The Washington Post’s Going Out Guide has today’s scoop that mixologist Todd Thrasher, Northern Virginia’s king of cocktails, will be opening a new bar within the already-announced Eamonn’s: A Dublin Chipper restaurant on Columbia Pike.
According to the Post, the 30-seat bar — named ‘TNT’ — will feature original cocktail creations and a sort of global cocktail “greatest hits” menu. TNT and Eamonn’s is expected to open around the beginning of spring.
With temperatures in the 60s this week, it may seem too early to worry about fighting off sickness this winter. Already, though, illnesses are popping up around the area. That should be the perfect reminder to go out and get a vaccine now that flu season is in full swing.
Flu season continues into the spring, and although shots are effective no matter when they’re administered, it’s better to get one early in the season. This is especially true considering the vaccine will typically take a week or two to kick in.
The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will be conducted at 2:00 this afternoon.
The test will be broadcast via radio and TV stations and cable TV providers, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is coordinating the test.
Now that we know Barbara Favola is moving on to the Virginia Senate, the question becomes what happens to her soon-to-be vacated position on the Arlington County Board?
Even though her Senate victory last night is public knowledge, a special election process cannot move forward until Favola formally resigns from the County Board. She can do that any time between now and her January swearing-in. After that, the courts will issue an order for a special election.
Those blockbuster deals would attract thousands of buyers and help spread the word about Groupon. But are the deals cooling off?
Groupon held its initial public stock offering on Friday, and since then the stock price has steadily fallen from a high of $31 to $23.50, as of this morning. Analysts have questioned whether Groupon can live up to its multi-billion dollar valuation with reports that local merchants — especially restaurants — are souring on the big daily deal model, which is often a money-loser thanks to Groupon taking up to half of the proceeds from already-discounted sales.
GOP Will Likely Control Va. Senate — Despite the clean sweep by Arlington Democrats, it looks like Republicans will pick up the two Virginia Senate seats they needed to wrest control of the state Senate from Democrats. “If the results hold, Republicans will have complete control of state government for only the second time since the Civil War,” the Washington Post reported. Meanwhile, Republicans will now have a two-thirds majority in the House of Delegates after picking up six seats there. Gov. Bob McDonnell said the GOP-controlled General Assembly will be more likely to push a “pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage” agenda.
Hawaiians Protest Bail of Arlington Resident — Dozens of demonstrators marched through Honolulu last night to protest the release of State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy, an Arlington resident, on $250,000 bail. Deedy, 27, is charged with second-degree murder after shooting a man in the chest during a late-night argument inside a McDonald’s in Waikiki. [Associated Press]
A few dozen die-hard Republicans turned out at Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon for an Arlington County Republican Committee victory party that, in the end, had few victories to celebrate. State Senate candidate Patrick Forrest briefly mingled with the crowd early in the night. He was full of optimism, even as returns showed him steadily behind incumbent Democrat Janet Howell.
“It has been a hard, uphill slog,” Forrest said. “But keep your fingers crossed.”
(Updated at 2:05 a.m.) It was a joyous election night for local Democrats, who are claiming victory in all 14 races run in Arlington.
Democrat Barbara Favola has won a decisive victory over Republican businesswoman Caren Merrick in the race for state Senate in the 31st District — one of the most closely-watched races in Northern Virginia. With all precincts reporting, Favola had 58 percent of the vote to Merrick’s 42 percent. Favola, who has spent 14 years on the Arlington County Board, was ebullient over the hard-fought win.
Arlington County Registrar Linda Lindberg says she’s expecting a roughly 30 percent active voter turnout rate by the time polls close at 7:00 p.m. That would be only slightly higher than the past two comparable off-year elections: 26 percent turnout in 2007 and 29 percent turnout in 2003.
“It’s been pretty slow,” Lindberg said over the phone this afternoon. “It’s an improvement over 2007, but… it’s pretty average.”
Hope, who was scheduled to speak at the Sunday afternoon event, surprised the audience when he revealed that he was going to have his meticulously-maintained coif shaved off to help raise money and awareness.
Be Brave and Shave is the signature event of Heroes Against Childhood Cancer, which raises money for cancer research at Children’s National Medical Center. Since its founding in 2009, Be Brave and Shave events have raised some $1.5 million for the cancer programs at Children’s, making it possible for the hospital to hire its first professor of oncology. The organization is hoping to raise enough money to hire another pediatric cancer researcher in the near future.
Arlington County Police are looking for a man who exposed himself to a teenage boy on a bike path near I-66 and the W&OD trail over the weekend.
The crime happened around dusk on Sunday. The boy’s stepmother sent the following warning out to other local moms on an email listserv following the incident.
But while many government signs convey a law — a ‘no littering’ sign, for instance — the new signs have the word “Please” above “No [Smoking],” since Arlington doesn’t actually have the authority to outlaw smoking in parks. Rather than a ban, Arlington is simply asking smokers to voluntarily refrain from smoking within 50 feet of playgrounds, courts, ball fields, pavilions, recreation areas and other “areas of congregation.”
“To the extent possible, it is important for the County to take action to prevent park patrons’ exposure to this dangerous health hazard,” Arlington County explains on its website. “Children may be especially vulnerable, which is why the Smoke-Free Parks Initiative is specifically targeting areas where children congregate.”
