Ethan Rothstein | ARLnow

Parkmobile Now Available In Clarendon, Ballston

Published September 8, 2014 at 3:30PM

Arlington has accelerated its Parkmobile rollout, installing the smartphone app service in Clarendon, Ballston and Virginia Square over the weekend.

The mobile app allows users to enter their parking “zone” number and pay from their phone with pre-saved credit card and vehicle information. It has been in use in D.C. since 2011, and it was first introduced in Crystal City and Shirlington in July, and Pentagon City soon after. Clarendon and Ballston were expected to have the service available “by winter,” county officials said at the time, but the timeline has been pushed up.

Around Town

Spots Remain for Free Emergency Response Class

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 8, 2014 at 1:30PM

The classes, which are six weeknights and two weekends, begin on Sept. 11 (Thursday) and next Tuesday, Sept. 16. The classes are held at the new fire training academy in Shirlington (2800 S. Taylor Street).

The classes cover disaster preparedness, disaster medical operations, fire suppression and utility shutoff, disaster psychology, terrorism, light search and rescue and team organization, according to Community Emergency Response Team volunteer coordinator Cythina Kellams. The session concludes with the trainees participating in a mock-disaster response.

Feature

Smartphone Breathalyzer Raises $60K on Kickstarter

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 8, 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.

He’s spent more than a year designing the product, called DrinkMate, building the motherboard himself under a magnifying glass in his Ballston home. After gathering some support from friends and family, Edge Tech Labs launched a Kickstarter campaign the morning of Aug. 24, with a $40,000 fundraising goal.

News

Arlington Sending Out Jury Duty Questionnaires

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 8, 2014 at 10:00AM

Gavel (Flickr photo by Joe Gratz)

The questionnaires will be sent to about 11,000 residents of Arlington and Falls Church, which is also in the Arlington Circuit Court’s jurisdiction, this month, the county announced Friday. The pool of residents receiving questionnaires was selected from voter rolls provided by the state Board of Elections.

Jury terms are typically no longer than four days, Monday through Thursday, but the average trial is one to two days, the county said. Jurors receive $30 per day as reimbursement. The 2015 court year goes from the third week of January 2015 to January 2016.

Events

Arlington Agenda (Sept. 8-14)

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 8, 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.

Schools

W-L, Yorktown Football Rebuild While Wakefield Simply Builds

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 5, 2014 at 5:00PM

Washington-Lee won that game, 10-0, capturing its first district football title in 38 years. Yorktown went farther in the playoffs — losing to Lake Braddock in the quarterfinals — and Wakefield improved from 0-10 in 2012 to 3-7 under new coach Wayne Hogwood.

All will have to put last year behind them tonight when the open their season. Washington-Lee opens at home tonight against McLean, Yorktown will host Langley and Wakefield will go on the road to face Marshall. All games are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

News

Police Swarm Ballston to Stop Alleged Bike Thieves

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 5, 2014 at 3:30PM

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) The Arlington County Police Department apprehended three bike theft suspects in Ballston this afternoon (Friday).

The suspects were caught with a bicycle that had been reported stolen this morning, according to Lt. Dan Murphy, who heads the ACPD’s property theft division. Around 12:30 p.m., police pulled over a minivan with four suspects inside. One female suspect ran away from police and is still at large. The other three were handcuffed and taken into custody, although one managed to flee from the van before police caught and detained him.

Feature

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 5, 2014 at 12:00PM

The kids are back in school, the traffic is back up to mind-numbing levels and your office is fuller than you’ve seen it in months. The summer is over, but that means the August lull in the housing market is over, too.

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

News

Local Officials React to McDonnell Verdict

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 5, 2014 at 10:15AM

The governor was convicted on 11 of 13 counts, including three counts of honest-services wire fraud and six counts of obtaining property “under color of official right,” for gifts and loans received from businessman Jonnie Williams.

Maureen McDonnell was convicted on nine of a possible 13 counts, for many of the same crimes as her husband.

News

Environmental Groups Protest Dominion in Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 4, 2014 at 5:00PM | Updated September 4, 2014 at 6:22PM

Photo courtesy Caroline Wood

A group of environmental activists and Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille gathered in Crystal City this afternoon to ask Dominion Resources, the parent company of Dominion Power, to end its membership in a conservative think tank.

The think tank, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is a membership-based, nonprofit group of state legislators — Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell sits on its board — and private sector businessmen and women focused on “free markets, limited government and constitutional division of powers between the federal and state governments.”

News

Arlington Throws Support Behind D.C. Olympic Bid

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 4, 2014 at 11:35AM | Updated September 4, 2014 at 12:16PM

Arlington’s support of the bid appears based largely around its currently-stalled plans to build an Olympic-quality aquatics facility at Long Bridge Park, which Arlington expects to be a candidate for the location of the swimming and diving events if D.C. is chosen as the host city.

“Back in June, when we suspended construction plans for Phase 2 of Long Bridge Park, which will include the Aquatics, Health and Fitness Facility, we noted that we expected the park to be part of the plan for bringing the Olympics to the Washington Region,” Fisette said in a press release. “That is still our hope. We believe that Long Bridge could be a great venue for Olympic swimming events.”

Around Town

Bistro 360 in Rosslyn Plans Oct. 1 Opening

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 3, 2014 at 3:45PM | Updated September 3, 2014 at 4:07PM

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Bistro 360, the wine bar, bistro and gourmet market coming to the former Café Assorti space (1800 Wilson Blvd), is hoping to open by Oct. 1.

Bistro 360 owner Art Hauptman, who also owns Cassatt’s Kiwi Cafe (4536 Lee Highway), said the bistro section to the right of the store will serve entrees and appetizers, seat 50-60 and be open for dinner every night and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The wine bar section, in the back of the shop, will have seating for about 30 people and be open during the day and the evenings.