Police have blocked a stretch of North George Mason Drive between 16th Street and 15th Street after utility lines fell across the roadway.
The closure is adjacent to Virginia Hospital Center. George Mason Drive is a key route for ambulances heading to the hospital.
Starting this week, the theater will offer free admission to a G or PG movie every Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Doors open at 9:15 a.m. and the movie starts at 10:00 a.m. Seating is first come, first serve.
The Regal Cinema chain has hosted free family movie screenings every summer since 1991.
In the news business, this is known as a “process” story. On Saturday the county board voted to accept a task force’s plan for development around the East Falls Church Metro Station. The board passed the plan on to county staff, who will review it and make changes while preserving 15 priorities outlined by the board. The board’s action will have no actual, practical consequences. That will come when the final plan is adopted by the board about six months from now, following more revisions and public discussion.
For what was essentially a procedural action, however, there sure were plenty of people who wanted to talk about it. About 25 speakers voiced their opinion on the EFC plan, most of them residents who believe that the addition of transit-oriented, mixed use retail/office buildings and the subtraction of the commuter parking lot would “destroy” or otherwise sully their relatively quiet residential neighborhood.
Board members repeatedly reassured owner Scott Vasko that Flatbread was exactly the type of business that Arlington County is trying to attract. In the end, however, promises made to local homeowners in 2004 were upheld, and a patio between the restaurant and an adjacent house will remain an undeveloped “buffer zone.”
In a concession to Flatbread, the board granted the more lenient of two possible scenarios for sidewalk seating in front of the Clarendon restaurant. Flatbread will be allowed to set up tables on 25 feet of sidewalk in front of 11th Street North (the other scenario called for 15 feet). Combined with sidewalk seating also approved for North Fillmore Street, Flatbread will likely have a total of four outdoor tables and 10 seats. The patio could have sat 24.
More Proof of Arlington’s Burger Supremacy — The Associated Press has declared that “better burger” joints — think: Five Guys — are “one of the fastest-growing parts of the restaurant industry” and that the D.C. area in particular “has emerged as fertile ground for ground chuck.” Mentioned in the article are Arlington-based Elevation Burger and Ray’s Hell Burger, formerly Arlington-based Five Guys, and BGR-The Burger Joint, which recently opened a location in Lyon Village.
Pentagon Chocolatier Popular With Pelosi, Palin — What do Nancy Pelosi and Sarah Palin have in common? They’re both loyal customers of Sherm Edwards Candies, a Pittsburgh-based chocolate company that recently opened a store in the Pentagon. More from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The first break occurred around 7:30 this morning at South Courthouse Road and 2nd Street. Water from the break flooded the intersection and nearby Washington Boulevard, snarling rush hour traffic.
Arlington County crews just finished repairing the break and patching up the road. Now, they’re beginning to work on a second break that occurred at South Wayne Street and 2nd Street. Drivers should expect road and lane closures in the area. The repairs should wrap up around 10:00 tonight.
The board will vote on an initial framework for the East Falls Church development plan, which has attracted quite a bit of controversy. The plan could pave the way for the construction of apartment buildings, retail spaces and other dense, pedestrian-friendly development in what is now a much more single-family-home-oriented area.
Another item under consideration would result in the construction of a new entrance to the Rosslyn Metro station . The $32-35 million dollar project was originally meant to take place concurrent to the construction of the Rosslyn Central Place development, but the development has stalled due to financial complications.
As of 1:45, the HOV lanes and two lanes northbound and southbound I-395 are blocked between Seminary Road and King Street.
First responders from Arlington and Alexandria are on scene, along with Virginia State Police.
Technically, representation in Congress did not come immediately after the vote. It would take another year for the Virginia legislature to accept the retrocession. And not everybody was well-represented. Virginia was a slave state and Arlington would not benefit from the Compromise of 1850, which outlawed the slave trade in the District.
Amid a fascinating history lesson, our friends at We Love DC pose a thought-provoking question: Was the retrocession a good idea? For the District, the answer seems to be no.
In one corner are the supporters and management of American Flatbread, the wood-fired pizza restaurant that bills itself as a “community hearth” and is best known for its locally-sourced, organic ingredients. In the other corner are county planners and a majority of local homeowners (others support Flatbread), who don’t want the restaurant to open an outdoor patio on their relatively quiet section of North 11th Street in Clarendon.
At stake for neighbors is the tranquility of the neighborhood and, possibly, the area’s steep property values. At stake for Flatbread is its viability as a business in Clarendon.
The transformer blew just after 5:00 this afternoon and sparked a small grass fire, which was promptly extinguished.
Police are reporting that numerous traffic lights are dark in the area of Yorktown High School.
If you’re a music lover, chances are there’s a concert tonight that will pique your interest.
At 6:30, the Village at Shirlington holds its second outdoor concert of the summer. Local group the JazzKnights will perform in the plaza in front of the Shirlington library.
