Ethan Rothstein | ARLnow

Arlington County Board to Explore Curbing Pub Crawls

Published April 16, 2014 at 5:45PM | Updated April 16, 2014 at 6:10PM

A St. Patrick's Day bar crawl in Clarendon in 2014 (photo via Groupon)

At the Arlington County Board’s budget mark-up meeting this afternoon, the County Board approved an addition $42,000 to the police specifically for “pub crawl support.” Pub crawls in Clarendon, Courthouse and Ballston have drawn crowds close to 5,000-6,000 people, County Board Chair Jay Fisette said.

“I’m becoming a pub crawl expert, not by choice,” Arlington Police Chief Doug Scott told the Board Wednesday. “We are receiving crawl requests at a very escalated pace because they’ve been very popular. We thought we were going to have three, that went to nine, and it’s growing.”

Around Town

Despite Ridicule from Yelp Reviewers, Ballston Cafe Keeps Phallic Sign

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 16, 2014 at 10:35AM | Updated October 7, 2016 at 1:30PM

The logo for Market Place & Cafe in Ballston (staff photo)

Yelp reviewers and out-of-town passersby alike see the same thing when they look at the sign for Market Place & Cafe in Ballston: a phallus.

But despite giggles from around the internet and outside the doors, the store at 901 N. Glebe Road has kept the logo plastered on its windows for at least 5 years. And there’s no indication that it will be changing any time soon.

Around Town

Former Lee Highway 7-Eleven Now a TitleMax

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 15, 2014 at 4:45PM

TitleMax, which lets individuals with poor credit borrow against the title of their automobile, moved into the space a few weeks ago, according to representatives of Virginia Hospital Center, which owns the building.

The 7-Eleven closed Oct. 21 of last year after the convenience store chain’s corporate arm declined to continue its month-to-month lease. In the months between 7-Eleven’s closing and TitleMax opening, Virginia Hospital Center Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Adrian Stanton said there was little interest in the property.

Around Town

Emergency Responders Honored for Mental Health Service

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 15, 2014 at 12:00PM

Four Arlington emergency responders were honored with Crisis Intervention Team awards earlier this month for handling emergencies with mentally ill patients.

Arlington County Police Officer James Joy was named Officer of the Year, Deputy Jeffrey Nowak was named Deputy of the Year, Officer Samuel Sentz was honored with the Intervention of the Year and Emergency Communications Technician Shanika Stewart was named Dispatcher of the Year.

Traffic

Rt. 50/10th Street/Courthouse Road Ramps to Open This Month

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 15, 2014 at 10:55AM

The ramps from 10th Street to eastbound Route 50 and from N. Fairfax Drive to westbound Route 50, along with a new ramp from Courthouse Road to westbound Route 50, are scheduled to open Friday, April 25, according to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord.

The westbound frontage from Route 50 to 10th Street N. will still have barriers on it but will open a few weeks later, McCord said.

News

Hope Calls for Higher Taxes on the Wealthy

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 14, 2014 at 4:35PM | Updated April 15, 2014 at 10:38AM

Hope, who’s one of 10 Democratic candidates running for the congressional seat of the retiring Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), said he supports the budget put forth by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which raises taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 per year and creates a new, higher tax bracket for those making more than $1 million. It would also close corporate tax loopholes and tax individuals making more than $100 million annually at 48 percent.

The budget also would eliminate the tax difference between long-term capital gains income and regular income from salaries and wages. It also would reverse the effects of the sequester, which would mean more jobs for federal workers. Hope circulated a petition trying to draw support for what he calls the “Millionaire’s Tax,” and said he gathered 33,000 signatures.

Feature

Gluten-Free Food Delivery Startup Launches in Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 14, 2014 at 12:30PM

All of the decadent food he’d been eating had caught up to him. He admits he didn’t know much about nutrition before joining a Crossfit gym. It was there he learned about the Paleo diet, and the pounds started dropping fast.

That transformation is what inspired Cheng, who lives in Ballston, to found his startup The Green Spoon. The Green Spoon is a food delivery service that takes online orders in advance and delivers chef-prepared, locally sourced organic, gluten-free food.

News

Board Adopts Framework for Rosslyn’s Future

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 14, 2014 at 11:35AM | Updated April 14, 2014 at 11:59AM

The Board approved the the framework for its planned Rosslyn Sector Plan Update. It’s an outline for a plan that when finished and approved, will help move Rosslyn from its auto-oriented, commercial feel to what the County Board hopes will be a mixed-use hub of street-level activity.

Among the components of the framework the Board approved this weekend were developing more housing in central Rosslyn, studying turning Ft. Myer Drive and N. Lynn Street into two-way streets, creating a full 18th Street corridor to remove the “superblocks” between 19th Street N. and Wilson Blvd, creating an “esplanade” and connecting the open spaces in the area.

News

Board Approves Loan for Pike Apartment Purchase

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 14, 2014 at 10:15AM

The loan, which comes from the county’s dedicated Affordable Housing Investment Fund, will allow AHC to purchase the Serrano Apartments at 5535 Columbia Pike, which are currently owned by Carmel Partners.

The apartment building, in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood, has 280 units, 239 of which are currently considered affordable. The loan allows AHC to purchase the building and keep 196 units in the building as dedicated affordable housing for the next 60 years. The remainder will be offered at a market rate.

Events

Arlington Agenda (April 14-20)

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 14, 2014 at 5:00AM | Updated April 14, 2014 at 8:44AM

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 Sworn in as County Board Member

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 11, 2014 at 4:30PM | Updated April 11, 2014 at 5:23PM

John Vihstadt, the first non-Democrat elected to serve on the Arlington County Board since 1999, was sworn in to his new position this afternoon.

In his first remarks as a County Board member — filling the seat that Chris Zimmerman vacated when he resigned earlier this year — Vihstadt vowed to introduce an “audit function” to the Board, rein in spending and “break down silos” in county government.

Around Town

Farmers Market Could Come to Fairlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 11, 2014 at 12:00PM

Field to Table, an Arlington-based nonprofit dedicated to coordinating farmers markets to encourage people to eat locally sourced foods, is eyeing the open space around the Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford Street) as a location for a farmers market.

The Fairlington Citizens Association has also expressed interest in using the site for a market, according to county staff.