Crime Report: Mom Would Not Approve Edition
Early this morning, police responded to the small shopping center at the corner of Columbia Pike and Glebe Road for a report of men throwing rocks through the front windows of several stores. One of the two stores targeted was Mom’s Pizza Restaurant. From this week’s Arlington County crime report:
MISSILE INTO AN OCCUPIED DWELLING (SERIES) 09/01/10, 3200 block of Columbia Pike. On September 1 at 1:45 am, two subjects threw rocks into two occupied businesses, and two unoccupied businesses. Guillermo Rodriguez, 29, of Washington D.C., was charged with Drunk in Public. He was held until sober. Harris Rivera, 30, of Washington D.C., was charged with two counts of Throwing a Missile into an Occupied Dwelling and three counts of Destruction of Property. He was held without bond.
The rest of the crime report, after the jump.
Demolition Rubble Makes Yorktown High Look Like a War Zone
Construction crews have been working feverishly over the summer to get the new Yorktown High School ready for students, while tearing down remnants of the old Yorktown High building. With one week left until students return and with a field full of rubble left to clear, it looks like the work may be coming down to the wire.
Check out the photos below, which show heavy equipment picking through huge piles of debris as well as a worker hosing down the rubble, apparently to keep dust down. Also below: a photo of the old high school, just before the demolition.
Let’s Crash Scott McCaffrey’s Party
Sun Gazette editor Scott McCaffrey has been waiting for tonight for months.
According to his blog, McCaffrey has been waiting six months to cover something that’s “likely to happen tonight.” But he’s not saying what it is, so as to not alert “what passes for the competition.”
Since we have some of the smartest readers in town — witness the corrections that go into the comments section the minute we get something wrong — I figured it would be a piece of cake to figure out what story Scotty has been salivating over.
McCaffrey posted an link to a Rod Stewart video to symbolize his infatuation with tonight’s could-be story-of-the-century. In a case of blatant one-upsmanship, we’re posting our own music link: this much more entertaining-with-the-sound-down (you’re at work, right?) Jennifer Lopez video.
So, dear readers, help us out. What’s happening tonight that Scotty doesn’t want us to know about?
Just don’t tell him we’re asking. It’s better if Scotty doesn’t know.
Crystal City Trying to Attract a Grocery Store
Update at 12:55 p.m. — We’re told development at the space at 2121 Crystal Drive, referenced here, is a long-range goal and not set in stone. Vornado’s current and on-going effort to attract a grocery store is focused on existing spaces in Crystal City.
Crystal City has been without a grocery store for more than five years. But now, as developer Vornado works to attract more residents to the area, it’s also working hard to attract a new grocery store.
The Safeway that had served as Crystal City’s lone grocery store closed its doors in March 2005. The store had been an anchor tenant of the Crystal City Underground for 38 years, but decided to close when surface parking was eliminated as part of the revitalization of Crystal City.
Now, we hear, Vornado is touting the success of Crystal City’s Freshfarm market in an effort to attract a new grocery store. We don’t know much about the closely-held discussions with retailers, but we do know a likely site for a future store — the park in front of 2121 Crystal Drive.
The park is actually owned by Vornado, which wants to liven up the block by replacing the open space with low-rise retail and, possibly, condos. In order to do so, however, Vornado would need to convince the county board that the open space being developed would be replaced by more open space elsewhere in Crystal City.
We talked to Crystal City Business Improvement District President Angela Fox and County Board Vice-Chairman Chris Zimmerman about the potential development earlier this summer. Check out the video from that lively discussion (don’t worry, it’s short) after the jump.
Arlington Resident Who Survived Katrina Recounts Rescue
Five years ago, Suzette Walker was stranded inside her empty apartment building in New Orleans. Flood waters caused by Hurricane Katrina had surrounded the building. For eight days, Walker survived in an apartment hallway, until she was finally rescued via helicopter.
Now a “proud Arlington resident,” Walker recounted her survival story for the county-run Arlington Virginia Network. She recalled how she had a suitcase packed when Katrina hit, because she had been booked to go on a Carnival Cruise later that week. She also recounted how the kindness of a stranger helped her survive the ordeal.
Walker made it to Arlington by accident. She was on a flight to Houston to stay with family when the captain announced that Texas was no longer taking refugees and that the flight was now going to Washington, DC. Arlington, Walker said, put out the welcome mat after she arrived and she has been here ever since.
Watch the nine minute video, which includes actual footage of Walker’s helicopter rescue, below.
Morning Notes
It’s September — Start mourning the end of summer now — and get to the pool while you still can.
Man Goes Bananas in the Vegetable Aisle — Police are trying to find a man who walked into the Virginia Square Giant, spit on the vegetable display, sprayed hand lotion on a candy display, and assaulted a cashier. He’s described as a six-foot tall, 30-year-old white male with a ponytail. More from TBD.
A “Tree Tragedy” in Ballston — This is an older item that was just brought to our attention. Last month workers at Ballston Common Mall went overboard while pruning trees along the sidewalk, resulting in an incident our tipster referred to as the “Ballston Tree Massacre.” A member of a local group called the Tree Stewards apparently tried to intervene, but was ignored by the crew. The end result of the overzealous pruning: ugliness and death.
Photos from Capital Bikeshare Station Installation — The first of the 114 planned Capital Bikeshare stations was installed near the Crystal City Metro station yesterday morning. The Commuter Page Blog has photos of the installation.
Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA
