Potomac Yard Harris Teeter Closed After Flooding
Update on 5/14/12 — This article has been updated here.
The Harris Teeter supermarket at 3600 S. Glebe Road near Potomac Yard has been flooded, possibly by sewage.
Authorities responded to the store for a report of flooding earlier today. A tipster described the incident as “a catastrophic sewage line failure that reportedly destroyed major sections of the store.”
“Ten trucks from Purofirst restoration are joined on scene by three tractor-trailer sized trucks presently pumping,” the tipster said. “One person on [scene] said the store could be closed for months for repairs and restoration.”
The store is on the bottom floor of the Eclipse condominium building, in the far southeastern corner of Arlington.
Photos courtesy Douglas Wendt
Suspicious Package in Aurora Highlands Park
Update at 7:05 p.m. — The suspicious package was “disrupted” by the bomb squad and found to be non-hazardous, according to police. The scene is in the process of being cleared.
Earlier: Police and the Arlington County bomb squad are on the scene of a suspicious package in Aurora Highlands Park near Pentagon City.
A metallic object with red and black wires coming out of it was found in the park around 4:30 p.m., according to Arlington County police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. A portion of the park and its parking lot has been cordoned off with police tape as the bomb squad uses a remote controlled robot to investigate the package.
One lane of S. Hayes Street is blocked by emergency vehicles between 15th Street and Fire Station No. 5.
Arlington Pastor: Local Couples Aren’t Having Enough Sex
A pastor of a local Arlington church says married couples in the area are too stressed and not having enough sex.
John Slye, senior pastor at Grace Community Church, is two weeks into an eight week sermon series that the church has dubbed “Smokin’ Hot.” A mailer sent to local households took the unconventional step (for a church) of promoting the sermon series with the boldfaced words: “Dating. Sex. Marriage. Porn.”
Though the marketing is unquestionably provocative, the overarching goal of the sermon series is improving relationships. Syle says that all too often, intimacy is lacking from marriages and mutual understanding is missing from relationships.
Slye says stress is often the culprit when there’s not enough sex in a marriage. He said there’s even a term for it: DINS, or “Dual Income, No Sex.”
“We see this in Washington, D.C.,” Slye said. “I mean, there’s so much stress here, we have so many Type A people, and we’re just hard chargers. And sex, even among married couples, is just dropping dramatically because of all the stress.”
Syle says physical intimacy — kissing and sex — is a key component of marriages, and shouldn’t be pushed to the wayside.
“In a marriage, sex is meant to be a really positive thing,” he said. “It’s meant to be the glue that holds the husband and wife together. It’s powerful, and that’s what the Bible speaks about.”
“A lot of times when couples first get married, the sex between them is really bonding, but after a while… it either goes away or dries up,” Slye added. “Eventually, married couples — a lot of them — they’re having sex but they’re not kissing. And eventually they’re not even having sex. And you’ve got to do these certain things to instill the passion.”
Another disconnect in marriages and relationships comes from a lack of mutual understanding, says Slye.
“A man has a certain set of love buttons, and a woman has a certain set of love buttons,” he said. “By default, we think that the other sex’s love buttons are the same as ours. And we’re, like, pushing those buttons and it’s doing nothing for them. We have to learn what the opposite sex’s love buttons are, so we have to be real students.”
“Arlington is one of the smartest areas in the country,” he continued. “But we have to be great students, we have to study this person that we’re in a relationship with harder than we study for our PhD, or Masters, or whatever… Both [partners] need to bring something to the table, and they both need to understand each other.”
Slye’s sermon series is based on the Old Testament’s Song of Solomon, which he describes as “the relationship book of the Bible.”
Possible Problems with Gas Line Along Route 50
Washington Gas is investigating possible problems with a 16-inch gas transmission line that runs along Route 50 and Fairfax Drive in the Radnor – Fort Myer Heights area near Courthouse.
Authorities have received multiple calls from people in the area who have smelled mercaptan, the odor additive in natural gas, according to Arlington County police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Washington Gas has apparently traced the smell back to the gas transmission line, but it’s unclear what exactly is wrong with it. Road construction is taking place in the area, but Sternbeck said the gas company is investigating whether the weight of the vehicles passing by on westbound Route 50 is what’s actually causing problems.
Earlier road closures in the area have been lifted, Sternbeck said. Crews from VDOT and Washington Gas are still on the scene, trying to determine the extent of the problem.
File photo
Pence’s Arlington Home Causing Indiana Election Flap
An election battle is brewing in Indiana over Rep. Mike Pence’s home in Arlington.
The Republican congressman is running for governor in his home state of Indiana. According to The Journal Gazette – a publication in Fort Wayne, Ind. — accusations are flying due to Pence’s house in the Williamsburg neigborhood.
His Democratic opponent, John Gregg, claims Pence spends too much time in the D.C. area and not enough time in Indiana. Gregg acknowledges that Pence is a legal resident of Indiana, but believes his time living in Arlington may have caused him to become out of touch with Indiana residents.
The article quotes Gregg as saying, “It’s a question of whether or not they’ve gone Washington with them being out there.”
Although he hasn’t offered a specific breakdown of how much time he spends in each location every year, it’s common knowledge in political circles that Pence’s family lives in Arlington while Congress is in session. His two younger children attend school in Arlington, and his oldest attends Purdue University in Indiana.
Pence, who has been in Congress since 2000, bought his house in Arlington in 2002 for almost $400,000. Currently, records show the property to be assessed at nearly $620,000.
Photo via Google Streetview
Your Beermonger: Lager? I Hardly Know ‘er!
Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).
For our first week of German beer style exploration, we’re going to take a look at what is probably the most popular style of beer in the world — the German-style Lager. Lager has a long and fascinating history. The word Lager itself is actually medieval German for “cellar,” as it was in the caves and storehouses where these beers were originally made. The bottom-fermenting yeast that makes a Lager ferments and conditions at lower temperatures, and as a result the beers they made adopted the name of where they were most commonly brewed.
It was in the 15th Century when the common Lager yeast developed as a hybrid, but it would take nearly 500 more years for the beers we recognize today as Lagers to come around. There is still much that is unknown about the origins of Lager; even today we’re still learning more about how it came to be. Just last year for example, researchers discovered that one of the yeast strains involved in the hybridization that produced Lager yeast originated in Patagonia. How one specific yeast strain managed to travel from southern Argentina to Germany in the 1400s to help produce beer is a question we’re going to have to wait for an answer to.
While there are records dating back to the 1400s of cold-storage beers being brewed in Germany, it wasn’t until the mid 19th Century that the technology and scientific understanding was in place to begin crafting Lager in the manner that many of us are accustomed to seeing it today. By the turn of the 20th Century there were dozens of breweries in Munich alone, many of whom are still with us today: Hofbrau, Spaten, Paulaner, Augustinerbrau, and Hacker-Pschorr being among the most well-known. Weihenstephaner Original Lager from Freising shares many characteristics with these beers as well. Munich brewers also developed the concept of Helles (“bright”) Lager, which remains maybe the most popular German Lager form. The water of Munich was high in carbonates, which exaggerated the bitterness of hops in beers. To achieve balance, brewers tended to use fewer hops and more malt resulting in a slightly sweeter, less harsh Lager. Schalfly Summer Lager is an American-made version that sticks to this script and is a world-class example.
Want to Become an Arlington Firefighter?
If you’ve ever wanted to become an Arlington firefighter or EMT, now’s your chance.
Arlington County is beginning a new round of firefighter/EMT recruitment starting today, May 11. According to a fire department recruitment web page, the process will remain open through Tuesday May 22, 2012.
The application process for becoming an Arlington firefighter is a bit daunting, however. The following are the steps one must go through in order to be offered the job, according to the fire department website:
- Submission of online application
- Application screening
- Communication of eligibility via letter and/or email
- Written examination
- CPAT Practice Sessions
- Submission of Background Package
- CPAT Official Test
Fingerprinting & Ongoing Background Investigation - Panel Interview with Fire Department Personnel
- Conditional Offer of Employment
- Polygraph Examination
- Psychological and Physical Examinations
- Uniform Fitting
- Interview with the Fire Chief
- Final Offer of Employment
Registration Open for Youth Australian Footy Program
A little bit of Australia is coming to town. A youth Australian rules football program is about to begin its 7th year in Arlington.
Registration is now open for Saturday Morning Footy, which kicks off on June 16 in Bluemont Park. The free program runs for six weeks, and is open to boys and girls ages 5-15. Kids will be divided up for different activities based on age.
The sessions will teach basic rules of the game and work on honing skills. Younger kids will participate in non-contact footy games and older kids will play tag games. Parents are also able to participate in many of the activities.
The program’s website says footy is the most popular sport in Australia, and describes it as a mix of soccer, basketball and volleyball. Organizer Chris Adams says the program is “unique in the United States” and brings in kids from a variety of different backgrounds.
“Over the last 6 years, hundreds of children from Arlington and the Washington D.C. area have participated in the program… many of them children of Australian military families stationed temporarily in the area,” Adams said. “Other children have had connections to Australia through parents or time spent stationed at U.S. bases in Australia. Many other children have attended simply because friends have told them it is fun!”
Road Closures for Bike DC Event on Sunday
Arlington County Police will help with road closures for the Bike DC event this Sunday, May 13.
Bike DC is an annual non-competitive bike ride through the District and Arlington. Participants get up close looks at parts of the metro area they typically might not be able to while riding a bike.
A portion of the proceeds for the event will go to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. The full ride is 24 miles long, and the family ride is 11 miles long.
Road closures will begin around 6:00 a.m. and end around noon. The following streets will be closed:
- Route 50 East & Westbound ramps to Meade/Lynn Street
- Northbound Meade Street from Marshall Drive to Rosslyn
- Southbound Route 110 from Rosslyn to Crystal City
- Marshall Drive between Meade Street & Route 110
- Eastbound Washington Boulevard from Memorial Bridge to Columbia Pike
- Westbound Columbia Pike from the Pentagon to the Air Force Memorial
Residents who live in the affected areas will be given reasonable access to their homes when there is a break in the action. Those who live along N. Meade Street adjacent to the Marine Corps Memorial will be allowed to come and go with police assistance.
The cost to participate is $40 for an adult full ride, $30 for an adult family ride, $25 for a youth full ride, $15 for a youth family ride and free for children 12 and under. Registration is available on Bike DC’s website.
Morning Notes
Mother’s Day Weekend — Sunday is Mother’s Day and, just in case you’re the type to make last minute plans, here are some brunch ideas from around Arlington.
Route 1 Streetcar Compromise? – Arlington and Alexandria officials are considering a compromise that could end their reported impasse over the planned Route 1 streetcar project. Under the compromise, the streetcar line that starts in Crystal City would end at the new Potomac Yard Metro station in Alexandria, instead of at the Braddock Road Metro station, as originally proposed. [Connection Newspapers]
Employee Fired Over Rosslyn Derailment — A Metro track worker has been fired following last month’s derailment at the Rosslyn Metro station. [WTOP]
Cocaine Trafficking Ring Busted — Twenty-eight individuals have been arrested and charged with operating a cocaine trafficking ring in Northern Virginia. Five of those arrested are said to be Arlington residents. The Arlington County Police Department and other local agencies assisted the FBI in the investigation. [U.S. Attorney's Office]
MMA Studio Coming to Columbia Pike — A new mixed martial arts studio called Pentagon MMA is coming to the former Kayak Station space on S. Edgewood Street, along Columbia Pike. [Along the Pike]
