News

Gov. Terry McAuliffe met with founders and executives from the Tandem NSI initiative in Rosslyn on Friday, discussing ideas for how the state government can help startups grow.

Six companies from Tandem NSI — a public-private partnership between Arlington Economic Development and investment firm Amplifier Ventures focusing on turning national security innovations into private sector businesses– were on hand to demonstrate their products for McAuliffe.


Events

Running from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the festival features live music from Afghan artists, traditional Afghan food and a bazaar featuring vendors plying wares that you might find in one of the street markets in Afghanistan.

The festival is hosted by Afghan Education for a Better Tomorrow (AEBT), a California-based nonprofit focused on promoting Afghan culture in the U.S. and raising awareness of the rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.


News

The rollout of Arlington’s smartphone parking system is expected to be complete by the end of the weekend.

Metered parking has been gradually adopting the Parkmobile system — which allows users to download the Parkmobile app and use the app to connect to their credit card and pay the meter, including sending notifications when a session is about to expire — neighborhood by neighborhood. It launched in Crystal City and Shirlington in July, in Clarendon and Ballston last month and in Courthouse, Rosslyn and Columbia Pike in the last two weeks.


Around Town

Singh and Roche were among the more than 250 nominations Leadership Arlington received this year for the distinction. The honors go to “40 emerging leaders under the age of 40 who demonstrate impact personally and/or professionally through their exceptional leadership throughout the D.C. metropolitan region.”

Singh, 33, opened his Disruption Corporation headquarters and launched its venture arm, Crystal Tech Fund, in Crystal City in April. Since then, Disruption has become a registered investment advisor focused on investors who want to fund private companies.


Around Town

Bangkok 54’s grocery store has reopened, nine months after a fire tore through the business and forced it to shut down.

The market is connected to the Bangkok 54 Thai restaurant at 2919 Columbia Pike, which was able to open the day after the Dec. 12 fire. Owner Bundit Sookmee said the fire, which was concentrated in the front of the store, forced him to spend eight months rebuilding and restocking the store, which specializes in Asian grocery products.


Around Town

Italian restaurant Tutto Bene, at 501 N. Randolph Street in Ballston, across from Ballston Common Mall, is now closed.

Owner Orlando Murillo posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page that its last day open was Sept. 29, and a sign on the restaurant’s front door reads “We’re going out of business as of 09/29/2014.” Murillo said in his post that the restaurant never recovered from the recession, despite the continued growth of Ballston’s food scene.


Around Town

McEnearney founded his real estate company in 1980 in Alexandria, and it has since expanded to 12 offices, offering residential and commercial real estate, plus property management services. McEnearney’s Arlington office is 4720 Lee Highway.

The company is ranked as one of the top 75 real estate firms by sales volume in the United States.


News

The building, at 1720 S. Eads Street, is being developed by Kettler and will be called m.flats, the same name of a recently opened Kettler apartment building on K Street NW in D.C.

The development, which was approved by the Arlington County Board last February, will be 11 stories tall with 198 units, comprised almost entirely of one- and two-bedroom apartments. There will be 176 spaces of underground parking, a “gaming area, fitness center, street entry bike room, and an all-season landscaped courtyard with fire and water features.”


Events

Workers and residents in Rosslyn will be able to sip some suds at a pop-up beer garden in a new public plaza this month.

On Friday, Oct. 24, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., Continental Pool Lounge will be hosting the beer garden in the new Plaza on 19th, a public space at the corner of 19th Street N. and Moore Street, behind the bus stop. The new plaza has tables, seating and a charging stations with plugs for iPhones, Androids and other devices.


Schools

The average SAT score for students in Arlington Public Schools increased last year, as did participation in SAT and ACT college preparedness testing.

According to data from Arlington Public Schools and SAT and ACT’s test administrators, 77.9 percent of APS grads took at least one of the two tests this year, up from 66.9 percent five years ago. The improvement was even more dramatic among black and Hispanic students, with participation increases of 17.1 and 12.9 percent respectively.


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