Around Town

On Saturday, the public will be introduced to the new Long Bridge Park — just north of Crystal City — when county leaders hold an 11:00 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.

First-time visitors will be pleasantly surprised to find that the 18-acre park is quite a sight to behold. A year and a half after construction on the park began, what was once a muddy brown field is now a welcoming green space, with picturesque views of Reagan National Airport, the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary, the Crystal City skyline and the Washington Monument.


Around Town

The Department of Environmental Services may be Arlington County government’s largest single department.

With about 375 full-time employees and an operating budget of more than $70 million, the department is in charge of maintaining the county’s streets, street signs, street lights, water lines, and sewers. It also collects your trash and leaves, runs the county’s snow plows and operates transit programs.


Around Town

A Chick-fil-A restaurant is under construction at 6108 Arlington Boulevard, not far from the Target store that anchors the shopping center. The 3,700 square foot restaurant is expected to open in April 2012, according to the Falls Church News-Press. Like last year’s Chick-fil-A opening in Crystal City, chicken fans can expect the restaurant to give away free food for a year to the first 100 people in line at the store’s opening.

Next to Chick-fil-A is Cafe Rio, which will be the second Northern Virginia outpost of the Utah-based Mexican restaurant chain. Cafe Rio says its restaurants “offer the highest quality, freshest food you will find anywhere.” As proof of the freshness, the company points out that its restaurants do not have freezers or microwaves.


News

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a man exposed himself to a female jogger along a bike path in Rosslyn. The incident took place around 10:00 p.m. last Wednesday.

EXPOSURE, 10/26/11, 1400 block of Lee Highway. On October 26, at 10 pm, a woman was jogging on a bike trail near the Key Bridge. She witnessed a man hiding behind a sign shining a flashlight on his genitalia as she ran past. The suspect is a Hispanic or African American male with a light complexion. He was wearing a suit, and covered his face with pantyhose or a stocking.


Around Town

Norwood Found Guilty of Murder — A Montgomery County jury has found Brittany Norwood guilty of the brutal murder of Rosslyn resident Jayna Murray. Murray was found beaten and stabbed to death in a Bethesda Lululemon yoga store in March. [ABC 7]

Cain Accused of Sexual Harassment in Crystal City — Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain has been facing accusations that he sexually harassed female employees while serving as head of the National Restaurant Association. The latest accuser alleges that one incident of harassment happened at an (unnamed) restaurant in Crystal City. [Politico]