Crash on Memorial Circle Following Car Chase
(Updated at 12:15 a.m.) An SUV crashed and rolled over several times while trying to navigate around Memorial Circle during a car chase this afternoon.
The car chase started in Tysons Corner, when Fairfax County began pursuing a vehicle after a reported grand larceny, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The chase took pursuing officers onto the George Washington Parkway, into the District and into Arlington National Cemetery, before ending in the wreck on Memorial Circle, according to television news reports.
A large contingent of Arlington fire trucks and medic units were dispatched to the scene of the crash, to treat six people injured in the SUV. A photo posted to Twitter depicts the SUV with severe front-end damage on a grassy area just off the circle.
Among the law enforcement agencies that played a role in the chase were Fairfax County Police, U.S. Park Police and Virginia State Police. Arlington County Police were not involved in the chase and only played a traffic control role following the accident.
Around 4:30 p.m., Metro reported that as a result of the accident, 7Y buses toward Federal Triangle were experiencing delays of 20-25 minutes due traffic on the Memorial Bridge.
Photo courtesy @CAPT258
CVS to Replace Borders at Pentagon Centre
The empty store space in Pentagon Centre that used to house a Borders book store should be getting a new tenant soon.
ARLnow.com received a tip that a CVS will be moving in. A building permit issued on January 27 confirms that the pharmacy will be the new tenant.
Borders moved out last year after the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores across the country. Its former space in Pentagon Centre has sat vacant for months.
Although there were lights on inside today, the store remains empty and no construction appears to be underway. There’s no word on when the CVS is expected to open.
Hat tip to @schwars1
Design of Clarendon’s Bronx Pizza Revealed
We now know what the long-vacant future location of Bronx Pizza in Clarendon will look like after construction.
A tipster sent along this design rendering, which was posed to Facebook earlier today. Bronx Pizza, on the ground floor of 3100 Clarendon Boulevard, will feature New York-style pizza, subs and pastas. It’s expected to serve food “all day,” including breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night. It’s also expected to offer a delivery service.
There’s still no word on when work will finally get underway at Bronx Pizza — which has been little more than an empty storefront with a “coming soon” sign in the window since early 2011. Building permits for the restaurant were issued last spring but have apparently not been utilized yet. A Bronx Pizza website, meanwhile, is still “under construction.”
The Bronx Pizza restaurant concept is being developed by Mike Cordero, owner of Caribbean Breeze in Ballston.
Photo via Facebook
Village at Shirlington Begins Monthly Ladies’ Event
The Village at Shirlington is kicking off a monthly event aimed toward the ladies. Starting tonight, the first Thursday of every month will be “Shirlie’s Girls Night Out.”
Shops and restaurants will offer a variety of specials, discounts, and trunk shows. Some stores will even offer cocktails or snacks to shoppers.
Participating establishments include CakeLove, Capitol City Brewing Company, Cheestique, Dogma Bakery & Boutique, Extra Virgin Modern Italian Cuisine, Hair Cuttery, Hardwood Artisans, Johnny Rockets, Le Village Marche, Luna Grill & Diner, Periwinkle, Studio Salon & Spa and VisualEyes Optical Boutique.
A similar type of event kicked off Shirlington’s restaurant week in October. Danielle Bolger, Marketing Coordinator for BrandLinkDC, says the event last fall was so successful and there was so much positive feedback, the decision was made to turn it into a monthly happening.
The event officially runs from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., but hours for the specials may vary slightly among the individual establishments. You can see what each store and restaurant will offer on the Village at Shirlington website.
Teen Arrested for Brandishing Fake Gun at Abingdon Elementary
(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) A teen with a fake gun threatened a group of children outside Abingdon Elementary School in Fairlington yesterday afternoon.
Students told police a male suspect approached them, carrying a gun with an orange tip. Police radio traffic reported that while displaying the weapon, which was at first thought to be real, the suspect asked the children if they were ready to die.
The suspect and children all left the scene. However, when police arrived, some of the children returned to describe the suspect and incident.
A short time later, police found a 17-year-old boy in the area matching the students’ description. The teen was arrested and charged with brandishing a firearm on school property, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Although he did not have the weapon with him at the time of the arrest, it was later recovered and revealed to be a BB gun.
Nobody was hurt during the incident. The suspect, who police say is an Arlington Public Schools student, was released to his parents.
New Interactive Map Shows County Development
It seems like development projects are always popping up somewhere in Arlington. A new online map highlights all that development, and gives data about each project.
The county’s Planning Research and Analysis Team recently released a report summarizing residential and commercial development activity for the 2011 calendar year. Along with the report, the research team set up an interactive Development Tracking Map to show the locations of projects under construction, completed, demolished or approved by the County Board. Additional information accompanies each entry — some of which date back more than 50 years — and pictures are available for certain locations.
At the end of last year, most of Arlington’s ongoing commercial construction was located along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. In fact, according to the report, 90 percent occurred just in Ballston. In regards to ongoing construction of apartment and condo buildings, 43 percent was located in Rosslyn, and 33 percent could be found outside the Metro corridors.
The report shows that the County Board approved three site plans in 2011 for residential and commercial use — Virginia Square Towers, Wakefield Manor in Courthouse and Boeing in Crystal City. That makes 2010 and 2011 the years with the least number of approved projects since 2000.
A positive sign is the number of residential construction starts, with a net gain over 2010 of 975 units. The report notes this stops a trend that began in 2008, of net losses occurring in year-over-year construction starts.
WMATA Launches Anti-Sexual Harassment Campaign
Metro has officially embarked on an awareness campaign to fight incidents of sexual harassment against people using the system.
“This purpose of this outreach is to let people know that it’s not okay to sexually harass people on Metro,” said Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles on WMATA’s website. “We are encouraging anyone who may be harassed to report the incident to Metro Transit Police.”
Phase one included this week’s launch of an online reporting system. Victims have the option of remaining anonymous, but all reports will be sent directly to Metro Transit Police. An email address, harassment@wmata.com, has also been set up to allow customers to send photos or video to assist in an investigation.
According to the website, reportable behavior includes “extended leering, sexual comments, indecent exposure, stalking and groping.” Even if an incident doesn’t seem like a crime, victims are asked to still report what happened so Metro can spot trends and try to prevent future crimes from occurring. Right now, WMATA does not track such statistics.
“Prior to this initiative, we were not collecting data on reported harassment that did not rise to the level of a crime,” said WMATA spokesman Dan Stessel. “Over the next few months, we will track the data, develop a baseline for future comparisons, and report statistics publicly on a quarterly basis.”
A number of Arlington incidents of harassment on Metro have been made public over the last couple of years. An apparent repeat offender at the Courthouse station was reported to police by at least one woman whom he grabbed after taking a cell phone photo up her skirt. Another apparent repeat offender has been reported at the Pentagon stop in posts on the advocacy website Collective Action for Safe Spaces.
“The changes that Metro is making to address public sexual harassment and assault is a testament to the hundreds of stories we received on our site,” Collective Action for Safe Spaces Co-founder Chai Shenoy said on WMATA’s website. “We see this partnership as a step in the right direction and a model for other transit agencies around the world to follow.”
As part of the anti-harassment initiative, soon customers will see posters for the campaign displayed on buses and in train stations. Materials will be handed out throughout the system. Metro is also working on enhancing training for its employees on the front lines.
Morning Notes
Civic Federation Budget Proposal — The Arlington County Civic Federation has unanimously approved its own vision for the county’s budget. The Civic Federation’s budget proposal would hold the current real estate tax rate steady, while providing more money for schools and public safety, funding an inspector general position and eliminating 16 long-vacant county government positions. The Civic Federation also voted 30-12 for a motion calling on the county to close Rosslyn’s Artisphere by the end of the year unless significant progress is made in turning around the struggling cultural center’s finances. [Sun Gazette]
Streetcar Stalemate with Alexandria — Arlington County’s plan to build a streetcar line from Crystal City to Potomac Yard is facing resistance from Alexandria. While Arlington has financing for the streetcar lined up, Alexandria says they don’t have the money for a streetcar line — and would like the planned Crystal City/Potomac Yard transit corridor to remain a bus rapid transit system for the foreseeable future. [WAMU]
Thousands Sign Up for Housing Aid — Arlington County opened up its waiting list for federal Section 8 housing assistance for one day, after keeping the list closed for the past seven years. In that one day the county received 5,300 pre-applications from those seeking rent assistance. [Patch]
Fund Set Up to House the Homeless — The Arlington Community Foundation has announced a $500,000 private gift that will allow it to create a new fund for the 100 Homes campaign against homelessness. With a $500,000 match from Arlington County, the $1 million public/private partnership will be “dedicated to housing Arlington’s most vulnerable citizens.” [Arlington Community Foundation]
