Capital Offense

When my niece and a friend of hers visited Washington recently, they spent most of their time shopping. I had to lay down the law. “You must visit the National Mall,” I told them.

“Oh, goody,” responded Alysia, who is 15. “Another shopping mall.”

Actually, she’s not too far off the mark. Last week, the National Park Service demonstrated that the long-standing rules prohibiting commercial marketing on the Mall—the 146 acres of parkland commissioned by George Washington that is home to some of our nation’s most treasured monuments—do not apply to certain events.