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Garvey Raises Red Flags About Public-Private Partnership Vote

Published December 6, 2012 at 4:15PM | Updated December 7, 2012 at 2:41PM

Garvey is calling for the Board to delay its scheduled vote on adoption of Virginia’s Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA). The vote is currently scheduled for Monday, after being deferred at the Nov. 27 Board meeting.

The County Board is considering using a private-public partnership for the design, construction and operation of the planned Crystal City streetcar. The Board would need to adopt the state PPTA in order to enter such a partnership.

News

Staff Recommends Approval of Bergmann Development

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 2:15PM | Updated December 6, 2012 at 2:36PM

Arlington County staff are recommending that the County Board approve a proposed mixed-use development for the Bergmann’s Dry Cleaning site on Lee Highway.

Last month, the county’s Planning Commission voted against the project, which includes a 10-story apartment tower. The commission said Arlington should have a development plan in place for Lee Highway before any big, potentially precedent-setting developments are approved.

Around Town

New Coffee Shop Coming to Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 12:55PM

Caffe Aficionado is hoping to open at 1919 N. Lynn Street, near the main entrance of the Corporate Executive Board building, at some point in April or May 2013. Owner Adiam Berhane, who spent part of her childhood in Italy, says she’s going for an Italian vibe, eschewing the laid back “Northwestern” vibe of Starbucks and other coffee chains, while serving American coffee.

“America beats Italy in coffee,” Berhane said. “I probably won’t be allowed back in the country after saying that.”

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Crime Report: Armed Robbery Fail

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 10:45AM | Updated January 9, 2018 at 3:29PM

The would-be victim of an armed robbery in Ballston managed to get away thanks to some dirt.

The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30. A 6’2″ tall, 250 lbs man with a .45 caliber handgun tried to rob a victim at gunpoint, according to police, but his robbery was foiled when the victim threw dirt in the suspect’s face.

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Rosslyn Electronic Tourism Kiosk to Be Removed

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 9:45AM

An electronic tourism kiosk, located at 1919 N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn, is set to be removed.

The Arlington County Board must ultimately approve the removal, but the kiosk already has a sign indicating that it’s out of service. In a report to the Board, county staff say the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service kiosk “requires replacement, due to aging, at significant cost.” Staff recommends removing the kiosk and not replacing it.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 8:45AM | Updated December 6, 2012 at 10:13AM

Rosslyn Lights Up Tonight — The 19th annual Light Up Rosslyn night is tonight. The holiday event is taking place from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. in front of the WJLA building (1100 Wilson Blvd). Local officials will flip a big switch to “light up” the Rosslyn skyline. In addition, there will be musical groups performing and free hot cocoa, chili, cider and cookies. [Rosslyn BID]

Reduction in Blue Line Service Planned — Metro plans to further reduce service on the Blue Line when the Silver Line to Tysons Corner opens. With the Silver Line in operation, perhaps by the end of 2013, Blue Line trains will run every 12 minutes between Franconia-Springfield and Largo, during both peak and off-peak hours. [Washington Post]

Events

Today’s Featured Event

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 6:00AM

The following is today’s featured event from our newly-redesigned event calendar. Submit your event to the calendar here.

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Wheel Thefts Reported in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published December 5, 2012 at 3:30PM | Updated December 7, 2012 at 11:48AM

(Updated at 6:50 p.m.) About half a dozen Arlington residents have woken up to find their car up on blocks over the past month.

Arlington County police have been responding to a seemingly increasing number of wheel thefts. Thieves have been been stealing the wheels — rims, tires and all — from parked vehicles in the middle of the night. So far, all of the thefts confirmed by ARLnow.com have taken place in south Arlington, but a tipster reported a “rash of wheel thefts” in the Madison Manor neighborhood of north Arlington in late October.

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Moran Proposes Bill to Reduce Voting Wait Times

By ARLnow.com

Published December 5, 2012 at 1:50PM

Moran introduced a bill called the Voting Line Reduction and Online Registration Act yesterday (Tuesday). The bill comes a month after Arlington set a new voter turnout record, while residents reported waiting in 3+ hour lines to vote.

“Voters in many states, including Virginia, faced waits of up to four hours to vote, due in large part to insufficient or faulty voting equipment,” the congressman’s office said in a press release. “Moran’s bill addresses these problems by directing the Election Assistance Commission to set a minimum number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources at each voting site for all Federal elections.”

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Court House Brawl Sends One to Hospital

By ARLnow.com

Published December 5, 2012 at 12:55PM

A woman’s boyfriend and her ex-husband got into a physical fight as a result of a child custody dispute at the Arlington County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (1425 N. Court House Road), according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Sheriff’s deputies broke up the fight. One of the men was punched in the face and was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for “very minor injuries,” according to Sternbeck.

News

DEVELOPING: FBI Raids in Rosslyn Area

By ARLnow.com

Published December 5, 2012 at 11:20AM | Updated December 22, 2020 at 2:03PM

An office at 1901 Ft. Myer Drive was raided, as was a townhouse just north of Rosslyn. So far, the FBI Washington Field Office is mum on the details.

“We are serving search warrants at multiple locations in Arlington this morning,” said spokesman Andrew Ames. “There is nothing public at the moment that we can share.”

Around Town

Citizenship At Last for District Taco Founder

By ARLnow.com

Published December 5, 2012 at 9:45AM

District Taco founder Osiris Hoil at his U.S. citizenship ceremony in 2012 (photo via Twitter)

“Today America has accepted me to be part of this beautiful country,” Hoil tweeted at the time. “Today I became an American!! Thank you USA!!”

The naturalization ceremony was yet another high point of a whirlwind three and a half years for Hoil, a native of Mexico. In that time Hoil went from laid-off construction worker to food cart operator to a partner in an expanding local restaurant chain. (District Taco is planning to open a third location, on Capitol Hill, early next year.)