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‘Serial Pooper’ Strikes Again in Ft. Barnard Park

Published August 19, 2016 at 3:50PM | Updated August 19, 2016 at 5:08PM

Someone has been repeatedly pooping on the Ft. Barnard Park playground, off of S. Walter Reed Drive, and it’s prompting police to step up patrols of the park.

A local resident wrote a letter to ARLnow.com this morning expressing disgust at the improper public potty practice.

Traffic

Car Runs Into Pole Near Va. Hospital Center

By ARLnow.com

Published August 19, 2016 at 2:05PM

File photo

The pole is down and George Mason Drive is blocked, according to scanner traffic. The driver of the car reportedly suffered facial injuries and is being treated by paramedics.

Drivers should expect traffic impacts in the area.

News

Test Driver Flips Mercedes In Dealership Parking Lot

By ARLnow.com

Published August 19, 2016 at 12:20PM | Updated August 19, 2016 at 5:21PM

A woman in brand new Mercedes-Benz SUV somehow managed to run into several parked cars and flip the SUV just seconds into a test drive.

The incident happened just before 11:30 a.m., at the Mercedes dealership on N. Glebe Road in Ballston.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Sloooooow August

By ARLnow.com

Published August 19, 2016 at 10:35AM

Congress is out of session. People are fleeing the area left and right to get their vacations in before the summer ends. This year, many media and political types are on the campaign trail. Heck, traffic becomes somewhat bearable and even the Arlington County Board gets a break for the month.

On ARLnow.com, we haven’t run out of local stories to cover — in fact, this is shaping up to be our highest-traffic August yet — but there’s no denying that the pace of news coverage drags big time compared to a busier month like April or October.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 19, 2016 at 9:05AM | Updated August 19, 2016 at 10:00AM

County Backtracks on Uber Story — Arlington County is in the early stages of considering a plan to replace low-ridership ART service with some sort of partnership with ridesharing services, like Uber. However, the county is backtracking on an official’s statement that the service would be subsidized. “A recent press account quoted a County staff person as saying, incorrectly, that we will be subsidizing this service,” said County Manager Mark Schwartz. “No such decision has been made at this preliminary stage of analysis.” [Arlington County]

Advisory Group: Change Name of Jeff Davis Highway — An advisory group appointed by the City of Alexandria has recommended changing the name of Jefferson Davis Highway. Alexandria’s “Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Confederate Memorials and Street Names” says the Confederate president’s name should be removed from Route 1 in the city. [Patch]

Around Town

Fox 5 to Broadcast from Rosslyn Friday

By ARLnow.com

Published August 18, 2016 at 3:45PM

Fox 5 personalities Erin Como, Annie Yu and Tucker Barnes will be broadcasting from Rosslyn as part of its “Zip Trip” morning news feature.

The live broadcast will take place in the small park on the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Oak Street. Local notables including Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey and District Taco co-founder Osiris Hoil will be interviewed, and local restaurants like Barley Mac, Pancho Villa, Heavy Seas Alehouse, AllSpice Cafe & Catering and Bistro 360 will be featured.

Around Town

Amazon Launches One-Hour Delivery in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published August 18, 2016 at 10:30AM | Updated August 18, 2016 at 11:14PM

(Updated at 11:15 p.m.) Starting today, Arlingtonians can order a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream from Amazon.com and get it while it’s still frozen.

Amazon announced this morning that it has launched its Prime Now service for parts of Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Springfield and all of Arlington. (Users can check to see if the service is available by typing in their ZIP code.)

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 18, 2016 at 9:30AM

Former Mansion Owner is In Jail — Rodney Hunt, the man who once owned the $23 million Arlington mansion that’s being used to throw large parties (and which was recently sold at a foreclosure auction), is currently in the Arlington County jail. Hunt was ordered to spend 90 days in jail earlier this month for violating his parole. An attorney says Hunt doesn’t know anything about the parties. [Washington Post]

Tourists Can’t Handle the Heat at the Cemetery — Anytime it gets sufficiently toasty outside, medical calls to Arlington National Cemetery become frequent. Tourists at the cemetery regularly suffer heat-related ailments that require paramedic dispatches during the summer. The cemetery is advising visitors to wear sunscreen and bring a bottle of water during the warm weather months. [Twitter]

News

Major Power Outage in Crystal City Among Storm-Related Issues This Morning

By ARLnow.com

Published August 18, 2016 at 8:35AM

Dominion says more than 300 customers, in an area centered around the Metro station, are in the dark as a result of a storm-related outage. Power isn’t expected to be restored until this afternoon.

The outage includes large office buildings and traffic lights up and down Crystal Drive. Police are on scene, setting up cones to direct traffic through the uncontrolled intersections, though generators are being brought in to bring the traffic signals back online.

Weather

UPDATE: Arlington Under Severe Thunderstorm Warning

By ARLnow.com

Published August 17, 2016 at 4:35PM | Updated August 17, 2016 at 11:15PM

Update at 11:15 p.m. — Numerous tree branches and power lines were reported to be down around Arlington following the storm. Currently, 366 Dominion customers are without power in the county.

Update at 9:05 p.m. — A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Arlington.

News

UPDATED: Firefighters Investigating Smoke in Ballston Macy’s

By ARLnow.com

Published August 17, 2016 at 3:45PM | Updated August 17, 2016 at 4:52PM

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Update at 4:30 p.m. — Firefighters say they’ve located the likely source of the smoke, in a mechanical room. No fire was found. Units are starting to clear from the scene.

Arlington County firefighters have shut down Glebe Road at Wilson Blvd as they investigate why the second floor of the Ballston Common Mall Macy’s store has filled with smoke.

News

Alexandria Man Charged With Exposing Himself on Blue Line Train in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published August 17, 2016 at 3:05PM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:41PM

The first incident happened in Arlington County on March 28, aboard a Blue Line train to Franconia. The suspect, William Madison, Jr., was subsequently arrested and charged with indecent exposure on July 29. Then, on August 15, Metro Transit Police say Madison again exposed himself to a woman, this time on an Orange Line train in Fairfax County.

Police believe Madison might have committed similar crimes that went unreported, and are asking any additional victims to come forward.