Morning Notes
Veterans Day Ceremony in Clarendon — Local VFW and American Legion posts jointly organized a Veterans Day ceremony at the Clarendon War Memorial on Sunday. At the annual remembrance ceremony a wreath was laid for Lance Cpl. Niall Coti-Sears, who was killed in Afghanistan this year. [MyFoxDC]
Reeves Farmhouse May Be Sold — The Arlington County Board is expected to decide whether to sell the historic Reeves farmhouse, at auction, for residential use. The county had been looking for ways to save the farmhouse for public use, but rejected a proposal to use it as a learning center, apparently due to the proposal not adequately providing for the high cost of needed repairs and renovations to the house. [WAMU]
Historic Status for Green Valley Pharmacy? -- Next month Arlington County Board members are scheduled to consider a proposal to designate the Green Valley Pharmacy a historic landmark business. The pharmacy opened in 1952 at 2415 Shirlington Road, in the neighborhood now known as Nauck. The county’s Historic Affairs and Landmarks Review Board supports the historic designation proposal. [Sun Gazette]
Shirlington Tree Lighting Two Weeks Away — Shirlington Village will hold its annual Christmas tree lighting event on Tuesday, Nov. 27. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]
Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99
Guess Who’s Coming to Town in Two Weeks?
Everybody’s talking about Sandy, but another big arrival is coming to town soon: Santa.
Simon Malls says photos with Santa will begin two weeks from today, on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City (1100 S. Hayes Street).
The Jolly Old Elf will be available for photos at Pentagon City mall through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. He’ll also be present for a special holiday shopping night from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, and available for photos with pets (no exotic pets, please) from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Nov. 25 through Dec. 2.
St. Nick’s arrival in Arlington is a bit earlier than last year. His appearances at Pentagon City mall last year started on Nov. 12, 2011. No word on when Santa will be coming to Ballston Common Mall, but last year his first appearance in Ballston was scheduled for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
Christmas Tree Came With Unwelcome Visitor
This week’s Arlington Animal Watch blotter includes a belated but somewhat amusing holiday-related item from December.
A Westover resident got more than she bargained for when her Christmas tree came with an unwelcome visitor. From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington:
12/2/11 — 1400 block N. Kenilworth St. — A resident purchased a Christmas tree and when she brought it in the house, a wild animal, thought to be a squirrel came out of the tree. Animal control set a trap for the squirrel overnight, and the resident propped her front door open so the animal could exit. The animal did not go into the trap and is no longer in the home so it is believed it ran through the open door.
Video: Christmas Tree Collection in Arlington
Arlington’s Christmas annual tree collection and recycling program has begun, and the county has created a short video (above) to help residents understand how the program works.
According to the video, Arlington County collects more than 9,000 Christmas trees every year. The trees are brought to the county’s Solid Waste Bureau and ground into mulch, which is then redistributed to residents who want to use the mulch in their yards and gardens.
This year’s Christmas tree collection runs from Jan. 3 to 17 on normal trash collection days. All stands, lights and decorations should be removed from the tree before it’s placed curbside. As the video explains, residents who don’t have curbside recycling service — such as those living in apartments — can call 703-228-6570 to schedule an appointment to drop off their trees at the Solid Waste Bureau.
Christmas Tree Collection Begins Jan. 3
Arlington County’s official Christmas tree collection period is still one week away.
Christmas trees will be collected from Jan. 3-17 on normal trash collection days. All stands, lights and decorations should be removed, since the trees will be ground into mulch.
“Residents are reminded to place the tree on the curb no later than 6 am on your regular trash collection day,” the county said on its trash collection website. “Residents that do not have curbside recycling service, such as those living in townhouses, apartments, or condominiums, may also bring their Christmas trees to the Solid Waste Bureau during the Christmas tree collection season. Please call 703.228.6570 to schedule an appointment between 8 am – 3 pm, Monday through Friday.”
The Solid Waste Bureau is located at 4300 S. 29th Street.
Follow these safety tips from the Arlington County Fire Department to make sure your tree doesn’t become a fire hazard before your scheduled pickup or drop-off.
Morning Poll: Will You Be Making Returns This Week?
Now that Christmas has come and gone, and all the presents have been unwrapped, another holiday tradition is upon us: the rush back to stores to return unwanted or ill-fitting gifts.
The week after Christmas is traditionally a busy one for retailers as they start to take returns (and as shoppers who received gift cards start to cash them in).
Will you be making returns this week?
Merry Christmas from ARLnow.com
ARLnow.com wishes you and yours a very merry Christmas. Since it couldn’t be a white Christmas this year, we decided to remind everybody of what Arlington looks like under a foot or two of freshly-fallen snow. The photo above was taken on Feb. 6, 2010, during the famous “Snowmaggedon” snow storm.
ARLnow.com will return for regularly-scheduled news updates on Tuesday.
Where Are the Best Holiday Decorations in Arlington?
We’ve been asked several times: Where are all the Christmas lights? Which streets in Arlington are lined by the most impressive home holiday decorations?
Truth is, we don’t know. But maybe you can help out.
Let us know in the comments which streets and homes have the best decorations. Also, feel free to send us photos of decorations via email or Twitter and we’ll post some of the best ones here.
Photos: Model Railroad at Crystal City Sports Pub
Following a Christmas tradition, Crystal City Sports Pub (529 23rd Street South) has set up an elaborate holiday-themed model railroad and village in its enclosed patio area. Here are some photos we took of the railroad earlier this week.
Morning Notes
Weekend Closure Times Revised — Some of the times of this weekend’s Christmas closures have been revised. Arlington County government offices will now close at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, while county libraries will close at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. [Arlington County]
Dem Caucus Date Revised — Democratic candidates for County Board are scrambling after the newly-chosen special election date forced the Arlington County Democratic Committee to move up its caucuses, which will choose the party’s nominee for Barbara Favola’s former County Board seat. Originally scheduled for Feb. 2 and 4, the caucus is now expected to be held on Jan. 19 and 21. [Sun Gazette]
Flickr pool photo by Christaki
Morning Poll: Arlington Holiday Display?
D.C. has the National Christmas Tree, organized by a national nonprofit group. Loudoun County has an official (albeit controversial) holiday display, open to all religions, outside its courthouse.
While Arlington County has some neighborhood tree lightings and a private, seasonal ice skating rink, there’s no official county-wide holiday display. Should there be?
Santa’s Mailbox Spotted in North Arlington
As mentioned in our Morning Poll, your shopping days before Christmas are dwindling.
Maybe you need some help scrambling to pick up those last minute presents. If so, never fear, because Santa has apparently set up a mailbox on a utility pole in North Arlington, near George Mason Drive and 26th St. N.
We’re not sure how often elves are collecting the letters, but we’re told neighborhood children have been frequenting the mailbox.
Morning Poll: Last Weekend for Christmas Shopping
Forget the weekend after Thanksgiving, this weekend — the last weekend before Christmas — may be one of the busiest shopping times of the year. Last-minute gift buyers are expected to flock to stores on Saturday and Sunday, in advance of two consecutive holiday weekends.
Adding to the shopping crush: Hanukkah starts relatively late this year, on Dec. 20.
Will you be joining the masses at the malls and shopping centers this weekend?
Arlington County Holiday Closures
The timing of Christmas and New Year’s this year couldn’t be worse for those hoping for a couple of extra days off work.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fall on a Saturday and a Sunday, as does New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Obviously, most people already get weekends off as a matter of course. Most Arlington County workers, however, will get an extra day off on the Monday following both holiday weekends.
Arlington County administrative offices, libraries, schools, courts, human services offices and nature centers will be closed on Monday, Dec. 26 and Monday, Jan. 2, in addition to being closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
The courts, which are usually closed on weekends, will be closed on Friday, Dec. 23 and Friday, Dec. 30 in addition to the Monday closures. The Arlington Public Schools winter break will keep students out of classrooms from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.
Several Arlington community centers will be open on Dec. 26, though most — with the exception of Barcroft — will be closed on Jan. 2.
Trash and recycling collections will proceed as usual on Dec. 23, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.
See more details on the holiday closures on the Arlington County website.
Wreaths Arriving Saturday at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery
It’s an annual tradition that helps honor our fallen heroes with some holiday spirit.
On Saturday morning more than 100,000 wreaths will arrive at Arlington National Cemetery. The wreaths will each be placed next to grave markers at the cemetery by teams of volunteers, and will remain there through the end of January.
It’s the biggest holiday wreath-laying yet, with more than three times more wreaths than last year. The wreaths are all funded by donations and shipped via tractor trailer from the Worcester Wreath Company in eastern Maine.
The wreaths will arrive at 7:45 a.m., when a parade of trucks reaches Arlington National Cemetery’s main entrance. That will be followed by an opening ceremony at the Memorial Amphitheater at 8:30 a.m., a helicopter flyby at 8:45 a.m., and the massive volunteer wreath-laying effort through 1:00 p.m. There will also be wreath-laying ceremonies at the Kennedy gravesite, the USS Maine mast and the Tomb of the Unknowns.
DoD photo via Wikimedia
