The Smithsonian Institution’s carousel is back open for business Friday after being closed for nearly three years for restoration and refurbishments.

Brightly painted ponies have been going round and round, delighting children, for centuries. But the joys they bring haven’t always been accessible to everyone.

The ribbon-cutting at the Smithsonian National Carousel nodded to this fact.

The first to ride the reopened carousel was a group of African American adults who arrived from Baltimore. In the 1960s, when many of them were kids, they were among the first to desegregate the carousel when it was located at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park outside of Baltimore.

“My family, we used to go there all the time once they let us in,” said Janice Chance, who was 13 when she first rode the carousel in 1966. Chance’s son was a Marine who died in Afghanistan in 2008. She said to have the carousel back on the National Mall means a lot to her and the many others who fought for “the freedoms of this country.”

“We are together, we’re having fun, but we remember the struggle and how we got here,” said Chance.

Desegregating Gwynn Oak Amusement Park took several years of protests by Black and white activists: It was finally integrated on Aug. 28, 1963, the same day that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr gave his “I Have A Dream” speech on the National Mall.

“So while that was occurring in D.C., quiet activism with little people was occurring on the same date,” said Sharon Langley, who was the first Black child to ride the carousel that day. She was just 11 months old. Years later, Langley co-wrote a children’s book about it. This week, she rode again, on a horse called Freedom Rider — after the desegregating riders. She believes it’s fitting the carousel should be “with all the monuments of freedom… This is a monument for children to come and enjoy, ride and experience the pursuit of happiness.”

After Hurricane Agnes devastated Gwynn Oak’s rides and buildings, the park closed in 1973 and the carousel went into storage. Shortly after, then Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley decided it was time to replace the aging carousel on the National Mall. “As Ripley’s original carousel began to show its age, the Smithsonian began looking for a suitably grand replacement,” Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III wrote in Smithsonian Magazine. “Gwynn Oak’s hand-carved beauty, an emblem of the struggle for civil rights, fit the bill.”

With 54 horses, a sea monster, a pig and two chariots, the restored Gwynn Oak carousel stands again in front of the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building.

Its Civil Rights history might’ve been lost on the kids rushing onto the platform to mount their favorite horses at the ribbon-cutting this week. Seven-year-old Lucas Platt from Virginia gives the carousel high marks. “It’s actually one of the fastest carousels I’ve really been on,” he said. “Usually they’re much slower than this. It’s great. I really like it. Nothing bad about it.”

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San Francisco drivers may soon experience even worse traffic than they did last weekend when a part of Interstate 80 shut down. This weekend, Highway 1 northbound from Sloat to Lincoln in the Sunset District will be closed starting Friday morning.

Muriel Scala has lived on 19th Avenue for over 20 years. She’s lost count of the endless construction projects in front of her home.

“It’s like having a mini earthquake every day in your house,” Scala said.

Scala is not looking forward to CalTrans repaving 19th Avenue. Starting at 7 a.m. Friday, the northbound lanes will be closed until Monday, with two additional closures over the next month to fix all 6 lanes of Highway 1.

“I’m frustrated because I don’t see an end result,” she said. “It keeps happening.”

Some other neighbors on 19th Avenue shared the same frustrations.

“It’s the price I pay to live on 19th Avenue, honestly,” Bailey Zuk said.

Zuk is worried about the parking and traffic. She has made plans to take public transportation all weekend. She doesn’t like the disruption and noise but knows 19th Avenue has to be fixed.

“Which is obviously really needed, like there are so many potholes,” Zuk said. “I drive up and down 19th Avenue every day and there’s so many potholes already.”

Some of the businesses along the main business corridor on Irving Street say they didn’t know that the closure was even happening. Jet Seeto with The Mochi Donut Shop just heard about it yesterday.

“We are the little guy in this area,” Seetos said. “We need to accept it and prepare ourselves.”

Seeto says she’s preparing to drum up more business by doing online orders, even offering delivery if people are reluctant to drive. She’s trying to stay positive about the 19th Avenue closure.

“It is what it is because it affects anyway,” Seeto said. “If I think I worry too much, it doesn’t help me.”

And residents say they will do the same.. as they brace themselves for 3 weekends of road work.

“It’s not going to stop doing what I need to do,” Scala said. “I’m going to keep doing it.”

“They’re all bad defenders.”

Jaden McDaniels called out Denver’s stars after Game 2, and the Wolves proved him right by bulldozing the Nuggets 113-96 in Game 3 Thursday night in Minneapolis

Minnesota has taken control of the series with a 2-1 lead, and Game 4 is in Minneapolis on Saturday night. With another win, the Wolves would lead the series 3-1 and put the Nuggets in a must-win situation entering Game 5 on Monday in Denver.

The Wolves attacked the paint and made Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and anyone else McDaniels trash-talked after Game 2, from start to finish. Minnesota held Denver to a season low 11 points in the first quarter, built a 61-39 lead at the half, and led by as many as 27 points in the second half.

The damage was done despite Anthony Edwards battling foul trouble, scoring only 17 points in 24 minutes. Julius Randle also struggled to score, finishing with 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting. Naz Reid had just five points in 17 minutes off the bench.

So who killed Denver? The others.

Ayo Dosunmu was a beast with 25 points off the bench, most of his damage coming in transition or simply blowing by Denver’s defense for layups in the half-court.

McDaniels was a monster, capping his big night with a three-pointer and then a monster jam in traffic late in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on the blowout. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, knocking down 9 of 13 shots, all while playing relentless defense. Prime Video analyst and NBA Hall of Fame inductee Dwyane Wade said McDaniels’ defense was so tight that it was like he was wearing Murray’s jersey.

The Wolves scored 68 points in the paint, compared to 34 for the Nuggets.

Rudy Gobert and Donte DiVincenzo were also great. Gobert finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. DiVincenzo had 15 points, seven assists, and four steals.

Jokic couldn’t buy a bucket, largely because Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, dominated him. The three-time MVP finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds, but he shot just 7 of 26 from the field.

Murray also struggled, scoring 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

The Nuggets shot 34.1%, their worst shooting game of the entire season.

Up next: Game 4, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.