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Kim Houghton, the owner of Wag More Dogs (2606 S. Oxford Street), sued Arlington County after zoning officials declared her store’s mural of dogs, bones and paw prints — which faces the Shirlington dog park — to be a form of commercial speech and in violation of the county’s sign ordinance. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema dismissed the lawsuit today “with prejudice.”

Undeterred, Houghton vowed to keep fighting.


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Update at 3:22 p.m. — The gas has been shut off the fire is out. Residents in the area can expect to be without natural gas for some time. Earlier:

A gas-fed fire is burning near the intersection of 12th Street and North Cleveland Street in Clarendon. Washington Gas has brought in heavy equipment in an effort to shut off the gas that’s fueling the flames.


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According to an email from the county, contractor Clark Construction has excavated to a depth of 20 feet but is about to hit bedrock. Once it does, Clark will need to start blasting to reach the ultimate depth of 100 feet. The blasting is expected to start “in the near future.”

County officials say they’re doing everything they can to keep the noise down, including putting a concrete cap on the “blast shaft” and using “blast mats.”


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The county issued a short statement to ARLnow.com last night confirming they’re “currently investigating reports of gastrointestinal (GI) illness at a long-term care facility.”

Citing “confidentiality rules,” a Department of Human Services spokesman refused to identify the facility. A source, however, tells us the facility is the Sunrise at Bluemont Park (5910 Wilson Blvd) senior living community.


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Fire broke out in the basement of a stately Aurora Hills home just before 5:30 last night.

The family that was living in the house evacuated as the flames grew larger. Firefighters rushed to the scene and were able to extinguish the fire within 10 minutes. Some smoke and water damage was evident, but no one was hurt.


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Congressman Dated Pentagon City Mall Employee — Disgraced former Congressman Christopher Lee (R-NY)  had “a relationship” with a young woman who “worked at an upscale Pentagon City department store,” according to the New York Post. GOP leadership reportedly ordered Lee to “curtail his randy DC antics” after word got out he was dating the “young salesclerk.” There is a Macy’s and a Nordstrom department store at Pentagon City mall. [New York Post]

Post Editorial Slams Arlington, Again — Three days after declaring that Arlington Public Schools should investigate the explosive claims of a former middle school teacher, the Washington Post’s editorial board is on Arlington’s case again. The Post says Arlington won “a battle over HOT lanes but may lose a war.” By effectively killing the I-395 HOT lanes project and blocking the widening of I-66, Arlington’s “NIMBYism” is “frustrating the county’s populous and fast-growing neighbors” while “undercut[ting] its own economic interests.” [Washington Post]