Columbia Pike Charrettes Get Underway Tonight
Disclosure: The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, which is helping to organize the charrettes, is an ARLnow.com advertiser.
Want to help plan and design the future of Columbia Pike? A series of charrettes — fast-paced, wide-ranging planning sessions — are being held on the Pike over the next week.
The primary public charrette will be held Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Sheraton National Hotel (900 S. Orme Street), and everybody is invited to participate and help guide the Pike’s continuing development. A light lunch will be provided.
Here’s a complete schedule:
- Friday, June 24
- 7:00 to 9:30 p.m.: Pike Neighborhoods Plan Charrette Kick-Off Presentation — Sheraton National Hotel @ 900 S. Orme Street
- Saturday, June 25
- 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Pike Neighborhoods Plan Charrette Day — Sheraton National Hotel @ 900 S. Orme Street
- 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.: Community Social and Light Buffet (“celebrate a day of community work”) — P. Brennan’s Irish Pub @ 2910 Columbia Pike
- Sunday, June 26
- 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. — Open Design Studio (“talk with the design team as the plan concepts evolve”) — Siena Park apartments @ 2301 Columbia Pike
- Monday, June 27
- 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. — Open Design Studio — Siena Park apartments @ 2301 Columbia Pike
- 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. — Planning for Open Spaces in Urban Settings — Arlington Career Center @ 816 S. Walter Reed Drive
- Tuesday, June 28
- 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. — Open Design Studio — Siena Park apartments @ 2301 Columbia Pike
- 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. — Open House (“an informal review of work completed at the design studios”) — Siena Park apartments @ 2301 Columbia Pike
- Wednesday, June 29
- 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. — Open Design Studio – Siena Park apartments @ 2301 Columbia Pike
- Thursday, June 30
- 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. — Work in Progress Presentation (“a presentation of work completed by the planning team”) — Sheraton National Hotel @ 900 S. Orme Street
Ribbon Cutting for New VT Research Center in Ballston
Featuring next-generation internet connectivity, computational laboratories and multiple meeting and conference spaces, the new 144,000 square foot Virginia Tech Research Center building in Ballston (900 N. Glebe Road) celebrated its grand opening today.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, Rep. Jim Moran, and County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman were on hand this afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony on the glimmering glass-and-steel building’s seventh floor.
Zimmerman kicked off the ceremony with references to the “human bandwidth” and “internet firepower” that the building brings to Ballston, Arlington’s science and technology hub. Dr. Steger spoke about the research already underway in the building, including research into military medical care, renewable energy and cyber security.
Calling Virginia Tech’s Ballston presence an “international center of excellence” and an “investment in our future,” Rep. Moran remarked on the benefits it will bring to the area and to the university.
“It will pay substantial dividends to Virginia Tech and enhance its mission to become one of the leading research institutions in the world,” he said. Moran added that it would be a mistake to cut federal research funding in the interest of deficit reduction, citing what he said was the need to supplement the “short term, bottom line” focus of corporate research.
Obstacles Overcome, High School Continuation Students Graduate
“Our journey has not been easy, but somehow we’ve overcome the obstacles in our way.”
Newly-minted high school graduate Rachel Wilburn was a two-time high school dropout with a kid and another on the way when she entered the Langston High School Continuation Program. This morning, she was given the honor of addressing about 150 fellow Langston and Arlington Mill high school continuation graduates at the Washington-Lee auditorium.
“Despite everything that has come our way, there is a voice in our unconscious minds that said ‘I will not give up on myself,’” she said. “I thank God for giving us the strength to make it through this.”
Wilburn credited her parents, her husband and her parents-in-law with helping her to find Langston and make it through the teen parenting program. With their support, she even achieved perfect attendance in her third trimester.
Wilburn said she now plans to attend college to study business and human resource, so that she can give her kids “the best possible future.”
“I’m a wife and a mother of two amazing children who I can’t see my life without,” she said. “This program is such a blessing.”
For Arlington Mill graduate Joel Diaz, who turned 21 today, going back to high school in his 20s was “embarrassing.” But, he said, he was able to overcome that initial trepidation and thrive.
“After I began going to Arlington Mill… I realized that a lot of us, we’re just different. We all have different stories, we’re all on different paths, we all have different goals,” he said. “Going through this has made me a stronger person. Our paths do not have to define our future.”
“I have been waiting for this day so long,” Diaz continued. “I hope you realize that this is not the end but the beginning.”
More photos, after the jump. (more…)
Spotted: Fireworks Booth on the Pike
You know the Fourth of July is almost here when fireworks sellers start popping up around the area.
A fireworks booth is now up and running at the corner of Columbia Pike and Glebe Road, offering all manner of sparklers and (legal) pyrotechnics.
The booth accepts cash, Visa and Mastercard.
Pete’s to Roll Out Pizza Delivery by Segway
Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza in Clarendon may be the first D.C. area pizzeria to offer delivery via Segway.
The three-month old restaurant will soon be launching delivery service, and co-owner Joel Mehr says the newly-purchased Segway will allow his delivery staff to serve residents of Arlington’s dense urban core faster than traditional delivery methods.
The Segway — once it’s outfitted with a custom pizza-holding basket — will be able to transport multiple pies at a time, unlike deliveries by foot, and will be able to park anywhere, unlike deliveries by car. Plus, Mehr said, it’s cheap and eco-friendly — only requiring a $0.20 overnight charge for eight hours of operation.
“We just thought this would be an extremely efficient way to deliver to urban residents within a mile radius,” said Mehr, who noted that the original idea for Segway deliveries came from an offhand suggestion from a customer.
The personal transportation device will not be the only vehicle in the delivery fleet, however. While the Segway will handle deliveries within a mile of the store, a gas-powered scooter will handle deliveries within two miles. Cars will be used for more distant deliveries and during bad weather.
Segways can travel up to 12 miles per hour. Expect to see the Pete’s Segway, decked out with stickers and other decorations, out and about in Clarendon in a couple of weeks.
John M. Couric Dies
Long-time Arlington resident John M. Couric has died.
Couric, the father of former CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, died Wednesday at Virginia Hospital Center of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 90.
Couric started his career as a newspaper and wire service reporter, before eventually jumping into the public relations field. He was a Navy veteran during World War II, according to a Washington Post obituary.
In an interview with the Archive of American Television (see clip, below), Katie Couric discussed her father’s journalism career and his influence on her own career.
Morning Notes
School’s Out for Summer — Today is the last day of school for elementary students in Arlington. High school students had their last day on Wednesday and middle school students had their last day on Thursday. [YouTube]
Man Charged With Pentagon Shootings — Alexandria resident Yonathan Melaku, 22, has been charged with destruction of property and firearm violations in five separate shootings at Northern Virginia military installations last year. Melaku was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery last Friday, authorities say, with a backpack containing a ammonium nitrate, a key component in certain explosives, and a notebook containing referencing Al Qaeda and jihad. Sources tell Fox News that Melaku was “self-radicalized through the internet,” but there’s “no indication he was planning to harm individuals.” [FBI, Fox News]
‘Rabbit’ Coming to Clarendon in July — The new salad-and-cupcakes store ‘Rabbit,’ from the father-son pair behind Tangysweet and Red Velvet Cupcakery, is expected to open in late July. Rabbit’s location in Clarendon is “the perfect place,” says co-owner Aaron Gordon. The 50-seat restaurant will also serve wine, beer and sandwiches. [Washington Post]
