The new Renaissance Arlington Capital View and the new Residence Inn Capital View hotels are currently expected to open on March 9.
The hotels will both be owned by developer JBG and managed by Marriott. Construction, which began in 2008, was funded with $129 million in financing from Wells Fargo.
It didn’t take long for Williamsburg Middle School principal Kathleen Francis to be told she was no longer welcome at the school she led for more than a decade.
Francis sent a lengthy email to parents Tuesday night announcing her resignation and criticizing Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy. The email was posted on this web site and quickly started garnering thousands of hits and hundreds of comments.
One bank branch is closing in Clarendon while another is opening up.
The PNC Bank at 3033 Wilson Boulevard will be closing after Feb. 18. The bank’s lease is up and, with rent steeply rising, it decided to move its operation into an existing branch several blocks down the road at 2601 Clarendon Boulevard.
Arlington Has Biggest Income Jump in U.S. — The 2010 Census data is out, and Arlington had the largest jump in median income among municipalities in the United States. Median household income rose by $12,705 between 2000 and 2009. Two other Northern Virginia localities — Alexandria city and Loudoun County — were also among the biggest income gainers. [Bloomberg]
Hispanic Population Falling in Arlington — While the Hispanic population is on the rise in many parts of Virginia, new census data shows that the Hispanic population in Arlington has actually shrunk. The Hispanic population in Arlington fell 11 percent between 2000 and 2009. Arlington’s Asian population, meanwhile, jumped by 21 percent, while the non-Hispanic white population rose by 16 percent. [Washington Post]
It is a Modern American-style restaurant with Irish, Italian, French and Asian influences. It is a restaurant, bar and lounge that will have extensive outdoor seating. It is a place to get small plates and half bottles of wine, or hearty entrees and tall glasses of beer. What it is not, according to dining room manager Scott Arnold, is a place where only the wealthy will be able to enjoy the finer things in life.
“We’re going to be providing a high-end product at a moderate price,” Arnold said enthusiastically. “I want to give you the best freaking product out there, within reason, for the same price everybody else is charging for crap.”
Firefighters initially responded to the Falls Church shopping center this morning for an activated fire alarm. They quickly discovered that the alarm was set off by fireworks being ignited inside the building.
Arlington fire marshals responded and, after determining the problem was more widespread than just one store, Falls Church Police and additional Arlington units were called in. Fire marshals are now conducting a sweep of the shopping center and confiscating illegal fireworks.
Arlington County officials and local lawmakers are celebrating VDOT’s decision to scrap its plan to build High Occupancy Toll lanes on the Arlington and Alexandria portion of I-395.
Here’s the county’s official press release:
It’s the first such use of the county’s new Project Life Saver – LoJack Safety Net system. The system’s implementation was first announced last summer.
More information about Project Life Saver is available here.
The Arlington County Fire Marshal’s office is calling for backup at the Eden Center in Fall Church, which is apparently going in a bit overboard in celebrating the Chinese New Year.
“They’re shooting fireworks all around this area,” a fire official radioed to dispatchers a few minutes ago, while requesting that Fall Church Police respond to the shopping center.
The New York-style pizza joint was supposedly hoping to open in December when the Washington Business Journal first reported on its existence. At this point, it appears that the store may open this summer.
Bronx Pizza is the brainchild of Caribbean Breeze owner Mike Cordero, who is channeling his Bronx roots to help amp up the restaurant’s authenticity.
Crystal Couture, Crystal City’s annual week-long fashion show, continues tonight with more models, more DJ sets and more runway fashions.
We attended last night’s event and snapped some photos. See the more, after the jump.
Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton announced today that the state is no longer pursuing its I-395 HOT lanes plan, which the county blocked by filing suit in 2009. VDOT is also canceling plans to upgrade the Shirlington and Eads Street interchanges.
Just hours before the project’s demise was first revealed by the Washington Post, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman sent a five-page letter to two top Virginia lawmakers further explaining Arlington’s effort to block the HOT lanes project.
