News

Last year, the county approved moving to year-round yard waste collection, which would require Arlington residents to put leaves, branches and grass in new, green tubs to be collected every week alongside trash and recycling.

The yard waste would have increased the county’s recycling rate by 13 percent, then-Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said.


Events

Bells across the Land” will start at 3:00 p.m. at Appomattox Court House 170 miles away from Arlington, where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

Fifteen minutes later, “churches, temples, schools, city halls, public buildings, historic sites, and others are invited to ring bells” for four minutes, one minute for each year of the Civil War, the National Park Service said in a press release.


Events

Slide the City brings the gigantic vinyl slide to cities around the country and charges between $15 and $60 for participants to slide in their own inflatable tube down closed-off roads and parks. On the event’s website, Arlington is listed as a site for Saturday, June 27.

Utah-based Slide the City is in the process of acquiring a special events permit to run the event and has yet to set a location within the county. We’re told that the June date is not final, and that it may ultimately be scheduled for as late as August.


Around Town

ZooBean, based in Rosslyn’s ÜberOffices, has launched Beanstack with the library. The program takes the preferences of each child — “like ninjas, princess or even math and science,” the app’s promotional video explains — and the child’s reading level, and an Arlington librarian recommends books in the catalog that apply.

Each book recommendation also comes with a brief learning tip, ZooBean co-founder Felix Lloyd told ARLnow.com. This could be culling a few vocabulary words from the book to review.


Around Town

The FroZenYo in Ballston, which has been closed all winter to await the return of warm weather, now appears likely to not reopen at all.

The FroZenYo in Crystal City (2231 Crystal Drive) reopened this week, according to the D.C.-based company’s Facebook page. On that same page, the company posted in a comment that the Ballston location is likely closed.


News

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) visited La Cocina VA yesterday, a nonprofit program that gives Hispanic immigrants bilingual, culinary job training in the basement of an Arlington church.

Below Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church (1500 N. Glebe Road) yesterday afternoon, Kaine — who speaks fluent Spanish after spending a year in Honduras before entering politics — met with the program’s leaders and participants, eager to learn more about the benefits it provides.


Around Town

Eclectic Threads, the vintage consignment, furniture and clothing store in Lyon Park, is closing in June.

The shop, at the corner of Washington Blvd and Pershing Drive, has been open since 1982, owner Sheila Selario told ARLnow.com today. It’s combined with Corner Cupboard, and Selario runs the two stores with her daughter, Tara.


Events

#LibertyKaraoke has been celebrating Republican candidates for years in Arlingotn and growing steadily. Tonight’s weekly event coincides with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)’s announcement that he is running for president.

The event is free, but a donation to Paul’s campaign is encouraged. More than 250 people have RSVP-ed so far.


News

The Alliance for Housing Solutions asked each candidate — Katie Cristol, Christian Dorsey, Peter Fallon, James Lander, Andrew Schneider and Bruce Wiljanen — about their priorities and solutions for the county’s rising cost of living and rapidly shrinking stock of residences affordable to middle class families.

Each candidate, in their responses, declared affordable housing a strong priority, and vowed solutions to make it easier for lower-income individuals to find a home in the county. Many of the responses touched on the same themes — public-private partnerships as a solution, the county’s lack of land as an obstacle — as the candidates try to distinguish themselves for the two open seats on the Board.


Around Town

Demolition of Marymount University’s “Blue Goose” building in Ballston is ramping up.

While the building at the corner of Fairfax Drive and N. Glebe Road has been slowly, methodically taken apart for months, today demolition crews seemed to reach an inflection point.


Around Town

Livability.com — the same website that named Arlington the third-best place to live last year — said Arlington’s access to exercise, recreation, healthy food and low obesity rate all factored in to its ranking.

“Nearly every resident of Arlington, Va., can access healthy foods and places to exercise,” the website says in its blurb about Arlington. “Arlington is filled with parks that offer great hikes, athletic fields, and leisurely strolls and private fitness centers offering yoga, Pilates, CrossFit and a variety of other workouts.”


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