Civic Federation Makes Budget Recommendations
The Arlington County Civic Federation will discuss the county and school budgets at its monthly meeting tonight.
At the meeting, the federation’s revenues and expenditures committee will reveal its suggested modifications to the county manager’s budget.
Among the recommendations:
- A one-time 1.6 cent real estate tax reduction. (The manager’s budget recommends that real estate taxes hold steady at 95.8 cents per $100 in value.)
- A $250,000 allocation for basic repairs to the Lubber Run Amphitheater
- Only $400,000 for continued operations at the money-losing Artisphere, half the amount requested by staff.
- Rejection of $239,000 in school funds for the David M. Brown Planetarium. The Federation calls for the planetarium to be supported with county funds, not school funds.
The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Hazel Conference Center at Virginia Hospital Center (1701 N George Mason Drive).
Is Legal Sea Foods’ Sidewalk Seating Legal?
Legal Sea Foods’ sidewalk cafe in Crystal City seems a bit fishy to one local.
The outdoor seating area has “taken over almost the whole sidewalk on 23rd Street,” an anonymous reader tells ARLnow.com. “The pedestrian area is now down to a single file lane to get past the restaurant. The other restaurants on that part of 23rd have not pushed their outdoor seating out that far… what gives?”
“I walk to work every morning and somedays I have to either walk in the street or wait for people walking the other way to get by,” the tipster added. “That has to be against code doesn’t it?”
We couldn’t reach anybody in the zoning office to confirm whether Legal is in violation of the law, but generally county ordinances require a minimum six-foot clear passage zone on Arlington sidewalks. Clearly, the above photos show that that standard is not being met in this case.
Update at 4:45 p.m. — It’s possible that the building owner may own the sidewalk in front of Legal, in which case they would be able to do pretty much whatever they want with it, as far as the county was concerned. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act, however, requires that sidewalks maintain a minimum width of three feet on a contiguous basis.
Woman Who Attacked Painting Lived in Rosslyn
The woman accused of trying to destroy a painting at the National Gallery of Art is apparently from Rosslyn.
Police say Susan Burns, 53, tried to pull a painting (NSFW) called “Two Tahitian Women” off the wall, then started punching the painting. She later allegedly told police that the painter, French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin, was “evil,” that the painting was “very homosexual,” and that she was “trying to remove it.”
“I think it should be burned,” Burns said, according to a court document. She added: “I am from the American CIA and I have a radio in my head. I am going to kill you.”
Burns is charged with second-degree theft and destruction of property. She is expected to appear in D.C. Superior Court today.
According to charging documents, Burns lives in the River Place residential complex (1111 Arlington Blvd) in Rosslyn. There’s some confusion about the geography, however, because the document erroneously places 1111 Arlington Blvd in Alexandria. Most news outlets are echoing that she’s from Alexandria, but Burns has at the very least lived in Arlington at one point. Court records from a 2006 assault charge say she lived in Arlington at the time. Furthermore, the address and apartment number listed in the charging document matches a White Pages listing for a “Susan Burns.”
Need a Job? McDonald’s Is Hiring
Say what you want about McDonald’s — at least they’re hiring.
Mickey D’s is undertaking an ambitious company-wide initiative to hire up to 50,000 people nationwide, including 1,400 in the D.C. area — all in one day. To that end, they’re holding a “National Hiring Day” from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19.
Among the four area restaurants that will be hosting job applicants are two Arlington locations: 1823 N. Moore Street in Rosslyn and 40 N. Glebe Road, just off Route 50.
A job with the golden arches may not have the caché of, say, a white collar job with the Rosslyn-based Corporate Executive Board, but you can’t deny this — it does provide a first-hand lesson in efficient operations management and effective consumer marketing. Plus, they still have shamrock shakes.
Police Directing Traffic After Crash on Columbia Pike
Police are directing traffic at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Carlin Springs Road after a car crashed into a pole.
A black coupe suffered heavy front-end damage after slamming into the pole while heading eastbound on the Pike. Arlington firefighters were called in to help extricate the driver from the vehicle. The driver’s condition is not known at this time.
Stop lights are flashing at the intersection and Fairfax County police are directing traffic. Drivers should expect minor delays in the area.
Westover Beer Garden Update
The Westover Market is moving forward with plans to make its popular beer garden conform to county regulations.
Arlington County recently approved a building permit that will allow the market to build Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant bathrooms — one step in the beer garden approval process. The other step will come on May 14, when Westover Market goes before the county board to ask for a live entertainment permit, which is necessary in order for the beer garden to host musical acts.
At the moment, the market is only permitted to seat nine people in the beer garden, which used to host large neighborhood gatherings.
Not everybody supports the market’s effort to become an entertainment and drinking venue, however. Before the county clamped down, a cadre of anonymous complainers would call authorities to kvetch about noise from the garden and smoke from its fire pits.
First Lady to Give Speech at Award Ceremony in Pentagon City
First Lady Michelle Obama will deliver a speech at the Operation Homefront 2011 Military Child of the Year Awards on Thursday evening.
The award show is being held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City. The awards honor “military children who demonstrate resilience, strength of character and leadership within their families and communities.”
Five outstanding children from each branch of the military will receive awards.
Operation Homefront provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.
White House Photo
Morning Notes
Storms Rip Through Area — A line of strong storms ripped through the area in the pre-dawn hours this morning. Winds in excess of 60 miles per hour were observed as the fast-moving storms passed by around 4:30 a.m. A tornado warning was issued for the region, but Arlington was spared from the worst of the storm damage. Expect showers, gusty winds and colder temperatures for the rest of the morning. [Washington Post]
Tejada Plans Ballston Rally — County board member Walter Tejada kicked off his re-election campaign over the weekend at the Dominion Hills Recreation Center. Tejada lauded the county’s commitments to affordable housing, walkable neighborhoods, and fiscal responsibility. He is now planning a rally in Ballston tomorrow — no word yet on when or where exactly the rally will take place. (Update at 12:20 p.m. — The rally will be held outside the NRECA building at 4301 Wilson Blvd at 6:30 p.m., prior to the Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.)
New Signature Theatre Line-Up Announced – Signature Theatre’s upcoming 2011-2012 season schedule has been revealed. Among the shows planned are The Hollow, based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; Hairspray, the 2003 Tony Award winner for best musical; Brother Russia, a rock musical about a “comically fourth-rate Russian theatre troupe;” and Xanadu, based on the 1980 cult film starring Olivia Newton-John. [Signature Theatre]
Clint Eastwood and Crew Drop By Arlington Home — Last week crews were busy scurrying about North Arlington filming scenes for the Leo DiCaprio-headlined production of ‘J. Edgar.’ Among the locations where filming took place was kitchen of one family’s house. DiCaprio, director Clint Eastwood and dozens of crew members took over the Rasmussen family’s home to film one scene for the movie. [Washington Post]
