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Morning Notes

Published June 25, 2014 at 9:00AM | Updated June 25, 2014 at 9:18AM

Board Members Spar Over Streetcar PR Funds — Of the $7-8 million contract with Parsons Transportation Group to serve as project manager of Arlington’s streetcar system, up to $650,000 will be spent on “public-education efforts during the first year of the contract.” That isn’t sitting well with Board member and streetcar critic Libby Garvey. “We should not be wasting $650,000 on PR,” she is quoted as saying. [InsideNova]

DJ Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Women — DJ Joey Flash, who counts A-Town Bar and Grill in Ballston among his former clients, has pleaded guilty to charges of rape and sexual battery. The nightlife fixture, whose real name is Joseph Rivera, admitted to bringing highly intoxicated women back from bars, having sex with them while they were unconscious, and filming the encounters. [Washington Post]

Around Town

Shake Shack Eyes Pentagon City Location

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2014 at 2:15PM | Updated February 13, 2024 at 11:26AM

Shake Shack is looking at the burger desert of Pentagon City for a possible future expansion.

The New York-based burger, hot dog and milkshake chain opened its fourth D.C. location yesterday, at Union Station.

Feature

Ask Adam: Months of Inventory

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2014 at 1:20PM

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. Despite positive reports about the local real estate market, I would like to find out how my neighborhood and zip code are selling. I’ve heard that finding out the rate of sales compared to the amount of inventory is a valuable analysis. Can you tell me where this information is located on the internet?

News

BREAKING: Smartphone Parking Payments Coming to Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2014 at 10:55AM

Those who park in Arlington will soon be able to skip the parking meters and pay directly with their smartphone, Arlington County will announce this afternoon.

Arlington will utilize Parkmobile, the same smartphone parking system currently in use by the District of Columbia, allowing smartphone users to use a single app to park in Arlington and the District. Parkmobile is available for iPhone, Android, Windows 7 and Blackberry devices. It utilizes a stored credit card number to pay for parking.

News

Police Warn of Home Invasion Robbery Scheme

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2014 at 9:45AM

Police say two men knocked on a door of a home near the water treatment plant in south Arlington over the weekend and claimed to be representatives of a utility company. After the elderly resident let the men in, they locked her in a room while they stole valuables.

ACPD says residents who question the identity of someone claiming to be a utility representative should call the utility company to verify they are who they say they are.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2014 at 8:00AM | Updated June 24, 2014 at 9:48AM

New Homeless Shelter to Open in March — Arlington County’s new year-round homeless services center is now expected to open in March. That means the existing emergency winter homeless shelter in Courthouse is likely to be open much of the winter. [InsideNova]

Competitors Agree on Sign Change — Competing commercial real estate companies have joined together in support of a proposal for Arlington to allow rooftop signs on two new Rosslyn office buildings, one already built and another set to be built if the signage is approved. Company officials say that Arlington’s reputation with the business community is at stake, especially at a time of increased competition with areas like Tysons Corner. [Washington Business Journal]

News

ACPD Officer’s Pride Parade Kiss Goes Viral

By ARLnow.com

Published June 23, 2014 at 3:30PM | Updated June 23, 2014 at 3:47PM

Officer D.J. Stalter was one of three Arlington officers participating in the parade when he was snapped holding a rainbow flag and smooching boyfriend Mark Raimondo along the parade route. That alone was not overly remarkable, but it was the background of the photo that helped it gain international attention: Westboro Baptist Church members can be seen behind Stalter and Raimondo, holding offensive signs decrying gay marriage and homosexuality.

Headlines on Buzzfeed, the Daily Mail (U.K.) and elsewhere applauded Stalter for appearing to stand up to intolerance. “A Cop At D.C. Pride Kissed His Boyfriend to Piss Off the Westboro Baptist Church,” “A Defiant Police Officer Kissed His Boyfriend in Front of a Westboro Baptist Church Protest,” and “A Brave Cop Turned the Westboro Baptist Church’s Hate Into an Inspiring Kodak Moment,” were some of the headlines.

News

Police Helicopter Called in After Mini Golf Stand Robbed at Gunpoint

By ARLnow.com

Published June 23, 2014 at 1:35PM | Updated June 23, 2014 at 2:53PM

File photo

The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Police say the man approached the stand, brandished a handgun, and told the clerk to empty the register. The clerk complied and the man took an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing on foot and running through the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex.

A mini golf customer initially gave chase but was unable to keep up with the suspect, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Numerous police officers, assisted by the Fairfax County Police helicopter, attempted to located the suspect, to no avail. The suspect remains at large.

Around Town

Top Home Cities, States of Arlington Transplants

By ARLnow.com

Published June 23, 2014 at 10:45AM

Spokeo, an online white pages service, has released a list quantifying where Arlington transplants originally came from. It has done so by taking a look at out-of-town cell phone numbers associated with Arlington addresses.

According to Spokeo, the following are the top home cities for Arlington transplants — excluding locales around the D.C. and Baltimore metro area:

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 23, 2014 at 9:15AM

Arlington Wages, Employment Falling — The average weekly wage in Arlington was $1,588 in the fourth quarter of 2013, the eighth-highest wage among large U.S. counties. However, the average wage was down 2.4 percent compared to one year prior, and the number of people employed in Arlington was down 1.1 percent. [InsideNova]

Peet’s Sets Opening Date — The new Peet’s Coffee and Tea in Shirlington has reportedly set June 28 as an opening day. Peet’s replaced the former Caribou Coffee store. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Place Subsidized Housing in Residential Neighborhoods

By ARLnow.com

Published June 21, 2014 at 12:00PM

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Henry Weiss, a rising junior at Washington-Lee High School who “chose to research Arlington’s affordable/subsidized housing crisis” as a class project this past school year.

Arlington’s subsidized housing stock is rapidly disappearing, and with it, its diversity.

News

Kate Roche Promoted to Arlington Chamber President

By ARLnow.com

Published June 20, 2014 at 3:45PM | Updated June 20, 2014 at 4:20PM

Roche, 29, will succeed retiring president Rich Doud, 71. She began her career with the chamber in 2007 and most recently served as the organization’s vice president.

“To me, working for the Chamber has always been much more than just a job,” said Roche said in a statement. “The business community continues to evolve and so do the needs of our members. As President and CEO, I will work to keep the Chamber progressing, growing and improving to become the essential partner for business success.”