IN THE NEWS
An "education summit" organized by Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly to discuss problems in the D.C. school system is set for tomorrow and Saturday at the University of the District of Columbia's Van Ness campus.</br></br>Participants will include city officials, educators, parents, students and business specialists, but the program is also open to the public. Discussions will center on teacher training, dropout prevention, school safety and business participation in schools, among other things.</br></br>City officials this week launched a cleanup campaign, financed by a grant of nearly $200,000 from the U.S. Forest Service, to encourage community groups to adopt a block in their neighborhood and agree to pick up litter and care for trees in public spaces there.</br></br>Among other things, the money will be used to plant flowers in 16 city parks, two in each ward; offer urban plant-care workshops in each ward; expand curbside recycling services and plant at least 3,500 trees in the city next fall.</br></br>One month after the D.C. Council passed a law eliminating the 50 percent senior citizen homestead tax deduction for some people and trimming it for others, the lawmakers have changed the rules again.