The FBI’s terrorism task force has arrested a 25-year-old Arlington man on suspicion of making bomb threats via Facebook.
Awais Younis was taken into custody on Dec. 7. In court documents, he’s accused of threatening to use pipe bombs to blow up a busy section of Georgetown. He’s also accused of threatening to place bombs on Metro trains.
(Update at 2:40 p.m.) The BB&T Bank at 2947 South Glebe Road was just robbed. According to scanner traffic, a suspect passed a note implying he had a gun, but no weapon was seen.
The suspect is described as a six-foot tall black male in his 30s or 40s with scruffy facial hair. He was wearing a blue jacket, a black backpack and a beanie hat.
According to our friends over at the Capital Weather Gang, Thursday could bring an inch or two, while Sunday could bring “a crippling East Coast snowstorm.” The chance of each happening is still well below 50 percent, but it’s never too early to freak out and start coming up with creative names like we did last year, right?
While you’re at it, be sure to check out the county’s recently-updated snow and ice web portal.
Last month we told you about a new event in Crystal City that will combine light exercise with moderate drinking. Now we get more details and a new date:
Lace up your sneakers and cleanse your palette; it’s time to start training for the Crystal City 1K Wine Walk. Presented by the Crystal City Business Improvement District in partnership with the Washington Wine Academy, the 1K Wine Walk promises “racers” the opportunity to taste and learn about between 30-40 wines as they make their way through the shops and interior walkways of Crystal City.
If you’re looking to get in the Christmas spirit, good news: there are holiday events aplenty around Arlington. There are so many events, in fact, that one is bound to bring a smile to the face of even the most ardent Grinch.
A few of the entries in our recently-updated Events Calendar:
Yesterday a plurality of readers said the program should simply be dismantled. But that seems unlikely, given the county board’s expressed support for the program on Saturday.
Susan Kalish, spokesperson for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, says the county has gotten a “deluge” of snowblower requests this year and will likely be deciding this week whether to purchase additional machines.
After all, if yesterday morning’s Orange Line problems demonstrated anything, it’s that for all the suckage, the people you saw jammed onto the platforms still, at that point, considered Metro to be their best transportation option. (Same applies to today’s Blue, Orange and Yellow Line delays.)
But perhaps some are changing their minds.
McDonnell Pushes For Quick Action on Health Care Challenge — Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who praised state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s now-successful challenge to President Obama’s health care reform law, wants the federal government’s inevitable appeal to go straight to the Supreme Court rather than take a more circuitous route through a federal appeals court. “Everybody knows it’s going to go to the U.S. Supreme Court,” the governor told Fox News.
W&OD Trail Closure Postponed — A portion of the W&OD Trail was supposed to be closed today to allow for power line work, but that has been postponed indefinitely because of the wind, a county official says.
The board approved a supplemental commercial property tax in Ballston to pay for the formation of a Ballston Business Improvement District. It did so with the encouragement of many large property owners — like JBG, Shooshan Company and Ballston Common Mall owner Forest City — but over the objections of a few, like the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Nature Conservancy.
“A Business Improvement District for Ballston is the best vehicle for building on Ballston’s already considerable assets and positioning it for the future,” Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said in a statement. “With the success of our BIDs in Crystal City and Rosslyn, we know that this new BID will contribute greatly to the future success of Ballston.”
With Circa in Clarendon “just weeks away from opening,” according to its Facebook page, the restaurant has started hiring the bulk of its staff.
Circa is seeking servers, bartenders, barbacks, hosts and food runners for its first Virginia location. Interested parties can apply via this Craigslist posting.
Today, in response to Cuccinelli’s lawsuit, a federal judge ruled that a key provision in the health care law which requires individuals to obtain health insurance is unconstitutional. Obama administration lawyers are planning to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a short Twitter message, Cuccinelli refrained from taking a long victory lap.
The nationwide law enforcement and public outreach initiative — with the tagline “Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest” — will spend more than $7 million on national TV and radio advertising starting Wednesday. It seeks to reduce the number of drunk driving crashes around the holidays. Last year, 753 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes during the month of December alone.
Today LaHood highlighted the new “No Refusal” strategy that a number of states are adopting. “No Refusal” allows police officers to quickly obtain warrants from on-call judges in order to get blood samples from suspects who refuse to take a breathalyzer test.
