Check out our real estate section for a full listing of open houses around Arlington County. Here are some highlights from open houses scheduled this weekend:
Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)
As per reader requests from our comments section, today we’re looking at the relatively recent phenomenon of hard cider and its sudden, rapid growth here in the United States. I should say resurgence to be more accurate, though: Cider has a history here that dates to nearly the beginning of Colonial America, and was the national drink for most of our existence. What happened, you may ask? Well, that’s a long and fascinating tale that I’m about to condense into a few paragraphs.
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About a thousand motorcyclists will be coming to Arlington tonight for the annual America’s 9/11 Ride.
The bikers are scheduled to leave the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanskville, Pa. this morning en route to Arlington, where they will be staying overnight. The motorcycle ride will enter Arlington via eastbound I-66 around 3:00 this afternoon. The ride will continue to southbound Route 110, and will end up at the Doubletree Hotel at 300 Army Navy Drive in Pentagon City.
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Parents Speak Out Against New Bus Policy — Some parents spoke out against Arlington Public Schools’ new voucher-based school bus policy at last night’s School Board meeting. The policy will result in some students no longer being able to ride the bus to school. School Board member Abby Raphael said the changes are necessary: “Our school system is growing,” she said. “We have to adapt and make changes. It’s very expensive to add a bus and a bus driver.” [Sun Gazette]
APAH Asks For School Supply Donations — The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is seeking donations of school supplies. APAH will fill backbacks with the supplies and give them to about 250 disadvantaged students ahead of the first day of school. [Arlington Mercury]
The county conducts an audible test of the warning system once or twice per year, according to Arlington Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Jack Brown. Residents in some of Arlington’s more urban areas would have heard a beep or series of beeps during the test, he said.
Arlington’s outdoor warning system was first installed in 2007, using $400,000 in funding from the Department of Homeland Security. The system includes six warning speakers: two in Rosslyn, one in Clarendon, one in Courthouse, and two in Pentagon City. The speakers are controlled by a line-of-sight radio signal.
The county is seeking an entity that wants to lease or license use of the farmhouse. In exchange, the entity would help restore the farmhouse, which might need more than $1 million worth of work.
The farmhouse (at 400 N. Manchester Street) and its 2.5 acres of land was purchased by the county from the Reeves family in 2001 for $1.8 million. The house itself, which overlooks Bluemont Park, dates back to 1899, according to a historical and architectural survey. The farm was “the last dairy farm to operate in Arlington and the centerpiece of the Reevesland Historic District in Bluemont Park,” according to the County.
The neighborhood’s 2013 outdoor movie theme is “Blockbusters,” a reference to both hit movies and to the long-term plan to break up Crystal City’s “mega blocks” with new roads.
“With new buildings rising, new art popping up, fun daily events and activities going on, and the next evolution of an even more pedestrian-friendly street grid underway, the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) has selected a commensurate theme for its 2013 outdoor movie series that reflects these exciting changes,” the BID said in a press release.
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Josh Stoltzfus, 39, has been named Artisphere’s new Director of Programming. He faces the daunting task of attracting programming that will bring more people to Artisphere, which has been suffering from a lack of consistent attendance and continued financial losses that have necessitated increased taxpayer support.
Stoltzfus’ music-centric resume includes roles as the tour manager for The Holmes Brothers, production coordinator at Wolf Trap and, most recently, programming manager for the Columbia Festival of the Arts. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Berklee College of Music and a graduate degree in Arts Management from American University, according to his LinkedIn page.
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A burglar broke into a store in the Courthouse area this past weekend and made off with a pair of laptops. But it’s the other item that he or she took that seems to suggest a level of trickiness beyond the capabilities of your run-of-the-mill criminal.
BURGLARY (COMMERCIAL), 08/12/12, 2400 block of Wilson Boulevard. Between 2 and 9:30 am on August 12, an unknown subject(s) kicked in the front door of a business and stole two laptops and the store surveillance equipment. There is no suspect(s) description.
Library May Set Summer Reading Record — Arlington Public Library is tantalizingly close to setting a new record for participation in its summer reading program. Last year a record 7,371 students participated in the program. This year the library is “just a handful away” from reaching that number. [Sun Gazette]
Road Closures for Buckingham Festival — The Arlington County Police Department will be assisting with traffic control for the Buckingham Festival this weekend. From about 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19, N. Pershing Drive will be closed between N. Glebe Road and N. Thomas Street. [Arlington County Police]
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Through song, prayer and poetry, the Hall’s Hill community came together Tuesday night to mourn the loss of two of its own.
A candlelight vigil was held for double homicide victims Keefe Spriggs and Carl Moten at the Hall’s Hill/High View Park Memorial Garden. Dozens of people young and old — including friends, family and neighbors of the victims — attended the somber vigil, which was organized in part by the Calloway United Methodist Church (5000 Lee Highway). Speakers included pastors and community members.
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(Updated at 10:00 p.m.) The suspect in a shooting at the Family Research Council in D.C. might have parked at the East Falls Church Metro station, ARLnow.com has learned.
FBI agents and Metro Police officers blocked off part of the parking lot at the East Falls Church Metro station with crime tape this afternoon. When we photographed the scene, investigators were still in the process of obtaining a warrant to search a car in the parking lot that they believe belongs to the shooting suspect, according to FBI Washington Field Office spokeswoman Rebecca Callahan. Later, news footage showed a silver Dodge Neon being searched and photographed.