(Updated at 10:50 p.m.) Two men in a stolen SUV led Arlington police on a rare car chase into the pedestrian-clogged streets of Old Town Alexandria.
The chase began after a lookout for a dark red SUV was broadcast from an apparent armed robbery that occurred at the Best Western on South Glebe Road around 8:00 p.m. The suspect “implied” a weapon during the robbery, according to Arlington Police spokesperson Crystal Nosal.
A Ford Explorer overturned after being struck by a black PT Cruiser at the intersection of Lee Highway and North George Mason Drive around 3:00 this afternoon. Luckily, there were no injuries reported.
Witnesses told police that the PT Cruiser drove off after the accident. It was later spotted three blocks away at 22nd and North Dinwiddie Streets. Another witness told police that a man bailed out of the heavily-damaged vehicle and ran down the street.
Owner Tracy DeBernard and daughter Holly were quietly manning their produce stand today, outside the Clarendon Metro Station.
DeBernard said she was allowed to return last week after Cooperative Extension agents from Stafford and Spotsylvania counties inspected her 400 acre farm and determined that she was growing all her own produce. Other vendors at the farmers market had alleged she was keeping prices artificially low by importing her produce from other farms.
Firefighters are on the scene of a gas leak at the Barcroft Shopping Center on the 4800 block of Columbia Pike, near Four Mile Run Drive.
We’re told the leak is in the rear of the Ginger Beef Chinese Food restaurant. The store is staying open for now, the manager said. A crew from Washington Gas is on the way.
Arlington’s unemployment rate is holding at a low 4.3 percent.
Employment figures just released for June show that total employment in Arlington increased from 134,010 in May to 134,579 in June. But at the same time the civilian labor force increased from 140,041 to 140,617. That produces a 4.3 percent unemployment rate for both months.
They have similar names, similar URLs, similar articles, and a similar layout. But Shirlington Village Blog and Shirlington Village Blogspot are, in fact, at war with each other, at least on the masthead.
Check out the dueling mottos for each.
Vintage Crystal is back with the same Latin flavor as last year. The fourth annual festival will feature wine and tequila tastings, all-you-can-eat tapas from more than 20 local restaurants, Latin American music and salsa dancing.
Tickets are $20 and come with a complimentary wine glass.
Cicadas Are Back — It’s not the swarm of 2004, but there are a few cicadas around this summer. This one was spotted on a window screen in Pentagon City.
Breast-Feeding Mix-up at Virginia Hospital Center — In January, a newborn went missing in Arlington’s Virginia Hospital Center. The child’s mother eventually found him being breast-fed by another woman — the result of a hospital mix-up. The Washington Post reports that the incident has given rise to questions about the frequency of such incidents and the possibility that the baby could be harmed as a result.
