A local bike commuter decided to spice up his ride to work by bringing along his favorite plastic robot boxing game.
The plan would make the streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, while adding only a minute or two of travel time to most trips, advocates say.
Critics say such low speeds would be hard for motorists to maintain, would add to the District’s traffic woes and could actually increase incidents of aggressive driving and road rage.
Problems at PBS NewsHour — The PBS NewsHour is facing serious challenges. The hour-long news program, which is produced at the WETA facilities in Shirlington, has been shedding staff and viewers. A number of top news and business personnel have left recently, while viewership is down 11 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, a top sponsor is pulling out at the end of the year, leaving a $2 million hole in the NewsHour’s budget. [New York Times]
Elementary School Goes Solar — A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Glebe Elementary School yesterday to mark the installation of a 1.1 kilowatt solar panel system. The solar panels will not only generate enough clean energy to power one classroom, but will also serve as an educational tool. Students, parents and teachers will be able to monitor the system’s electricity output using any web-enabled device or smartphone. [Arlington Public Schools]
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Voters will head to the polls tomorrow to cast their ballots in what may be an unusually high-turnout off-year election.
Polling centers will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. With the weather predicted to be warm and sunny, and with the chances of another significant earthquake happening on election day very slim, there’s little to keep voters from the polls. A list of polling locations can be found on the Arlington County website.
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(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) North Quincy Street was shut down this afternoon between Washington Boulevard and 11th Street — a block from Arlington Central Library and Washington-Lee High School — after a bicyclist was struck by a car.
Initial reports suggest the cyclist was alert and conscious, but suffered a head injury. She was transported to a local hospital.
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A group of gun control advocates is calling on Republican state Senate candidate Caren Merrick to make good on her pledge to release the survey that earned her an ‘A-‘ rating from the National Rifle Association.
Merrick made the pledge at a candidates forum in Cherrydale last month, after being pressed on gun control issues by two residents. One of the residents was Omar Samaha, whose sister was killed in the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Samaha is part of a group called Virginians for Responsible Gun Laws, which seeks to further restrict gun sales and ownership in Virginia.
Kapinos, 27, played for the Steelers last year after starting punter Daniel Sepulveda was injured. He finished the season with a loss in the Super Bowl. Kapinos was released from the team during the preseason to make room for Sepulveda on the roster. But Sepulveda re-injured his right leg during practice last week, and Kapinos was brought back to replace him.
Kapinos punted three times last night for an average of 33.3 yards per kick and a long of 41 yards. Kapinos’ last kick pinned the Ravens back at their own 8 yard line with only 2:34 left in the game. The Ravens, however, were able to drive down the field and score a game-winning touchdown with seconds to go on the clock.
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Held at the American Service Center garage in Ballston, the feast attracted dozens (perhaps hundreds) of diners who paid $40 per head for unlimited oysters, burgers, hot dogs, barbeque and beer. Money raised at the event “helps to fund community youth projects and grants for other educational and non-profit organizations focusing on children in Arlington.”
The pre-Election Day event always attracts a large contingent of political candidates, who take the time to individually greet members of the civic-minded crowd — in between chowing down on fried food. Among the attendees was County Board member and state Senate candidate Barbara Favola, who’s facing off against Republican Caren Merrick in one of the most closely-watched local races in Northern Virginia.
Yorktown High School beat cross-county rival Washington-Lee 55-33 on Friday to complete a perfect 10-0 season — the first undefeated regular season in school history.
The Patriots football squad dominated the scoreboard and the clock for much of the game, racking up a total of 343 rushing yards. Though Washington-Lee tied the game up at 33 down the stretch, Yorktown ultimately came back and emerged victorious. After handshakes were exchanged, students mobbed the field and celebrated the victory with the triumphant players.
Using several data sources, Bundle calculated that Arlington residents spend an average of $254.58 per month on clothes, shoes and other apparel. That’s second only to Washington, D.C., where residents spend an average of $263.00 per month on wearable goods.
The national average, according to Bundle, is $142.08 per month.
Mailer Blasts GOP State Senate Candidate — A mysterious last-minute political mailer has been sent to voters in the 32nd state Senate District. The mailer attacks GOP state Senate candidate Patrick Forrest for being “openly homosexual,” supporting “illegal immigration reform” and for supposedly working for President Obama’s transition team. Forrest’s opponent, incumbent state Sen. Janet Howell, spoke out against the mailers, calling them “disgusting and despicable.” The mailing’s return address comes back to a parking lot, and the organization it purports to come from does not exist. [Blue Virginia]
Arlington Man Charged With Murder — A 27-year-old Arlington man has been charged with second degree murder in Hawaii. Christopher Deedy, a special agent with the State Department, allegedly shot a man during a late-night argument at a McDonald’s in Waikiki. [KHON 2]
Arlington’s Urban Forestry Division encourages residents to apply for the plate. It should become available if 450 pre-paid applications are received and the General Assembly approves it next year. It will then be submitted to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
If the idea is accepted, the specialty plate will carry an additional yearly cost of $25. The revenue sharing plates allow Virginia Loves Trees to collect funds from each additional plate sold or renewed after the first 1,000 are issued. $15 from each sale will go toward urban forestry programs.