Ethan Rothstein | ARLnow

Arlington Approves STEM Preschool in Fairlington

Published October 22, 2014 at 11:30AM

STEM Preschool was approved by the Arlington County Board last night for a use permit at 3120 S. Abingdon Street, in the 74-year-old building once occupied by Frosty’s Heating and Cooling, next to Fire Station 7.

“We have a need in our community for daycare, for childcare,” County Board Chair Jay Fisette said before the Board unanimously approved the application. “As we get more families, day care is a really important service to provide. I think this is going to be a great addition to the Fairlington community.”

Around Town

Arlington Studio Featured in Foo Fighters HBO Show

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 21, 2014 at 3:00PM | Updated October 21, 2014 at 3:22PM

Don Zientara at work at Inner Ear Studios in 2014

Inner Ear Studio doesn’t have a neon sign on its door, a flashy building with modern designs or gold records on the wall.

What the Shirlington-area studio has is decades of experience recording D.C. artists, nurturing the local punk and independent music scenes, and, now, the cachet of being one of the eight studios in the country the Foo Fighters recorded in for their new album and TV show on HBO, Sonic Highways.

News

Howze Using ‘Issue Buttons’ in Final Campaign Push

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 21, 2014 at 12:30PM | Updated October 21, 2014 at 1:32PM

The buttons, instead of being splashed with the candidate’s name in big letters, instead feature issues Howze’s campaign believes are most important to Arlington voters, like “great schools,” “mobility” and “affordability.”

“We created these campaign buttons after listening to residents express what makes Arlington special and what issues matter most to them,” Howze said in a press release. “From great schools to thinking ahead to open space, the buttons capture essential elements of our community. The buttons are a great way to start a conversation about our vision for the future of Arlington.”

Events

Sean Astin, War Hero to Run Marine Corps Marathon Sunday

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 21, 2014 at 11:20AM | Updated February 13, 2024 at 11:25AM

Actor Sean Astin, famous for playing Rudy in “Rudy” and Sam in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will be among the tens of thousands of runners of the Marine Corps Marathon this Sunday.

Preparations are currently underway for the race in Arlington. Astin and the estimated 30,000-plus runners — U.S. Marines and civilians — will also be joined by retired Marine Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter.

News

County Tacks on $5 Fee to Tickets for Web Summons System

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 20, 2014 at 3:45PM

The Arlington County Board unanimously approved the fee at its meeting Saturday. Earlier this year, the state General Assembly passed a provision to a state law this year that allows localities to levy up to a $5 fee on summons for traffic and criminal cases to fund the establishment of an electronic system for filing summons for traffic tickets.

According to the county staff report, the Arlington County Police Department issued 42,761 traffic citations and made 5,102 arrests from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. The county estimates the new fee would add $200,000 in annual revenue, and that the new system would cost $150,000 for equipment to implement.

Urban Planning Card Game Exceeds Kickstarter Goal

Published October 20, 2014 at 12:00PM

Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders and funders. The Ground Floor is Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

That’s the premise behind “Cards Against Urbanity,” a spinoff of the popular Cards Against Humanity party game that replaces the original’s mix of raunchy and offensive questions and answers with tongue-in-cheek cards about living in a city. Cards include questions like “My city’s latest economic plan is _____” with answers like “Sexy firefighter fundraisers.”

Events

Arlington Agenda (Oct 20-26)

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 20, 2014 at 5:00AM

Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

News

Vihstadt Outraises Howze in County Board Election

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 17, 2014 at 3:30PM

According to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, Vihstadt enters the home stretch of the election with $89,058 in cash on hand after raising $42,908 last month. Howze has $22,800 in cash on hand after raising $36,847 last month.

Vihstadt’s biggest donation was a $5,000 gift from Arlington County firefighters, who gave him $2,500 during his special election campaign against Howze in April. That election, in which Vihstadt also outraised Howze, the Republican-endorsed independent became the first non-Democrat member of the County Board in more than a decade.

Feature

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 17, 2014 at 1:30PM

There are two weeks until Halloween, so for some of you this weekend is about finding a costume before it gets too last-minute. For the rest, check out a full slate of open houses in the area.

See our real estate section for a full listing of open houses. Here are a few highlights:

Just Listed in Arlington

Published October 17, 2014 at 5:30AM

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”‘

The big news this week is mortgage interest rates. Buyers will love to hear that the 30-year fixed rate dropped below 4 percent to a national average of 3.97 percent. Turmoil abroad is credited with lowering the rates as scares about Ebola, the Middle East, and economic weakness in Europe have prompted flight of capital to the safety of 10-year US Treasury bonds.

News

Group Calls for More Latino Police Officers in Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 16, 2014 at 5:40PM

BU-GATA, a nonprofit that advocates for tenants rights and Latino issues, issued a statement during ACPD’s community outreach meeting last night asking the ACPD to step up its hiring practices so its department reflects the demographics of the community it serves.

“[The] lack of Latino, Spanish-speaking police officers is a major problem,” the group’s statement says. “In Arlington where 15.3 percent of the population is Latino, only 6-8 percent of the police force is Latino.”

News

Capital Bikeshare Ridership Up 31 Percent in 2014, New Stations Planned

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 16, 2014 at 4:15PM | Updated October 16, 2014 at 4:46PM

The Capital Bikeshare program continues to grow in Arlington, and its annual report shows more residents are using it, and riding farther, than ever before.

As of June 30, 2014, Capital Bikeshare had 2,771 registered members in Arlington, a 31 percent increase over 2013, and the biggest year-over-year increase since the program was introduced in 2011. The program cost the county $536,000 last year — it spent about $1.4 million and generated $895,000 in revenue — also the best recovery-to-expenditure ratio since the program started.