County Concludes Vacuum Leaf Collection
Arlington County has concluded its annual vacuum leaf collection service.
Though the vacuum trucks have stopped running, Arlington will continue its biodegradable leaf bag collection service — which takes place on the next business day after your normal trash collection day — through Jan. 13.
The county is asking residents to fill out a survey to provide feedback about this year’s vacuum leaf collection.
County Board Candidate Forum Scheduled
(Updated on 1/3/12) The six announced candidates for County Board will have an opportunity to publicly make their case to fellow Democrats next week.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee has scheduled a candidate forum for Wednesday, Jan. 4. The forum will be held during the ACDC meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the NRECA building in Ballston (4301 Wilson Blvd) George Mason University Law School’s Founders Hall in Virginia Square (3351 Fairfax Dr.).
To date, the candidates who have announced their intention to seek the Democratic nomination for County Board are: Melissa Bondi, Peter Fallon, Libby Garvey, Kim Klingler, Elmer Lowe, and Terron Sims.
The deadline for filing to seek the nomination is 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9. Democrats will choose their nominees during caucuses on Thursday, Jan. 19 (at Washington-Lee High School) and on Saturday, Jan. 21 (at Kenmore Middle School).
The County Board special election — to fill the seat being vacated by state Senator-elect Barbara Favola on Dec. 31 — will be held on Tuesday, March 27. So far, no Republicans have announced their intention to run for the seat.
Water Main Break Causes Road to Buckle in Rosslyn
A water main break has closed 19th Street N. between N. Kent Street and Arlington Ridge Road in Rosslyn.
Arlington County crews have stopped the flow of water from the break, but not before part of 19th Street buckled upward due to the pressure of the water.
The road closure is not otherwise impacting traffic in Rosslyn, which has been relatively light this week. No word yet on when the road may reopen.
Top 10 Most-Read Stories of 2011 (6-10)
For the remaining two weekdays of the year, we’re counting down the top 10 most-read ARLnow.com stories of 2011. Today, we’re taking a look back at numbers 6-10.
10. Earthquake Hits D.C. Area (9,606 views) — All of a sudden, at 1:51 p.m. on a Tuesday, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook the D.C. area, sending office workers scurrying out into the streets and freaking out just about everybody who wasn’t a California transplant. The quake also crashed the our (now former) web server, making it difficult to access the site for about an hour following the quake.
9. Pedestrian Struck on Quincy Street Dies (10,035 views) — In one of the saddest stories of the year, a 28-year-old Arlington woman died after being struck by a pickup truck while walking her dog near Washington-Lee High School. Alison Beth Drucker managed to cling to life for about two weeks after the accident, but eventually succumbed to her injuries. On Aug. 25, the 18-year-old man who was driving the truck that struck Drucker pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
8. Ray’s Steak and Cheese Opens (10,642 views) — Restauranteur Michael Landrum attracted a lot of attention with the opening of a new eatery devoted exclusively to one dish: a big, tasty steak and cheese sandwich. Alas, the delicious creation was apparently not enough to sustain an entire restaurant; Ray’s Steak and Cheese was replaced by its predecessor, Ray’s Hell Burger Too, less than a month after it opened.
7. I-66 Sign Sports a Misspelling (11,480 views) — Somehow, the hard-working folks at VDOT missed a fairly obvious misspelling on a large exit sign on I-66. This story was picked up by WTOP, the Washington Post, and a couple local TV stations — but nearly half of the web traffic came from people sharing the article on Facebook.
6. Principal Sends Email to Parents Criticizing Superintendent (11,583 views) — Williamsburg Middle School Principal Kathleen Francis was mad as hell and she wasn’t going to take it anymore. So on the evening of Feb. 1, Francis sent an email blast to Williamsburg parents, telling them she was resigning and filing age and gender discrimination complaints against Arlington Public Schools. Francis was particularly peeved about a personnel complaint she felt had been poorly handled by Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy.
(Note that due to various technical issues, the number of pageviews cited here might not match up with the number of pageviews displayed on the page.)
Morning Notes
The Curious Grape to Reopen — There will soon be two competing boutique wine and cheese stores in Shirlington. The Curious Grape, which moved out of its storefront in Shirlington Village earlier this year in order to make way for Cheesetique, just announced that it will be reopening next month in a larger storefront one block away. [Shirlington Village Blog]
Loyalty Oath for Va. GOP Primary — Voters who want to cast their ballot in the March 6 presidential primary in Virginia will be required to sign a loyalty oath. The Virginia Republican Party requested the pledge — which is perfectly legal under Virginia law — as a condition of participation in the primary. The pledge (of support for the eventual Republican presidential nominee) is intended to reduce the number of non-Republicans voting in the otherwise open primary. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
Earthquake Still Affecting Local Theater Troupes — The temporary closure of the Thomas Jefferson Community Theater due to earthquake damage is still having repercussions in the local arts community. As a result of the closure, a planned Spring 2012 production of Cats has been postponed until 2013. Also, the county’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute has been moved to Washington-Lee High School. [Sun Gazette]
