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Car Show Coming to Crystal City

Published April 17, 2013 at 11:30AM

The event, which is new for 2013, will feature a number of unique and notable cars displayed in local courtyards and surface parking lots. “Crystal Car,” as it’s called, will take place between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 16.

“The festival plans to showcase a variety of automobile categories including innovative electric vehicles, area sports car auto clubs, classic muscle cars, and more,” the Crystal City Business Improvement District said in a press release. “The Washington Wine Academy will host a beer garden to further enhance the experience and celebrate Fathers Day in style.”

News

New County Website in the Works

By ARLnow.com

Published April 17, 2013 at 10:45AM

The site is being built in phases, according to county spokeswoman Jennifer K. Smith. The first components of the project — some interior portions of the website — should be launched in “the next couple of months.” If all goes well, the rest of the project is expected to be complete — homepage and all — by the end of the year.

The new county website will built on an enterprise version of WordPress, an open source content management system utilized by tens of millions of websites, including ARLnow.com. By building on WordPress, instead of the current proprietary code, the county should be able to reduce the cost of development and upkeep, and make it easier for employees to update web pages.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 17, 2013 at 9:35AM

Advisory Lifted for Local Waterways — A warning from Arlington County to stay out of Arlington Branch, Lower Long Branch and Four Mile Run has been lifted. The advisory was issued on April 9 after a sewage release near Columbia Pike. “The precaution was issued to allow time for the effect of the release to be diminished by natural flushing of the streams,” the county said. [Arlington County]

Husband of Track Coach Caught Boston Chaos on Camera — John Walls, the husband of Bishop O’Connell cross country and track coach Cindy Walls, captured the chaos of the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings on video. Walls was waiting for Cindy and his daughter Katie to cross the finish line when one of the bombs exploded across the street from where he was seated. He was shaken but uninjured. [WJLA]

News

County Board Set to Vote on 3.5 Cent Tax Hike

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 7:15PM

Donnellan had proposed a 3.2 cent real estate tax increase. The Board gave itself extra budget wiggle room by advertising a 5 cent increase in February. At a Fiscal Year 2014 budget markup work session Tuesday afternoon, the Board tentatively settled on a tax rate in-between the two, but closer to that proposed by Donnellan. The extra 0.3 cents will bring nearly $1 million in additional tax revenue.

The Board will vote on a final budget and tax rate at its meeting on Saturday.

Around Town

Courthouse Farmers Market Begins ‘Prime Season’ Saturday

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 4:35PM

The prime season hours run from 8:00 p.m. to noon. The expanded hours will be in effect at the market, which is run by Arlington County’s Department of Parks and Recreation, through December.

“The market showcases 30 vendors with a good balance of seasonally available, locally produced, top quality products,” the parks department said in a press release. “Fruit, jams, sauces, veggies, soups, eggs, beef, lamb, bison, pasta, seafood, honey, milk, cheese, yogurt, mushrooms, bread, pastries, plants, flowers — it is hard to think of a locavore item we don’t offer!”

Events

Arlington Agenda (April 15-21)

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 3:05PM

Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Feature

Video Tour: 2801 Lee Highway #302

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 2:15PM

Editor’s Note: This video tour is sponsored by Arbour Realty.

Feature

Ask Adam: Dissecting the Arlington Real Estate Market

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 1:15PM

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. Please submit follow-up questions in the comments section or via email.

Question: I’ve heard that the Arlington real estate market it is in full rebound. Is that the case for the entire Arlington market or just certain price ranges or types of homes?

News

Clement Again Running for County Board

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 12:15PM

Audrey Clement at Radnor/Fort Myer Heights candidates night debate in 2012

Clement, a long-time Arlington resident and IT consultant, will face off against incumbent Democrat Jay Fisette in November. The Arlington Green Party is urging a vote for Clement to “end one-party rule in Arlington.”

“Arlington needs new leadership,” the party said in a press release. “Jay Fisette says he is for sustainability, but the tax hikes County Board plans to impose on county residents to fund boondoggles like the Pike trolley and heated bus stops are unsustainable.”

News

BREAKING: Two Hurt, One Rescued in N. Arlington House Fire

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 10:32AM | Updated April 16, 2013 at 12:49PM

Photo courtesy Drew Lofton

(Updated at 12:50 p.m.) Police and firefighters responded to a two-alarm house fire this morning on the 2300 block of N. Dinwiddie Street, near the intersection of Lee Highway.

The two-story house was fully engulfed in flames when rescuers arrived.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 9:35AM

Parents of Gymnasts Want New Facilities — Despite a tight county budget, parents of Arlington gymnasts are calling on the County Board to fund new gymnastics facilities. Heather Cocozza, a representative of the Arlington Tigers competitive boys gymnastics team, claims that a new gymnastics facility can actually make a profit for the county. [Arlington Mercury]

APS Ranks Among Top High Schools — Arlington’s public high schools have ranked in the top 2 percent of all high schools in the country, according to the Washington Post’s “Challenge Index.” In the Washington region, H-B Woodlawn ranked #4, Washington-Lee #10, Yorktown #14 and Wakefield #62. [Arlington Public Schools]

News

Tracking the 82 Arlington Runners in the Boston Maraton

By ARLnow.com

Published April 15, 2013 at 10:20PM | Updated April 16, 2013 at 9:11AM

Arlington resident Pam Howze traveled to Boston with her parents, husband (local political activist Alan Howze) and three children (ages 2, 5 and 7) for the race. Along with a cousin who lives in Boston, they were all at a “T” station about a half mile away from the finish line at the time of the blasts.

“We heard two explosions… we didn’t know what it was,” said Howze, 39, who finished the race with a time of 3:27. She crossed the finish line 30-45 minutes before the bombings.