Update at 2:25 p.m. — Charges have been filed against a North Carolina man.
Willie Amaz Braddy, 41, of Rocky Mount, N.C., was taken into state police custody and charged with reckless driving and for concealing a weapon without a valid permit. The incident remains under investigation.
The Arlington County Police Department is partnering with Virginia State Police and other local law enforcement agencies to conduct a “Capitol Region HOV Awareness Day.” Officers will be conducting “saturation patrols” during the morning and evening rush hours in an effort to boost enforcement of High Occupancy Vehicle laws on I-395, I-66 and other local highways.
Two HOV Awareness Day operations last year resulted in police issuing more than 2,300 summonses and arresting two fugitives.
The storms — and the resulting power outages and surges — apparently played a role in knocking out Barrett Elementary School’s air conditioning. In a letter to parents, Barrett principal Theresa Bratt says that the school’s chiller unit “completely broke down this morning” and is “beyond repair.”
The school has deployed 30 fans to keep classrooms cool while they await the arrival of a temporary rental chiller.
Diener, a 57-year-old Lyon Village resident, was found lying dead on a Clarendon street early on the morning of Dec. 29, 2009. Late last year, friends and family held a vigil to mark the one year anniversary of Diener’s death, and to draw public attention to the police department’s continued effort to find clues about the case. With today’s announcement, those efforts seem to have paid off.
The two men arrested are both in their early 20s. One was arrested in Montgomery County, Md. and the other was arrested in the District, according to police.
A new Ann Taylor store opened in Clarendon over the weekend.
The store — not to be confused with Clarendon’s existing Ann Taylor Loft store — is located in the Market Common Clarendon shopping center. It replaced the shuttered Myer-Emco electronics store.
The scene wasn’t pretty, but thankfully nobody was injured when a Cadillac crashed into a Lee Highway beauty salon this morning.
The crash happened just before 11:30 a.m., when an elderly female driver lost control of her vehicle in a strip mall parking lot. The car slammed through the front into Saira’s Beauty Salon, at 5117 Lee Highway, coming to rest partially inside the store. The driver then backed out of the store and into the parking lot, leaving broken glass, twisted metal and smashed bricks in the car’s wake.
The Air Force Cycling Classic was held in Clarendon and Crystal City over the weekend.
Dozens of professional and amateur cyclists competed in a series of circuit races around both urban corridors. Cyclingnews.com has the results from both the Clarendon Cup and the Crystal Cup men’s and women’s pro races.
The Army — which will be celebrating its 236th birthday tomorrow — has just announced an impending policy change for personnel who work at the Pentagon. Starting as early as October, soldiers assigned to the Pentagon will be asked to wear the more formal Army service uniform instead of the camouflaged Army combat uniform (ACU).
“Our perspective is that this is the corporate part of the Army,” Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III told the Army News Service. “The business-part of the Army is done in the Pentagon, and as a professional there are certain standards of attire associated with certain activities. For the business aspect of the Army, it is the Army service uniform.”
About 500 people showed up at the American Legion post in Virginia Square on Saturday to chug beer, drink Crown Royal and sample bull testicles.
The Montana State Society’s 2011 Testicle Festival was a rousing success, said co-organizer Jed Link, who noted that last year’s event in the District — which lacked Crown Royal — only drew 200 attendees. Link also observed that the line for fried testicles was longer than ever.
Training Day — U.S. Navy Lt. Christine Flood, an Arlington native, trains Afghan National Army medics on basic nursing skills, infectious disease control and hospital trauma procedures at the Kandahar Regional Medical Hospital on June 5. [U.S. Army]
House Fire in Leeway-Overlee — A fire broke out in the back of a house on the 5500 block of 24th Street N. on Sunday afternoon, possibly due to a lightning strike. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it spread to other parts of the structure.
Update at 8:45 a.m. — We’re told via Twitter and email that drivers are striking near the Courthouse Metro station.
Arlington Transit bus riders are being told to “expect delays on all routes” this morning.
