lobbying. s a big deal because everything that goes on, and there's lots of other stuff we've added. they have certainly embraced us, and they are really taking up all of the baseball stuff we have to offer. so, yes, it's been a fantastic week. >> would you consider d.c. a baseball town, a football town or a hockey town? >> it's a sports town, but it is a baseball town. we have a long history here in d.c. and the nationals have

added to that history, presenting a great team on the fid thanks to the current ownership. and they've got some great nd players,here's going to be three playing in the all-star game tuesda >> okay, beyond the impact major league has had on the host city, you team up with the host team to donate more than $5 million to community projects. tell us about some of them. and a lot of this started on tuesday.or >> that isct. so with the club as we work with them to select what we call legacy projects and over 21 years or so we've donated more than $81 million from legacy projec to these 21 all-star games. and the clubs select projects that are important to them that are impactful to the community. and the nationals selected really fanstic projects that are going to benefit children, families, military. there was a mobile dental unit, a boys a girls renovation that ill happen on tuesday, a uso

facility that could not accept donations that neededer refrion or heating. we've done that. that's the seven different projects that were selected by the nationals. so it really hits the gambit. and some homeless families, 37 homeless families abe fitting children going to have a computer room, a teen center, just a full facility. so all those programs the nationals hav selected have been a big benefit. >> so you give the teams the opportunity to choose the project? >> correct. in many they go through it's just that area. and they've selectedrojects one in prince george's county and one in tvirginia, andy

academy and weuth added to that youth academy and serves children here, boys and girls who want to learn batting and softball and spread thed wealth arof you will. >> doing a lot of great work >> they are. and we couldn't have selected a better partner. >> we're goingnu to con our talk about all-star week here in the nation's capitol. be right back in a minute. z2vpcz z16fz

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we're talking about all-star week here in the dmz, and there are lots of activities taking place. we've had an entire week practically of activities, and there's moreto starting y, this morning as a matter of fact, this sunday. >> so sday we've got in the ballpark events that start today. we've got the futures game, celebrity softball game,

celebrity dj. >> shaq's in town. >> he will. 'll be the dj for that event. we've got other events going on -- >> i'm sorry, tell me where that takes place. >> the celebrity softball game? we'll have it at the all-star park. and t future game features players who will end up playing in t major league. >> you actually were here and i wanted to mention at ben's chili bo for the dedication of the mural thisweek. we dedicated a mural from a local artist who did a mur dedicated to two pioneer players -- and josh gibson who's a hall of famer.

so we unveiled that and next month eventually we'll be celebrating 60 years. >> and what are some of the events coming up on monday. >> monday fans can also go to play bowl park and it's we've got fan fest. they can still go to fan fest da sunday, m and tuesday. on monday we'll be dedicating a baseball field in virginia, and tuesday we'll be dedicating a boys and girls renovation. and on tuesday the boys and girls club youth of the year will be bringing them out to art the game. and also another one of our charitable partners will have a stand up tor can moment. monday prior to the game we work very closely honoring the legend of jackie robinson. we've got contests where kids write essays how they use

jacky's values to overcome obstacles in their life. and the winner will be honored monday beforee the h run derby. >> how can viewers help with the undation? >> they can go to jackierobinson.org. we support more scholars than any other organization, and also they're be opening up a museum next year as well. jackie robin'segacy is truly one of the most important moments inhistory, if not this country's history. >>guajor l baseball we think of games during the season. but clearly the work of the league is done in these communities and communities around thell country yearlong. >> absolutely. and not just in major leaguell base but the stuff we do as part of the legacy program will resonate beyond once w leavetown. they will continue to support

these communities.n the washing nationals, this mobile dental unit we unveiled a few days ago will serve children in wards 6 and 7. but that area really needs dental f assistance kids and families who don't have the means. this is 21 years of legacy prstects. the f legacy projects done back in cleveland some 21 years ago. 21se five playgrounds we did years ago where still vital and important to the community. so we're proud of the projects the nationals selected are going to benefit the community for years to come. >> all right, so to get more information about all-star week? >> go to mlb.com. you can find o what's goi on, what's going on for free, where you can get ticket if there are tickets available all the way through for fan fest. we expectha t 100,000 come

through the doorof fanest. bring the kids, bring the families. you can learn about the history of baseball here in the d.c. it's got all of our awards, trophies, lots of stuff. they'll enjoy fan fest which is across from the ballpark and free to everyone. >> baseball, heaven on eah. >> that's what it is. >> very well said. tom brazwell. thanks for joining us and bringing all this excitementth dmz. >> thank you. >> and coming up next we're going to talk about the year of the anacostia. stay wh us.

2018 has been designated the year of anacostia. so here now to tell us exactly what that means our adam ortiz who is director ofe pri george's county department of environment. and steve wolf is the director of the department of environmental programs for the

metropolitan washington council of government. welcome all of you. so tell us why you call it the year of the anacostia? >> well, i think the first ason is we're very fortunate to have this being the 10th year, the centennial anniversary of the acostia park. and in addition to that there are manyth exciting things that are happening during this year in 2018. we have the bicentennial of frederickdouglas' birth. we have the completion of theac tia river tunnel, which is majorto increase and make improvements to the anacostia river. the work that the national park service and district department of energy and environment are doing to cleanup the rive work towards that goal. all of this is happening during this year. so we thought what a great way to honor it under this year of the anacostia umbrella. steve, the tunnel project is huge. one of the biggest construction pr cects in they since the

1900s. and that portion, thatork is actually already paying benets. >> yes, the tunnel has been in operation for a little over two and a half months and wave already capped about 1.4 billion gallons out of picks up a lot of trash we don't li and tons of trash that's been pt out of the river by putting the tunnels in place. so we're already seeing the benefits. >> most people think of anacostia as d.c.'s river, but that's not the case. the river actually starts in maryland. yeah, it's set in from princeor 's and montgomery county. and the vast majority of the warshed is in maryland. it's associated with washington, d.c., but it's actually a regional asset. there's a lot of folks who have a creek running in their

backyard that's actually part of the watershed. >> many people don't know wheth anacostia watershed is, so explain that for us. we haveributaries and creeks that in prince george's and montgomery county, a all of these feed into the river. so it's really important that when we think about the watershed we think about the role that many of us have to play in ensuring that it's healthy and vibrant so that we can go out andnjoy the river and parklands that are adjacent, all apart of this anacostia watershed. >> what's the biggest challen now you'r facing? is it cleaning up the water, cleaning up the soil or cleaning up the parklands around the waters or waterwaysr all of it? >> i think it's pieces of all of the dt is working on it. cleaning up the sedimrts in the rind will be coming out with its report. we have a lot of different properties along the ways that e being cleaned up.

we along with theil cou work with others to do tree planting p the level of pollution that can flow into the river down. sewe really needo work onll of it, and it's a partnership that takes place with the localities, private groups, with the park service and many of us. >> adam, prince george'sngounty is d a lot of wor to help. one of the things the county is doing is controlling, cracking down on litter. how are you doing that? >> well, there's a f different ways. one, with technology we're able to track every single litter complaint thatomes i we're able to map it and track. and every time it's picked up by a works crew or volunteer. so we have an app where people a can take picture of it and we can make sure we're cleaning up where it occurs. >> so you're saying whenever someone complains anywhere in the county you make a record of

that and it's online? >> it's in our internal rvers, but we're working on a map that's public facing so peoe can see what's happening in their ownd backyard there we're actually cleaning it up. with technology we're able to see where the biggest hot spots are and make sure we have volunteers cleaning it up or we have receptacles forcy ing. >> and trash in maryland is very important. because what you might collect flows south? >> most of theco aia is in maryland and prince geor's county, so even styrofoamhas banded that's in there could end up in front of that stadium or at the wharf if we're not doing our part in maryland.

right now we're finishing the co tletion of twosh traps that are going to sit in the river and capture trash before gets down to d.c. >> all right, it's the year of anacostia. we'll continue our talisright after

welcome back. it's the year of the anacostia and we'realking about allf the wonderful ways the anacostia is being cleaned up so people n use, fish again and eventually swim again. and some of those things are actually happening. >> a lot of things, canoeing, kayaking. and we learn a role everyone has to play to ensure the spaces are clean forveone to enjoy and the way clean parks plan

terms of wildlife habitat. so we want the entire ecosystem to be healthy. we want people to come and enjoy and the wildlife toen come and y. and we that in both recreational and funit activs and park services that the park provides. >> you're still waitsing for osprey, right? but you're seeing fish now in the river that we thought were gone? >> there's a really wide range of wildlife. no one wou really think that there's otters in thenacostia watershed. you think of that someplace else.ha and w the american eagles the have come back to watershed. we have flying squirrels in the watershed and little thing like salamanders and muscles. so there are arod 500 species found in the watershed that coexist with 800,000 people we

were talking about, and it's our goal to make sure everything can exist together well. >> and you told me one of the goals is to get people to g back to the river, to get them to go there? >> right. and i'll say something bold. i think the anacostia is re beer in the region. it's the only river that's served by every metro line. so y t can get a tributary or a trail on any metro line. you can hike, you can bike. and unlike the potomac a lot of the anacostia especially in the district is srounded by trees. so you're like in the middle of a forest.et it's comy beautiful, and it's an asset that's right in our backyard that a lot of people aren't quitef aware yet. so come to the river even if you're just having a krbecue. >> t bit about the restoration partnership and about thell partnership you have.

i mean this won't work if you all are not workingto ther. >> absolutely. and we have the great benefit of working along with the council's government, the metropolitan council -- the metropolitan washington council of government which includes local jurisdictions, federal agencies, and close partnership with some of our n-for-profit organizations like the anacostia watershed society, the anacostia river keeper. because we have the longer term more cplicated projects we have to work on like the anacostia river sedimentpr ect. but we have things we each could be doing today like trash cleanups along the river, at ednal opportunities for school children as well as the general public. because we all hav a responsibility to ensure that these places are healthy.an so for that restoration to be successful and sustainable we need start now and engage everyone in that. >> what do we need to?

ou>> there's ae places if you're looking for opportunities you can go and find them on the year of anacostia website. there's a calendar that lists all these different activities going on in the watershed. so you can had come and enjoy these activities or w if yt to join a cleanup, they'll be listed we have the anacostia website that has a lot of maps and information about how we're doing. you can find many, manie opportun to come to the river and enjoy the space through these tools. >> okay, we're out of time but i wish we had more time. adam tzortiz, steve wnd tara, thank you so much. i want to get that number for reporting litter. because if weepall andt it, you'll put it online and track a it and clean it u it won't get into the river. no throwing trash out of the c window when you're driving down the window. go to nbcwashington.com and click on community.

i'm pat lawson muse. thanks for watching. thanks for the ride-along, captain! i've never been in one of tse before, even though geico has been- ohhh. ooh ohh here we go,

here we go. you got cut off there, at were you saying? oooo. oh no no. maybe that geico has been proudly serving the military for over 75 years? is that at you wanted to say? mhmmm. i have to say, you seemed a lot chattier on tv. s mhmmm. geico. proudlyving the military for over 75 years. you ok back there, buddy? z2u2gz z16fz

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