Reminder: Major Track Work to Snarl Metro Travel
As we reported earlier this week, riding Metro will be a challenge for users of the Orange and Blue lines this weekend. Major track work will force the closure of the Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery stations.
The closures will be in place starting at 10:00 tonight and continuing until the system closes on Sunday. WMATA says workers will renew rail fasteners, replace insulators and remove sludge from the tunnel beneath the Potomac River.
Orange Line trains will be split into two segments. One set of trains will run between Vienna and Court House every 20 minutes, and another between Foggy Bottom and New Carrollton at normal weekend service levels.
Blue Line trains will also operate in two segments. One set of trains will run between Franconia-Springfield and Mt. Vernon Square via the Yellow Line bridge at normal weekend service levels, and the other between Foggy Bottom and Largo Town Center at normal weekend service levels.
Shuttle buses will be provided at affected stations along both lines. Metro says riders should expect to add 20-30 minutes to regular travel time — or reconsider their use of Metrorail altogether.
“While bus shuttle service is available, customers traveling between the District and Blue/Yellow stations in Virginia may wish to consider alternate travel options,” WMATA said on its web site.
More details about the buses and the service impacts, after the jump.
Obama Unveils Jobs Plan During Arlington Visit
President Obama chose Arlington’s Fire Station No. 5 (1750 S. Hayes St) as the place to deliver a speech about the creation of a new Veterans Jobs Corps.
Around 11:30 a.m. the President arrived at the fire station via motorcade and took the stage to announce his new $1 billion initiative, which he highlighted during the State of the Union address last month. The program particularly targets veterans who have served since 9/11 — a group whose unemployment rate is currently hovering around 13 percent.
“Our veterans are some of the most highly trained, highly educated, highly skilled workers that we’ve got,” said the President. “These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract.”
Under the initiative, 20,000 veterans will be put to work over the next five years on a Veterans Job Corps conservation program, which will “restore our great outdoors by providing visitor programs, restoring habitat, protecting cultural resources, eradicating invasive species, and operating facilities,” according to the White House. The corps will also “repair and rehabilitate trails, roads, levees, recreation facilities and other assets.”
In addition to the Veterans Job Corps, the president announced that he will seek $5 billion in funding to boost local police and firefighter hiring. Preference for those jobs would be given to post-9/11 veterans.
“Let’s get more cops on the beat. Let’s gets more rangers in the parks. Let’s get more firefighters on call,” Obama said today. “And, in the process, we’re going to put more veterans back to work. It’s good for our communities, it’s good for our economy, and it’s good for our country.”
The president explained that in addition to contributing to the overall good of communities, there will be specific financial benefits for taking part in the initiative.
“Today, we’re announcing that communities who make it a priority to recruit veterans will be among the first in line when it comes to getting help from the federal government,” the president said.
‘Couture’ Returns to Crystal City Next Week
The annual Crystal Couture fashion show and sale is returning to Arlington next week.
Starting on Tuesday, designers, models and fashionistas will take over the former food court at the Crystal City Shops (1750 Crystal Drive) for five days devoted to all things fashion.
Attendees can take part in trunk show sales, watch models sport the latest trends on the runway, or indulge in food and drinks while taking in music. They can also find deals of up to 50 percent off on items at some boutiques. Makeovers for hair and makeup will be available, as well.
Events run from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. each night from Feb. 7 through Feb. 11, and are free to the public. Some of the local personalities who will be hosting the events include NBC4′s Angie Goff, Hot 99.5′s Sarah Fraser, D.C. Magazine’s Karen Sommer Shalett, Pinkline Project’s Philippa Hughes, former Miss D.C. Kate Michael and former America’s Next Top Model contestant Bianca Chardei.
Organizers are promising even more shopping opportunities at this year’s five-day event, where more than 40 local designers and boutiques will be represented. A full list of participants can be found online.
Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser
Your Beermonger: Planet Belgium
Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).
It has been fun these past few weeks going over some of the basic styles and examples of those styles. I feel like it’s time to start exploring other parts of the world and maybe get a bit more specific when it comes to styles, beers, history, etc. The next few weeks of this column are going to be dedicated to exploring Belgian beers. There are many misconceptions and assumptions made by those unfamiliar with the beers of Belgium, and while I certainly won’t be able to clear ever one of them up I hope to at least clear a path for you to find an interest in what is historically the most interesting of the ‘big’ beer-producing nations.
Now don’t get me wrong: I swear by my belief that the United States has the most interesting and dramatically varied beer producing culture in the world. That said, it seems that most beer geeks I’ve met and known over the years (myself certainly included) have followed a path from intense hoppy American Pale Ales and IPAs to Belgian beers. It’s not an easy transition for everyone; it took me years to wrap my head and palate around the flavor profiles and archetypes traditional in Belgian beers that are truly foreign to us here in the States. I’ve said it many times to many people over the years: while traditional beers from the U.S., U.K., Germany and the like are different, they’re relatable under the umbrella of what we know here as “Ales” and “Lagers.” Belgium is akin to a completely different planet. On Planet Belgium we consider different styles to be their own countries, so rich and varied are their traditions.
Because of the very different and sometimes downright strange flavor profiles in Belgian beer, it’s easy for someone new to it to be put-off for a lack of preparedness. We’ll get into the details later on, but for now here are of basic rules to help you start your journey:
Free your mind and your palate will follow: If all you know of Belgian beer is Stella Artois and you’re looking to expand your knowledge, make this your mantra. Repeat it to yourself often. Never forget it. You will have to adjust to new ideas and accept a whole new paradigm of what beer is and what flavors make sense. The use of spices, sugars, fruit, and wild yeasts are par for the course depending on which beer is in your glass at any given time, creating brews that are unlike anything you’ve ever had. Keep a clear head about yourself and judge each beverage on its own merits, not by how “weird” it might be compared to what you may be used to. I cannot stress this enough.
Arlington Resident Will Challenge Moran in Primary
Rep. Jim Moran is facing another challenger in the Democratic primary for Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District.
Bruce Shuttleworth, a resident of Arlington’s Old Glebe neighborhood, announced his candidacy this week and is putting his money where his mouth is: contributing $50,000 of his own money to his campaign. The former U.S. Navy pilot is also coming out in full-attack mode asked why he wants to take on the well-connected, ten-term congressman.
“I’ve been very impressed by our wonderfully honest local leaders, and I’ve been very struck by the disparity in integrity between those local leaders and [Rep. Jim Moran],” Shuttleworth told ARLnow.com, specifically mentioning campaign contributions Moran has received from earmark recipients. “I don’t think he can be trusted to uniformly act in the best interest of the citizenry.”
“I haven’t found more than one or two [residents] who said they think highly of Jim Moran and that they enjoy voting for him,” Shuttleworth added. “I think his likeability factor is very, very low.”
Shuttleworth, 46, was born in New York and spent the latter part of his childhood in Maryland. A United States Naval Academy graduate, Shuttleworth was a naval aviator who served on the carrier USS America during its support of American actions in Bosnia and Somalia. After leaving the military he attended Harvard Business School and went to work for the Boston Consulting Group, before moving to D.C. with his wife about 12 years ago.
Shuttleworth has been an independent consultant since 2008, according to his LinkedIn profile, after working at local companies like MicroStrategy and Blackboard. He and his wife Diane, a lawyer, have two twin 9-year-old boys who attend Arlington Science Focus School.
Eschewing traditional Democratic red meat, Shuttleworth is instead venturing into unfamiliar political territory by focusing on the national debt as a key campaign issue during the primary.
“I think that America is really facing one of the most serious challenges in its history with this out of control debt,” Shuttleworth said. “These aren’t just numbers in a computer. Having more than $250 billion go to interest payments — that’s money that we cannot spend on our [general] welfare. This is a situation that puts us at great risk for hyperinflation.”
“This is an issue that transcends all American interests, and I don’t think it has the proper attention of Jim Moran,” Shuttleworth said, adding that out-of-control debt jeopardizes the country’s social safety net.
If the focus on the national debt makes Shuttleworth sound a bit like a Republican, he’s quick to point out that he’s very much a Democrat on other issues, including the social safety net, women’s health, gay rights and gun control.
Although he has little political experience, Shuttleworth says he has been active in the community. He serves on the Arlington Public Schools Comprehensive School Health Committee, is a Civic Association delegate and coaches basketball and soccer. He says he’s been pleasantly surprised by the pledges of support he has received since announcing his candidacy Wednesday afternoon.
“My iPhone is just beeping out of control,” he said. The congressional primary is scheduled for June 12.
Volunteers Needed for Green Expo on St. Patrick’s Day
The group Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment is asking for volunteers to help keep the green in St. Patrick’s Day. Well, not exactly the Irish green — but the environmental green.
On March 17, ACE is holding its third annual Green Living Expo from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School. The event focuses on helping residents find practical ways to “green up” their lifestyles. Visitors will find green living seminars, a variety of local and national exhibitors, children’s activities, a raffle, sustainable eating food sales and cooking demonstrations.
The expo is free and open to the pubic, but the event is still short on volunteers. Extra help is needed from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., organizers say. Anyone who wants to lend a hand can get more information by calling 703-228-6427.
Guilty Plea Entered in County Fair Embezzlement Case
A former county employee accused of embezzling from the Arlington County Fair has pleaded guilty to all counts against her.
Denise Marshall Roller pleaded to 11 felony counts, including embezzlement, forgery and money laundering. The 48-year-old Fredericksburg, Va. resident had worked since 2005 as the county fair’s event manager. She resigned last May, after police were tipped off to suspicious activity.
Investigators discovered that between February and May of last year, Marshall Roller deposited nearly $12,000 of checks intended for the fair into a fraudulent bank account. Court documents show she submitted forged bylaws to a local bank, which apparently allowed her to open an account in the fair’s name. She withdrew portions of the money over the three month period for her personal use, prosecutors said.
When confronted about the account by colleagues, police say Marshall Roller initially claimed she had set up a personal account at the bank and mistakenly deposited a county fair check into the account.
Marshall Roller is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27.
Morning Notes
County Expects Fewer Housing Dollars from Feds — Federal spending cuts and a reduction in poverty in Arlington have combined to result in a relatively steep drop in federal housing dollars for Arlington County. The county expects to receive $1.16 million in federal housing dollars in fiscal year 2013 — a nearly $400,000 drop compared to the prior year. [Sun Gazette]
‘Tebow Bill’ Advances in General Assembly — A bill that would allow home-schooled students in Virginia to play for public school sports teams has cleared a key legislative hurdle, reports the Associated Press. The bill’s nickname — the Tebow Bill — references NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who was home schooled but permitted to play on a public high school football team. [My Fox DC]
Fitch Affirms Arlington’s ‘AAA’ Rating — Bond rating agency Fitch has affirmed Arlington’s AAA debt rating in advance of an upcoming bond offering. Fitch praised Arlington’s “outstanding fiscal performance” and “exceptionally vibrant employment base” in a press release. ”Conservative budgeting, timely tax and fee increases, and closely monitored expenditure controls consistently produce surplus operating results leading to solid reserve levels and liquidity,” the firm wrote. [Business Wire]
Prostitute Sexually Assaulted in Ballston — A prostitute was sexually assaulted at the Comfort Inn hotel on N. Glebe Road in Ballston on Wednesday, according to the Arlington County Police Department’s daily crime report. The woman did, however, manage to call her “bodyguard” during the attack. The bodyguard reportedly got in a scuffle with the woman’s attacker before the attacker fled the scene. [Patch]
