Election Day is just six weeks away.
As presidential, congressional and local candidates enter the home stretch of their campaigns, have you decided whether you’re going to vote on Nov. 6? (Or whether you’re going to vote absentee?)
Yom Kippur in Arlington — Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is traditionally observed with 25 hours of fasting and prayer. Arlington’s only synagogue, Etz Hayim Congregation on Arlington Boulevard, has sold out of its Yom Kippur service tickets.
Illegal Dog Mural Whitewashed — Wag More Dogs, the doggy daycare in Shirlington, has surrendered in its legal battle to keep a colorful dog-themed mural on its outside wall. Yesterday, workers removed the tarp covering the large mural — in place since 2010 — and painted over it. The painters — the same pair who painted an eyebrow-raising mural outside the Smokey Shope III store in Crystal City — are now planning to replace the mural with an “urban landscape” mural that, since it won’t feature dogs or anything connected to the business, shouldn’t constitute an illegal sign in the eyes of Arlington County. [Washington Post, WTOP]
A newly-released video shows the Arlington County Police Department at work during a dramatized hostage situation.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 43-year-old Tuan Vu, who owns Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, PLLC, pled guilty in January to committing health care fraud. Court documents show that Vu admitted the scheme took place at least from January 2007 to September 2011, when he billed dental insurance providers for services he never performed on his patients.
Because of the scheme, more than 50 private insurance providers lost more than $2 million. The federal government and the Commonwealth of Virginia also suffered losses, including more than $300,000 to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program and the Virginia Medicaid program.
Stations will be set up throughout the country and right here in Arlington for residents to turn in any expired and unused medications. In addition to preventing drug abuse and theft, the initiative helps to prevent drugs from being disposed of improperly, such as being flushed down the toilet or thrown in the trash.
The Drug Enforcement Administration runs the program, in cooperation with local officials. During the last such event in April, residents around the country turned in a record breaking 276 tons of unwanted drugs.
Owner and chef Nathan Spitall had previously owned the BBQ Bandidos food truck. He has worked in restaurants in New York and locally, such as at the former Harry’s Tap Room in Clarendon, and wanted launch a brick and mortar establishment in Arlington.
“The food truck was great, but my home is in a restaurant,” Spitall said.
The red 2012-2013 vehicle decals need to be displayed starting on November 15. There is a list of ways to pay the taxes online.
Payments are considered late if they are not received on or postmarked by October 5. Late payments may receive penalties as follows:
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(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) A couple of training exercises will be taking place in Arlington today and tomorrow.
An Arlington County Police Department training exercise has been ongoing since 6:00 a.m. in the 3900 block of N. 26th Street. Explosive Ordnance Disposal units will join the SWAT team for the joint training exercise. It will continue until about 3:00 p.m. today and isn’t expected to cause much disruption to residents.
County Offering Grants for Runoff Projects — Arlington County is seeking local residents, businesses and homeowners associations interested in reducing stormwater runoff and pollution from their property. Using $80,000 received from the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, the county will offer cost-sharing grants to those who want to embark on runoff-reducing projects, like green roofs, rain gardens, conservation landscaping, infiltration trenches, cisterns, and pervious walkways and driveways. [Washington Post]
Arlington Teen Named ‘National Student Poet’ — Washington-Lee senior Luisa Banchoff, 17, has been named one of five 2012 National Student Poets, the “country’s highest honor for youth poets presenting original work.” [Patch, Art & Writing Awards]
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StoryCorps’ silver Airstream trailer will be stationed outside the Columbia Pike Branch Library and Arlington Career Center, at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive, through Oct. 20. The Brooklyn-based organization worked with Arlington Public Library and WAMU 88.5 to secure the location, which is accessible via several bus lines and via car (the library and career center share a sizable parking lot).
StoryCorps’ mission is “to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.” To date, the organization has recorded more than 40,000 “interviews” since 2003. (Participants are asked to bring a friend, family member or colleague to do the interviewing; StoryCorps staff members only handle logistics and tend to the sound equipment.)
“We are not in a recession,” Moran campaign spokesman Austin Durrer was quoted as saying, according to the Murray campaign. The remark was made at the 2012 Northern Virginia Asian Pacific American Candidates Forum in Fairfax.
In response, the Murray campaign issued a blistering press release.