ARLnow.com | ARLnow

Columbia Pike ‘Premium Transit Network’ Delayed

Published March 20, 2017 at 10:15AM | Updated March 20, 2017 at 12:03PM

(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) Those who live and work along Columbia Pike will have to wait another year for the implementation of a “Premium Transit Network” along the corridor.

ARLnow.com has learned that the plan for enhanced bus service along the Pike has been pushed back from 2018 to 2019 due to “WMATA’s focus on SafeTrack and core operations.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 20, 2017 at 9:05AM | Updated March 20, 2017 at 9:34AM

Florida Men Arrested for Credit Card Skimming — Three men from Miami, Florida were arrested earlier this month on the 5600 block of Columbia Pike, in Fairfax County. They’re suspected of using Bluetooth-enabled credit card skimming devices to steal credit card numbers from gas station customers. [Falls Church News-Press]

School Board to Consider Wakefield Modifications — The Arlington School Board is expected to approve a $4 million internal modification project at Wakefield High School that will increase its student capacity to 2,300 from 1,900. [InsideNova]

Opinion

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2017 at 6:00PM

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

If you’re celebrating with pints of Guinness, shots of Jameson or any other type of alcohol, you can get home safely and for free tonight via SoberRide’s new Lyft service.

Traffic

Randolph Street to Close in Ballston for Crane Assembly

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2017 at 4:50PM

A busy street in Ballston will be closed this weekend while crews work to erect a construction crane.

N. Randolph Street is set to be blocked off between Wilson Blvd and the Ballston mall parking garage starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. The massive crane will be assisting with the construction of the new residential tower, which is part of the Ballston Quarter project.

Around Town

Roti Modern Mediterranean Coming to Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2017 at 1:05PM | Updated April 13, 2017 at 11:34AM

The county's second Roti will arrive at S. Fern Street in Pentagon City, permits show

A Roti Modern Mediterranean restaurant is opening in Pentagon City, permits show.

The fast casual rotisserie eatery is coming to the ground floor of the Met Arcadia apartment building, at 1211 S. Fern Street, between two recently opened businesses: a Starbucks and an Orangetheory Fitness.

Feature

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2017 at 12:10PM

Looking for a new home? There are plenty of houses and condos to look around in Arlington this weekend.

Check out our real estate section for a full listing of open houses this weekend. Here are a few highlights:

News

Arlington’s Planning Director Departs for New Job in Florida

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2017 at 10:25AM

Steven Cover joined Arlington County as director of Community Planning, Housing and Development in March 2015. He won the respect of many in Arlington’s business community by trying to streamline processes in CPHD, which has gained a reputation for a heavy-handed, intransigent approach to enforcing county regulations, sources tell ARLnow.com.

The City of Sarasota announced Cover’s hiring yesterday.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 17, 2017 at 9:30AM

Arlington’s Irish Bars on St. Patrick’s Day — Today is St. Patrick’s Day and that of course means that Guinness will be flowing like water at Arlington’s half dozen Irish pubs. Among them: The Celtic House on Columbia Pike (recently lauded by Yelp and Travel + Leisure), Samuel Beckett’s in Shirlington, Ireland’s Four Courts in Courthouse, O’Sullivan’s in Clarendon, P. Brennan’s on Columbia Pike and Sine Irish Pub on Pentagon Row.

Arlington’s High-Earning Millennials — “Arlington has more millennials with a household income of $350,000 or more than any other jurisdiction in the country, with 8.7 percent of millennials among that wealthy cohort.” [Washington Post]

News

Police: Apartment Resident Drew Gun After Maintenance Workers Knocked on Door

By ARLnow.com

Published March 16, 2017 at 3:30PM | Updated March 17, 2017 at 4:45PM

Arlington police car (file photo)

The incident drew a big police response at the Horizons apartments (4300 Old Dominion Drive) around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The maintenance workers reportedly ran away after the gun was drawn and nobody was hurt.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Community Journalism Project

By ARLnow.com

Published March 16, 2017 at 10:15AM

We also only sparingly cover things like high school sports or do long human interest feature stories, things which readers have told us — in surveys and in their actions — are a lesser priority than news about core topics like crime, fire, local government, local businesses, weather and traffic. At the same time, readers frequently ask for us to “investigate” various topics, but true investigative journalism is time-consuming and expensive and hard to do while on the daily local news grind.

So what’s the solution to this for those readers who have emailed us and asked for more weekend coverage, more in-depth features and more investigative stories?

News

County Manager Proposes Cuts to Halve Proposed Tax Rate Increase

By ARLnow.com

Published March 16, 2017 at 9:30AM | Updated March 16, 2017 at 10:06AM

The cuts to Schwartz’s proposed budget total $11.1 million and include everything from a multi-million dollar reduction in school funding to a reduction of hours at the Glencarlyn library and the elimination of a management intern position in the parks department.

From a county press release:

Around Town

Podcast: ARLnow Associate Editor Chris Teale on Development, Soccer and the Oxford Comma

By ARLnow.com

Published March 15, 2017 at 6:00PM | Updated March 15, 2017 at 7:37PM

Chris Teale recently joined ARLnow as our associate editor after nearly two years at the Alexandria Times.

You might see him out and about, reporting at meetings and community events, but if not this week’s 26 Square Miles podcast can serve as an introduction.