State Senate candidate and Arlington County Board Member Barbara Favola is calling on Virginia health insurers to cover birth control and other reproductive health services for women.
Favola said she would sponsor legislation to require Virginia insurers to follow the Institute of Medicine’s recent recommendations that women be provided birth control, STD counseling, breast pumps and other health services at no charge. According to a campaign press release:
Today’s Rosslyn lunchtime concert, slated to feature New Orleans-inspired rock quartet The Grandsons, has been canceled “due to excessive heat.” Thursday’s lunchtime concert has also been canceled, as has the Thursday lunchtime farmers market.
The 18-foot tall mermaid has graced the front yard of Leeway Overlee resident Paul Jackson since 2004, when Paul and wife Nancy had the bright idea to carve something out of their dying 100+ year old white ash tree. Nancy, in a moment of benevolence, suggested a mermaid, to satisfy Paul’s dual loves of fish and women. The final product, carved by Frederick, Md. artist Scott Dustin, featured what the Washington Post’s Laura Sessions Stepp described as “a shapely derriere and bare breasts that must be at least size DD.”
The busty mermaid, named “Damaged Goods” or D.G. for short, has attracted neighborhood and media attention ever since her controversial creation. She received the aforementioned Washington Post write-up shortly after Labor Day 2004 — in an article entitled “Majestic or Monstrous?” — and, more recently, she was the focus of a Connection Newspapers piece entitled “From Controversy to Landmark.” She’s also listed on RoadsideAmerica.com, an “online guide to offbeat tourist attractions.”
An elderly woman was reportedly struck by an SUV at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Jefferson Street around 8:00 this morning.
The woman’s injuries were said to be non-life threatening. At least one lane of eastbound Columbia Pike was closed as a result of the accident.
Around 2:15 a.m. the officer was “responding to a call for a disturbance at a bar” at Ballston Common Mall when his cruiser collided with another car at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Glebe Road.
The officer is reported to be in serious condition while the driver’s injuries are said to be non-life threatening.
Rep. Jim Moran says he’s proud to have been among the 190 legislators who voted against a Republican-backed plan to slash federal spending and balance the budget.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 234-190 last night, but faces long odds in the Senate and a presidential veto threat. President Obama and Democrats have called for a “balanced” national debt reduction bill that cuts spending while also raising some taxes.
Noise Monitoring at DCA — A company has been hired to measure noise levels around Reagan National Airport. The information gathered will be used to figure out “ways to control or reduce noise pollution.” [NBC Washington]
Bus Stop Decorated — A local ART bus stop has been “yarn bombed.” [Facebook]
They don’t exactly look like hardened criminals, but some are questioning the persistence of groups of kids who have been selling animal crackers along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.
A young animal cracker seller near Market Common Clarendon prompted a citizen to call police this afternoon – apparently out of concern for the child’s welfare – and others, in Rosslyn, prompted a post in our forums.
Update at 5:00 p.m. — “This occurred outside the bank near the ATM in the mall,” Arlington Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal tells ARLnow.com. “It does not appear to be hazardous at this time and was not a robbery or attempted bank robbery.”
Update at 4:20 p.m. — We’re told that tests have revealed the substance to be “non-hazardous.” At least one patient was transported to the hospital, however.
South Block Smoothie & Burrito Co. (3011 11th Street N.), a new health-oriented eatery in Clarendon, is planning to serve its first customers tomorrow afternoon.
Ladders and power tools still clutter the inside of the store, but work is expected to wrap up in anticipation of tomorrow’s hoped-for 3:00 p.m. opening. South Block offers a variety of fruit smooties, Acai bowls, “wholesome” burritos, soups, as well as other healthy fare like wheatgrass juice, oatmeal and yogurt (Greek or frozen).
The report, commissioned by the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, examined three major corridors where redevelopment is underway: Alexandria’s Beauregard corridor, Fairfax County’s Baileys Crossroads area and Arlington’s Columbia Pike corridor.
All three areas, the report says, are affordable thanks to a “lack of private investment, along with poor transportation options and infrastructure” — attributes that have made the areas undesirable to more affluent residents. Now that the Arlington County is actively encouraging economic development and planning a new streetcar line along Columbia Pike, however, the “type of households” seeking to live on the Pike will likely change, leading to “opportunities” for the owners of existing affordable apartment complexes to “reposition their properties… to attract higher-income residents.”
The group is making its only D.C.-area stop here for Artisphere’s Salsa Tuesdays. Dancing lessons start at 7:30 p.m., followed by the band’s performance and dancing from 8:30 to 11:00 p.m. Tickets are $25, discounted to $22 for students, military servicemembers and senior citizens.
Many of the members of Sierra Maestra have performed with the Buena Vista Social Club, the international “supergroup” created by Sierra Maestra founder Juan de Marcos Gonzales.
