Opinion

The weekly Arlington Connection newspaper is the light, feature-y yin to the yang of its more newsy competitor, the Arlington Sun Gazette newspaper. Normally a bit thin during other times of the year, the Arlington Connection — published by the local Connection Newspapers chain — beefed up its coverage this summer thanks to an influx of interns.


News

County to Label Building Energy Use — In October, Arlington will start installing signs on county-owned building that will reveal the building’s energy use and carbon footprint. “We’d like people to think of energy use in buildings like they think of gasoline use in cars,” Joan Kelsch, Arlington’s green building program manager, told reporter Michael Lee Pope. [WAMU]

Planetarium Donors and Dedications — Among the whimsical new seat dedications in the soon-to-be-renovated David M. Brown Planetarium: “Pick any star — make a wish!” “Gaze upward & dream!” and “4 Who Is Yet To Come.” [savetheplanetarium.org]


Around Town

“Why does it sound like there are bombs going off… in Clarendon?” asked Twitter user @StacMid around 7:45 this morning.

The reason was because the Battery was conducting a “blank fire crew drill” at the cemetery. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall sent out an email advisory about the drill just after 5:30 last night. Arlington County notified residents just before 10:00 p.m., via Arlington Alerts.


Opinion

If you were expecting to get our daily ARLnow.com Afternoon Update email newsletter, rest assured that it is still coming, but a bit later than usual.

We’ve temporarily adjusted the timing of the mass mailing in order to protect against a spike in web traffic. With more than 3,000 email subscribers, many of whom click on articles simultaneously after receiving the newsletter, we’ve had difficulty keeping our server stable during the otherwise high-traffic time between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m.


News

Questionnaires are being sent to about 10,000 randomly-selected registered voters, per state law, to determine whether they qualify for jury duty in 2012. Recipients are required to complete and return the questionnaires within 10 days of receipt — either via mail or online.

“Jury Commissioners appointed by the Court review the questionnaires to determine eligibility for service according to criteria established by the General Assembly,” the county said in a press release. If selected, a recipient will be asked to serve as a juror on a civil or a criminal trial next year.


News

The large, rotted tree limb, felled by the wind and rain of Hurricane Irene, hit the back of the amphitheater building and damaged the concrete brick parapet wall and capping. Some wiring also appeared to be damaged.

The damage is not enough to close the amphitheater for next weekend’s round of performances — the last of the summer — according to county spokeswoman Mary Curtius. She said that the power lines to the building are intact, but will be checked by an electrician. (Update at 2:05 p.m. — We’re now hearing that the power connection to the building may, in fact, have been damaged.)


Around Town

Perennial Taste of Arlington favorite Sangam Restaurant is moving from Ballston to Columbia Pike.

According to an employee, the restaurant will close its current location — on the ground floor of the Comfort Inn hotel on Glebe Road in Ballston — after Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, Sept. 1, Sangam will hold its grand opening at 3205 Columbia Pike, in the space formerly occupied by the Kabobs Inn restaurant.


Feature

Sure, those things are still possible when the weather gets colder, but sitting outside and drinking a Corona while wearing a sweater is just not quite the same as the summertime experience.

Luckily, you can get your outdoor beer sipping and tortilla chip dipping in before it’s too late thanks to our partners at WTD, who are offering 50 percent off at Clarendon’s Mexicali Blues restaurant (2933 Wilson Blvd).


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