Shirlington’s Signature Theater has launched a contest to find the next “Signature Idol.”
The Tony Award-winning theater is looking for ten talented solo singers to compete on July 17 as part of its Target Open House. The contest will be judged by Signature Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks, and “a special Broadway guest.”
Be sure to check out the annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival this weekend, featuring acclaimed blues guitarist Debbie Davies, 16-year-old jazz prodigy Matt Wigler and plenty of other great performers.
While you’re there, you won’t want to miss the barbecue being provided by Pike resident “Big Daddy” Isaac Brown, who has been grilling mouthwatering Texas-style BBQ for more than 50 years.
Veggie Garden at Central Library Feeding Those in Need — Did you know that Arlington Central Library now has its own vegetable garden? The garden’s first crop of leafy greens was harvested yesterday. All produce grown in the garden is being donated to the Arlington Food Assistance Center. UPDATE: We hear that Christie Vilsack, wife of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak, may visit the garden later this month.
Gov. McDonnell Wants a Say at Metro — Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is making a heavy-handed push for the state to get two seats on the Metro Board of Directors. If he’s successful the seats may be taken away from Arlington and other Northern Virginia locales. More from the Washington Post.
Jim Moran On Demand is now available to thousands local Comcast, Cox and Via Media cable customers. It will feature information and news programming, including in-depth, fireside chat-style policy discussions.
A preview of the channel’s slickly-produced videos is now up on YouTube.
Update at 5:30 p.m. — All lanes have reopened.
Update at 4:40 p.m. — One lane is now getting by. Traffic is backed up to Duke Street.
Update at 4:00 p.m. — The disruption has been cleared, WTOP reports.
A possible fire has been reported on the Orange Line Metrorail tracks that run parallel to I-66, near the North Harrison Street overpass.
County leaders got an earful about the proposed relocation of the Columbia Pike Branch Library at a town hall meeting last night.
“An angry standing room crowd” holding “signs and banners” loudly engaged library and county officials at the Arlington Career Center, a resident who attended the meeting tells us.
A pedestrian was struck by a Envirocab taxi just before noon today. It happened just outside the Nordstrom at Pentagon City mall.
The cab driver remained on scene and was talking to police. At one point he showed officers a small dent and scratches on the front passenger’s side bumper.
The East Falls Church (EFC) development plan calls for the creation of a “transit town” of neighborhood-oriented retail and restaurants, six to nine-story mixed-use buildings, and pedestrian-oriented walkable and bike-able streetscapes. Development is inevitable, EFC task force chairman Mike Nardolilli says, since the station will soon become the transfer point to Tysons Corner and the Silver Line. Members of the task force spent three years working on the plan and says it mostly incorporates ideas that most residents welcome, based on a neighborhood survey.
But according to one man, supporters of the plan are “passive sheep,” the task force wants “to limit our freedom,” and the proposed narrowing of Sycamore Street is “idiotic.” That invective, and any other criticism of the plan, was greeted by loud applause from like-minded folks in the audience, who were clearly in the majority.
Two days after reporting that Buffalo Wild Wings will be bringing some nightlife to Crystal City, we can report that D.C. pizza chain Pizza Autentica will be one of BW3’s new neighbors.
Pizza Autentica, run by prolific casual restaurateur Hakan Ilhan, has leased a space in the same building at 23rd Street and Crystal Drive as Buffalo Wild Wings. In downtown D.C., Pizza Autentica is primarily a lunchtime destination. There’s no word so far whether this new location will also serve a nighttime crowd.
Hey Look, There’s Nightlife in Pentagon City — When the shoppers go home for the day, the mice come out to play. At least that’s what one graveyard shift employee at the Pentagon City mall told WJLA (ABC 7). She reported seeing as many as ten mice scurrying around the food court at night. She even captured some cell phone video of the rodents inside the new Yogen Fruz frozen yogurt stand. WJLA says their story prompted a visit from an Arlington County health inspector. We’re sorry to hear that the inspector had to take a break from tackling the county’s rampant lack of bread packaging in order to address a trivial rodent problem.
WUSA9 Attends Change-of-Government Debate — If you’ve been following the back-and-forth over the proposed change to Arlington’s form of government, you won’t learn anything new from this story. WUSA9’s Brittany Morehouse went to last night’s change-of-government debate at the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department and found a passionate but polite crowd. Morehouse summarized the arguments made by both sides, then described the genesis of the ballot initiative. “The issue stems from a beef between fire and police unions and the County Manager,” she said.
Because of today’s breaking news, we had to push our article on last night’s very, very long discussion of the East Falls Church development plan to tomorrow. As a way of making amends, we bring you a segment from the English-language Russian propaganda news channel Russia Today, which you may be able to find in a dark corner of your extended digital cable service.
In the clip, a reporter interviews some folks at a Shell station in Arlington about America’s “addiction” to oil (spoiler: people at a gas station are in no hurry to ditch their cars). But the real reason to watch is for the American anchor’s lead-in to the reporter’s story:
