The National Park Service, which drew criticism from the mayor of Washington, D.C., for how it handled permits for last week's events that led to a riot on the U.S. Capitol, on Monday announced it was suspending tours of the Washington Monument and might implement additional security measures leading up to and after President-elect Biden's inauguration on January 20.

References to national parks in mass media can be surprising.

“How we treat our land, how we build upon it, how we act toward our air and water, will in the long run tell what kind of people we really are.” These words, spoken by philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller, reflect the passion that philanthropists large and small exhibit when they invest in the National Park System. Whether the Congress as a whole embraces that passion remains to be seen.

Repairs to the elevator at the Washington Monument are taking longer than expected, with officials not expecting it to be up and running before mid-September. Down the road, a nine-month closure of the iconic Washington, D.C., destination is expected to allow for modernization of the elevator.