Morning Notes
Mario’s and Carvel to Remain Open Despite Sale — Mario’s Pizza House and Carvel Ice Cream shop (3322 Wilson Blvd) were sold at auction last month for $2.86 million, achieving one of the highest per square foot sales in Arlington. The tenants will continue to operate at the location because the sale was for the real estate only, not the businesses. [Globe Newswire]
Tejada and Violand-Sanchez Make History in Virginia — As of January 1, Arlington made history by becoming the first Virginia jurisdiction to have its two local elected bodies headed by Latinos. Walter Tejada was selected to chair the County Board for 2013, joining Emma Violand-Sanchez who is halfway through her term as School Board chair. Tejada is a native of El Salvador and Violand-Sanchez is a native of Bolivia. [Sun Gazette]
Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann
Morning Notes
Group to Discuss Backyard Chickens — Arlington’s Committee of 100 will take up the issue of backyard chicken raising at its meeting tonight. Among the speakers are an official from Albemarle County, where urban chicken keeping is allowed; the founder of the Arlington Egg Project, which is pushing the county to change its restrictive poultry ordinance; and an Arlington resident who lives next door to a neighbor who raises chickens. [Committee of 100]
‘Office of Latino Affairs’ On the Back Burner — Corrected at 4:30 p.m. — A proposal to create an Office of Latino Affairs in Arlington is still on the back burner, the Sun Gazette reports. An earlier version of this item erroneously stated that County Board member Walter Tejada supports the creation of the office, and neglected to link to the Sun Gazette article. Tejada tells ARLnow.com that he supports improving services for Latino residents, but doesn’t think the creation of a separate county department is necessarily the best way to go about it. “I don’t think it’s the thing to do,” he said. [Sun Gazette]
Candidates Weigh in On Issues on GGW — Three (out of five) candidates for County Board weighed in on issues from the Columbia Pike streetcar to the Crystal City sector plan via the website Greater Greater Washington. Melissa Bondi, Libby Garvey and Kim Klingler responded to a candidate questionnaire issued by the site. [Greater Greater Washington]
Morning Notes
Arlington Latin-American Festival Planned — Arlington County is hosting a Latin-American festival on Sunday in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. “Savor the best of Latino culture at this annual festival with fellow Arlingtonians of all backgrounds in this diverse community,” the county said of the event, which is being held outdoors from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson Middle School (125 S. Old Glebe Road). [Arlington County]
Lawmakers to Tour Housing Site — Four state legislators and three county board members are scheduled to tour permanent supportive housing facilities at the Gates of Ballston apatment complex (4108 N. 4th Street) today. “The tour will demonstrate how the increase in Permanent Support Housing is necessary to meet the Governor’s plan to reduce homelessness by 15% by 2013,” according to the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, a tour organizer.
Einstein Bagels Coming to Crystal City — An Einstein Bagel outlet is coming to the lobby of the Crystal Gateway Marriott (1700 Jefferson Davis Highway). The bagel eatery is replacing a former Starbucks location.
Hat tip to Googla
Two Family-Friendly Neighborhood Events This Weekend
Two family-friendly, Latino-oriented neighborhood events are planned for Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, the Smithsonian Latino Center and Arlington County’s Tell Arlington’s Story initiative are sponsoring a “family afternoon” at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street S.).
The afternoon will feature “hands-on activities inspired by Central American ceramis, Mayan dance presentations, live music, storytelling and talks by archeologist Favio Amador about Central America’s indigenous civilization.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m.
On Sunday, a Buckingham community street festival will be held from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. on N. Pershing Drive between Glebe Road and Thomas Street.
The festival will feature music, food, games, raffles, kids activities. Scheduled performers include Amla Boliviana and Luz De Luna.
The event is being organized by the community group BU-GATA, along with various county agencies including the Arlington County Police Department.
Morning Notes
Beloved Bishop O’Connell Football Coach Dies — Steve Trimble, Bishop O’Connell High School’s varsity football coach since 2002, died suddenly at his office yesterday morning. Trimble played high school football in Cumberland, Md., before playing for the University of Maryland on a scholarship. He played free safety for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears during the early-to-mid 80s, before playing in arena leagues and then joining the coaching staffs of several NFL teams. Trimble, 53, was the father of four sons, all of whom played football at O’Connell. [Arlington Catholic Herald]
Immigrant Advocate Wants Office for Latinos — Lois Athey, the head of tenants-rights group BU-GATA, told the County Board over the weekend that she would like the county to establish an Office of Latino Affairs for Arlington’s 31,000 Latino residents. Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman asked County Manager Barbara Donnellan to look into options for further outreach to the Latino community. [Sun Gazette]
More iPads Coming for Arlington Students? — Camilla Gagliolo, the instructional technology coordinator for Arlington Public Schools, is a big believer in using iPads in the classroom. The device “is bringing educational technology to new levels of student engagement,” she told a conference. iPads are currently in use at several Arlington elementary schools. [THE Journal]
