In a press release just sent out by the Nationals, the team announced partnerships with 10 local food vendors for the ballpark. They are: Ben's Chili Bowl, Boardwalk Fries, Southwest's own Cantina Marina, Kosher Sports, Krazee Ice, Hard Times Cafe, La Piccola Gelateria, Mayorga Coffee, Noah's Pretzels, and Red Hot & Blue. (A partnership with Gifford's Ice Cream was announced a few weeks ago.) Read the release for details on the offerings of each vendor.

The rumors have abounded for many months that Onyx on First would be scrapping its original configuration as a condo building. As recently as November I couldn't get co-developer Faison to comment, but in today's WBJ/On Site piece (subscribers only) on the residential market in Near Southeast, there's the following: "But Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund and its partner, Faison, converted the project to apartments eight months ago, says Don Deutsch, Faison's senior managing director. Those apartments will be available for leasing in September."

I believe it's only available to subscribers, but if you've got any way to get your hands on this week's Washington Business Journal, you'll probably want to see the quarterly magazine "On Site" that's included--seven stories on development around the ballpark, as well as a big map showing all the plans over the next few years (what a great idea!). Stories on Monument Realty and on the plans for The Yards, an interview with Michael Stevens of the BID ("Preaching Patience in Washington Nationals' New Neighborhood"), a piece highlighting how residential developers are feeling bullish about the area, and even a short profile of some pesky neighborhood blogger who's been tracking the area since 2003. I haven't read all the stories yet (it's gonna take a while!), so if I find some nuggets that I haven't covered here in the past, I'll post them.

As the clock ticks toward Opening Day (38 days away!), it's normal to be wondering about the status of some of the other projects near the ballpark. I've just gotten an update from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development on Diamond Teague Park, the planned public plaza with water taxi piers on the banks of the Anacostia just across from the stadium's grand staircase at First and Potomac. The design of the park is being finalized, but you can see recent site maps and renderings on my project page (there are also links to enlarged versions of those images for better viewing).

My Ballpark and Beyond column in today's District Extra of the Post covers last week's release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for South Capitol Street, the impending closure of Metro's Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M, tonight's zoning hearing on allowing additional temporary surface parking lots in Southwest, and a reminder about today's ballpark job fair.

* City Paper points us to a new blog by the WashTimes tracking all the news surrounding the Pope's April visit to the United States. Including, of course, the April 17 mass at Nationals Park. There's also the news that a 14-foot-tall crucifix from St. Mark's Church in Hyattsville has been selected to be displayed at the stadium mass.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times takes a look at today's Examiner editorial about the full cost of Nationals Park, which the Examiner says is now reaching $759 million but which may be reached thanks to, Tim says, "a few factual errors and a misleading statement."