November, 2012 | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published November 13, 2012 at 9:05AM

Veterans Day Ceremony in Clarendon — Local VFW and American Legion posts jointly organized a Veterans Day ceremony at the Clarendon War Memorial on Sunday. At the annual remembrance ceremony a wreath was laid for Lance Cpl. Niall Coti-Sears, who was killed in Afghanistan this year. [MyFoxDC]

Reeves Farmhouse May Be Sold — The Arlington County Board is expected to decide whether to sell the historic Reeves farmhouse, at auction, for residential use. The county had been looking for ways to save the farmhouse for public use, but rejected a proposal to use it as a learning center, apparently due to the proposal not adequately providing for the high cost of needed repairs and renovations to the house. [WAMU]

News

Board Asked to Approve Purchase of Homeless Shelter Building

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 7:08PM

At its meeting next Saturday (November 17), the Board will examine the purchase contract for the building (2020 14th St. N.), which has an expected purchase price of $27.1 million. County staff estimates the total project cost at approximately $42 million over five years, factoring in additional costs for design, renovation, and tenant relocation.

The building purchase has been controversial since it was proposed nearly a year ago, both due to the cost and resident complaints about safety.

News

ACPD Sends Truck of Donations to Hurricane Victims

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 4:15PM | Updated November 10, 2012 at 10:58AM

Sgt. Steve Meincke and Det. Colin Dorrity (who is with Metro Transit Police) are both from Toms River, NJ, an area that experienced widespread devastation. Hearing about the hardships their family members and friends are enduring in the surrounding areas prompted Det. Dorrity to ask Sgt. Meincke about sending out an email to the entire department, asking for donations of supplies. The response was overwhelming and in just one week, the effort exceeded Det. Dorrity’s anticipated goal of one carload of supplies. Instead, the haul required a moving truck.

The donations will go to the Keansburg, NJ police department to be distributed to those in need. The department headquarters was demolished in the storm, so officers there are working out of an old building. Det. Dorrity has a friend on that force, who sent a request for help.

Around Town

Zinga Frozen Yogurt Expected in Williamsburg

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 2:45PM

According to its website, national chain Zinga Frozen Yogurt plans to move into the vacant space at 2914 Sycamore Street, which used to house Garden City Florist.

Like many of the froyo stores popping up around the county, Zinga allows customers to serve themselves one of the three dozen rotating frozen yogurt flavors. There are more than 50 toppings to choose from, and the finished product is sold by weight.

Events

Fashion Show, Charity Raffle for Gossip’s Anniversary

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 1:15PM

Owner Katherine Glorioso, who hails from Falls Church, had known for years that she wanted to open a boutique featuring Southern California fashions. She started off by selling a few items at Eastern Market. After four straight weeks of selling out halfway through the day, Glorioso’s parents pushed her to set up a brick and mortar establishment.

Glorioso originally thought her boutique would fit well in Georgetown, but she discovered that rent prices were too high. Her goal was to keep all pieces of merchandise below $100 each, which would make it difficult to pay Georgetown rents. Her father tipped her off to a potential space in Crystal City. Upon seeing the area her father had suggested, Glorioso had a flashback to being on 23rd Street when she was younger.

Feature

Your Beermonger: New Zealand Surprise

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2012 at 11:55AM

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

Even though some people like to assume that I’ve sampled every good beer on this green earth, I can still be pleasantly surprised by a brew.

Around Town

Boy Scouts Will be “Scouting for Food” on Saturday

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 10:30AM

The scouts will stop at homes in a number of neighborhoods to collect food donations to benefit Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). They will directly visit residents who received bags and fliers last week explaining the drive. Out of courtesy for residents, scouts don’t knock on doors; instead residents are asked to leave food donations in plain sight near their front doors, by 9:00 a.m. All donations are expected to be collected by noon.

Residents who didn’t receive a bag on their door will not be visited by the scouts. These residents can still participate, however, by taking food donations to the Cherrydale or Harrison Street Safeway stores.

Around Town

Bluemont McDonald’s Plans to Re-Open

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 9:45AM | Updated November 12, 2012 at 12:03PM

McDonald's in Bluemont (file photo)

A representative for McDonald’s said the rebuilt restaurant will help further the chain’s focus of modernizing and elevating the restaurant experience.

“McDonald’s wants to show customers that they can change with their times and needs, while retaining the basic principles that have made them the global iconic brand they are today,” a press release stated.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 9, 2012 at 8:45AM

Green Party Outperforms Past Results — By pulling in 12.4 percent of the vote for County Board, Green Party candidate Audrey Clement roughly doubled the percentage of the vote Green candidates have typically received during past County Board races. The question now is can the Greens get that percentage even higher next time by better identifying who is voting for the party’s candidates? [Sun Gazette]

Miss Saigon Coming to Signature Theater — Signature Theater has secured the rights to the well known musical Miss Saigon, and will open its 2013-2014 season with a version of the production. It will be the first time a theater company in the D.C. area has taken on the show in 15 years. [Variety]

News

Arlington Public Access Channel Back on the Air

By ARLnow.com

Published November 8, 2012 at 4:20PM

AIM went off the air last week due to damage to a “server that programs the channel.” The computer problems were caused not by flooding or wind damage, but by power outages during the storm.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause our producers and viewers,” AIM said at the time.

Around Town

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Penrose Square Park

By ARLnow.com

Published November 8, 2012 at 3:05PM | Updated November 12, 2012 at 12:02PM

The ceremony for the 17,000 square feet park, located at 2503 Columbia Pike, will be kick off at 4:00 today. The park features a tree-covered upper terrace with movable tables and chairs, an inner plaza with a water feature, small gardens, a sustainable storm water runoff bio-filtration and re-circulation system, and “Echo,” a large two-piece sculpture by Richard Deutsch (more information, below).

The park was designed by the prominent local design firm Oculus. A second phase of the project will include “a transit Super Stop in front of the square along Columbia Pike to support the current Pike Ride buses as well as future generations of transit.”

News

Major Orange Line Closures This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Published November 8, 2012 at 1:45PM

Both the Ballston and Virginia Square Metro stations will be closed and the Orange Line split into two sections from about 10:00 p.m. Friday to system closing on Monday, Nov. 12, a federal holiday. The closures will allow the replacement of track switches outside Ballston station.

Free shuttle bus service will be provided between the Clarendon and East Falls Church Metro stations.