Ethan Rothstein | ARLnow

Pedestrian Struck By County Vehicle Remains Hospitalized

Published July 12, 2013 at 10:30AM | Updated July 12, 2013 at 10:49AM

The victim, a Marine Corps Veteran, was struck by a Ford F-350 driven by Linwood Knight, a lift operator for the Department of Environmental Services, police said. According to county Director of Human Resources Marcy Foster, Knight is still employed by the county. The county does not disclose disciplinary action.

Knight was charged at the scene with failure to yield to a pedestrian, Arlington County Police Department spokesman Lt. Mike Watson said. The investigation has concluded and no other charges are pending.

Around Town

Pan American Bakery Moving Into Arlington Mill Community Center

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 11, 2013 at 5:00PM | Updated July 11, 2013 at 5:25PM

Pan American Bakery and Café will be the in-house restaurant at the new Arlington Mill Community Center after it opens later this summer.

The location in the four-story community center, at 909 S. Dinwidde Street, will be Pan American’s fourth, but it will be decidedly different than the storefront a few blocks down Columbia Pike — which will remain open — and the shops in Alexandria and Fairfax.

News

Housing Authority Referendum Goes To Board

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 11, 2013 at 3:00PM

By statute, the Board must approve the referendum if 2 percent of the county’s qualified voters sign a petition. After a six-month campaign championed by the Arlington Green Party, the petition to create the authority got the necessary 2,845 signatures in June.

Approval is scheduled for the Board’s Tuesday meeting, its last meeting until September. The Board must approve the measure before it goes on its summer recess in order to meet the state-mandated deadline of August 16.

Schools

Yorktown High Construction To Conclude This Summer

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 11, 2013 at 12:00PM

The construction began in 2009 and has been split into three phases, with Phase 1 completed in the summer of 2010 and Phase 2 in December 2011. Phase 3 is now in its finals stages.

Meanwhile, the classroom trailers that had housed overflow students during construction have been moved into the parking lot for Phase 3 while the tennis courts are being replaced. Arlington Public School officials sent a letter last month to parents assuring them that the trailers will be removed soon and will not be there when school starts in September.

Schools

School Board Approves Raise For Superintendent

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 10, 2013 at 11:45AM

The raise boosts his salary to $218,375 in the 2013-2014 school year, up from $209,976 last year.

The increase was in line with raises given to all “exempt and professional staff” in the system, and per the terms of his contract, school officials said. Last year Murphy, who joined Arlington Public Schools in 2009, signed a new contract that will keep him at the school system through June 30, 2016.

News

Orange Line Train Takes Wrong Turn, Offloads At Arlington Cemetery

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 9, 2013 at 4:30PM

Both lines were delayed, according to WMATA, which reported the incident as a disabled train and a train malfunction. At 3:48 p.m., WMATA tweeted that the Blue and Orange line resumed normal service.

This is the second time in the last six days that an Orange Line train has been accidentally routed to the Blue Line. Last Wednesday, it occurred at the end of the morning rush hour.

News

Arlington Mercury To Go On Hiatus Until 2014

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 9, 2013 at 1:45PM | Updated July 9, 2013 at 3:32PM

The site has been inactive since June 18, but editor Steve Thurston has an explanation: the Mercury just received 501(c)(3) status and is taking a break to secure funding to come back stronger in 2014.

Thurston, a full-time professor at Montgomery College in Maryland, said he plans to spend the rest of the year fundraising — be it through private donors, organizations or grants — with hopes of restarting the website with the start of the new year.

Events

County Fair Adds 5K Run/Walk To Event Schedule

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 9, 2013 at 11:45AM

The fair, which will run from Aug. 7-11, already has plenty of competitions — issuing awards for such things as fruit preserves, knitting, bees wax and photography. This is the first time it will host a road race.

The event will take place Sunday, Aug. 11, the last day of the fair, and the starting gun will be at 8:30 a.m. The fair itself is held on the grounds of the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 2nd Street S.).

Schools

Abby Raphael Elected New School Board Chair

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 9, 2013 at 10:45AM | Updated July 9, 2013 at 11:37AM

Raphael will serve for a one-year term, through June 2014. She replaces Emma Violand-Sánchez as chair, who remains on the board as a member. Raphael previously served as chair in the 2011-2012 school year.

James Lander was unanimously elected to serve as vice chair, replacing last year’s vice chair Sally Baird. Lander, elected to the Board in 2009, has not previously held a leadership position.

News

Towers Park To Undergo $1.3 Million Renovation

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 8, 2013 at 1:00PM | Updated July 8, 2013 at 5:23PM

Towers Park, at 801 S. Scott Street near Columbia Pike, is in line for a $1.3 million facelift, complete with a new basketball court, new tennis courts and practice courts and a state-of-the-art lighting upgrade.

The County Board is expected to approve the construction contract for the project at its meeting this coming Saturday, when the item is on Board’s consent agenda, which is intended for non-controversial items. Once the contract is signed, county staff estimates the construction will take seven months.

News

County Board Set To Approve Two More Bikeshare Locations

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 8, 2013 at 10:30AM

The two stations, at Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive and at N. George Mason Drive and Pershing Drive, are part of a 33-station expansion of the Capital Bikeshare program Arlington County plans for 2013.

According to Capital Bikeshare’s website, new stations have opened at S. George Mason Drive and Four Mile Run, S. George Mason Drive and 13th Street S., Columbia Pike and S. Orme Street, S. Stafford Street and 34th Street S. and N. Pershing Drive and Wayne Street in just the last 30 days.

News

Car Fire In Hall’s Hill

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 5, 2013 at 4:35PM

A vehicle caught fire in the Hall’s Hill neighborhood this afternoon.

The fire was reported around 3:30 p.m. in the area of N. Dinwiddie and 22nd Streets. A thick plume of black smoke was spotted from around the area as the blaze consumed what appeared to be a pickup truck in a residential driveway.