Author: Ethan Rothstein

Events

County to Unveil Rosslyn ‘Bikeometer’

By Ethan Rothstein

The bikeometer will be on the trail near the intersection of Lee Highway and N. Lynn Street — known as the “Intersection of Doom” — with electronic displays counting “passing bicyclists in real time and cumulative daily, monthly and year-to-date counts,” according to an Arlington County press release.

The bikeometer is the first of its kind on the East Coast and sixth in the nation, according to BikeArlington. The data will be used in future planning for cyclists in the area in addition to providing “a highly visible, engaging and fun view of the volume of bike usage on the Custis Trail in Arlington.”

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Around Town

Massive ‘Graffiti-Style’ Mural Coming to Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein

The Crystal City Business Improvement District has commissioned a 215-foot-long, 2,500-square-foot mural to be painted on the Crystal Drive side of the vacant office building at 1851 S. Bell Street.

The “graffiti-style” mural will be painted by the No Kings Collective beginning April 1. According to Crystal City BID President Angela Fox, several artists will paint different parts of the mural during the times when the streets of Crystal City are busiest — during the work day, farmer’s markets, food truck Thursdays and 5K Fridays.

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News

Office Building Planned to Replace Courthouse Wendy’s

By Ethan Rothstein

(Updated at 2:00 p.m) The Wendy’s fast food restaurant at the intersection of N. Courthouse Road, Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd appears likely to be replaced by a 12-story office building in the coming years.

Carr Properties submitted a preliminary site plan to the county’s zoning division yesterday outlining its plans for the 12-story building with about 6,800 square feet of ground story retail. The building — called 2025 Clarendon Blvd — will replace the Wendy’s at 2038 Wilson Blvd and the Wells Fargo bank at 2026 Wilson Blvd. The plan calls for the Wells Fargo to occupy some of the ground floor retail space in the new building.

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News

Moran Proposes Raise for Federal Workers

By Ethan Rothstein

The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act (FAIR Act), if it passes, would represent the biggest wage increase for federal workers since the 2008 recession. Moran co-sponsors the bill with Fairfax County Rep. Gerry Connolly (D), who introduced the legislation, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), John Tierney (D-Mass.) and other House members.

Moran said in a press release announcing the legislation that the attrition in the federal workforce has increased 35 percent since 2009. In 2013, earnings grew in every industry except for civilian federal workers, whose earnings fell $6.7 billion according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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News

Consultant: Streetcar Could Generate $3 Billion for Economy

By Ethan Rothstein

The study, conducted by HR&A Advisors, estimates that the streetcar will generate between $3.2-4.4 billion of net impact to the area in the form of increased property values, density and retail opportunities, among other factors. In addition, the streetcar is estimated to bring in up to $620 million in additional local tax revenues between Arlington and Fairfax counties over 30 years, plus 4,600 more jobs within 10 years after construction is completed.

“[This study] is a great validation for what we’re about to do,” County Manager Barbara Donnellan said at a press conference this afternoon announcing the results of the study.

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News

Residents, Nonprofits Line Up to Request Taxpayer Funds

By Ethan Rothstein

During the hearing members of the community typically lobby the Board to direct budget funds to particular areas of need or to specific nonprofit organizations. Only a couple asked the Board to cut spending.

Forty-five speakers came to the podium Tuesday night, and even more packed the County Board meeting room in support of their causes.

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Schools

SOL Grades at Drew School Falling Behind

By Ethan Rothstein

Over the past 10 years, the graded program at Drew Model Elementary School has performed at an average of 23 percent below the county’s average in the 3rd-through-5th grade Standards of Learning exams, according to data from Arlington Public Schools’ Department of Planning and Education.

The numbers get worse the older the students get. Third-graders in the graded program — as opposed to Drew’s Montessori program, which takes children from around the county and performs on par with other elementary programs — pass the reading SOL 23.9 percent less frequently than APS average and the math 17.9 percent less frequently. For fifth-graders, that drops to 30.4 percent worse in reading and 23.2 percent worse in math.

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Around Town

‘Modern Comfort’ Restaurant Comes to Ballston

By Ethan Rothstein

Republic Kitchen and Bar, a “modern comfort food” concept, is open for dinner in the former Leek American Bistro space in Ballston.

Republic, at 801 N. Quincy Street, is open for dinner this week at 4:30 p.m. for a soft opening and will fully open for lunch business next week, according to General Manager Anthony Catselides.

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Around Town

New Sandwich Shop Opens in Clarendon

By Ethan Rothstein

(Updated at 7:00 p.m.) A new sandwich shop has opened in Clarendon at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Garfield Street.

Le Sandwich, a venture started by Mehdi Ben, opened yesterday at 3033 Wilson Blvd, replacing Street Corner Cafe, which had replaced Paciugo Gelato at the end of 2012. Ben said he signed the lease in early 2014 and was able to open so quickly because the eatery is focused on simplicity.

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Feature

Brush With Predator Inspires Child Safety Tech Startup

By Ethan Rothstein

That year, Tim’s son, a 14-year-old lacrosse player, was pursued through social networks by a child predator who had molested dozens of children before he was eventually arrested.

“We realized the world had changed fast and parents were way behind,” Steven Woda said. “We were Internet security experts, so if it could happen to us, it could happen to anybody.”

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News

New Crystal City-Courthouse Bus Route Launches Next Week

By Ethan Rothstein
ART Bus (file photo)

ART 43 will run from the Crystal City Metro Station to the Crystal City VRE station and Rosslyn and Courthouse Metro Stations between 5:55 a.m. and 8:55 a.m. and 3:20 to 7:17 p.m. starting March 31.

The bus will only run during rush hour on weekdays; there’s no planned off-peak or weekend service yet. The bus schedule indicates a 20-minute travel time from the Crystal City Metro stop to Courthouse.

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