Power Outage Hits Courthouse Area
More than 1,700 Dominion customers are without power this evening due to a power outage in the Courthouse area.
The outage hit just before 4:30 p.m., causing traffic lights to go dark and sending office workers home early. One person was reportedly rescued from an elevator that became stuck as a result of the blackout. Firefighters responded to the AMC movie theater in Courthouse Plaza for a report of smoke coming from the roof, but it was quickly discovered that the smoke was coming from a power generator.
Drivers in the area are being reminded to treat non-functioning traffic signals as a four-way stop. No word yet on when Dominion expects power to be restored.
Westover Market Butcher Shop Returns
Westover Market’s butcher shop is expected to return tonight after a one week hiatus.
The shop — which offered gourmet cuts of locally-sourced meats — closed last week after butcher shop proprietor Bruce Saunders decided to call it quits. Now, we’re told, the shop is coming back with many of the same meat options, but under new management.
The Westover Market Facebook page says the shop will be offering a $16.99 special tonight on two cuts of beef and two sides, in celebration of the re-opening.
We were unable to reach anybody at Westover Market today to formally confirm the news, despite multiple calls to the store’s listed phone number.
Photo via Facebook
Big Changes Coming to Crystal Drive
Starting next year, two one-way portions of Crystal Drive are set to be converted to two-way roads — a move that planners hope will prepare the Crystal City area for future development and a proposed transitway.
The first phase of the project will add a southbound lane to the portion of Crystal Drive between 12th Street and 15th Street, just north of the Crystal City water park. It will also convert a one-way section of S. Clark Street between 12th and 15th Streets to a two-way road. Construction on this phase of the project is expected to begin in the spring of 2012 and wrap up in winter 2012.
A second phase is expected to begin construction in fall 2012. That phase will add a southbound lane to the one-way portion of Crystal Drive between 23rd Street and 27th Street. Changes will also be make to 27th Street, which runs between the Courtyard by Marriott and the Hyatt Regency hotels.
“The Crystal Drive Two-Way Conversion project will begin to establish the street network needed to support future development and transit improvements planned by the Crystal City Sector Plan and Crystal City Multimodal Study,” Arlington County said on the project website. “The intent of the project is to improve the navigability of Crystal City by converting Crystal Drive and the surrounding street network from a one-way to a two-way directional roadway.”
In addition to converting traffic lanes, the project will also add new traffic signals, street trees, ADA-compatible intersection upgrades and a new southbound bicycle lane.
Drivers can expect lane closures during the construction project.
County Debuts New Winter Weather Web Portal
With talk of some snowflakes in the forecast tonight, Arlington County picked a good day to debut a new web portal called “Arlington Snow and Ice Central.”
The website offers one-stop shopping for residents seeking more information on winter weather preparations, winter weather safety tips, road condition and snow plowing updates, and answers to snow removal ordinance questions. The site also links to the county’s snow issue reporting page.
One of the new features introduced with the new portal is a “snow phase system,” which will designate how far along the county is in its snow clearing efforts after a storm. The page will indicate whether the county is in Phase 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Phase 1 is the “Alert” phase, when snow crews are pre-treating roads and residents are being encouraged to park their cars off-street, if possible.
Phase 2 is the “Primary Routes” phase, when the storm is in progress or has just concluded. In this phase, county and VDOT crews are working to clear primary and secondary roads only. Residents are encouraged to stay off the roads and help clear sidewalks during this phase.
Phase 3 is the “Residential Streets” phase, when crews are working to make residential streets passable while widening the clear path on primary roads.
Phase 4, the “Clean Up” phase, is when crews will focus on removing ice and slush from roads while using the sun as a tool for melting leftover snow.
Arlington County said it’s ready to respond should winter weather strike.
“When forecasters predict winter weather — snow, ice or freezing rain — Arlington’s plows and salt trucks are prepped and ready to go,” the county said in a press release. “Residents, at any time, can check the storm’s progress, track the County’s efforts to clear streets of snow, and learn how to best prepare for the winter weather. The current phase will be posted on the County web site and social media channels.”
AWLA Warns About Out-Of-Date Microchip Info
A stray dog was captured and returned to his owner in Arlington this week, but not without a bit of drama.
The large, black German Shepherd had an embedded microchip that’s supposed to tell animal control officers how to contact its owner. But the chip’s information was out of date — leading back to a registered owner in South Carolina who was no longer there.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) consulted a local directory and eventually found the owner living in Arlington. The man and his dog were then, at last, reunited.
The incident prompted the AWLA to issue to a reminder for pet owners.
“The League would like to remind owners to notify the microchip company that holds the database when their information has changed,” the organization said.
‘Live Fire’ Test To Be Conducted at the Pentagon
Don’t be surprised if you hear what sounds like gunshots near the Pentagon this weekend. The Pentagon’s police agency is planning to conduct a “live fire calibration test” between 6:00 a.m. and noon on Sunday.
From a Pentagon Force Protection Agency press release:
On Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011, a live fire calibration test will be conducted by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency between 6 a.m. and noon. If severe weather is predicted, the test will be conducted during the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 10.
Pedestrians near the area during the testing may hear firearm discharges and see testing facilitators with yellow safety vests. All activities have been coordinated with the Pentagon building safety office, security personnel, and neighboring jurisdictions. Safety during the test is a priority, and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency will be restricting vehicle and pedestrian access to certain locations around the South Parking Lot during this time.
If any individual or activity looks suspicious, please call 703-697-5555 immediately.
EXCLUSIVE: Former County Fair Manager Charged With Embezzlement
A former Arlington County employee has been charged with embezzling funds from the Arlington County Fair, ARLnow.com has learned exclusively.
Denise Marshall Roller, 47, has been charged with four felony counts of embezzling from the non-profit Arlington County Fair, Inc., one felony count of embezzling public funds, two felony counts of forgery and four felony counts of conducting unlawful financial transactions. She was indicted by a grand jury in September and released on a $5,000 bond in October, according to court documents. She’s scheduled to face trial on Jan. 23, 2012.
Marshall Roller, a resident of Fredericksburg, Va., had worked as the county fair’s event manager since at least 2005. A county employee since August 2003, Marshall Roller worked for the fair under a Memorandum of Understanding between the county and the non-profit that organizes the fair, said county and fair officials. Before being hired by the county, Marshall Roller helped to organize the annual Taste of Arlington event in Ballston.
Marshall Roller’s legal woes started in early May of 2011, when the fair’s Board of Directors discovered the alleged embezzlement, according to Arlington County Fair Board Chairwoman Tiffany Kudravetz. The Board brought the matter to the attention of Marshall Roller’s supervisor, Kudravetz said, and the matter was referred to the Arlington County Police Department.
In a statement emailed to ARLnow.com, Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan said the county acted swiftly after the allegations came to light.
“The County acted immediately upon learning of allegations that Arlington County Fair funds had been misappropriated by a County employee,” Donnellan said. “It turned the matter over to the Arlington County Police Department and appropriate action was taken with the employee. After investigating, ACPD turned the results of its investigation over to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office. The employee is no longer with the County. The Grand Jury has handed down an indictment. This matter is now before the Court.”
The alleged crimes took place between February and May of this year, according to court documents. Prosecutors declined to disclose exactly how much was supposedly taken, but organizers say the fair is not currently in financial trouble.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Kudravetz said.
Marshall Roller resigned her position in May, county Director of Human Resources Marcy Foster told ARLnow.com. She had been working within the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, according to county spokesman Mary Curtius. A new county-employed event manager took over for Marshall Roller in May.
The Arlington County Fair, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, went off without a hitch in August.
Kudravetz says fair organizers are considering a new Memorandum of Understanding that would eliminate the county-staffed event manager position in favor of placing several county employees on the fair’s board of directors.
