Tree Brings Down Power Lines in South Arlington
(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) A large tree fell and brought down power lines on Walter Reed Drive between South Dinwiddie Street and South Wakefield Street.
The falling lines caused power to briefly go out over a wide swath of the county. Power in much of south Arlington and parts of north Arlington flickered on and off for a minute before, in most areas, eventually coming back on.
As of 12:30 a.m., the power was still out in the Fairlington area. At the time, Dominion was reporting that 1,729 customers were without power.
Witnesses say they saw a very bright flash in the sky just before the lights went dark.
Just saw a bright flash of light in South Arlington (we are just north of Arlington Blvd, and saw the light in the sky, resembling lightning, about 10 minutes ago). Our lights flickered on and off, and now we hear fire trucks in that direction… Ironic on a night when Dominion was holding a meeting about adding a new transmission line.
The flash could be seen as far away as Westover.
From a friend’s backyard, directly behind the old Reed school at 19th and Madison, saw an enormous blue green flash in the sky–once, then again. We also heard a low roaring sound, like a very transformer blowing. The flash lit up the entire sky in a color I’ve never seen before, a blue/green like copper sulfate in a flame. My friend, a physicist and amateur astronomer, said he had never seen the like either.
Walter Reed Drive is expected to remain shut down between South Wakefield Street and South Dinwiddie Street “throughout the day” while crews clean up the mess and replace several utility poles. It will likely be closed for the evening rush, we’re told.
As of 12:10 p.m, Dominion reports that 374 customers are still without power in south Arlington.
Photos courtesy Megan Finnerty
Flash Flood Watch Issued for Arlington
Heavy rain is expected tomorrow night, and already the National Weather Service is warning of possible flooding.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE METROPOLITAN AREAS FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY APPROACH THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT BEFORE PASSING THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. RAIN IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA BY TUESDAY EVENING…BUT THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS EXPECTED LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS AROUND ONE TO TWO INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 3 INCHES POSSIBLE IN HEAVIER BANDS OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS. HEAVY AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL MAY CAUSE SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS TO RISE OUT OF THEIR BANKS.
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.
Reminder: Meeting About Dominion Transmission Line Tonight
Dominion is holding a public meeting from 5:00 to 8:00 tonight to discuss a major project that will run a new underground transmission line from Pentagon City to Clarendon.
The meeting will be held at the Lyon Park Community Center (414 North Fillmore Street).
Find more information here.
Demolition Nears For New Wilson Boulevard Office Project
Demolition work is expected to begin in early-to-mid December for a new office building on the 1700 block of Wilson Boulevard.
Crews will tear down three small buildings that most recently housed Arlington Motorcar Service, Medical Service Corporation International and the Fashion Dreams tailor. The work will make way for a five-story office building that will include 108,000 square feet of medical office space, 28,000 square feet of ground-level retail and 230 underground parking spaces.
Construction is expected to begin in February or March, once demolition is complete.
The demolition and construction work will require pedestrian traffic to be rerouted around the sidewalk closest to the development, but will not affect vehicular traffic, according to development manager Carolyn Desmond.
The project is being funded by the commercial development division of construction firm Skanska USA. So far, the company has not lined up any tenants, Desmond said.
The building is expected to be ready for occupancy by mid-2012.
Arlington Lawyer Moonlights as Award-Winning Filmmaker
If you were to create a list of professions least likely to count an award-winning creator of abstract and experimental films among their ranks, lawyers would probably rank just below accountants.
But Clarendon resident H. Paul Moon is not your average government lawyer. He’s a composer, playwright and blogger who only recently added filmmaking to his list of side-projects. Earlier this month, he became an “award-winning” filmmaker at Arlington’s Rosebud Film and Video Festival.
Moon won the festival’s “Best of Show” award for El Toro, a short experimental film that seeks to make a visual connection between Spanish bullfighting and the passion of the Christ.
Armed with “modest” video equipment during a trip to Madrid, Moon attended a bullfight in the Plaza de Toros, a violent experience he says he does not want to repeat. Several months after returning home, Moon found inspiration and decided to turn his travel video into a film.
“I juxtaposed those bloody bullfighting scenes with carefully composed shots inside Madrid’s central cathedral, and heavily processed my edit with light manipulation and other visual effects to create a sort of dream-like meditation set to music,” he said. Then, one year after his trip, the Rosebud judges bestowed “an unexpected an encouraging honor” — the festival’s top prize.
“This was the first festival screening that I ever received since starting to make films 1-1/2 years ago,” Moon said.
It will almost certainly not be his last. Moon has continued cranking out experimental/environmental/landscape films inspired by his extensive international travels. In addition to the abstract and non-narrative, he has also been working on documentaries that profile performing artists.
Currently, Moon says he’s hard at work on a “biographical portrait of the American composer Samuel Barber.” The choice of documentary subject reflects the fact that Moon — a prolific creator of art — is also a voracious consumer of art.
“When something fascinates me, now I can’t stop myself from making a project out of it,” he said.
El Toro currently is not available online, but you can watch some of Moon’s other films here.
Photos from El Toro courtesy of H. Paul Moon
Crime Report: Restaurant Patrons to the Rescue
The latest Arlington County crime report shows that mid-to-late November has been somewhat slow, crime-wise. Most of the crimes reported by Arlington Police from Nov. 17 to 23 were of the standard larceny/burglary variety.
One such incident stands out, however. Two young men from Alexandria were taken into custody in Crystal City after their alleged cell phone theft was foiled by a group of restaurant patrons.
LARCENY FROM A PERSON-ARREST 11/18/10, 2200 block of Crystal Drive. On November 18 at 7:50 pm, two men entered a restaurant and took a phone off a table. Several patrons of the restaurant stopped the suspects until police arrived. Darius Williams, 18, of Alexandria, was charged with Grand Larceny from a Person and Wearing a Mask or Hood to Conceal Identity. He was held on a $3,000 bond. Jamal Walker, 18, of Alexandria, was charged with Grand Larceny from a Person. He was held on a $2,500 bond.
The rest of the crime report, after the jump.
Morning Poll: Food Options in the R-B Corridor
The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor will be getting not one but at least two new frozen yogurt stores next year thanks to rapidly-expanding D.C. chain FroZenYo.
While some will take a “more the merrier” approach to food in Arlington, others may question whether a three-mile stretch of Wilson Boulevard can really support 5-6 frozen yogurt shops, not to mention numerous ice cream and gelato places.
Likewise, many people have already wondered aloud whether there are more than enough pizza joints and cupcake bakeries planned for the R-B corridor. Receiving less attention is the abundance of food trucks, cafes and “modern American” style restaurants in the area.
Which of the preceding, if any, do you think has reached the highest “saturation” point?
Morning Notes
Black Friday Is a Bust at Ballston Common Mall — While other suburban shopping malls were inundated with shoppers on Friday, traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for retailers in terms of foot traffic, Ballston Common Mall was about as crowded as it normally is on a Friday afternoon (not very). “The best thing here is Rock Bottom,” one shopper explained to Ballston Patch.
Farmers Market For Westover? — A community meeting will be held at the Westover library next month to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market this spring. More from the Sun Gazette.
Arlington Has Region’s Lowest Unemployment — Once again Arlington is leading the D.C. area jobs-wise. Arlington’s unemployment rate currently stands at a remarkably low 3.9 percent. Alexandria and Loudoun County share the title for second-lowest unemployment in the region, with 4.5 percent. More from WTOP.
Another Froyo Place Coming to Arlington — The R-B corridor will have an abundance of frozen yogurt options next year. A D.C.-based, self-serve yogurt shop called FroZenYo is planning to open stores in Rosslyn and Ballston in 2011. It’s also planning on opening a store in Crystal City. More from TBD.
Flickr pool photo by Team Rank
