The city has handed out 219 grants since 2012.

Repeat after us, Home Depot: the University of the District of Columbia is not in Maryland. It’s in D.C. Same goes for Howard.

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded the District a share of $3.4 billion in federal “Race to the Top” grant funds. It is the largest-ever federal investment in school reform. D.C. will share the funds with nine states, including Maryland; the exact amount that the District will receive (and what it will be used for) will be announced at a later date. The Department of Education judged applications for…

The AP has a short-on-details report on news that a program called Safe City, funded by Target and Sprint Nextel, has decided to purchase crime cameras for the Trinidad neighborhood. Trinidad will apparently receive nearly 30 privately funded crime cameras, with installation beginning in May. Presumably the Safe City cameras will be monitored the same way the MPD’s existing cameras are. On its web site, Safe City describes itself as “a community based initiative that…

In the NoMa BID’s ongoing quest to spruce up their neighborhood, they now have a $50,000 matching grant awarded by the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities for the installation of public art. They intend to use it for artwork along First Street NE, an area currently zoned for mixed-use development. The cash is through the Public Art Building Communities grant program, “which offers funds to eligible artists and nonprofit organizations for the creation and…