Around Town

The group has its full story on its website, chronicling how it all started with some of the original members meeting after “Rumspringa.” That’s the Amish practice of letting 16-year-old children live without the Amish code of conduct to decide if they want to be baptized into the church. Although most youths return to the Amish lifestyle after Rumspringa, the guys from The Amish Outlaws did not.

The band is made up of former Amish and “Honorary Amish” members: Brother Amos Def, Brother Big Daddy Abel, Brother Eazy Ezekiel, Brother Elijah Rule, Brother Hezekiah X and Brother Jakob the Pipe Layer. All of their shows reportedly are different. Sometimes the band members will rock out to Bon Jovi or Foo Fighters, and other times they’ll bring out the country with Johnny Cash. The group’s website says that throughout each show, The Outlaws “spin yarns about the Brothers’ upbringing and adventures since Rumpsringa.”


News

The Crystal City Business Improvement District announced today that the carsharing service would be launching in Crystal City in the coming weeks. It allows users to park their borrowed car anywhere in the “home area” and find an available car via a GPS-enabled smartphone app.

The service costs $35 to register and 41 cents per minute, with a $14.99 per hour and $84.99 per day maximum. The car’s insurance, gas and parking fees are free (in the home areas), and car2go says it has hundreds of cars in the D.C. area. They can be driven anywhere as long as the user finishes his or her trip within the “home area.”


Feature

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Adam Gallegos of Arlington-based real estate firm Arbour Realty, voted one of Arlington Magazine’s Best Realtors of 2013 & 2014. Please submit your questions via email.

I just watched the Ballston BID development plan video on YouTube. How do you expect the plans to effect condo values in the area? I’m interested in both the next couple of years when we’ll continue to be “under construction” in a big way vs. 2017 when much of it should be complete.


Around Town

Update on 8/7/14 at 11:30 a.m. — D.C. Department of Transportation spokesman Reggie Sanders says the love locks will be removed from Key Bridge today. “Locks are being removed because we don’t want to establish a precedence where our structures could become polluted with these types of campaigns. Also, it could jeopardize the functionality of the railings,” said Sanders.

Earlier: Lovers have started keeping their love under lock and key by latching padlocks bearing their names to the Key Bridge’s railings.


News

Wood, Jr. was one of three people arrested last year in the murder-for-hire case. Mack L. Wood was found dead in his Arlington home in October 2012 from what first appeared to be an accident. However, an investigation by the Arlington County Police Department and the Henrico County Police Department uncovered evidence leading to the arrests of Wood, Jr., as well as Jean Caleb Pierre and Sapien Edmonds. All three men lived in Henrico, VA.

Prosecution documents state Wood, Jr. agreed to pay Pierre and Edmonds $25,000 each to kill his terminally ill father. The three began conspiring in April 2012, according to prosecutors, and made a failed attempt to kill Wood in July 2012. They kept in contact and came up with a new plan, which they successfully carried out in October 2012 when prosecutors say Edmonds beat and strangled Wood. Edmonds reportedly then positioned the body to appear as if the victim died from a fall down the stairs.


Events

Crystal Screen, the Crystal City Business Improvement District’s annual outdoor movie festival, will be showing 14 James Bond movies under the theme Bond is Back. One movie will run every Monday next summer from June through August.

“Crystal City broke the outdoor movie festival mold by launching the very first Bond-themed series back in 2008 and we are excited for the triumphant return of everyone’s favorite super-spy,” Crystal City BID President and CEO Angela Fox said in a press release. “There are so many great Bond films that we wanted to give the fans a chance to see their favorite ones all summer.”


News

County Quietly Chooses Auditor — The Arlington County government hired an internal auditor to improve transparency in finances and operations. County officials say specifics about the hire will be released in September. [InsideNova]

CEB Deal Questioned — Last month, the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) announced it would anchor The JBG Cos.’ planned Central Place office tower in Rosslyn. But the head of Boston Properties believes that’s not a win. He says Rosslyn’s vacancy rate will grow because of the huge space CEB will leave behind at 1919 N. Lynn Street. [Washington Business Journal]