Around Town

A reader, Christine, wrote in to ask about a parking ticket she recently received in Courthouse. Here’s her story:

I’m writing because I’d like to find out if any of your other readers have had the same issue I ran into last week. I received a $50 parking ticket for pulling front-end first into an angled parking space in Courthouse. These are the spots right next to the big AMC lot (cannot remember what street). Apparently the parking spaces were “Back-in Only”, which I failed to notice (admittedly this is my own fault). What I don’t understand is why Arlington is charging me $50 for pulling into a spot facing the wrong direction?! It’s not as if I was parking in a zone I didn’t have a permit for, or parked over a line taking up two spaces. It also seems like a pretty easy mistake to make, considering the street is 2-way and there is only parking on one side.


News

It was an especially busy week for thieves in Arlington County. At least 32 cars were broken into in the past seven days, according to the latest Arlington County crime report.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (SERIES) 01/06/11, 3200 block of Wilson Boulevard. On January 6 between 8 pm an 9 pm, an unknown subject broke into at least four vehicles in the same area. Various items were stolen. There are no known suspects.


News

It’s called ‘gerrymandering,’ and it’s practiced in state houses across the country.

But the Virginia chapter of the League of Women Voters has seen enough. Together with the national LWV organization, they’ve been pushing for the past seven years to take redistricting responsibility away from state legislators and put it into the hands of some sort of nonpartisan commission or process.


News

Assessments are expected to rise this year as the real estate market improves. The Sun Gazette reports that the average home sale price rose 4.6 percent in 2010.

Property owners who want to challenge their assessments should be able to do so via an online form any time before March 1, although the form does not appear to be online at the moment. More information on real estate assessment appeals is available here.


Events

Arlington is holding its 42nd annual tribute to Dr. King at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center auditorium (3501 Second St. S.). The event will feature keynote speaker Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a local civil rights leader who worked with Dr. King, as well as performance by the World Children’s Choir and the Washington-Lee High School Jazz Band.

ABC 7 reporter Horace Holmes will emcee the event, which is taking place from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 16.


Around Town

Despite the weather and the fact it was Tuesday, a decent-sized crowd jammed into Clarendon’s Iota Club last night to see Sean Lennon perform with girlfriend, Charlotte Kemp Muhl.

Together, Lennon and Kemp Muhl comprise The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger. Under low lights, the band performed their dreamy, acoustic folk rock as snowflakes fell outside — a fitting backdrop.


News

Freezing Rain and Snow Hits After Dark — It might not have been the monster storm that’s now hitting New York City and southern New England, but a relatively short period of freezing rain and snow made for some slippery conditions during rush hour last night. Most of the inch or so of snow we received is expected to melt today. If, however, unshoveled snow in front of someone else’s property is causing problems, you can report it via the county’s snow reporting form. Meanwhile, if you’re flying out of Reagan National today, you can check flight status here. Numerous flights have been canceled.

Dyszel Doc to be Screened at Artisphere Tonight — Dick Dyszel is a local television legend. During the ’70s and ’80s he played popular characters like Bozo the Clown and Count Gore de Vol on the Washington airwaves. “Every Other Night Is Halloween,” a documentary about Dyszel’s improbable career, will be playing at Artisphere. The film also examines the “de-evolution of local television” and the rise of the internet. The screening starts at 8:00 in Artisphere’s Dome Theater. Tickets are $6.