Photo by r.bornstein.

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to July. Ready for another day of inspiring weather? Let’s get right to the news:

SYEP Conservation Corps Targeted By Thieves: The latest chapter in the continued mismanagement of the Summer Youth Employment Program: Jason Cherkis pens a piece on the unfortunate side effects of the compulsory t-shirts which teenage participants in the Mayor’s Conservation Corps wore in 2009 — that is, they made kids easy targets for muggers. Cherkis obtained several emails from D.C. officials which confirmed that several SYEP youth were victims of robbery, occasionally violent, after criminals figured out that the blue-clad Corps workers would be carrying money on SYEP paydays. This year, teens will be warned to not carry SYEP debit cards on payday, and though Corps workers will continue to wear uniforms while working, youth will be allowed to change into their normal clothes on payday to help curb the problem.

Some Worth A Lot More Than Others: At Housing Complex, Lydia DePillis checks out yesterday’s Department of Housing and Community Development unfit and un-built property auction and concludes, “[w]hile investors are willing to pay top dollar for eyesores in good neighborhoods, there’s still little interest in marginal markets on the eastern end of the city.” Case in point: an empty lot at 1334 R Street NW sold for $590,000; an empty lot on Douglas Street NE sold for $20,000.

Same Old, Same Old: In the Post, Robert McCartney takes a turn at the old “stalled development around Nats Park” story, complete with the requisite baseball framing. McCartney does a decent job of accurately nailing the reason for the slowdown in the neighborhood’s revival — but one wonders whether we really needed an update on a situation that’s been fairly stagnant for some time.

Briefly Noted: Police investigating early morning shooting at North Capitol and L Streets…Oxon Hill teen expected to survive after being shot in face…Fatal car crash in College Park last night…Stretch of Connecticut Avenue closed this morning…”Little Red Building” to be demolished next Tuesday…John Wall chooses number 2…Puppies for everyone!