Author: Ethan Rothstein

Around Town

Arlington to Conduct Deer Census

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation is organizing its first “Deer Day” on Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. Parks officials are attempting to take “a snapshot census of the deer population in Arlington.”

Arlington Natural Resources Manager Alonso Abugattas said if residents can “go to the nearest park” or just spend a half hour looking through their backyard and count the number of deer they observe, it will help Parks and Recreation officials estimate the number of deer in the county.

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Schools

School Board Considers Scrapping 600-Seat Glencarlyn Elementary School

By Ethan Rothstein

Despite voters approving $4.5 million in design costs for the school in a 2012 referendum, the Board is looking at diverting that investment to prepare for middle school overcrowding in the coming years, which is projected to be more serious than the capacity issues in elementary schools.

School Board Chair Abby Raphael, in a letter sent to parents and community members who have inquired about the issue, says its updated projections call for elementary schools in Arlington to be 3 percent over capacity in FY 2019, while middle schools are projected to be 16 percent over capacity in the same time period.

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News

County Board Candidates Push Economic Development, Transit in Debate

By Ethan Rothstein

Alan Howze, Cord Thomas and Peter Fallon debated for an hour and a half in front of a standing-room only crowd of Arlington Young Democrats in Ballston Wednesday night. AYD President Max Burns told ARLnow.com that it was the largest crowd at an AYD meeting he could remember.

Howze and Fallon advocated for the Columbia Pike streetcar as an economic engine and as a long-term, visionary transit plan while Thomas, who in the first debate said he was “not a fan of the Columbia Pike streetcar,” advocated for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) instead.

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News

Apartments Could Replace Vacant Pentagon City Office Building

By Ethan Rothstein

The former Department of Defense Inspector General office at 400 Army Navy Drive has submitted a site plan for a 20-story building with two towers — on one, three-story platform — that would have 491,588 square feet of ground floor space and 453 residential units.

The building, also called the “Paperclip Building,” was acquired by Bethesda-based developer LCOR in 2012, according to City Biz List, with the plan to convert it into housing. The site plan is now under consideration with the Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) and is slated to go before the Planning Commission and the Arlington County Board no earlier than April for approval, we’re told.

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News

Arlington Considering Tax Incentives, Other Options to Combat High Office Vacancy

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington, like other communities in the D.C. area, is experiencing weakness in the office market. The high office vacancy rate is exacerbated by new office buildings coming on the market and certain large employers (including military offices impacted by BRAC) leaving.

To combat that, Arlington is considering options providing certain incentives to attract new businesses and hang on to existing employers.

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Around Town

Blue Sea Seafood Opening Soon in Shirlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Blue Sea will specialize in “spicy Cajun seafood,” according to its website, offering such dishes as crawfish tails, fried frog legs (called “swamp wings” and tossed in a Creole BBQ sauce), catfish nuggets (served with “chef’s redneck sauce”), lobster mac and cheese, seafood gumbo and “breaded Florida alligator tail.” For the health conscious, there’s also a soup and salad menu.

The restaurant is replacing Bear Rock Cafe at 4251 Campbell Avenue, which closed in 2010. Plans materialized to open a vegan restaurant in the space in 2011, but those apparently fell through.

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News

Proposed Bill Would Allow Drinking on Trolley Pub

By Ethan Rothstein

Proposed legislation in the Virginia General Assembly would allow patrons of Arlington’s Trolley Pub to drink alcohol while on board.

Del. Patrick Hope (D-47) has introduced House Bill 423, which would allow passengers on vehicles with a common carrier — which would include limousines and motor coaches, in addition to the Trolley Pub — to consume alcohol.

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News

Fire Causes Cherrydale Restaurants to Close

By Ethan Rothstein

A dryer fire early this morning has caused Cherrydale eateries Billy’s Cheesesteaks and Pasha Cafe to close indefinitely.

The fire was called in to dispatch at 2:18 a.m., according to Arlington County Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani, who said she couldn’t specify how long it took the firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

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Feature

Former TSA Employees Move Into Mobile Apps

By Ethan Rothstein

Editor’s Note: Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. 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.

Three weeks later, the deal was dead, and it was back to the drawing board in Miller’s Arlington home on Lorcom Lane.

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Around Town

County Inspectors Shut Down Ballston Water Fountain

By Ethan Rothstein

Located next to Rustico restaurant in the Liberty Center development, the fountain is privately owned and operated by property owner the Shooshan Company, according to county officials.

It has been on for years and children have played in it during the summers, but the Shooshan Company voluntarily turned it off this past fall after county inspectors discovered it had never had a health and safety license.

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