News

Arlington County Board member Barbara Favola has decisively won the acrimonious race for the 31st District state Senate seat. With all precincts reporting, Favola has captured 65 percent of the vote to Jaime Areizaga-Soto’s 35 percent. Favola will face a well-funded Republican challenger, Caren Merrick, in November.

Del. Adam Ebbin, meanwhile, has squeaked by Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka in the three-way race for the 30th District state Senate seat. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Ebbin has 39 percent of the vote to Kupricka’s 36 percent and Arlington school board member Libby Garvey’s 25 percent. Ebbin will face Republican hopeful Timothy McGhee in November.


News

Voting in Arlington is proceeding as normal, despite today’s earthquake.

All voting centers are open, according to county elections officials, but voting has been moved outside at the George Mason University voting center due to the university’s decision to close all of its buildings. Some voting centers were briefly evacuated after the quake, but polls will close at 7:00 p.m. as scheduled.


News

Earlier: Traffic is moving at a crawl on northbound I-395, from Alexandria to the 14th Street Bridge.

Commuters heading from Virginia to the District following today’s earthquake have jammed the highway, causing major delays. The southbound GW Parkway is also reported to be slow heading toward interchange with I-395.


News

Reports of the ground shaking came in from throughout the county, the region and the eastern seaboard. The epicenter of the quake was located between Charlottesville and Richmond, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Be advised, we just suffered an earthquake,” Arlington County 911 dispatch said over police and fire radio channels, just after the quake hit at 1:51 p.m. So far, no major damage or significant injuries have been reported in Arlington.


Traffic

A fully-loaded dump truck came to a grinding halt at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Randolph Street this morning after its left front wheel detached from the axle.

Nobody was hurt, but the accident did block Randolph Street for at least a half hour, as a heavy wrecker truck was brought in to move the disabled dump truck. A large gash was visible in the pavement, showing where the truck started grinding into the street after the wheel fell off.


Around Town

Arlington has placed seventh in this year’s Money magazine ‘Best Places for the Rich and Single’ list.

“Home to the Pentagon and several other government agencies, Arlington is filled with policy wonks, analysts and researchers,” the magazine said of dating scene in the county. “Bar hop in the Clarendon-Court House neighborhood, where happy hour, pub quizzes and karaoke nights make playing the field fun and easy.”


News

Rep. Jim Moran issued a statement last night about rebel advances during the ongoing fighting in Libya.

Last night, the indomitable power of freedom carried the Libyan people within reach of ending Moammar Gaddafi’s cruel reign. Now, the dictator must surrender to the International Criminal Court, and face justice at last. The United States and the broad alliance we have brought together to help Libya’s Transitional National Council and oppose Gaddafi’s regime should now focus on supporting a peaceful transition to democracy.


News

Election Day in Virginia — Voters are going to the polls in Virginia today to vote in a rare mid-August primary. In addition to the date, which was pushed back thanks to this year’s redistricting process, this year’s election is unique because it features “more Latino candidates on the ballot than ever before in General Assembly races… running for both Democratic and Republican nominations.” Arlington’s 51 polling places will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. today. [NBC Washington, Arlington County]

O’Leary Predicts High Turnout — Arlington County Treasurer and amateur election prognosticator Frank O’Leary believes that about 11,850 votes will be cast today, seven times the turnout of the 2007 primary. O’Leary based his projection on the number of absentee votes cast this year, which is higher than usual. [Sun Gazette]