Trump hotel in D.C. is vandalized

WASHINGTON >> Donald Trump’s new luxury hotel in downtown Washington has been vandalized. District of Columbia police say someone spray-painted the phrases “black lives matter” and “no justice no peace” on the front of the building on Oct. 1.

The next day the phrases were covered up with pieces of plywood.

Police spokeswoman Aquita Brown said that police have not identified any suspects. The incident occurred just after 4 p.m. Oct. 1, and police are investigating.

The Trump International Hotel opened Sept. 12. The Trump Organization won a 60-year lease from the federal government to transform the historic Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue into a hotel.

Bridge to improve access to trail

BOONE, N.C. >> Conservation groups are making it easier for people to hike the Mountains-to-Sea Trail across North Carolina.

A new foot 80-foot bridge opens Monday near Boone and allows hikers to avoid wading across Boone Fork Creek in knee-deep water. The bridge will improve access to one of just three backpack camping areas along the entire Blue Ridge Parkway.

Federal funds administered by the state parks division and a foundation grant to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation paid for the $250,000 bridge.

Walden Pond center goes green

CONCORD, Mass. >> If Henry David Thoreau were around today, Massachusetts officials think he’d probably be happy with the new visitor center at Walden Pond.

The 5,680-square-foot facility powered by renewable solar energy officially opened its doors to the public Sept. 27, part of a recent $7.2 million upgrade of the Walden Pond State Reservation.

Thoreau’s observations on nature while living for more than two years in an isolated cabin near the pond were published in his famous 1854 book, “Walden; or Life in the Woods.”

The new visitor center includes interactive exhibits about Thoreau, who is often viewed as a founder of the modern environmental movement. For more information visit its website at bit.ly/2dgNpUC

Roughly half a million people from around the world visit Walden Pond each year.