Getting your car towed is not fun. But that doesn’t mean you have to take it out on the tow truck driver. From this week’s Arlington County crime report:
ASSAULT AND BATTERY-ARREST 09/15/10, 600 block of S. Carlin Springs Road. On September 15 at 2:20 pm, a man assaulted a tow truck driver. Jose Merida, 44, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery. He was held on a $4,000 bond.
From our Twitter feed:
Police just used fire extinguishers to put out a vehicle fire near Crystal Drive and 18th Street. Anybody get photos?
“I always thought one’s car lost value from the time it left the dealer,” a frustrated resident told us in an email. “Not sure how widespread this is, but it’s creating buzz in our neighborhood.”
Actually, it’s fairly widespread. Arlington County bases its vehicle assessments on the National Automobile Dealers Association’s yearly list of vehicle values, which comes out every January 1. This year, the values of many used SUVs, crossover vehicles, trucks and vans went up.
In no particular order:
The 2010 ABBIES — The annual Arlington business awards ceremony is looking for nominations. If there’s a local business that you think is doing a bang-up job, give them props by filling out a nomination form.
The firm that operates the underground shops at 2100 Crystal Drive wants to take 5,661 square feet of open retail space and convert it to office and storage use. But that would come at the expense of a vacant 17,919 square foot space that, until 2005, housed a Safeway store. The landlord has been trying to find another grocery tenant, but has been fighting a strong headwind caused by the weak national economy and the imminent departure of 13,000 jobs from the Crystal City area.
Essentially, the request to convert vacant space to an office use is a white flag — an admission that after five years of trying to market the space to grocery stores, leasing agents have come to the conclusion that no one wants to run a 17,919 square foot grocery store in the Crystal City underground at this time. While keeping open the possibility of a smaller, Trader Joe’s-sized market, the landlord is trying to find a way — any way — to productively fill some of the excess space.
To be sure, the intersection at North Quincy Street and 9th Street in Ballston is challenging, for both cars and pedestrians. But is it dangerous?
The intersection is a two-way stop, with stop signs on 9th Street but clear sailing on Quincy. Those on foot crossing Quincy must trust that fast-moving cars are going to obey the law and yield to them in the crosswalk. Those behind the wheel on 9th Street during rush hour must play a real-life game of Frogger, dodging pedestrians and cars in their effort to make a left or cross the street.
Happy World Car Free Day — As mentioned earlier, it’s Car Free Day, the day in which car commuters are encouraged to consider alternatives to driving solo to work. Thousands of people in the DC area have signed a pledge to keep their car at home today, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. If leaving the car at home doesn’t sound fun enough on its own merits, there will be a Car Free Day party from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Capital Bikeshare station at Crystal Drive and 23rd Street in Crystal City.
Arlington Issues Hundreds of Texting Citations — According to the Washington Examiner, Arlington County police issued 131 citations for texting while driving during the first half of the year. Texting while driving is illegal in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.
The Washington area is among the 1,500 locales recognizing World Car Free Day today. It’s a “fun and worthwhile event” that challenges commuters to leave their car at home.
