(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) U.S. Park Police are on the scene of a multiple vehicle accident that’s snarling traffic in the southbound lanes of the George Washington Parkway, near I-395.
Traffic is being diverted around the accident but the entire area is congested. Park Police recommend avoiding the area.
From 6:00-9:00 p.m., attendees can take part in bat-centric habitat walks, games and crafts at Gulf Branch Nature Center (3608 Military Road). There also will be three live bat shows. The show schedule and which age group each is aimed at can be found online.
There is an $8 fee to attend the event and online registration is recommended to guarantee a spot.
This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Adam Gallegos of Arlington-based real estate firm Arbour Realty, voted one of Arlington Magazine’s Best Realtors of 2013 & 2014. Please submit your questions via email.
Q. Given your thoughts on the Ballston condo market, what kind of impact do you foresee for the three townhouse communities triangled between N. Glebe Road, Wilson Blvd, Carlin Springs Road, and Vermont Street?
Last week, Fair Share Education Fund released a report showing eligibility for free or reduced price school lunches is growing faster in suburbs like Arlington than in cities. Although the report focused on 2010-2011, an Arlington Food Assistance Center spokeswoman confirmed the organization still saw a huge increase in Arlington families using its services for the 2014 fiscal year, which ended on June 30.
AFAC served 1,400 families each week as of July 2013, and that bumped up to 2,000 families each week by this summer, which is a 40 percent increase. That equals about 5,000 individuals every week, of which 36 percent are children.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for Arlington and the rest of the D.C. metro area. It remains in effect until 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
Rain is expected to continue through the evening and the area may also see thunderstorms.
Update at 1:15 p.m. — The tree has been cleared and only one westbound lane of Route 50 remains closed. All other lanes are open to traffic.
Earlier: All westbound lanes of Route 50 are blocked near Garfield Street due to a tree that fell across the road.
Applicants need to “like” the event’s Facebook page, fill out an online application and submit a video link along with it. Competitors have to be at least 13 years old, audition videos must be no more than three minutes long — performances during the competition can be up to five minutes — and be free of “nudity or obscene language/gestures.” The deadline for applying is Sept. 11.
The competition itself will be on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Blvd), with a social starting at 6:30 p.m. before the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Last year’s show had more than 200 people in attendance, Leadership Arlington said in a press release. Tickets for the show are $30 online and $40 at the door. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar.
The request, by farmers market organizer Field to Table, will eventually be heard by the Arlington County Board and will include a public input process. If approved, the Fairlington Farmers Market will be the ninth in the county.
“After careful consideration, the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation has determined that a farmers’ market is an appropriate use of the open space adjacent to the Fairlington Community Center,” The DPR said in a statement. “The site’s location, characteristics, context of the surrounding neighborhood, circulation and parking access appear to favorably support a farmers’ market.”
APS Identifies Elementary Schools to Possibly Expand — Arlington Public Schools named two schools that could be expanded as a “plan B” if the proposal to put a new school on the Thomas Jefferson Middle School campus doesn’t go through. If the new school cannot be constructed, APS has suggested expanding Randolph Elementary School and Barcroft Elementary School. The County Board commissioned a working group last month to look into the possibility of building a new school on the Thomas Jefferson campus. [InsideNova]
Voter Registration Deadline — Today is the deadline to register to vote, both in person and absentee, in the special election next Tuesday, August 19. Voter registration can be done online. [Arlington County]
