Torrez Sentencing Today — The sentencing of former Marine and convicted rapist Jorge Torrez will be held in Arlington County Circuit Court today.
Chairman Zimmerman — Chris Zimmerman will likely serve as county board chairman in 2011, taking the reins from Jay Fisette. An official announcement is expected to be made on Tuesday. More from the Sun Gazette.
Arlington is preparing to demolish the old Arlington Mill Community Center to make way for a brand new community center in 2013.
Due to some expected minor disruptions, Arlington County staff will be presenting information about the demolition plan at a public meeting next week. Update at 1/3 — The meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 4 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Greenbrier Baptist Church (5401 7th Road South).
After all, every taxpayer in Arlington knows that our famously progressive county probably pays employees more than anyone else in the region, right?
Wrong.
The new Buffalo Wild Wings in Crystal City (at 23rd Street and Crystal Drive) held an employee orientation session for a couple dozen new hires last night.
During the orientation, the glow from the galaxy of overhead flat screen TVs illuminated a relatively wide open, comfortable-looking space. The decor looked a bit more sleek than your standard, suburban Buffalo Wild Wings location. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street also helped to add a more urban feel.
There is a stop sign missing on the on-ramp from Courthouse Road to eastbound Route 50, causing a serious traffic hazard.
Police are currently on scene directing traffic, according to police radio transmissions. Before police arrived, cars were heading straight through the T intersection, where Courthouse Road traffic heading onto Route 50 normally yields to eastbound Route 50 traffic exiting onto the ramp.
(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) Nearly 300 Dominion customers are without power in Crystal City and Pentagon City this morning.
The outage is due to scheduled work to replace an underground cable along Crystal Drive, according Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson. Power should be restored by 4:00 this afternoon, she said.
Paisano’s “offers true gourmet pizza, using the finest, most expensive ingredients available,” says the chain’s web site. “Taste the difference for yourself, and find out why Paisano’s has become the top choice of selective pizza-cravers across the Northern Virginia area!”
In addition to pizza, Paisano’s offers pasta, subs, strombolis, wings and desserts.
Virginia Highlands Park is in line to get the county’s most elaborate sprayground park yet.
The spiral-shaped park takes elements of Arlington’s existing sprayground parks, as well as elements from other water parks around the country. It will be located in a corner of the park, near the volleyball and basketball courts.
The Quarterdeck Restaurant has been saved.
Owner Lou Gatti, who suddenly announced last month that the 31-year-old seafood restaurant would be closing, now says the Fort Myer Heights institution will, in fact, remain open.
Planetarium Fundraising Now Exceeds $100K — The Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium group has now raised $120,000 to help fund renovations at the 40-year-old facility. The group is still far from its goal of raising $400,000 by summer 2011, but it is hoping to close the gap by landing a few major donations from local defense contractors. More from TBD.
Sharrows on Clarendon Boulevard — Arlington County is doing away with a bike lane between Courthouse Road and Rhodes Street on Clarendon Boulevard. In its place, the county is making the right-hand traffic lane a shared car/bike lane. Bikes should be able to keep up with traffic on the stretch of road, much of which is a steep downhill. More from WashCycle.
Arlington’s Rebel Heroes truck has closed for good, reports Tim Carman.
The banh mi sandwich truck launched to critical acclaim and long lines in April. It apparently did not generate enough business to justify its existence for another year.
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, we find two similar cases of sexual battery. In each case, the suspect is alleged to have committed the crime while riding a bicycle.
SEXUAL BATTERY 12/04/10, 2800 block of N. 11th Street. On December 4 at 2 am, a woman was walking when an unknown male rode past her on a bicycle and grabbed her buttocks. After the woman walked further, the same suspect rode by her again, and assaulted her a second time. The suspect was wearing a dark knit cap and a dark jacket. He also had long dark hair.
