Katie Pyzyk | ARLnow

Morning Notes

Published December 19, 2012 at 8:50AM

ACFD Food Drive Ends Friday — The Arlington County Fire Department’s food drive, which began on December 1, will end this Friday, December 21. So far, ACFD has collected more than 1,200 pounds of food for the Arlington Food Assistance Center. Non-perishable food can be donated at all Arlington and Falls Church fire departments, and at the county government building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

County Hopes Residents Remove Snow to Avoid Fines — Arlington officials are reminding residents that it could be another year that snow piles up and needs to be removed from sidewalks. The county hopes residents follow the snow removal ordinance that was put in place in 2010. Failure to remove snow is a civil infraction that holds fines of $50-100, and moving snow from private property into public areas (like streets) is a Class 4 misdemeanor. So far, no tickets have been issued under the ordinance. [Sun Gazette]

Around Town

High Holiday Travel Numbers Predicted

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 18, 2012 at 4:30PM

More than 41 percent of local residents report travel plans of 50 miles or more during the holiday travel period from Saturday, December 22, 2012 to Tuesday, January 1, 2013. That’s a 2.3 percent increase over last year.

“During Christmas and New Year’s we will experience the highest travel volume this decade, especially by the roadways, the railways, and the waterways,” said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs. “The one exception is the airways, and this year, even that is making a comeback.”

Around Town

Paciugo Gelato Becoming Street Corner Cafe

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 18, 2012 at 3:30PM

Owner John Croce said while the shop launched as a gelato franchise earlier this year, he’s now shifting gears and wants to transform it into a cafe serving a full menu. He’s also changing the name to “Street Corner Cafe” and renovating the inside. In July, he began dabbling with a limited number of breakfast and lunch items and says they were an immediate hit.

“This is what people want and this is what we want to be. We’re trying to evolve,” Croce said. “We still have gelato but we’ve expanded the line of food products to welcome more customers in. You can never satisfy everyone but you can try to satisfy most people. I think that will be accomplished.”

News

Law Firms Recruited for Food Truck Fight

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 18, 2012 at 2:00PM | Updated September 3, 2014 at 8:39AM

At issue is a citation received by Seoul Food for violating the 60 minute rule, which police began enforcing over the summer. As noted in a CATO Institute post last week, the food truck owner told police he had moved to a different spot after one hour, but the ticketing officer didn’t believe the truck had moved far enough from its original position.

The Arlington-based Institute for Justice (901 N. Glebe Road) became involved after some of its workers heard about the legal issues while stopping at a food truck for lunch one day. They thought it fit perfectly into the organization’s National Street Vending Initiative, which aims to foster conditions that allow food trucks to thrive.

News

APS Relocating Two Education Centers

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 18, 2012 at 10:50AM | Updated December 18, 2012 at 11:10AM

(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) Arlington Public Schools is relocating two of its education centers to a renovated facility on Washington Blvd.

Administrative offices, classrooms and staff currently at the Clarendon Education Center (2801 Clarendon Blvd) and the Syphax Education Center (1439 N. Quincy Street) will be moving to a space in the Sequoia Building 2 (2110 Washington Blvd). The new facility is in the same cluster of buildings housing the Arlington Employment Center and the Arlington County Department of Human Services.

News

Man Indicted for July Jewelry Store Murder

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 18, 2012 at 9:50AM

An Arlington County Grand Jury indicted James Sylvester Caroline on capital murder and weapons charges for the murder of Tommy Kin Mo Wong.

Caroline is accused of killing Wong during a robbery of the Capital Jewelers store at 3219 Columbia Pike on the afternoon of July 27. Caroline was arrested just days after the murder during a traffic stop on the Arlington/Alexandria border.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 18, 2012 at 8:55AM | Updated December 18, 2012 at 9:17AM

Silver Line Could Shift Economic Development — As Metro’s Silver Line nears completion, there’s speculation it could prompt an economic development competition between Arlington and Fairfax County. Fairfax officials are already crediting the new line with bringing in at least one new business — Intelsat, an international satellite system provider. Gerald Gordon, the head of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said the transformation of Tysons Corner will put it on a level playing field with the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor as far as attracting businesses. [Sun Gazette]

Polar Bear Sports Registration — United Social Sports is expanding its typical offerings of “bar sports” — such as cornhole, shuffleboard and skeeball — to include Polar Bear soccer leagues this winter. The leagues are for die hard players who wish to continue playing outdoors throughout the winter on a soccer field at Long Bridge Park. Registration is available online for the league, which offers weekly games on Sundays or Tuesdays. Games start the week of January 13. [United Social Sports]

News

County Board Approves Legislative Priorities

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 12, 2012 at 5:00PM | Updated January 16, 2018 at 2:45PM

Board members first presented a draft of the priorities at November’s Board meeting, noting that balancing the state budget will prove to be a major issue. Board members requested that the state restore at least some of the $7.2 million that was cut between fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY 2013 to balance the state budget.

One of the major areas the members hope to receive funding is for transportation. The Board wishes to secure funding for new projects as well as some for maintenance of existing modes of transit.

News

Naked Man Startles Ballston Residents

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 12, 2012 at 3:00PM

Shortly after 8:00 a.m., police started receiving calls about a naked man walking north on N. Randolph Street from 9th Street. When police arrived, the man was still naked, and officers noticed a large gash on the side of his neck. The man was taken to Virginia Hospital Center for further evaluation.

So far, police haven’t identified the man and haven’t said if the neck wound was the result of an assault or whether it was self-inflicted. They also haven’t said if alcohol or drugs were involved. There’s also no confirmation to a report that the man may have been carrying a knife or some sort of a blade.

Around Town

Then and Now: Clarendon Metro Area

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 12, 2012 at 1:00PM

The above photo on the left shows the Clarendon Metro station under construction, before it opened in December 1979. Clarendon first became part of a streetcar line in 1896, as a transfer point between the Rosslyn-Clarendon line and the D.C.-Falls Church line. The current Metro Orange Line closely follows the old Rosslyn-Clarendon route.

In 1920, the same year the Virginia legislature officially named Arlington (previously known as Alexandria County) to avoid confusion with the City of Alexandria, there was an effort to incorporate Clarendon as a town. The courts eventually prevented it from going through. Under current Virginia law, counties that have population densities greater than 1,000 people per square mile cannot create a new municipality within the county.

News

Board Defers Decision on Former Post Office Property

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 12, 2012 at 11:15AM

The site currently houses a post office that was built in 1969 and closed last year when a new post office opened nearby. The Crystal City Sector Plan allows for the site to be rezoned for development into a medium or high density residential building. County staff recommended approving the rezoning, which Board members also favored.

However, county staff was not on board with two other aspects of the redevelopment plan — specialized pavers on the sidewalk near the building entrances and a pool deck on the roof.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 12, 2012 at 8:55AM

Tejada Named County Board Chair — The Arlington County Board has announced its intent to elect Walter Tejada as its chair for 2013. Tejada, who was first elected to the Board in 2003, served as the chair in 2008 and vice-chair in 2007 and 2012. Jay Fisette has been chosen as vice-chair for 2013. [Arlington County]

Lost Item Found in Library Donation — The library is trying to track down a mystery person who donated items to the Friends of the Library book sale. The donation contained something of “significant value” that the donor must have mistakenly included and likely wants back. In order to make sure the correct person comes forward to identify the item, the library will not release any more details. If you are the mystery donor, call Central Library Manager Margaret Brown at 703-228-5952. The library asks that people do not call with wild guesses in an attempt to claim the item. [Library Blog]