in brief

Walk for the Animals, Neighborhood Day Parade

Arlington will celebrate its 12th annual Neighborhood Day on Saturday, featuring a parade, a fundraising walk, community-service projects, yard sales, fitness fairs and open houses.

The Walk for the Animals, to raise money for homeless animals, begins at 8:30 a.m. Last year, more than 500 walkers and 300 dogs helped raised more than $82,000. The three-mile walk and one-mile stroll begin and end at Bluemont Park.

The Neighborhood Day parade starts at 1 p.m. at Courthouse Square, continuing down Wilson Boulevard to Clarendon. Among those with floats will be the Yorktown Marching Band, Swanson and Thomas Jefferson middle schools, the Fort Myer Fife and Drums and the Straight Eights Car Club.

For additional events, visit http://www.arlingtonva.us/Portals/Topics/NeighborhoodDayMain.aspx.

Eco-City Summit Convenes at T.C. Williams

Alexandria will host the Eco-City Summit at T.C. Williams High on Sunday, allowing residents to give input and feedback on the city's draft Eco-City Charter and to help create a draft environmental action plan.

Mayor Bob Harvey of Waitakere, New Zealand, a pioneer in environmental awareness and sustainability, will be the keynote speaker. Local officials, businesses and civic groups also will take part. The meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. and end about 2:30 p.m.

The City Council charged the city's environmental policy commission in January 2007 with developing an environmental planning process. City officials, along with the Virginia Tech Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and other groups, have been working on the eco-city initiative, which will be forwarded for consideration by the City Council this year.

Battle of the Boulevard, Run Strictly in Arlington

The Battle of the Boulevard, the only large-scale long-distance road race entirely in Arlington County, returns for its second annual 10K race at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The event is for runners of all ages. Those who prefer to walk can join the 2K Walk. All race proceeds will be donated to the National Kidney Foundation-National Capital Region and the YMCA Arlington.

The 10K race and 2K course both begin and end by the Clarendon Metro station at North Highland Street and Wilson Boulevard. Information and a downloadable registration form are available at http://www.battleoftheboulevard.com.

Lunch Concerts Feature Local, Visiting Ensembles

Alexandria will again sponsor the "Lunch Bunch" concerts at Market Square (301 King St.) this month, with performances by choirs and other groups from local and visiting schools.

The free concerts, which begin at 12:15 p.m., are scheduled for today, Wednesday, May 16, May 23 and May 29. The schedule is available at http://alexandriava.gov/news_display.aspx?id=12512.

Alexandria Named An Ambassador City

Alexandria has been named one of six Ambassador Cities for 2008 by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Realtors, in recognition of the city's efforts to provide home-ownership education for low- and moderate-income residents and for its foreclosure-prevention initiative.

Other cities recognized were Richmond; Asheville, N.C.; Allentown, Pa.; Bowling Green, Ky.; and Irvine, Calif. The mayors' and Realtors' groups, through the Council on the New American City, launched the Ambassador for Cities program five years ago to encourage partnerships to promote affordable housing and home ownership.

Congressional Primaries' Registration Date Nears

The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday to register to vote in the June 10 Democratic and Republican primaries for the District 9 U.S. House seat.

Alexandria residents can download applications at http://www.alexandriavoter.org. Arlington residents can find information at http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/VoterRegistration.

Absentee voting for the primaries also begins Monday. Incumbent Rep. James P. Moran Jr. is being challenged by Matthew T. Famiglietti in the Democratic primary. Mark W. Ellmore and Amit K. Singh are running for the Republican nomination.