July, 2012 | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published July 27, 2012 at 8:32AM | Updated July 27, 2012 at 12:37PM

Last Chance to Comment on Bikeshare Plan — Today is the last day to comment on Arlington’s Capital Bikeshare Expansion Plan. Comments on the six year strategic growth plan can be submitted online through the end of the day today. [Arlington Transportation Partners]

Republicans Pounce on Garvey’s Streetcar Abstention — Hoping to capture a seat on the County Board this November, Republicans are planning on hammering away at the current all-Democrat Board for approving the Columbia Pike streetcar. The GOP is also planning to pounce on their Democratic opponent, Libby Garvey, for abstaining from the streetcar vote while expressing skepticism about the plan. Republican Matt Wavro will face Garvey and Green Party candidate Audrey Clement on the Nov. 6 ballot. [Sun Gazette]

Weather

Severe Thunderstorm Watch Issued

By ARLnow.com

Published July 26, 2012 at 7:33PM

Arlington and the surrounding region is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch through early Friday morning. A line of storms approaching the area may bring downpours, lighting and high winds.

From Arlington Alerts:

Events

Lubber Run To Host Trio Of Shows This Weekend

By Aaron Kraut

Published July 26, 2012 at 3:45PM | Updated July 26, 2012 at 6:19PM

Lubber Run’s summer series of free outdoor shows will offer a change of pace with Traveling Players Ensemble’s performance of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 27.

The series, which typically features local music acts, will welcome Baltimore-based band The Project, on Saturday.

Around Town

New Frozen Yogurt Shop Coming to Pentagon City

By Aaron Kraut

Published July 26, 2012 at 2:45PM

Tutti Frutti franchise owner Geoff Trout is betting on it. He hopes to open shop on South Fern Street, next to the Post Office in the Millennium at Metropolitan Park apartments, in late August or early September.

The self-serve frozen yogurt trend hit Pentagon Row earlier this year when Yogiberry replaced Maggie Moo’s ice cream. The Tutti Frutti concept is similar — a rotating menu of flavors combined with 35 to 40 fruit and candy toppings.

Events

Crystal City To Host Dog-Friendly Beer Festival

By Aaron Kraut

Published July 26, 2012 at 1:45PM | Updated July 26, 2012 at 3:57PM

The inaugural “Pups and Pilsners” outdoor beer festival will be held on Sept. 23. The Crystal City Business Improvement District and Washington Wine Academy is stocking the event, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 1405 Crystal Drive, with a beer garden of 10 craft brews and food from Crystal City restaurants.

Entry to the “dog-friendly festival” is free — and bringing Fido is optional. The beer garden will cost you, though. Tickets will be available at washingtonwineacademy.org.

News

Police Identify Couple In Murder-Suicide

By Aaron Kraut

Published July 26, 2012 at 12:09PM | Updated July 26, 2012 at 12:48PM

Police on Thursday identified the man and woman killed in Tuesday’s murder-suicide at the Park Shirlington Apartments on the 4500 block of 31st Street South, near the Fairlington neighborhood.

Xiomara Aracely Benitez, 30, of Arlington was pronounced dead at the scene along with Juan Carlos Mox Mox, 30, of Arlington, according to a press release from the Arlington County Police Department. Police identified Benitez as the victim and Mox Mox as the subject. They were married with two children.

Events

Signature Theatre Kicking Off New Season With Open House

By Katie Pyzyk

Published July 26, 2012 at 11:45AM

Free performances will be taking place approximately every 15 minutes on four stages, starting at noon. They feature sneak peeks at some of the upcoming season’s shows, such as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Dreamgirls and Hello, Dolly! The event culminates with a finale concert at 8:30 p.m., scheduled to include both local and Broadway actors, as well as the winner of the “Signature Idol” competition. A list of performers and performance times is available online.

“The open house is a great way to get people acquainted with the new season,” said Signature Theatre publicist Peter Eramo, Jr.

News

Arlington Gets Praise In First Year Of ‘100 Homes’ Campaign

By Aaron Kraut

Published July 26, 2012 at 10:30AM

The claim is based on a benchmark set by the National Alliance to End Homelessness — cities or counties that moved 2.5 percent of their chronically ill homeless population into permanent housing each month made the list.

Arlington’s “100 Homes” campaign, a partnership with the nonprofit A-SPAN, put about 30 homeless people with life-threatening medical issues into permanent, federally-funded supported housing since starting up last October.

News

Crime Report: With Friends Like These Edition

By ARLnow.com

Published July 26, 2012 at 9:30AM | Updated January 9, 2018 at 3:20PM

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, items were stolen from a house in the Ballston area after a juvenile house sitter invited friends over.

BURGLARY, 07/22/12, 4100 block of N. 11th Place. On July 22 at 8:54 pm, a male juvenile reported several items missing from the place he was house-sitting. The juvenile had invited friends over and realized once they left that a laptop, camera and money had been taken. Police are investigating.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 26, 2012 at 8:48AM

Meriweather Pleads to DWI Charge — Washington Redskins strong safety Brandon Meriweather has pleaded no contest to the charge of driving while intoxicated in Arlington. As part of the plea, Meriweather was assessed a fine, a driver’s license suspension, and a 180 day jail sentence — though the jail time was suspended. ARLnow.com was the first to report in April that Meriweather had been arrested for DWI following a traffic stop on I-66 in Arlington. [Washington Post]

Heat Advisory Issued — A heat advisory will be in effect from noon to 8:00 tonight. Heat index values are expected to reach around 105 degrees, which brings the risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses. [Weather Channel]

News

Changes to County Sign Regulations Approved

By Katie Pyzyk

Published July 25, 2012 at 4:30PM | Updated August 29, 2013 at 1:30PM

The effort is intended to clarify gray areas, modernize the regulations and to make them easier for everyone to understand. Major issues included signs placed in the public right-of-way by private parties, the County Board’s involvement in reviewing sign requests and regulations for roofline signs.

Board members Walter Tejada and Chris Zimmerman pushed for a ban on commercial roofline signs — those installed above a height of 40 feet — but it didn’t pass. The county Planning Commission favored the ban, but county staff recommended keeping the signs. The remaining three Board members ended up siding with county staff.

News

Arlington Listed High on “Creative Class” List

By Katie Pyzyk

Published July 25, 2012 at 2:50PM | Updated July 25, 2012 at 3:07PM

The list is an excerpt from a recently released book, written on the belief that the role of creativity is on the rise in American society. It asserts that the creative class consists of around 40 million workers, or more than one-third of the total workforce. Examples of fields with high numbers of creative class professionals include management, education, science, architecture and media.

The list charts the concentration of the creative class by county (although several independent Virginia cities also made the list). Arlington County came in at number two, second only to Los Alamos County, New Mexico. A number of D.C.-area locales also made the list, including: