Severe Thunderstorm Watch Issued
Arlington and the surrounding region is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch through early Friday morning. A line of storms approaching the area may bring downpours, lighting and high winds.
From Arlington Alerts:
The National Weather Service has issued a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH for Arlington County and surrounding suburbs and the District until 1:00 am.
Those with outdoor plans this evening should monitor the skies and be prepared for threatening weather. Lightning is the number one severe weather killer in the US. If you are outdoors and a storm approaches, seek safe shelter indoors.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH means conditions are favorable for severe storms in and close to the watch area. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce tornadoes with little or no advanced warning. Residents should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.
Lubber Run To Host Trio Of Shows This Weekend
The Lubber Run Amphitheater will host a trio of events this weekend, including a Shakespeare play and a Hawaiian music and hula concert.
Lubber Run’s summer series of free outdoor shows will offer a change of pace with Traveling Players Ensemble’s performance of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 27.
The series, which typically features local music acts, will welcome Baltimore-based band The Project, on Saturday.
From a Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation press release:
Selected as a “Summer School in the Arts” by the NEA, Traveling Players Ensemble is a professional theater company dedicated to bringing great theater into the great outdoors through a thriving summer camp and year-round acting classes and workshops
The Project will play at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. Also from the release:
Baltimore musicians Bob Goldberg (lead vocals and guitar), Eric McCleaf (guitar), and Jason Wilson (bass guitar and backing vocals) rock the house with everything from classic rock to current pop, with some 80s rock, 90s modern rock, and lots of other stuff in between.
Finally, a group from Arlington-based “native Hawaiian school” Halau O ‘Aulani will take the stage at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 29:
Native music and dance presented by Halau O ‘Aulani, founded in 1996 for the sole purpose of creating a learning environment for students interested in the preservation of the multi-faceted cultures of Hawai’i with primary emphasis on the Hawaiian culture.
New Frozen Yogurt Shop Coming to Pentagon City
Is there enough room in Pentagon City for two self-serve frozen yogurt stores?
Tutti Frutti franchise owner Geoff Trout is betting on it. He hopes to open shop on South Fern Street, next to the Post Office in the Millennium at Metropolitan Park apartments, in late August or early September.
The self-serve frozen yogurt trend hit Pentagon Row earlier this year when Yogiberry replaced Maggie Moo’s ice cream. The Tutti Frutti concept is similar — a rotating menu of flavors combined with 35 to 40 fruit and candy toppings.
“I feel very confident in the product,” Trout said. “I don’t think Pentagon Row is close enough. This is a company that has really taken off.”
The Los Angeles-based company claims it’s the largest self-serve frozen yogurt chain in the world, with 584 franchises.
Crystal City To Host Dog-Friendly Beer Festival
Crystal City will be hosting an event this fall geared to lovers of both dogs and beer.
The inaugural “Pups and Pilsners” outdoor beer festival will be held on Sept. 23. The Crystal City Business Improvement District and Washington Wine Academy is stocking the event, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 1405 Crystal Drive, with a beer garden of 10 craft brews and food from Crystal City restaurants.
Entry to the “dog-friendly festival” is free — and bringing Fido is optional. The beer garden will cost you, though. Tickets will be available at washingtonwineacademy.org.
Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser
Police Identify Couple In Murder-Suicide
Police on Thursday identified the man and woman killed in Tuesday’s murder-suicide at the Park Shirlington Apartments on the 4500 block of 31st Street South, near the Fairlington neighborhood.
Xiomara Aracely Benitez, 30, of Arlington was pronounced dead at the scene along with Juan Carlos Mox Mox, 30, of Arlington, according to a press release from the Arlington County Police Department. Police identified Benitez as the victim and Mox Mox as the subject. They were married with two children.
Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said a family member took in the two children after the incident, which police have officially ruled a murder-suicide. The cause of death has not yet been determined, according to police.
A family member discovered the victim and subject in a back bedroom of their apartment and police received a 911 call at 2:43 p.m. on Tuesday.
This last homicide in Arlington County happened on March 14, 2010, when a man was stabbed to death in the Lyon Park neighborhood.
Signature Theatre Kicking Off New Season With Open House
Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Avenue) is kicking off its 2012-2013 season with an all day open house on Saturday, August 4.
Free performances will be taking place approximately every 15 minutes on four stages, starting at noon. They feature sneak peeks at some of the upcoming season’s shows, such as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Dreamgirls and Hello, Dolly! The event culminates with a finale concert at 8:30 p.m., scheduled to include both local and Broadway actors, as well as the winner of the “Signature Idol” competition. A list of performers and performance times is available online.
“The open house is a great way to get people acquainted with the new season,” said Signature Theatre publicist Peter Eramo, Jr.
Eramo noted that the open house will be the one day all year that tickets are available for the new season’s shows at a 50 percent discount. There’s no minimum purchase necessary, but the discounted tickets do have to be bought that day at the box office.
The celebration will take over parts of the plaza in the Village at Shirlington. Visitors can enjoy a moon bounce and skee ball, or munch on free snacks like popcorn, sno-cones and cotton candy.
Staff will be on hand at the event to answer questions about the Signature Theatre and the upcoming season.
Arlington Gets Praise In First Year Of ’100 Homes’ Campaign
Earlier this month, the 2012 National Conference on Ending Homelessness recognized Arlington County as one of 15 communities nationwide that are “on track” to end homelessness among the medically vulnerable within four years.
The claim is based on a benchmark set by the National Alliance to End Homelessness — cities or counties that moved 2.5 percent of their chronically ill homeless population into permanent housing each month made the list.
Arlington’s “100 Homes” campaign, a partnership with the nonprofit A-SPAN, put about 30 homeless people with life-threatening medical issues into permanent, federally-funded supported housing since starting up last October.
“It does actually cost the community a lot more to leave them homeless,” said A-SPAN Director of Development Jan-Michael Sacharko. “If you can keep people out of the emergency room, out of shelters, out of jails, you save a lot more money.”
The initiative, an outgrowth of the national “100,000 Homes” campaign, was cost-free, Department of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick said.
And it rallied significant volunteer support. About 180 volunteers went out at 4 a.m. for three days last fall to survey the homeless and check for those with hypothermia, chronic kidney disease, AIDS, HIV or other diseases.
“We’ve always had data on people who were homeless in Arlington,” Larrick said. “This was the most specific.”
Larrick said the survey found 113 “extremely vulnerable” homeless people. The 30 who moved into permanent housing did so with existing county and federal housing programs. Many are clients of A-SPAN, which provides individual case managers to track progress.
As of Arlington’s last count, which came in January, there are 451 homeless people on the streets and in homeless shelters, Larrick said.
Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief
Crime Report: With Friends Like These Edition
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, items were stolen from a house in the Ballston area after a juvenile house sitter invited friends over.
BURGLARY, 07/22/12, 4100 block of N. 11th Place. On July 22 at 8:54 pm, a male juvenile reported several items missing from the place he was house-sitting. The juvenile had invited friends over and realized once they left that a laptop, camera and money had been taken. Police are investigating.
The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.
Morning Notes
Meriweather Pleads to DWI Charge — Washington Redskins strong safety Brandon Meriweather has pleaded no contest to the charge of driving while intoxicated in Arlington. As part of the plea, Meriweather was assessed a fine, a driver’s license suspension, and a 180 day jail sentence — though the jail time was suspended. ARLnow.com was the first to report in April that Meriweather had been arrested for DWI following a traffic stop on I-66 in Arlington. [Washington Post]
Heat Advisory Issued — A heat advisory will be in effect from noon to 8:00 tonight. Heat index values are expected to reach around 105 degrees, which brings the risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses. [Weather Channel]
District 45 Special Election Scheduled — The special election to replace Del. David Englin, who resigned in June, will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced the special election date yesterday. [Virginia.gov]
Green Pig Bistro Reviewed — Washingtonian Magazine reviews Clarendon’s Green Pig Bistro (1025 N. Fillmore Street) and dubs it a “hipster farmhouse.” In addition to the food, the restaurant’s staff also receives attention in the article: “That dude with the mohawk and baroque tattoos? That’s the sous chef.” [Washingtonian]
Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann
