Midnight Showing of Twilight: Eclipse at Ballston Common Mall
“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” the latest installment of the massively popular series, will premiere at midnight tonight in theaters around the country.
The Regal Ballston Common 12 is the only theater in Arlington hosting a midnight screening, although theaters in nearby Georgetown and Potomac Yard will also be staying open late for the film.
The Twilight series mixes romantic drama with vampire vs. werewolf action for a story that seems to be irresistible to swoon-prone teenage girls and perfectly rational grown women alike.
Buster the Chihuahua Tops in Group A
With 431 votes out of 2,222 cast, Buster the Chihuahua has claimed the top spot in Group A of our Arlington’s Cutest Dog contest.
Buster’s owner says he is “very friendly” and is the “best dressed” Chihuahua in town. Also, “he loves to Hoover around the house and eat anything that is edible and sometimes non edible.”
Congratulations, Buster!
The final round of the contest will begin on Monday. Meanwhile, voting for groups B, C and D will be ending at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively.
Thank you to all our great Group A contestants. Check back for details about a reception Wylie Wagg will be hosting to honor all contest participants.
Wife of Ag Secretary to Tour Library Garden
The Arlington Central Library in Ballston has a thriving new organic vegetable garden that’s providing food to people in need via the Arlington Food Assistance Center. And now, the project’s early success has attracted the attention of community gardening advocate Christie Vilsack, wife of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Vilsack will tour the garden tomorrow morning with county board member Walter Tejada and library director Diane Kresh. During the tour of the garden’s crops, volunteers from the USDA Research Service will release spotted pink lady beetles into the garden to help control pests.
The tour will take place from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Afterward, Mrs. Vilsack and Mr. Tejada will visit a children’s storytime in the library.
One Hour Left to Vote for Arlington’s Cutest Dog Group A
For 12 adorable contestants, it all comes down to this. Only one can be guaranteed a spot in the final round and a crack at an Apple iPod and other great prizes.
With an hour left to go in the voting for Group A of our Arlington’s Cutest Dog Contest, Buster the Chihuahua has a sizable but not insurmountable lead over Sadie and Dora.
If you haven’t already, vote here.
I-66 Eastbound Blocked Before Roosevelt Bridge
Update at 1:00 p.m. — And just like that, it’s back open. It was a State Police police cruiser that was blocking the road, but we’re still not sure why.
It’s not clear what’s going on, but the eastbound lanes of I-66 are completely blocked at Lynn Street, just before the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. Traffic is backing up at the Rosslyn tunnel.
State Lawmakers Hold Prison Reform Town Hall
Is the Virginia prison system failing those with mental illnesses? Does the state need to reform its re-entry program? Those were among the topics of discussion Thursday night at a town hall meeting on prison reform, held by local Arlington delegates Adam Ebbin and Patrick Hope.
Helen Trainer of the Legal Aid Justice Center pointed to a story of an inmate who wasn’t allowed to self-medicate in his prison cell. Told to wait in the daily line at the clinic, he ultimately suffered numerous seizures and left the prison as a quadriplegic. Trainer believes the story is not an isolated incident and is indicative of the reform needed throughout the nation’s criminal justice system.
Trainer said prison employees, more often than not, falsely believe that inmates’ behavior stems from a lack of control, rather than from mental health problems. Identifying individuals with mental health issues from the point of intake and diverting them to mental health facilities could help alleviate many of the outbreaks that occur in prisons, she explained.
Scott Richeson of the Virginia Department of Corrections spoke about the department’s new emphasis on prisoner re-entry programs. He said that 13,500 people are released from Virginia’s prisons annually, but only 600-800 are paroled, making Virginia one of the country’s lowest parole-granting states. And of the 13,500 prisoners released, 28.5 percent are incarcerated again within three years.
Parking Tickets Getting More Expensive Thursday
Get ready to pay more if you’re caught parking illegally in Arlington. Parking fines will increase on Thursday.
A ticket for parking at an expired meter is going up to $35. It was previously $25.
The fine for most other parking violations will increase from $40 to $50.
The county issued more than 225,000 parking tickets last year, bringing in $7.4 million, according to the Sun Gazette. The new fines are expected to generate an additional $1.5 million per year.
Also Thursday, ART bus fares and STAR transit fares will increase.
Discussion About the Discussion
Let’s step back and take a quick breather. The past several days have gotten a little crazy on the comment sections. While I appreciate a vigorous discussion of the day’s stories, I think we need to be clear about what is and is not appropriate conduct here.
Here’s what is appropriate: Discussion of the article. Passionately arguing a relevant point. Criticizing companies, government entities or other organizations.
Here’s what’s not appropriate: Name calling. Personal attacks. Racist, homophobic, or other hate speech. Saying, without clear evidence, that someone is “cheating” in a contest. Political discussions not related to the article.
At least 95% of what has been posted to the site is perfectly appropriate. To those who have been commenting respectfully and driving the discussion — thank you. I hope you keep it up.
However, as someone who hoped this site would be a venue for a smart but respectful debate of community issues, it has been distressing to see a few inappropriate comments poisoning otherwise enlightening discussions.
Here’s a message one anonymous tipster sent to us today:
Be nice if you cleaned up the discussion on the Flatbread article. Referring to people as “dumb libs”, “hipster d-bags” isn’t appropriate. Some people may need to be taught to disagree without name calling, and objectifying others. The demeaning nature of the discussion makes me very happy I don’t live in Arlington. I appears that in general you are not very nice people.
I agree with this person’s point about name calling, but I want to prove them wrong about Arlington. So here’s what we’re going to do:
- We will press the delete button on any comment that falls under the “not appropriate” category.
- We will issue a warning to anybody who violates the rules more than once.
- If that warning is ignored, we will add you to the comment moderation list — meaning we’ll have to approve your comments before they are posted to the site.
- Also, any racist or otherwise hateful speech will be rewarded with an automatic trip to comment moderation land.
- If someone is really persistent with inappropriate comments, they will be banned.
Already, one commenter has been added to the moderation list.
To be sure, we don’t want to restrict your free speech. In fact, we like to see opposing viewpoints and the occasional crackpot theory. However, we have clearly reached a point where it’s necessary to step up enforcement of existing rules to make sure that ARLnow.com remains a place where everyone can feel free to join in on debates and make meaningful contributions to discussions.
Morning Notes: Spies Like Us
“Like a Hollywood movie” — That’s how many news reports describe the bust of an alleged Russian spy ring over the weekend. If the movie was ever produced, much of the action would be set in Arlington. Arlington is the place where three of the 11 suspects lived and were arrested. It is also the site of some intrigue on June 26, 2010. According to court documents, video surveillance cameras installed by the FBI captured one of the suspects, Mikhail Semenko, leaving an envelope containing $5,000 cash at a “drop site” in an unnamed Arlington park.
Residents Describe Arrested Neighbors as Reserved, Ordinary — Neighbors and colleagues of the three arrested Arlington residents say they never imagined that they were in the midst of alleged “secret agents.” Mikhail Semenko worked at Travel All Russia, a Russian travel agency in Lyon Park. He was fluent in four languages, drove a Mercedes S-500, and spent much of his time with his Russian-speaking girlfriend, according to a North Arlington neighbor.
Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills, meanwhile, had two young children who are now in protective custody, reports ABC 7. Zottoli and Mills each had a Russian accent, a neighbor said, but no one suspected they were part of a spy ring. They lived in the River House Apartments in Pentagon City after moving to the area from Seattle last year, according to court documents.
