A multi-vehicle accident has been reported in the northbound lanes of the GW Parkway near Lady Bird Johnson Park. Arlington County firefighters and paramedics are on the scene.
Initial reports suggest a jogger may have been struck by one of the accident vehicles. Two people are reported to be injured, one critically.
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment — also known as the Old Guard — was practicing firing canons.
“The Presidential Salute Battery was conducting synchronized firing training within Arlington National Cemetery from approximately 0700-0800,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Coffee, from the Old Guard public affairs office. “The reason the training is conducted at that time is to not interfere with any funerals being conducted at open cemetery hours.”
Ruffino’s Spaghetti House (4763 Lee Highway) will tonight for the first time following months of renovations. An answering machine message says the restaurant will open at 4:00 p.m.
The new Clarendon location of BGR: The Burger Joint (3024 Wilson Blvd) is undergoing a final inspection today and hopes to open next week — perhaps as soon as Monday, if the inspection goes well. The restaurant’s interior is complete and employees are wrapping up preparations for the opening.
“I do plan to run for County Board as a Green,” said Audrey Clement, a state Green Party officer and a national Green Party committee member. “However, I have not yet set up a campaign committee and filed my paperwork with [State Board of Election]. So I am not officially a candidate [yet].”
Clement’s campaign platform focuses on spending, housing and environmental concerns. On her web site, Clement says she wants to “focus funds on essential community services” like libraries, public safety, schools and the safety net, while “halt[ing] spending on wasteful building projects that we cannot afford” like the Columbia Pike streetcar and the Long Bridge Park aquatic center. She also criticizes the use of county funds for the Artisphere.
The County Board has allocated $258,000 to allow each branch library to stay open for an additional three hours per week. The funds will also support longer Sunday hours at the Shirlington and Columbia Pike libraries and allow the purchase of additional books and e-books.
The board is providing an additional $370,000 for park maintenance, Friday hours at the Lubber Run Community Center and for the restoration of seasonal programming at the shuttered Lubber Run Amphitheater. An additional allocation of $100,000 will fund early stages of restoring the amphitheater.
According to department statistics, the crime rate — the number of reported crimes per resident — declined by 7.6 percent from 2009 to 2010. The raw number of reported crimes, meanwhile, fell 5.9 percent.
Robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and vehicle thefts all declined last year. At 29 percent, vehicle thefts saw the greatest year-over-year decline.
An annual count of the region’s homeless conducted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments showed that region-wide, the homeless population rose by 2 percent to 11,988 as of January 2011. But the homeless population in Arlington declined from 531 to 461 during that same period, a drop of 13 percent.
The study found that there were 65 homeless families in Arlington, consisting of 81 adults and 112 children. Of the adults in homeless families, 38 percent are employed, according to the report.
A hotel employee who lost an eye during a huge brawl at the DMV Music Awards in Crystal City last month is speaking out about his ordeal.
Although NORAD regularly conducts exercises in the D.C. region, for some reason this one seemed louder than others. On Twitter, we heard from Bethesda, McLean and Arlington residents who all heard the jets and wondered what was going on.
The exercise was actually scheduled for the night before, according to a press release, but was delayed a day due to inclement weather.
Route 50 Interchange Project Nears — In March, we were told that the lane closure on westbound Route 50 would finally be lifted by around this time. That’s still yet to be seen, but some new closures are just around the corner. Dr. Gridlock reports that VDOT plans to start construction on a new Route 50/Courthouse Road/Fairfax Drive interchange next month, with nightly traffic disruptions. The $39 million project is expected to wrap up in Fall 2013. [Dr. Gridlock]
Arlington’s Fuel Bill Going Up — Arlington County could spend hundreds of thousands of additional dollars on gasoline this year, thanks to rising gas prices. The county’s vehicle fleet — which includes fuel-sipping Toyota Priuses — consumes about a million gallons of gas every year. [Washington Examiner]
