Video: Arlington Soccer Player Scores Incredible Goal
This video of a 13-year-old soccer player making an incredible bicycle kick goal at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center soccer field is making the rounds on the internet today.
BigLeadSports first posted the video on its web site this morning. That was followed by a post on the popular sports blog Deadspin, where it has received nearly 10,000 views in just four hours.
The player who made the “Rooneyesque” kick is said to be a 13-year-old from the Arlington Civitan club’s U13/14B Bengals squad.
Two years ago a 16-year-old Yorktown High School student made a similar bicycle kick goal that earned him “Goal of the Year” honors from the US Youth Soccer organization.
H/t to Mark Blacknell
Mystery Solved: New Sign Erected in 2008?
An eagle-eyed tipster sent us this photo of a historic marker just erected on the 1400 block of Wilson Boulevard, in Rosslyn.
The plaque marks the building where employees of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency helped to conceive ARPANET, the forerunner to the internet. Last week several of those former DARPA employees attended an Arlington County Board meeting, where the plaque was unveiled and dedicated.
Imagine the surprise of our tipster, then, when he saw the words at the bottom of the sign: “Erected in 2008 by Arlington County, Virginia.” The sign was only installed last week, so why does it say it was erected in 2008?
Turns out the plaque was actually conceived, written and produced in 2008, but it was never installed. According to Arlington spokeswoman Diana Sun, the county was unable to get permission from the building owner to put the sign on their property, so they had to go through a lengthy process of getting the sign installed in the public right-of-way (sidewalk). By the time all the pieces were in place, and by the time they could organize a small ceremony at a County Board meeting, it was 2011 — three years later than originally planned.
Photo courtesy Geoff Collins
Cafe Pizzaiolo Coming to Shirlington
Cafe Pizzaiolo will be opening a location in Shirlington Village.
This will be the pizzeria’s third location. It also has restaurants in Crystal City (507 S. 23rd Street) and Fairlington (1623 Fern Street, Alexandria).
“Café Pizzaiolo will serve authentic Neapolitan and New York Style pizzas,” says the Village at Shirlington web site. “They combine natural, high quality local ingredients with imported Italian products to create our distinct style.”
No word yet on an opening date.
Video: Arlington’s Mobile Visitors Center
As tourists (and motorcyclists) start flocking to the Nation’s Capital for Memorial Day weekend, Arlington’s Mobile Visitors Center will be here to greet them.
The four-wheeled, electric-powered tourism information booth will be out in Clarendon Friday night, providing maps, brochures and personal guidance to visitors. The MVC hits six different Arlington neighborhoods — all along Metro corridors — in the course of a week. It typically does not operate on weekends or holidays (including Memorial Day), except for special events like the Marine Corps Marathon.
The MVC won a statewide award for Virginia Visitor Center of the Year earlier this month. In the video above, the county-run Arlington Virginia Network takes a tour of the award-winning vehicle, which is the first of its kind in the United States.
Progress at New Michael Landrum Restaurant
What’s coming to the ground floor of 1650 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn?
We know it’s a restaurant, and that Michael Landrum of Ray’s the Steaks fame is behind it — his name is on the ABC permit, after all — but at this point it’s hard to tell what kind of restaurant it will be.
Previously, we reported that the establishment’s name, per the ABC permit, was “The Lobster Pot.” That led to speculation that Landrum was building his long-talked-about “Ray’s the Catch” seafood restaurant. But now there’s a new name on the permit: “Ray’s Hell Burger III.”
So will the brown walls of the space at 1650 Wilson soon house an expanded Ray’s Hell Burger? And will the existing Ray’s Hell Burger location across the street turn into Ray’s the Catch? Or is 1650 Wilson actually going to be Ray’s the Catch? Or is the real answer none of the above?
Either way, we’re told that the restaurant — whatever it may be — will open in “a few weeks.”
Morning Poll: Banning Kids from Dog Parks
Arlington officials have been quietly listening to public feedback generated by a proposal to ban children under the age of 8 from the county’s dog parks.
At first, officials say, most people who contacted them were against banning kids. Now, with every major media outlet in town running their own version of the story, opinions are about 50/50.
Officials say the ban is far from a done deal. First, it must be cleared by county attorneys — although that seems likely, given that other Virginia localities, like Fairfax County, already ban young children. After it gets the legal go-ahead, Arlington Parks Department spokeswoman Susan Kalish says the matter will only be decided after some sort of community input process.
Kalish says that as of right now, there have been no reported incidents of kids getting hurt in dog parks. Should that change, however, the county is ready to act.
“The key is safety,” she said. “If it becomes an issue we will act immediately.”
The idea of banning young kids — and requiring parental supervision for children between the ages of 8 and 14 — was first suggested in February by the citizen groups that run the Shirlington and Ft. Barnard dog parks, though any action by the county would likely apply to all Arlington dog parks.
What do you think?
Morning Notes
Krupicka Uses Marine in Mailer — State Senate candidate Rob Krupicka has gotten the attention of a conservative web site for printing an endorsement from a Marine sergeant, along with a photo of him in uniform, on a campaign mailer. If the Marine is on active duty, such an endorsement would violate military guidelines. The Sun Gazette’s Scott McCaffrey also points out that Krupicka’s mailer also makes reference to supporting “soldiers and their families” — which would refer to members of the Army but not the Marine Corps. Krupicka, an Alexandria city councilman, is facing off against Arlington School Board Chair Libby Garvey and Del. Adam Ebbin in the Democratic primary. [Sun Gazette]
Medical Care By Lottery — Every month, the Arlington Free Clinic holds a lottery to see who will receive medical care. With demand for care exceeding supply, this month only 25 people were selected out of a pool of 140. [WAMU]
Ballston Farmers Market Starts This Week — The Ballston Farmers Market will hold its season grand opening this Thursday. The market is free and held every Thursday (until October) from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Wellburn Square, between N. Stuart and N. 9th Streets.
