nation's capital, city officials have struck a new deal that would bring the Montreal Expos to Washington and build a new stadium along the Anacostia River. As of yesterday morning, city council chairperson, Linda Cropp, had all but killed the deal by enacting legislation that required 50% of stadium costs to be covered by private sources. Major League Baseball officials rejected the proposal because it deviated from the original agreement signed by Mayor Anthony Williams. The new deal, agreed upon late last night, still requires 50% private funding, but Chairman Cropp agreed to remove the legislative language killing the deal without those funds in place. "The hard work we have done has come to a positive conclusion," Mrs. Cropp said. "We went a long way to reduce the risk and cost of this project to the District of Columbia." Mayor Williams, who had previously criticized Cropp publically for ruining the city's chances to land a baseball team, said, "I applaud the chairman for reducing the cost to the city and stimulating additional investment in the city." The Expos will play in a rennovated stadium in the city this coming season and move into the new waterfront stadium soon thereafter.
Thanks to Peter Buryk
FULL STORY: District strikes stadium deal

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie