Attempted Robbery on Columbia Pike Ends With a Bang
Two men attempted to rob the 7-Eleven store at the corner of Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive early Sunday morning.
Police say a man with a gun entered the store at 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19, and demanded money from the cashier. A second suspect then entered the store and a firecracker suddenly exploded in his hand. Frightened by the apparently unplanned or mistimed fireworks, the suspects fled the scene empty-handed.
“The suspect with the firearm was described as a white male, approximately 5’8” tall with a medium build and black hair. He was wearing grey hoodie sweatshirt, a dark bandana around his face and black shorts,” according to the police report. “The second suspect was a black male, approximately 5’7” tall with a average build and was wearing a white v-neck tshirt and dark shorts.”
Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said there was no indication that the second suspect was seriously hurt by the firecracker. Police say they’re not sure why the suspect had the firecracker in the first place.
Would-Be Sex Assault Victim Takes a Bite Out of Crime
A woman got the better of a man who attempted to sexually assault her in Courthouse, near Key Elementary School.
The attack happened on the 2400 block of N. Custis Road, just past 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, as the woman was walking home alone from the Courthouse Metro station. Police say a man came up from behind, grabbed her, forced her to the ground, and placed his hand over the woman’s mouth while he attempted to use his other hand to sexually assault her.
Before he could do so, however, the woman bit him on the hand and screamed for help. The man ran off as three people who heard the scream ran over to assist the victim.
Police attempted to locate the suspect — described as a 5’7″, 200 lbs white male who was wearing a white button-down shirt and blue jeans — but ultimately were unsuccessful, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.
EPIC Smokehouse Expected to Open in Early September
(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) An “epic” new restaurant is coming to 1330 S. Fern Street in Pentagon City, across from Costco.
EPIC Smokehouse is being billed as a neighborhood restaurant that “combines the best aspects of a fine dining steakhouse and a barbecue joint.” Work on the restaurant’s interior is still in progress, but according to a press release the eatery is expected to open in “early September.”
“The vision behind the smokehouse is simple — quality smoked meats and seafood paired with innovative cocktails and high-caliber wine at affordable prices, all complete with incomparable service,” according to the release. “Above all, [owners Joon] Yang and [Wayne] Halleran want their place to be an integral part of the neighborhood.”
Yang and Halleran, formerly of The Palm restaurant in Tysons Corner, say the idea for EPIC Smokehouse has been in the works for years.
“We’ve been waiting for the opportunity to make this concept a reality for a few years, and we are ecstatic to have found the perfect location here in Pentagon City,” said Yang, who will serve as the restaurant’s general manager, in a statement. “Our goal is not only to provide delicious food and the most amazing wine list in the region, but to engage our neighbors in a way that makes us a staple in the community for years to come.”
Signature dishes at the restaurant in include horseradish-crusted prime rib, chipotle-seasoned sea bass, a light poached peach and prosciutto salad, pancetta macaroni and cheese, Carolina slaw and fried asparagus.
EPIC Smokehouse will be one of three restaurants on its particular stretch of S. Fern Street, which is located across the street from Costco and two blocks from Pentagon City mall. The street is home to a Dunkin’ Donuts store and Nell’s Carryout.
The street could be getting a lot busier in the next couple of years, however.
A proposed development that’s currently being reviewed by the county’s Site Plan Review Committee could bring up to 2 million square feet of new office and hotel space along S. Fern Street, and a new 18-story, 411-unit apartment building is in the early stages of construction at the intersection of S. Fern Street and 12th Street S.
The press release for EPIC Smokehouse, after the jump.
Arlington Ranks as #11 ‘Top-Earning Town’ in U.S.
Arlington is the 11th “top-earning town” in the nation, according to a new list compiled by CNN Money.
The ranking is based on Arlington’s $132,580 median family income. Arlington’s median home price is $485,000, according to CNN Money.
Two other D.C. suburbs ranked higher than Arlington. Bethesda, Md. was #1 with a median income of $184,606 and a median home price of $740,000. Ashburn, Va. is #6 with a median income of $146,093 and a median home price of $345,000.
As of 2010, the median annual household income in the U.S. was $50,221, and the median annual household income in Virginia was $59,330.
Lessons Learned from Derecho 911 Problems
Arlington County is using the 911 problems following the June 29 derecho as a learning opportunity.
In the days following the storm, which left 1 million customers without power in Virginia, Arlington and Fairfax counties experienced numerous problems with its 911 service, which made 911 unreachable for many emergency callers; some callers got a busy signal after calling 911, others heard nothing.
The problems were traced back to Verizon’s local communications backbone. In a report released last week, Verizon said the 911 problems started as a result of power outages.
Verizon’s central phone facility in Arlington lost power after the storm. It operated for a few hours on battery power, but a generator at the location failed to start (due to fuel line problems) and the facility lost power at 5:00 a.m. on June 30, after the batteries drained. Although Dominion restored power to the facility at 12:45 p.m., it took time for Verizon to recover its “telemetry” systems, which allow it to see and diagnose problems in its phone network, which had been been damaged by falling trees pulling down phone lines.
In Arlington, 911 service was spotty for days, but was deemed restored and stable by July 4.
In its report, Verizon said it has learned lessons from its 911 failure and will be improving its generator maintenance and redesigning some of its network systems to improve redundancy and reliability. Arlington County says it, too, has learned lessons from the experience.
Jack Brown, Arlington’s director of emergency management, said he’s hopeful that a 911 failure will never happen again. Should it happen, however, he said the county will have a more defined playbook of how to handle the situation.
During the days after the storm, Arlington advised those with emergencies to call the county’s non-emergency line at 703-558-2222. If all else failed, the county also staffed its fire stations so that residents could walk in and report an emergency. A “couple of people” did end up resorting to walking to fire stations, according to Brown.
Through the county’s efforts and somef luck, Brown said no one in Arlington was seriously harmed as a result of the 911 failure.
“We are very lucky that we didn’t have any life-threatening emergencies that couldn’t get through during that time,” said Brown. “We were very vulnerable during that period.”
In Virginia, a state panel is currently investigating the 911 failures, Brown said. Northern Virginia congressmen also called for the FCC to investigate the problems.
Flickr pool photo by ddimick
Crystal City Wine Festival Returns in September
The 6th annual Vintage Crystal wine festival in Crystal City is less than a month away.
Vintage Crystal: A Taste of Wine and Jazz is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 16, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. The event will be held in the parking lot outside 220 20th Street S.
The $20 cost of admission will get you a tasting glass, sips of tequila and various types of Spanish and South American wine, and tapas dishes from local restaurants. There’s also a $10 food-only option.
In addition to the food and drink, the event also features salsa dancing lessons, Latin jazz, and wine tasting classes.
Crystal City is also hosting weekly “Wine in the Water Park” events, at the public “water” park at 1750 Crystal Drive. The events are held on Fridays, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., through Sept. 28.
Disclosure: Crystal City Business Improvement District is an ARLnow.com advertiser.
Morning Notes
North Rosslyn Profiled — The neighborhood of North Rosslyn has been profiled by the Washington Post. The neighborhood is a bastion of “tranquil residential life” in the shadows of Rosslyn’s high rise office buildings, the Post’s Eliza McGraw wrote. [Washington Post]
Children Participate in AHC ‘Olympics’ — About a hundred children who live in affordable housing managed by AHC Inc. participated in their own version of the Olympic Games last week. The competition included both academic contests like “word weightlifting” and “math distance medley,” as well at athletic events like wiffle ball, soccer, jump roping and the 100 yard dash. [Sun Gazette]
Hawk Found Dead — A hawk was found dead over the weekend in the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights neighborhood. It had apparently flown into a window. [Ode Street Tribune]
Flickr pool photo by Enigmatic Traveler
