The Arlington County Police Department and Sheriff’s Office held its annual observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day this morning.
Drummers, bagpipers and a bugler helped to mark the solemn occasion at the Arlington County Justice Center Plaza om Courthouse. Courthouse Road was shut down for the ceremony, which started at 8:00 a.m. Through speeches, the law enforcement community remembered the six Arlington County officers who have died in the line of duty.
Sohaib Athar achieved worldwide fame for providing real-time Twitter updates during the raid — without knowing that it was a raid or that it was Osama bin Laden’s secret hide-out that was being raided. Munasifi, meanwhile, achieved region-wide fame for his music video ode to life in Arlington.
Despite the fact that Athar lives in Abbottabad, Pakistan and Munasifi lives in Clarendon, Remy’s comedy apparently crosses physical and cultural borders — his parody video “Hey There Khalilah” is one of Athar’s “favorites” on YouTube.
Unleashed (5400 Lee Highway) opened for business last week and now its planning a grand opening celebration this weekend.
The store is part of the ‘Unleashed’ boutique pet store chain run by giant pet retailer Petco. It replaced a Blockbuster video store that closed in January.
According to real estate web site Zillow, real estate list prices in Arlington were up 8.6 percent year-over-year in April, but the web site’s estimate of home values in Arlington was down 2.5 percent year-over-year as of March. That’s consistent with a nationwide downward trend, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
According to an accounting by the Sun Gazette, home sales in Arlington are down while both average and median sale prices were down year-over-year in April. By contrast, Northern Virginia as a whole saw a continued rise in sale prices.
Changes are coming to the steep stretch of Walter Reed Drive where a bicyclist was killed over the weekend.
Arlington County plans to begin work this summer to add a number of safety improvements to Walter Reed between S. Pollard Street and Four Mile Run Drive. The changes, which were in the works before the accident, include:
Jim Morrison in Arlington? — The late Doors frontman Jim Morrison apparently was an Arlingtonian. The son of a Navy admiral, Morrison lived at as many as three different Arlington addresses. The current resident of one of his reported former addresses says Morrison’s ghost has haunted the house on three different occasions. [Falls Church News-Press]
Pete’s Apizza Groupon Selling Fast — A 50% off Groupon for Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza (3017 Clarendon Blvd) has nearly sold out. As of this writing, 5,800 people have purchased the deal — 4,800 specifically for the restaurant’s recently-opened Clarendon location. Expect the Clarendon restaurant to get considerably more crowded over the next few weeks as a result. [Groupon]
Arlington police have released the identity of the bicyclist who was killed in South Arlington over the weekend.
The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a fatal traffic accident that occurred on [Sunday] in the 4000 block of Four Mile Run Drive. At approximately 2:56 p.m. on May 8, 2011, police responded for a bicyclist that collided with a vehicle.
The McLean-based Campbell Hoffman Foundation has given the Free Clinic $677,500 for “continued integration of mental health services within primary care.” AFC says it will also use the funds for “primary and specialty care… and pharmacy services.”
“The funding will support and sustain our essential medical services in Arlington County,” said David Lee, MD, chair of AFC’s board. “We are truly grateful for the Foundation’s trust in our capacity to serve the community and for the opportunity to carry forward its important legacy of primary care.”
The dog-centric fundraiser will be held this Saturday, May 14th, at Bluemont Park (329 N. Manchester Street). The actual “walk” will start at 9:30 a.m. — participants will have a choice of a three-mile loop walk or a one mile stroll. There will also be entertainment, sponsor booths and demonstrations of doggie feats.
Organizers expect about 500 walkers and 300 dogs to participate this year. Last year’s event raised more than $100,000 for the AWLA and its work with homeless animals.
It’s shaping up to be a very interesting off-year election in Arlington.
There are competitive Democratic primaries set for local state Senate and House of Delegates races. There’s a strong Republican contender looking to pull an upset in a formerly safe Democratic state Senate district. And there’s a national Green Party official challenging two County Board incumbents.
The public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on May 16, at the Lubber Run Recreation Center (300 North Park Drive) Barrett Elementary School library (4401 N. Henderson Road). Among those expected to be in attendance is County Manager Barbara Donnellan. This is the second such meeting organized by the foundation.
The county is providing up to $45,000 for programming at Lubber Run this summer. Another $100,000 is going to “study capital needs toward restoration of the Lubber Run Amphitheatre.”
Update at 10:25 a.m. — “A couple of trains were delayed but continued to move through the area,” says Metro spokesman Ron Holzer.
Update at 9:30 a.m. — The fire is reported to be out. Expect some traffic issues on westbound I-66 due to parked fire equipment. Initial reports suggest that trains may have been halted in the area. Metro is said to be checking whether the fire may have damaged the third rail.
