Green Pig Bistro Applying for Sidewalk Cafe
Green Pig Bistro, at 1025 N. Fillmore Street in Clarendon, will be asking the Arlington County Board this weekend for the same sidewalk cafe seating that its predecessor, American Flatbread, fought so hard for before it closed last winter.
County staff is recommending that the Board approve the small outdoor seating area for another year. Meanwhile, Green Pig Bistro is still waiting to start its build-out. The restaurant only recently applied for building permit.
The space, which used to the cozy digs of American Flatbread, has since been largely stripped and emptied out. The rear patio area that Flatbread had hoped to use for outdoor dining — only to have their request denied — is now home to a construction dumpster.
In July, Green Pig Bistro owner M. Scot Harlan told ARLnow.com that the restaurant would feature “sustainable American comfort food with high-quality ingredients and reasonable prices.” At the time, Harland said he was hoping to open in either November or January.
FBI Evidence Response Team on Patrick Henry Drive
FBI agents are using metal detectors, shovels and buckets to try to locate new evidence at the site where gun parts and PVC pipes were found buried in the ground yesterday morning.
An FBI Evidence Response Team truck, an all-terrain vehicle and a tent now line Patrick Henry Drive near the I-66 overpass. Yesterday, VDOT construction contractors found gun parts buried in the ground near a utility box, prompting an investigation by the Arlington County bomb squad and police department. The FBI has since taken over the investigation.
A team from the FBI’s Washington Field Office started searching the muddy grounds, just above the westbound lanes of I-66, around 8:00 this morning. Washington Field Office spokeswoman Lindsay Godwin says she was unaware of any findings at the site so far.
BREAKING NEWS — ACPD Officer Hurt in Motorcycle Wreck
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) An Arlington police motorcycle officer has been hurt in a crash on Route 50.
The accident happened near the intersection with Garfield Street, around 1:00 p.m. Initial reports suggest that only vehicle — the motorcycle — was involved.
The officer was said to be conscious but “in a lot of pain.” He has been rushed to a local hospital via ambulance.
Currently, the westbound lanes and one eastbound lane of Route 50 get by the accident scene. Cones are being set up and investigators are taking photos of the motorcycle, which is laying on its side.
Arlington Generates 13 Percent of Va. Tourism Revenue
The tourism industry is on the rise in Arlington.
According to new state tourism figures, visitors spent nearly $2.5 billion in Arlington in 2010, an increase of more than 6 percent compared to 2009. Tourism revenue was still down slightly from its peak in 2008.
Tourism was responsible for 23,164 jobs and a total payroll of $790 million in Arlington in 2010, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation. The county collected some $72 million in tax receipts as a result of tourism, and the state collected $81 million from Arlington tourists.
Arlington remained the top destination for tourists in Virginia, responsible for 13 percent of overall tourism-related spending in the Commonwealth.
“We’re happy to see such healthy increases in guest spending and tourism payrolls, especially in light of ongoing economic challenges,” said Emily Cassell, director of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service, in a statement. “Huge credit goes to Arlington’s hospitality businesses — 43 hotels and hundreds of stores, restaurants and service providers committed to offering an excellent visitor experience at every opportunity.”
In Shirlington, A Three Course Meal for Dogs
The inaugural Shirlington Restaurant Week is well underway, but humans aren’t the only ones who can enjoy a delicious fixed-price meal during week-long event.
Dogma Bakery (2772 S. Arlington Mill Drive) is offering a three-course meal for dogs as part of Restaurant Week. The meal consists of a house-made “gar-lick cheese bite” appetizer; a main course of fish, chicken, beef or venison kibble, with a side of vegetables; and a dog ice cream, cookie or muffin dessert.
The meal is available for dine-in or take-out. Owners choosing the sit-down option are invited to order human food from The Bungalow and dine with their dogs.
The meal costs $7.50, and 100 percent of the purchase price is going to benefit a rescue dog named Chief (pictured), who was abused and now needs a prosthetic leg and paw on either side of his body. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, which is fostering Chief, needs about $800 for the prosthetics.
Morning Poll: Nudity at the Theater
A new play that’s currently being performed at Gunston Theater One (2700 S. Lang Street) contains full-frontal male nudity.
“Take Me Out,” a Tony Award-winning play about a baseball player who comes out to his teammates, includes extended nude locker room scenes. Produced by Dominion Stage, the play runs though Oct. 22.
It’s not the first time that a production at a county theater has included nudity. As the Sun Gazette recounts, there was an all-nude Washington Shakespeare Company production of “Macbeth” in 2007 and a show called “Puppetry of the Penis” at the Rosslyn Spectrum in 2003.
County officials have said in the past that they don’t regulate the content of productions at public theaters. But is nudity appropriate at a taxpayer-supported venue?
Morning Notes
More on Possible Shirlington Walmart — Three months after ARLnow.com reported exclusively that Walmart was eying a site for a possible store in Shirlington, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman is acknowledging that the county is aware of Walmart’s interest in Shirlington. This weekend the County Board is expected to discuss changing the zoning ordinance in order to prevent “big box” stores like Walmart from being constructed without Board approval. When the ordinance change was first advertised, the word “Walmart” was never mentioned. [WTOP]
Fire Station Open Houses This Weekend — Arlington’s 10 fire stations will each be conducting an open house between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The kid-friendly event is organized as part of Fire Prevention Week 2011. [Arlington County]
Turnaround at AWLA — There’s a turnaround underway at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, which had been criticized for its relatively high euthanasia rate for dogs and cats. The shelter’s euthanasia rate during fiscal year 2011 was down 60 percent compared to the year before. The “positive outcome” rate for sheltered dogs rose to 91 percent from 80 percent one year prior. [Sun Gazette]
F.C., Arlington Police Investigate Burglaries — Arlington and Falls Church police are investigating a series of ten residential burglaries since the beginning of fall. The burglaries have occurred in the City of Falls Church and in Arlington’s East Falls Church neighborhood. Stolen items include laptops, iPods, guns, passports, bank checks and jewelry. [Falls Church News-Press]
Crime Report: Dirty Cab Drivers Edition
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, there were two incidents of male cab drivers trying to get fresh with their female passengers.
ASSAULT AND BATTERY, 10/07/11, 800 block of N. Randolph Street. On October 7 at 3 am, a cab driver touched a woman on her arms and legs, as well at attempted to kiss her without her consent. He is described as a white Middle-Eastern male in his 40’s, 5’7” with a heavy build. He was wearing a white and blue plaid button-up shirt.
SEXUAL BATTERY, 10/10/11, 5000 block of Carlin Springs Road. On October 8 at 11:40 pm, a woman moved to the front seat in a cab because the cab driver asked for better directions. The driver then touched her breasts. The woman fled when they reached her destination. The suspect is described as a slightly overweight Indian male in his mid to late 20’s, with dark hair and a full beard.
The rest of the crime report, after the jump.
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