March for Life Takes to National Mall: The National Mall will be a few hundred thousand people more crowded this morning, as pro-life activists participate in the annual March for Life, reports WTOP. Large sections of the Mall will be closed to traffic, including the area between Pennsylvania Avenue and Independence Avenue from Third Street to Fifteenth Street. District officials have announced that starting at 7 a.m. they will turn on their 19-camera CCTV network to watch for any potential security threats and to better coordinate police response to the large crowds. In related news, Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick will give Mass to 20,000 teens at the Rally for Life and Youth Mass Monday at the MCI Center.

Streetcars Return to District: We complain about Metrorail and Metrobus, and now we may be given the chance to complain about the city’s streetcars. So maybe we’re a little cynical, but it is exciting to see that the District is moving forward with plans to develop streetcar lines in parts of Capitol Hill and beyond. As reports the Examiner, the city will start laying tracks along H Street NE, Benning Road NE, and through parts of Anacostia within the next year, with hopes of starting service as early as 2007 but more fully within three to five years. The last time streetcars were seen in the District was in 1962, and their return is part of a large redevelopment plan for under-served neighborhoods. In related news, the D.C. Council will consider a proposal today to direct one-half percent of the city’s sales tax to a dedicated source of funding for Metro, a move that would put the transit system one step closer to $1.5 billion in federal funds.

New Monuments Face Obstacles: Washington is well-known for recognizing the work and service of its leaders, soldiers, and civil rights activists. But for those who want to expand the tributes given, building new memorials is not an exercise for the faint of heart. The Post notes that about a dozen new monuments — everything from a memorial for Martin Luther King, Jr. to one for the victims of communist regimes — are still stuck in the planning stages, victim of the whims of unconvinced city officials, members of Congress, lack of funding, and bureaucratic hurdles. And no matter how good the cause may be, their is no fast-track alternative — after all, the newly-built World War II Memorial took 17 years to plan, propose, and finally turn to reality.

Briefly Noted: Virginia same-sex couples reaffirm vows … Mayoral candidates remain quiet on fundraising … Development increases in Prince George’s County … Five students arrested for stabbing of students from rival school.

Picture snapped by michaelstarghill.