Fire Marshal’s Office Monitoring Crowds At Local Bars
As it does on New Year’s Eve and Halloween, the Arlington County Fire Marshal’s office has sent staff out to a number of local bars to monitor building occupancy.
About a dozen fire marshal’s office personnel have spread out across the area to make sure St. Patrick’s Day crowds don’t get out of hand.
So far we haven’t heard of any problems.
Lyon Park Shell Station Is Closed, But Not For Good
Several people have emailed us and asked about the Shell station at 2835 Washington Boulevard in Lyon Park. Fences have been erected around the station and heavy equipment brought in to dig up the concrete around the pumps. That has led some to fear that another area gas station might have fallen victim to development.
Fear not, the station is merely upgrading.
County records show that the station is replacing three underground 10,000 gallon tanks. The construction crew is merely digging to reach the tanks.
Workers we talked to said the station will likely be closed for about a month.
2011 St. Patrick’s Day & NCAA Tournament Guide
If there was ever a day to skip out of work after lunch, this is it. Between the nice weather, the start of the NCAA basketball tournament and — of course — the fact that it’s St. Patrick’s Day, this is not a day that should be spent cooped up in an office filing TPS reports.
Here are a few places you can go to wear the green, watch the game or otherwise have a good time.
- Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) – Tonight at 7:15 p.m. everybody’s favorite gun-wielding, God-fearing Irish brothers will kick some Mafia butt as the Drafthouse holds a special screening of the movie Boondock Saints.
- Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland St.) — The Grill opened its doors at 11:00 a.m. for its St. Paddy’s Day celebration. Drink specials at the bar and March Madness on the TV. Energetic local band The Fuzz takes the stage at 9:00 p.m.
- Ireland’s Four Courts (2051 Wilson Blvd) — Doors opened at 10:00 this morning. The always-packed St. Paddy’s extravaganza at Four Courts includes Irish food specials, cash-only satellite bars, music on the main stage all day, and a heated tent behind the restaurant.
- Iota Club and Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd) — Raucous Irish band O’Tasty performs, with warm-up act Hellfire and the Brimtones taking the stage at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $12.
- Kitty O’Shea’s (2403 Wilson Blvd) — No cover and March Madness on the TV. Open all day with an all-Irish food menu.
- O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub (3207 Washington Blvd) — Irish bands all day starting at noon. The Michael Patrick Band perfomrs from 4:45 to 8:45 p.m. and Willem Dickie performs from 9:30 p.m. to closing time.
- P. Brennan’s Irish Pub (2910 Columbia Pike) – This is the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration for the cavernous, 11-month-old Irish pub. P. Brennan’s opened at 11:00 a.m. for an all-day and all-night event featuring Irish music, Irish dancing, Irish food and anything else Irish-related. $5 cover after 6:00 p.m.
- Ragtime (1345 N. Courthouse Road) — Happy hour specials from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., green beer starting at 4:00 p.m., a traditional Irish menu and NCAA games on the TVs. Local funk/jam/rock band Aquatica becomes O’quatica for a performance from 9:00 p.m. to close.
- Rhodeside Grill (1836 Wilson Blvd) – Irish specials and NCAA basketball all day. Plus: green beer.
- RiRa Irish Pub (2915 Wilson Blvd) — Starting at noon, RiRa is holding a charity basketball shoot-out on the back patio. The hoops will benefit the charity PeacePlayers International, which helps to unite young people in divided areas of the world like Northern Ireland. Live music includes Kilmaine Saints starting at 3:00 p.m. and Dr. Fu at 9:00 p.m. Naturally, there will be a traditional Irish menu and NCAA games on the big screens.
- Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub (2800 S. Randolph St.) — The newest Irish pub in town will host acoustic folk/pop/rock artist Taylor Carson at 7:00 p.m. There will also be authentic Irish food, plenty of Irish beer and whiskey and a special menu, all served by a straight-off-the-boat Irish staff.
- Sine Irish Pub (1301 S. Joyce St.) – Green beer, no cover and an Irish buffet starting at 3:00 p.m.
- Spider Kelly’s (3181 Wilson Blvd) – SK opened at 11:00 a.m. for St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness specials all day long. The popular nightspot also added Guinness to its taps for the occasion.
- Tortoise and Hare (567 S. 23rd St.) – Tortoise and Hare is offering “plenty” of food and drink specials. The all-day celebration features a full Irish menu, green beer, car bombs, Guinness and Smithwick’s, etc. etc. etc. Plus March Madness on TV and hip hop cover band Flow in the Dark taking the stage around 9:30 p.m.
- Whitlow’s on Wilson (2854 Wilson Blvd) — Irish menu until 11:00 p.m. Bagpipers providing music plus Celtic band Shannon Tide at 6:00 p.m. March Madness games and drink specials.
Crime Report: How Did He Get Away? Edition
How did a slightly overweight 18-year-old manage to steal an elderly woman’s purse in or around the Rosslyn Metro station during the evening rush hour on a Wednesday — and apparently get away with it? The brazen crime was reported in this week’s Arlington County crime report.
ROBBERY 03/09/11, 1700 block of N. Moore Street. On March 9 at 5:30 pm, an unknown man stole a purse from an elderly woman with a walker. The suspect is described as an African American male around 18 years old, 6’ and 200 lbs. with a round face. He was wearing a red and black flannel shirt and dark pants. A teenage African American female was also seen with the suspect.
The rest of the crime report, after the jump.
Name Chosen for New Artisphere Cafe
The contest to name Artisphere’s cafe is over, the votes are in, and the winner has been revealed.
Borrowing the last four letters of Artisphere, HERE is the new name of the cultural center’s cafe. HERE will feature a “seasonal menu of comfort food with Latin flavors made from locally-sourced and fresh ingredients.”
In addition to being a restaurant, HERE will be a full bar, a nightclub and a catering service. It’s owned by Barroso, Inc., the same group that runs Guajillo on Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn and Casa Oaxaca in Northwest D.C.
The contest to name the cafe was organized by the Washington Post Express. More than 530 entries were submitted. HERE, which was submitted by Bonnie Imlay of Silver Spring, Md., beat out two other finalists in the final public voting: “Artesano” and “Tamién.”
To celebrate the new name, Artisphere and HERE will be holding two events at the end of the month.
First, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, Artisphere will be hosting a “neighborhood tasting and open house” with “samplings of the restaurant’s cuisine, live music by Brazilian jazz combo Origem and hourly drawings for lunches for two and tickets to Artisphere events.”
Then, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. on Friday, April 1, HERE is holding a launch party with more food samplings, door prizes and music by Thunderball and DJ Rex Riddem. The free event is open to the first 300 people who register for it.
Remy Releases New Music Video: “I’m a Caps Fan”
Arlington rapper Remy Munasifi is out with a new music video.
“I’m a Caps Fan” is Remy’s humorous take on Capitals fandom. Much of the video appears to have been filmed in the comedian’s Clarendon apartment which, coincidentally, is not too far from the Caps practice facility in Ballston.
The video was “produced exclusively for Comcast SportsNet.”
Morning Notes
Spring Cleaning For Bikes — Forecasts suggest we’re in for two very nice days to end the work week. It’s going to be warm enough that many seasonal cyclists may be thinking about dusting off their bike for a spin. Local cycling advocate Mark Blacknell has advice for getting your bike into proper riding condition after a winter in storage. [Patch]
Gas Company Urges Residents to Report Leaks – A public forum about gas leaks didn’t attract a large crowd, but it did feature officials from Washington Gas who asked residents to report leaks as soon as they smell them. [Sun Gazette]
Construction on Ballston Development Moving Along — Work is well underway on a new 10-story, 316,000 square foot office building at 800 North Glebe Road in Ballston, the former site of Bob Peck Chevrolet. Tenants are expected to start moving in next March. [CityBiz]
Arlington Wins Transparency Award — Arlington County has received a 2011 “Sunny Award” from the nonprofit Sunshine Review. The honor is bestowed on dozens of local governments each year for transparency on the web. Arlington’s web site earned a “perfect website transparency score” from the organization, which is dedicated to state and local government transparency. [Sunshine Review]
Flickr photo by Cobalt123
