In a letter issued last month to the National Parks Service, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) asked for “attention to a serious neglect” for the 73-year-old D.C. World War I Memorial, located on the Mall. In response, NPS officials announced last week that they had included more than a half-million dollars in the fiscal 2006 budget for maintenance and repairs for the aging monument. [IMGCAP(1)]

Terry Carlton, the park service’s national capital regional director, also wrote that $100,000 is available this year for upgrading the memorial. He said plans are currently under way to install new signs around the structure to give visitors a better understanding of the purpose and history of the monument.

— John McArdle