January, 2011 | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published January 6, 2011 at 8:36AM | Updated January 6, 2011 at 9:40AM

County No Longer Offering iParks — The company that makes the iPark electronic parking pass has stopped manufacturing the device due to financial problems. That has prompted Arlington County to stop selling iParks, pending the company’s effort to stay in business. More from TBD.

O’Leary, Morroy Announce Reelection Bid — Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary and Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy, both Democrats, announced their bids for reelection at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. See the video from Blue Virginia.

News

BREAKING NEWS — Pedestrian Struck on Four Mile Run Drive

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 3:43PM | Updated January 5, 2011 at 9:33PM

The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. The driver of the striking vehicle stayed on the scene, according to police spokesperson Det. Crystal Nosal.

Nosal said police are continuing to investigate the accident. As of 5:30 p.m., the westbound lanes of Four Mile Run Drive had reopened, but the eastbound lanes were still closed.

News

Ebbin and Englin Introduce Anti-Bullying Bills in Va. House

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 3:32PM

“Every child deserves to feel safe at school,” said Del. David Englin, a bill sponsor who represents parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County. “A child who doesn’t feel safe can’t learn well and live up to his or her potential.”

Another bill sponsor, Del. Adam Ebbin, cited the suicide of a bullied York County, Va. teenager as evidence of why the legislation is necessary. According to Ebbin, who also represents parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax, the York County sheriff’s office refused to investigate the teen’s bullies because there’s no law on the books outlawing bullying.

Events

Volunteer Opp: Work at Arlington’s MLK Day Celebration

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 1:25PM

The event is being held at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center Auditorium (3501 Second St. S.) on Sunday, Jan. 16 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. It will feature a keynote address from Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, a local civil rights leader who worked with Dr. King, as well as musical performances and other entertainment.

The organizers need volunteers to help make the event a success. They’re looking for greeters, green room monitors and an artist to assist with the production. Contact Milada Weaver at 703-228-4730 if you’re interested in volunteering, or see more information about the opportunity here.

Events

Library to Hold eReader Clinic

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 10:27AM | Updated January 5, 2011 at 10:45AM

Well, if you have a Nook, an iPad, a Sony Reader, or another compatible device, you can actually “borrow” eBooks for free from the Arlington Public Library.

For more information on how the system works, the library is holding an eReader clinic tomorrow night. Library technology gurus will be on hand at the Central Library auditorium starting at 7:00 p.m. Thursday to show how to use the library’s eBook system and to answer frequently-asked questions.

Around Town

Meet Your Neighbor, the Food Stylist

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 9:15AM

In the latest installment of the county-run Arlington Virginia Network’s “Food for Thought” segment, host Katie Greenan interviewed local resident Lisa Cherkasky, who has made a 25-year career out of preparing food to be photographed.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Rate Your Experience With Comcast

By Scott Brodbeck

Published January 5, 2011 at 7:43AM

It’s not so much that the Comcast customer service agents themselves are that bad, it’s just that the customer service system in which they operate seems to be designed with the sole purpose of minimizing cost at the expense of producing meaningful solutions to customers’ problems and complaints.

Comcast has a partial monopoly in Arlington. Sure, Verizon FiOS and satellite TV are available to single family homes and certain apartment buildings and condos. But for many apartment and condo-dwellers, Comcast is the only game in town. The only option for those folks in the event of an unresolved grievance is to either grin and bear it, cancel service and forgo cable and/or internet altogether, or complain to the county’s cable administration office and hope for the best.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 5:23AM

Westover Beer Garden Saga Continues — Several months into the battle between the county zoning office and the Westover Market beer garden, a final resolution still has not been reached. Tens of thousands of dollars have been allocated to building new code-compliant restrooms, but more must now be spent constructing a restaurant separate from the grocery section. County regulators “are doing their best to make me a Republican,” market manager Devin Hicks told the Falls Church News-Press.

Fun and Games at the Library — The Westover Library will host a game-playing get-together for all ages this afternoon. From 2:30 to 5:00 p.m., players will face off in board games, card games and Nintendo Wii. More from the Arlington Public Library blog.

News

Grand Theft Golf Cart in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2011 at 2:58PM | Updated January 4, 2011 at 4:39PM

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) This police blotter item is just too good to save for Wednesday’s weekly crime report. A 22-year-old man is accused of stealing a golf cart from a local mall and driving it on the interstate… while drunk.

GRAND LARCENY AUTO-ARREST, 1/3/2011, 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard On December 30 at 5 am, an officer pulled over a subject driving a golf cart on the interstate. The driver was intoxicated and the golf cart had been stolen from a mall. Everths Moran-Reyes, 22, of Fredericksburg, was charged with Driving Under the Influence, Grand Larceny of an Automobile and Driving While Suspended. He was held on a $15,000 bond.

News

Cigarette-Smoking Duo Keeping Clarendon Classy on NYE

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2011 at 2:13PM

Via YouTube user NovaPJ comes the following video, which purports to show the aftermath of some sort of New Year’s Eve incident at Mister Days in Clarendon.

Around Town

Bachelor Contestant from Arlington Booted Off First Show

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2011 at 12:12PM | Updated January 4, 2011 at 12:40PM

Well, at least that’s what the on-screen graphic said during last night’s premiere. We didn’t really get to know Lauren, the 26-year-old high school teacher, because we really didn’t hear much from her. The most screen time she got was at the end, when she failed to get a rose from bachelor Brad Womack.

“This was a leap of faith that I made that didn’t work out for me, and that pisses me off,” Lauren told the camera. “He missed out on a really great woman who’s going to be an amazing wife, an amazing mother, who has — I think — a fantastic personality. So it’s his loss, obviously.”

News

Rosslyn Metro Changes for MLK Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2011 at 11:05AM

Free shuttle bus service will be available between the Rosslyn, Foggy Bottom and Farragut West stations during the closures.

See more info from Metro or the press release below.