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“It seems like about every five or six years, a group of senators decide to push the envelope and change the Perimeter Rule,” Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said in a phone interview, referring to the most recent effort by congress to allow more long-haul flights out of Reagan National Airport. “It’s not a new issue.”

Indeed, it’s not. The last time it was attempted was, in fact, June 2008. At that time, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments issued a resolution, stating:


Around Town

Pentagon Reviewing Change to Security Checkpoints Near Metro Station — At the behest of local transportation officials, Pentagon brass will be reviewing proposed changes to the security checkpoints near the Pentagon Metro Station. The changes, which follow the March shooting that left two security guards wounded and the suspect dead, would move the checkpoints closer to the station. Local officials worry the move could create long security lines that would disrupt the flow of commuters in and out of the station.

Arlington Spy Suspects Transferred to New York — Say goodbye to the (accused) Russian spies who loved Arlington. A judge has ordered that Michael Zottoli, Patricia Mills and Mikhail Semenko be transferred to New York. Attorneys for the three tried to keep them in Virginia, but a federal court judge ordered the transfer yesterday. There’s word that the ten accused spies may be swapped with Russia for an imprisoned nuclear scientist convicted of spying for the United States.


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It’s not easy being a police officer in Arlington. The truly interesting or exciting calls are few and far between. More often than not, you’re stuck responding to petty neighborhood disputes and false burglar alarms. And, once in a while, some a-hole suspected of firing off illegal fireworks from his apartment slams a door on your hand on the Fourth of July.

The Arlington County Crime Report lists five cases of assault on police that occurred during the past two weeks. We’re told the officer who had the door slammed on his hand did not suffer any permanent injuries.


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The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network has stepped up some of its services in response to the dangerously hot weather.

Executive Director Kathy Sibert says volunteers have been visiting homeless camps in Arlington and handing out ice water-filled water bottles donated by Harris Teeter. A-SPAN has also been opening its drop-in center in Shirlington at 9:00 a.m. instead of the usual 1:00 p.m. And they’re handing out additional water to the 90 people who usually show up for dinner.


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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).


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Currently, federal regulations ban most flights beyond a 1,250 mile perimeter. The rule is meant to protect local communities from the noise and air pollution produced by the larger planes needed for cross-country flight.

The Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority, Virgina Senators Webb and Warner, and local community groups have come out against the proposed rule change, the Washington Post reports.


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Arlington Woman Injured in N.Y. Police Car Accident — An Arlington woman was seriously injured while bicycling Monday morning in Whitney Point, N.Y. Police say the woman, 47-year-old Mary Smith of Arlington, ignored a stop sign and ran into a police cruiser that was turning left in an intersection. Smith hit the cruiser’s windshield and suffered head and neck injuries. More from WBGH in Binghamton, N.Y.

Another Arlington Cemetery Revelation — In 2008, an Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson was fired after she brought concerns about numerous problems at the cemetery to a top local Army commander, according to an internal document obtained by Salon.com. The revelation contradicts testimony by Army Secretary John McHugh, who told the House Armed Services Committee that Army brass was unaware of the severe mismanagement at the nation’s most sacred military burial ground.


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Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died at the age of 92 last Monday, was a towering figure in the Senate, even as his health began to deteriorate in recent years. He chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee and has twice served as Senate majority leader. He was derided as the “King of Pork” for his tireless efforts to steer federal funds to his home state of West Virginia. His passionate floor speeches against the Iraq war and in support of the Constitution are the stuff of legends.

Byrd, once a local leader in the Ku Klux Klan, filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act. His membership in the Baptist church would later prompt him to renounce intolerance and vote for the 1968 Civil Rights Act.


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Tomorrow, as temperatures again climb toward the triple digit mark, the water will be shut off at Hayes Park, on North Lincoln Street near Clarendon. On Thursday, the county’s third spray park — Lyon Village Park — will go dry.

“Our FY2011 budget cuts included closing each spray park one day a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” Parks Department spokesperson Susan Kalish said in an email. “The good news is that there are at least two spraygrounds open in the County on any given day.”


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