Farmers Markets Canceled Due to Heat
Due to today’s heat advisory, two local farmers markets have been nixed.
The sweltering temperatures have prompted organizers of both the Ballston Farmers Market — held every Thursday in Welburn Square — and the Rosslyn Farmers Market — held Thursdays at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Oak Street — to cancel.
Temperatures are expected to come close to the 100 degree mark today.
Flickr pool photo by MichaelTRuhl
Empanada Cart Launching in Arlington
A new food cart is planning to launch in Arlington this weekend.
Capital Empanadas will serve “freshly-made Andean-style empanadas” to denizens of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and, in a few weeks, Crystal City as well.
The cart’s owner, Richard Villegas, is a native of Colombia and a ten-year Arlington resident. Villegas says he is “thrilled” to introduce this “unique treat” to the area.
“Our Andean-style handmade empanadas have typical flavors from our beloved Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru,” the Capital Empanadas web site says. “We put our heart and soul into our empanadas and you’ll feel the love once you meet us and enjoy them.”
The cart is scheduled to make its first appearance at the Courthouse Farmer’s Market, starting at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. Empanada fans will be able to follow the cart on Twitter and Facebook.
The Capital Empanadas menu includes:
- Meat (carne) empanada
- Chicken empanada
- Cheese empanada
- Veggie empanada
- Plantain chips
- Dulce de Leche
- Water and soft drinks (including Colombiana, Inca Kola and Coke products)
Photo courtesy Capital Empanadas
Morning Notes
Krupicka Uses Marine in Mailer — State Senate candidate Rob Krupicka has gotten the attention of a conservative web site for printing an endorsement from a Marine sergeant, along with a photo of him in uniform, on a campaign mailer. If the Marine is on active duty, such an endorsement would violate military guidelines. The Sun Gazette’s Scott McCaffrey also points out that Krupicka’s mailer also makes reference to supporting “soldiers and their families” — which would refer to members of the Army but not the Marine Corps. Krupicka, an Alexandria city councilman, is facing off against Arlington School Board Chair Libby Garvey and Del. Adam Ebbin in the Democratic primary. [Sun Gazette]
Medical Care By Lottery — Every month, the Arlington Free Clinic holds a lottery to see who will receive medical care. With demand for care exceeding supply, this month only 25 people were selected out of a pool of 140. [WAMU]
Ballston Farmers Market Starts This Week — The Ballston Farmers Market will hold its season grand opening this Thursday. The market is free and held every Thursday (until October) from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Wellburn Square, between N. Stuart and N. 9th Streets.
Morning Notes
Zach Galifianakis Spotted in Clarendon – In town for the White House Correspondents Dinner, actor Zach Galifianakis was spotted walking the streets of Clarendon on Saturday. According to the caption, he did some shopping and had lunch at Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland Street). [ContactMusic.com]
Arlington Young Republicans Growing — The Arlington Young Republicans have added nearly 100 members over the course of a year, making it the largest Young Republican organization in Virginia. [Sun Gazette]
Goose Lays Eggs in Shirlington — A mother goose is apparently nesting her eggs in a planter outside the IO Piazza apartment building. So far, no friendly deer have been spotted. [Shirlington Blogspot]
Crystal City Freshfarm Market Starts Today — The first Freshfarm market of the season in Crystal City will be held on Crystal Drive between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. today. [Freshfarm Markets]
Morning Notes
Above: A look back at last year’s presentation of a steel beam from the World Trade Center at Arlington County Fire Station 5. Firefighters from Fire Station 5, in Pentagon City, were among the first to respond to the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
School Budget Approved – The Arlington County School Board has approved a new $475 million budget for FY 2012. The budget funds pay raises for teachers and staff, expands professional learning activities for teachers and eliminates ‘early release Wednesdays’ at four elementary schools. It also includes $1 million to study options for addressing the school system’s looming capacity crisis. [Arlington Public Schools]
Columbia Pike Farmers Market Returns — Sunday marked the start of the summer season for the Columbia Pike Farmers Market. [Pike Wire] (Disclosure: The organizer of the farmers market is an ARLnow.com advertiser)
Arlington Home to Fast-Growing Companies — Arlington is home to six of the 50 fastest-growing privately-held companies in Virginia. [Sun Gazette]
Morning Notes
Tejada, Moran Get ‘Snippy’ Over Immigration — At a work session Monday afternoon, County Board member Walter Tejada and Rep. Jim Moran got in a verbal ‘tussle’ when Tejada suggested that Democrats have not done much recently to advance the cause of immigration rights on a federal level. [Sun Gazette]
Westover Farmers Market Delayed — Organizers had hoped to launch a farmers market in Westover this spring, but it looks like red tape will delay their goal by a year. Farmers market boosters have secured verbal approval to use school property for the market, but the county zoning office says it will not grant a use permit until the county ordinance related to farmers markets is changed. [Falls Church News-Press]
W-L Launches New Student Newspaper Web Site — Washington-Lee High School’s Crossed Sabres student newspaper has a new web site. [W-L Crossed Sabres]
Westover Farmers Market Meeting Tonight
An open community meeting will be held tonight to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market in Westover.
Organizers say the farmers market would be held outside the Westover Library on either Saturday or Sunday mornings. They would like to launch the market in the spring.
Anyone interested in shopping at or helping to operate the market is asked to attend tonight’s meeting, which will be held at 7:00 p.m. at Westover Library (1644 McKinley Road).
Morning Notes
Black Friday Is a Bust at Ballston Common Mall — While other suburban shopping malls were inundated with shoppers on Friday, traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for retailers in terms of foot traffic, Ballston Common Mall was about as crowded as it normally is on a Friday afternoon (not very). “The best thing here is Rock Bottom,” one shopper explained to Ballston Patch.
Farmers Market For Westover? — A community meeting will be held at the Westover library next month to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market this spring. More from the Sun Gazette.
Arlington Has Region’s Lowest Unemployment — Once again Arlington is leading the D.C. area jobs-wise. Arlington’s unemployment rate currently stands at a remarkably low 3.9 percent. Alexandria and Loudoun County share the title for second-lowest unemployment in the region, with 4.5 percent. More from WTOP.
Another Froyo Place Coming to Arlington — The R-B corridor will have an abundance of frozen yogurt options next year. A D.C.-based, self-serve yogurt shop called FroZenYo is planning to open stores in Rosslyn and Ballston in 2011. It’s also planning on opening a store in Crystal City. More from TBD.
Flickr pool photo by Team Rank
Last Crystal City Freshfarm Market of the Season Today
Despite the fact that the weather is still fairly warm, today’s Crystal City Freshfarm Market will be the last of the season.
Held from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Crystal Drive, the market features about 20 local farmers and producers who bring together seasonal fruits and vegetables, farm-raised eggs, all-natural meats, cheeses, artisan soaps, and more.
Also at the market today: the Sweetflow Mobile frozen yogurt truck.
Morning Notes
Westover Market Appeals Zoning Decision — In spite of efforts by the county’s zoning enforcement office to limit its occupancy and its entertainment options, Westover Market’s Beer Garden is still a place where neighbors can gather to watch football and baseball games on a crisp fall day. The market has bought itself some time by appealing the zoning decision. In the meantime, the market’s mom and pop owners are trying to round up the $25,000-50,000 that will be needed to install new, code-compliant bathrooms. More from TBD.
Conservative Writer Says Murray Has a Chance — Conservative writer Jim Geraghty is impressed that incumbent congressman Jim Moran is “only” up 13 percent against challenger Patrick Murray. Blogging for the National Review Online, Geraghty said that in light of the numbers from the internal Murray poll, he’s picking the retired Army colonel as his “special crazy insane upset pick” in the upcoming mid-term elections. More from NRO.
Last Ballston Farmers Market of the Year — Today from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. the last Ballston Farmers Market of the year will be held in Welburn Square. (That is, if it’s not canceled due to rainy weather. “Rain or shine,” organizers now say.) More on the market from the Arlington Kids blog.
District Taco Has a Secret Admirer — The Arlington-based food cart District Taco was the subject of an ad in Craigslist’s missed connections section. DT’s secret admirer, it seems, is a movie star who’s in town working on a big Hollywood film. More from DCist.
Flickr pool photo by Chaita_1
Morning Notes
Great Day to Be Outside – It’s supposed to be a near-perfect day weather-wise. Why not stop by the Rosslyn or Ballston farmers markets, or take in some after-work outdoor tunes in Clarendon? See the hours and locations for each in our events calendar.
Go-Go Comes to Crystal City — This weekend, the Hyatt Regency Crystal City will host a late-night concert featuring some of the original legends of go-go. The Rare Essense: Past, Present and Future Reunion is expected to draw a large crowd on Saturday. Starting at 9:00 p.m. and ending at 3:00 a.m., the show will feature a special tribute to the late go-go pioneer Lil Benny. His original band, Rare Essence, will perform, along with EU and Sugar Bear.
McDonnell ABC Plan: 14 New Places to Buy Booze in Arlington? — Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to privatize liquor sales in Virginia would triple the number of stores selling booze in the Commonwealth. Arlington currently has seven state-run ABC retailers; assuming that the new licenses are evenly distributed throughout the state, that could mean Arlingtonians will have 14 new places to get their hooch. Grocery stores and other big-box stores would be the biggest beneficiaries of the new licenses, followed by drug stores and package stores. But first, McDonnell’s plan must be approved by a skeptical state legislature.
Write-Up for Willow – According to Washington Life Magazines’ Katie Test, “the patio at Willow Restaurant is the perfect place to say goodbye to summer.” Test writes that the patio’s lush greenery and Willow’s delicious, summery meals are just the thing to take your mind off the gradually falling temperatures.
Flickr pool photo by Allee574
New Stickers on Farmer’s Market Parking Meters
Less than two weeks ago we warned you about the misleading parking meters in front of 1400 North Uhle Street, which seemed to suggest that you could park there on Saturday mornings. Which you can — until 5:00 a.m., when your car gets towed and you get fined (the result of parking restrictions for the Courthouse farmer’s market).
In any event, it seems that someone was listening. The meters have new stickers on them that indicate that parking is enforced Monday through Friday. The new stickers originally said there’s free parking on Saturday and Sunday, but the “SAT.” is crossed off.
Question: Is that enough? Or should there be a sticker on the meter itself indicating that parking is restricted and towing enforced on Saturday mornings (in addition to the “reserved for farmer’s market” signs on either side of the building)?
Warning: Do Not Park Here Tonight
Do you want to get your car towed to a spot 50 feet away and get fined $50 for the privilege? Then by all means park in front of this office building in Courthouse overnight tonight.
The reason for the towing may not be a surprise to patrons of Saturday morning’s Courthouse farmers market. But it is a surprise to many people who park in the far southwest corner of the large county parking lot Friday night, not looking for the special farmers market parking notice on either side of the seven otherwise unremarkable metered spaces.
Nothing on the meters indicates that marking is restricted on Saturday. In fact, the meter indicates that parking is enforced from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays, when it is in fact reserved for the farmers market from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Want to fight the ticket? Well, you can do that if you can get out of work for the better part of a weekday morning — and if you’re willing to pay $61 in court costs if you lose the appeal.
Do yourself a favor, avoid parking in front of 1400 North Uhle Street tonight.
Disclosure: Yes, this was written from first-hand experience. And yes, I’ve already paid the fine. This post was written in the hopes that others won’t make the same costly error. For the record, there were at least two other cars that suffered the same fate as mine on this particular weekend.
Guess Who’s Back at the Clarendon Farmers Market?
After being barred from the Clarendon Farmers Market for two weeks, C&T Produce is back.
Owner Tracy DeBernard and daughter Holly were quietly manning their produce stand today, outside the Clarendon Metro Station.
DeBernard said she was allowed to return last week after Cooperative Extension agents from Stafford and Spotsylvania counties inspected her 400 acre farm and determined that she was growing all her own produce. Other vendors at the farmers market had alleged she was keeping prices artificially low by importing her produce from other farms.
The feud came to a head four weeks ago when DeBernard was told it would be her last time selling at the market. Later that day an ABC7 reporter showed up and reported live on the controversy.
“I’m very happy to be back,” DeBernard said today as a steady stream of customers inspected the fruits and vegetables under her red, white and blue tent. “It appears that the customers are very happy for me to be back, too.”
Not so happy, she says, are the other vendors who pressured the group that runs the market to kick her out.
“A lot of the other vendors don’t talk to me,” DeBernard said. “But that’s alright, I come here to sell my product, pack up and go home.”
Farmers Market Looks to Move On After Controversy
The organizers of the Clarendon Farmers Market are hoping to move on from a pricing dispute that exploded into a full-blown, televised controversy last week.
The market decided to prohibit a vendor, C&T Fruits and Vegetables, from returning this week after other vendors complained about C&T’s low prices and questionable product sourcing. They said C&T’s ability to sell off-season produce proves that they broke market rules that require all produce be locally-grown by the seller.
The dispute became public when a TV reporter showed up with camera in tow and began asking people if they thought a vendor should be expelled for having low prices (spoiler: most people said they did not have a problem with the low prices).
In a press release that didn’t explicitly address the controversy, the Clarendon Alliance, which runs the market, noted that “All production locations must be within a 125-mile radius of Washington, D.C. A producer may not sell items purchased from another farm or supplier… The Clarendon Alliance reserves the right to reject applications from operations where the applicant’s participation in production is unclear.”
The market is held outside the Clarendon Metro every Wednesday from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
