Police Respond to Dispute at Kitty O’Shea’s
There was more bad blood over the shuttering of Courthouse-area Irish pub Kitty O’Shea’s (2403 Wilson Blvd) this afternoon.
The pub closed over the weekend, the culmination of a long legal battle between owner Danny McFadden and landlord Ray Schupp over McFadden’s lease. Today, just after 3:00 p.m., police were called to Kitty O’Shea’s for a dispute.
McFadden told ARLnow.com that he was moving items out of the building and got into a disagreement with the landlord over what belonged to whom. Police told the two parties to resolve the issue amongst themselves, McFadden said.
Within the past five minutes, police were called to the pub again after McFadden said the landlord had changed the locks.
Crime Report: …in the Back Edition
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, police say a man in the Columbia Forest neighborhood was stabbed in the back by young woman after he refused to give her money to buy drugs.
MALICIOUS WOUNDING-ARREST, 08/24/11, 1000 block of S. Frederick Street. On August 24 at 5:30 am, a woman stabbed a man in the back when he refused to give her money to buy narcotics. The two people were acquainted. Melissa Diaz Marty, 21, of Arlington, was charged with Malicious Wounding and Possession of Cocaine. She was held without bond.
On Monday, a woman walking down the street in the Westover area was hit in the back by an egg thrown from a passing vehicle.
ASSAULT AND BATTERY, 08/29/11, 5700 block of N. 16th Street. On August 29 at 8:30 pm, a woman was walking when an unknown subject threw an egg at her from a passing vehicle. The egg struck her in the back. The suspect vehicle is described as a dark colored four-door sedan.
The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.
Residents of Building Near Construction Collapse Scramble to Find New Homes
First they were forced to flee their apartments as the ground around it slid into a huge construction pit. Then they were told that the money to pay for their hotel rooms was being cut off. Now, about 30 residents of the Swansen Apartments, at 1625 N. Ode Street in Ft. Myer Heights, are being evicted from the still-condemned apartment building, as a three-way legal battle brews.
What started on Aug. 7 as a construction site mishap — the failed retaining wall, the muddy landslide, the threat that the apartment building might collapse — has gone from bad to worse for the Swansen residents, who say they were being told as late as Aug. 23 that they would be able to move back in to their Rosslyn-area apartment building.
That all changed on Aug. 26, residents say, with an email from landlord Mark Swansen.
Currently, the building has been condemned by Arlington County due to the failure of sheeting and shoring on the adjacent construction site which has damaged gas lines as well as the property on the north side of the building… You should make alternative living arrangements in light of the uncertain status of the building. No rents will be due commencing in September and we encourage you to utilize the rent monies to find new living arrangements. At this time, due to this unfortunate and unexpected turn of events, we do not have a reasonable timeline for when the building will be put back into a usable, safe and satisfactory condition, if ever. It is unfortunate that it has come to this, but your safety is our primary concern. Please make arrangements to remove any belongings from the building directly through this office.
The email, obtained by ARLnow.com, was copied to three email address from the D.C.-based law firm of Braude & Margulies, which specializes in construction law. Swansen declined to comment on the email when reached by phone, and has not responded to subsequent requests for comment.
The apartment building’s gas lines must be turned back on before residents can be allowed back in, according to Arlington County Inspections Services Division Chief Shahriar Amiri, but residents say that necessary gas line work has been held up thanks to wrangling between Swansen, Clark Construction and developer JBG.
(The construction pit, located along Wilson Boulevard between Ode Street and Oak Street, will eventually transformed into JBG’s planned Sedona and Slate apartment complex.)
“The construction company told us that the building was stable; however, the gas lines for our apartment building were not holding pressure and thus it would need to be replaced,” one resident told us. “Our landlord… stalled this from happening and did not give the construction company permission to work on the building. So, from that point on, no work has been done to the building.”
“The tenants… are likely being used as pawns in their legal maneuvers,” said the relative of one resident.
Swansen residents say they’ve been given until Sept. 24 to move their belonging out of the apartment. Meanwhile, they say that developer JBG, which has been paying for hotel rooms and meals at the nearby Courtyard Marriott hotel, notified them on Friday afternoon — a day before the arrival of Hurricane Irene — that they would no longer pay for the hotel after Tuesday morning. Later, JBG sent an email saying they were pushing the checkout date back a week, to Sept. 6.
Finding a new apartment in the area at that’s as affordable at the Swansen Apartments is providing to be very difficult, residents say.
“The issue here, is that our building was super affordable, and quite a steal for the area,” one resident said. “The neighborhood of Rosslyn easily runs for $2,000 for a one bedroom, and over $1,900 for a studio. This is about $600 more than what I was paying for the apartment with Swansen.”
Attempted Sexual Assault Near Courthouse
Arlington Police are looking for a man suspected of trying to sexually assault one woman and improperly touching another last Friday.
The crimes took place near the Rosslyn and Courthouse areas.
Police say the man is first suspected of running up to a woman on the 1700 block of N. Quinn Street, near the 7-Eleven store, and grabbing her buttocks. That happened around 11:20 Friday night.
Then, a half hour later, the man allegedly knocked a woman to the ground on the 1800 block of N. Veitch Street, a couple of blocks from the Courthouse Metro station. Police say the man covered the woman’s head with his shirt, pulled at her shirt and “asked for sex.” Another woman who was walking with the victim ran off and called police. Police describe the crime as an attempted sexual assault.
Here are the two incidents as described in Monday’s daily police report:
ATTEMPT SEXUAL ASSAULT, 08/27/11, 1800 block of N. Veitch Street. On August 26 at 11:50 pm, two women were walking when an unknown man ran up to them. He knocked one woman to the ground covering her head with his blue plaid shirt. The suspect pulled at her shirt and asked for sex. The second female ran and called police. The suspect is described as an African American male in his late 20’s and 5’10”. He was wearing a white t-shirt and carrying his other shirt.
SEXUAL BATTERY, 08/26/11, 1700 block of N. Quinn Street. On August 26 at 11:20 pm, a woman was walking when an unknown man ran up and grabbed her buttocks. The suspect was a man in his 30’s with a dark complexion, 5’10” with a thin build. He was wearing a blue or green plaid button up shirt. This suspect is similar in description to the above incident.
Video: Arlington’s Post-9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
On a cold and windy October day, less than a month after the 9/11 terror attacks, local leaders gathered near the Pentagon at Washington-Lee High School for a “Day of Remembrance and Appreciation.”
The event, hosted by NBC4′s Doreen Gentzler, featured speeches from first responders, from military brass and from county and state officials, including Arlington County Manager Ron Carlee, then-County Board Chair Jay Fisette, Gov. Jim Gilmore and Rep. Jim Moran.
Arlington County has uploaded the entire hour and a half video to YouTube, in advance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Fast forward to 55:30 to see a three-minute video presentation recounting the attack on the Pentagon and the emergency response that followed.
Pauly Shore Coming to the Drafthouse
Pauly Shore will be performing stand-up comedy at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) next month.
The former MTV host also has writer, producer and director on his resume, but he’s best known for his starring roles in mediocre 1990s comedies like Encino Man, Son in Law, In the Army Now, Jury Duty and Bio-Dome. More recently, Shore has had guest roles on TV series like Entourage and the short-lived “reality” show Sunset Tan.
Shore is scheduled for four performances (an early show and a late show) on Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17. Tickets are currently on sale for $25.
“Shore’s stand-up is sprinkled with autobiographical tidbits from his wacky life,” according to the Cinema Drafthouse’s web site. “His goal is to make sure the fans leave the show learning something about him.”
Morning Notes
Car on Fire on I-395 — A car caught fire on southbound I-395 near Boundary Channel around 9:30 last night. The car was fully-engulfed by the time firefighters arrived on scene. No injuries were reported
Sun Gazette: Thumbs Down to Board’s ‘Walmart’ Action — The County Board’s last-minute, unannounced vote at the end of its final meeting before the summer recess is getting a “thumbs down” in the opinion pages of the Sun Gazette. The Board voted to advertise hearings on a zoning ordinance amendment that would prevent large-format retailers like Walmart from building a store without prior Board approval. “County staff so far have been unable to explain what the rush is – they want to get this approved by the County Board later in the month – and exactly what problem they are trying to solve,” the paper opined. [Sun Gazette]
School Board Challenger Drops Out — Independent Green candidate for school board Andrea Ochoa has withdrawn from the race, according to Arlington elections officials. Incumbent Democrat Abby Raphael will now run unopposed.
Street Sign Mistakes — Typos happen, including on street signs in Arlington. Among the examples: “22rd Road,” “Chian Br. Road” and an unspecified misspelling of “school” on a parking sign. [Falls Church News-Press]
Photo courtesy of @cmags44
Civic Federation’s Candidate Night Approaches
The Arlington County Civic Federation’s Candidate Night is one week away.
General election candidates for the 30th, 31st and 32nd Virginia State Senate races and the 45th, 47th, 48th and 49th House of Delegates races will take questions from Civic Federation delegates.
The forum will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 6, at the Washington-Lee High School auditorium (1300 N. Quincy Street). The auditorium is taking the place of the normal venue, Virginia Hospital’s Hazel Conference Center, which is being renovated.
Another Candidate Night will be held on Oct. 4 for the candidates for County Board, County Treasurer, Commissioner of Revenue, Sheriff, Commonwealth’s Attorney and Virginia School Board.
W-L Softball Parents Demand Better Field
A group of parents are threatening to file a Title IX complaint against Arlington Public Schools for what they say are inadequate and inequitable facilities for the Washington-Lee High School girl’s softball team.
Parents say the team’s field — located in the public Quincy Park, near Arlington Central Library — is not regulation size, is in poor condition and is frequently befouled by dogs and homeless persons. Parents are demanding better facilities — at least in line with the baseball team’s field, also located in Quincy Park — or else they may file a formal discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
While the W-L boys baseball team utilizes a regulation-size field, parents say, the softball team must make use of a field designed for and used by adult men’s slow pitch softball games.
“The dimensions of the skinned slow pitch infield are too large for fast pitch softball,” parents wrote in a letter to school officials. “The outfield fences are about 100 feet too deep.”
Also, parents say, the softball field lacks a press box, a PA system, a pitcher warm-up area, a flag pole (for the Pledge of Allegiance) and adequate bleachers — all of which the baseball field has.
The field itself is rutted and in such poor condition that it “represents a hazard for the girls who must play there,” the letter continued.
“The softball infield, unlike baseball, is rock hard and drains poorly,” parents say.
“Unlike the baseball field, which is covered in the off-season for maintenance and more consistently maintained during the season, the softball field is never covered, the outfield grass is mowed infrequently… and the infield often is improperly lined for high school competition on game days,” the letter said. “Umpires this spring threatened on at least one occasion not to allow games to be played for this reason.”
Additionally, parents cited various security concerns, like the half-mile walk from the high school and the lack of security lighting or an emergency call box.
“On at least one occasion in 2011 when the varsity team returned home after an away game to use the storage facility in a dark area… girls were surprised by a homeless person sleeping near the storage shed,” parents wrote.
Parents say that homeless individuals frequently sleep in the dugouts, which cannot be locked, unlike the boy’s baseball dugouts (pictured, left). “Drug paraphernalia” was found in one of the unlocked batting cages this spring, they added, noting that they’ve been told the cages cannot be locked because Quincy is a public park.
Further, “the unsecured softball field at Quincy is used as a dog park; the presence of animal waste on the field (often tracked into the dugout) represents a public health hazard,” parents wrote.
Yesterday the school system asked the group for another two weeks to respond to their letter, which was sent on Aug. 13, according to parent Christopher Prins. The letter was sent after months of dialogue between parents and school administrators.
“If we don’t hear back by Sept. 9, with something substantive that advances this discussion, then we will move forward,” Prins said. “We don’t like being blown off for essentially five months.”
Assistant Superintendent Meg Tuccillo says the school system has “limited green space” in which to accommodate student sports, but they nonetheless “intend to work with the families.”
Next Year’s ‘Crystal Screen’ Theme: RomComs
The final screening of this year’s Crystal City outdoor summer film festival took place last night, but not before the theme for next year’s festival was revealed.
The festival, which is coming up on its sixth year, will host an entire summer of romantic comedies in 2012. Dubbed ‘Crystal Screen: Date Night Crystal City,’ the movie series will again start in June and wrap up at the end of August.
Films set to be shown under the stars next year include: Sex and the City, The Wedding Singer, Sweet Home Alabama, Hitch, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Sleepless in Seattle, The Proposal, Bridget Jones’s Diary, You’ve Got Mail, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Love Actually, Pretty Woman and When Harry Met Sally.
“The audience has selected a great line up of movies, and I know that everyone is looking forward to a romantic night under the stars in Crystal City,” Crystal City BID President Angela Fox said in a statement. The past two ‘Crystal Screen’ themes were ‘By the Numbers’ — movies with numbers in the title — and ‘Star Trek’ — an entire summer of Star Trek films.
Alexandria Power Plant to Close
(Updated at 12:25 p.m.) The GenOn power plant along the Potomac River in Alexandria will be retired next year, in a victory for local environmental advocates who railed against the coal-fired plant’s carbon emissions.
The 62-year-old plant is expected to close by Oct. 1, 2012, according to a City of Alexandria press release. Alexandria will release $32 million that was being held in escrow to pay for environmental controls at the plant, in order to facilitate its closure.
“Today’s announcement is a path forward for both Alexandria and the power company that works for everybody, and truly reflects the interest of both parties,” Alexandria Mayor William Euille said in a statement. “Both the Alexandria City Council and community have worked extremely hard toward this goal, and we are very proud of the final result. This news strengthens Alexandria’s future and opens the door to an enhanced quality of life for our residents.”
No word yet on what might eventually happen to the prime waterfront property on which the plant is located. The land is owned by Pepco, according to the Washington Business Journal, but there has been talk of using the land for a nearly half-billion dollar mixed-use project.
Rep. Jim Moran, meanwhile, released a statement praising today’s announcement.
This was a long fought but well won victory for the citizens of Alexandria and the nation’s capital. What once was the largest stationary source of air pollution will be no more. Through citizen involvement and committed city officials, the Potomac River Generating Station and its 1949 coal-fired boilers will finally be shuttered.
Forced to reduce its emissions and scale back its operations to comply with the Clean Air Act as a result of a lawsuit and enforcement actions, Mirant and GenOn were ultimately unable to compete with cheaper and cleaner natural gas powered electricity. Tougher federal regulations now in development may have also convinced GenOn’s management that the $28 million in settlement funds that had been set aside to meet the cleanup terms of the settlement were better than the losses their shareholders were taking trying to keep the outdated plant in operation.
Northern Virginia stands as an example of a prosperous and environmentally-conscious community. Today’s action maintains our commitment to a better, cleaner environment for our region’s next generation. The extinction of this dinosaur of a facility is heartily welcomed.
Del. David Englin, who represents parts of Alexandria and Arlington, also released a statement.
“Every human being has a basic and fundamental right to breathe clean air, which is why so many of us have fought for so long to shut down this dirty, old coal-fired power plant in our midst. This is a major victory for the people of Alexandria that will strengthen our quality of life, and I congratulate all of the officials involved.”
“Our community owes a great deal to the citizen activists who have worked with such unfailing dedication and perseverance to get us to this point. While there is reason to celebrate, the agreement does allow some wiggle room on the closing date, which means we must continue to be vigilant until the day the plant finally and permanently closes its doors.”
Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief
Four Courts to Hold Grand Reopening Tomorrow
Damaged by a fire in April, Ireland’s Four Courts in Courthouse (2051 Wilson Blvd) rose from the ashes and used its misfortune as an opportunity to revamp its offerings.
Now, with a new look, a new chef, an expanded menu, and expended beer and whiskey offerings Four Courts is gearing up to hold a grand reopening party.
The event, which is also being held to commemorate “4C’s” 15th anniversary, will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow, Aug. 31.
“The Four Courts opened its doors during the high-flying 90’s, when Dolly the Sheep and the dot-com boom dominated the headlines,” said General Manager Dave Cahill. “Although we can’t go back in time, we can celebrate the many faithful fans who’ve been patronizing this pub since 1996 and now have families of their own.”
For said families, Four Courts will be offering free food for kids every day between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. (between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays), with the purchase of an “adult food item.”
Continuing the ’90s theme, the pub is promising to “roll back the prices of its European and domestic draft beers to those of the booming 90′s” tomorrow.
Morning Poll: The Arlington Connection
You may see it in newspaper boxes near Metro stations. Or you may see it next to the stack of freebie On Tap magazines at your favorite bar. Or you may not even know it exists.
The weekly Arlington Connection newspaper is the light, feature-y yin to the yang of its more newsy competitor, the Arlington Sun Gazette newspaper. Normally a bit thin during other times of the year, the Arlington Connection — published by the local Connection Newspapers chain — beefed up its coverage this summer thanks to an influx of interns.
The culmination of the summer came this week with the publication of the paper’s annual “Insiders Edition,” which seeks to give people who just moved to the area a crash course in everything Arlington. Given that the Arlington Connection has a barely-functional web site, however — the top “News” story is a one-sentence article from March — we were wondering how many people actually read it, either in print or online.
Morning Notes
County to Label Building Energy Use — In October, Arlington will start installing signs on county-owned building that will reveal the building’s energy use and carbon footprint. “We’d like people to think of energy use in buildings like they think of gasoline use in cars,” Joan Kelsch, Arlington’s green building program manager, told reporter Michael Lee Pope. [WAMU]
Planetarium Donors and Dedications — Among the whimsical new seat dedications in the soon-to-be-renovated David M. Brown Planetarium: “Pick any star — make a wish!” “Gaze upward & dream!” and “4 Who Is Yet To Come.” [savetheplanetarium.org]
Fairfax Supervisor Candidate’s 2010 Arlington Assault — An independent candidate for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was charged with assault in Arlington after a heated argument over a Crystal City parking space on March 25, 2010. “It was an altercation between two adults,” explained Will Radle, who has been endorsed by the Independent Green party. [Kingstowne Patch]
Did You Hear The Cannon Fire This Morning?
The Army’s Presidential Salute Battery, which caused a stir earlier this year after their firing drills at Arlington National Cemetery woke up residents from Arlington to D.C., conducted another loud drill this morning.
“Why does it sound like there are bombs going off… in Clarendon?” asked Twitter user @StacMid around 7:45 this morning.
The reason was because the Battery was conducting a “blank fire crew drill” at the cemetery. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall sent out an email advisory about the drill just after 5:30 last night. Arlington County notified residents just before 10:00 p.m., via Arlington Alerts.
Several Arlington residents said they could hear the anti-tank guns loud and clear this morning.
“Three sets of 11 booms. Sounds like howitzer fire,” tweeted @mikematyas.
“In Westover Village and I can hear the cannon (or gunfire or whatever),” said @ElizabethAFloyd. “Thought I’d be too far to hear but guess not!”
