The McDonald’s at the Corner of Wilson Blvd and George Mason Drive has suddenly closed, at least for now.
Although a couple of employees were spotted milling around inside, the restaurant is dark and the parking lot is taped off. A sign hanging in the window says the restaurant is closed for construction.
Workers will be installing cable to provide better cell phone coverage along the Blue and Yellow lines, in addition to doing work on ties and insulators. Starting at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, July 13, and continuing through closing on Sunday, July 15, free shuttle buses will replace trains between Pentagon City and Braddock Road on the Blue and Yellow lines. The Reagan National Airport and Crystal City stops will both be closed.
Blue Line trains will operate in two segments: between Franconia-Springfield and Braddock Road and between Pentagon City and Largo Town Center, at regular weekend intervals. Yellow Line trains will also operate in two segments: between Huntington and Braddock Road and between Pentagon City and Mount Vernon Square, at regular weekend intervals. Customers traveling through the work zone should allow about 30 minutes of additional travel time.
The Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department recently discovered that Harper, an Arlington resident, has always had aspirations of becoming a firefighter. That prompted a formal invitation to the All Star, and any interested teammates, on Friday.
The department learned about Harper’s desire from the Nats blog, which posted a question and answer session with the player.
The group is made up of members of the Bluemont Civic Association and aims to educate community members about the proposed development. Members say they want to ensure that the Bluemont community is able to help shape future changes at the Safeway site at 5101 Wilson Blvd.
Earlier this year, Safeway began soliciting bids from developers who may be interested in building a new grocery store, with residential property above it. The building would take up the entire block of Wilson Blvd from N. Frederick Street to N. Edison Street.
Lobo worked for the ACPD beginning in 2004, and retired this past spring. Lobo had worked as a patrol dog and as an Explosive Ordinance Detection K-9, with his partner Corporal Tom Binckley. He successfully certified with the United States Police Canine Association in those two disciplines, and had been used as a tracker on numerous occasions.
During his seven years of service, Lobo also worked to keep Arlington residents safe at special events, such as the Arlington County Fair (pictured above). He was described as a social dog who enjoyed putting on demonstrations for civic and youth groups.
An oak tree that has, for centuries, towered over what is now the Westover neighborhood is being cut down today.
The derecho on June 29 irreparably damaged the historic Post Oak, a majestic 93-foot tall tree that likely dates back to the mid-to-late 1700s. The county decided that the tree, believed to be the oldest in Arlington, had to be removed for the safety of residents.
The Dominion outage website showed around 100 customers without power as of 8:00 a.m., but those now appear to have been fixed.
Verizon, meanwhile, reports significant progress on restoring service to its TV, internet and phone customers who were affected by the June 29 storm. A Verizon spokesman said technicians worked extended shifts over the weekend and service levels are nearly back to a normal level today.
‘R.U.X. (Rockwell’s Universal seXbots)‘ debuted last year during a fundraising event at the Ballston Mall. It tells the story of a man’s desire to revamp his father’s company with a new business plan — selling sex robots. The playwright, Maurice Martin, is a 20-year resident of Arlington. The show, which is not recommended for children, premieres at Fringe on Friday, July 13.
The director of ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s a Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ along with most of the cast and crew, hails from Arlington. The show is a punk rock interpretation of a Shakespeare classic. It begins on Friday, July 13, and is recommended for ages 13 and up.
Although Sunday’s storms didn’t cause the widespread damage Arlington experienced from the June 29 “derecho” storm, the effects are still being felt in parts of the county.
Long Bridge Drive between S. 12th Street and I-395 is completely closed due to flooding. The parking lot at Long Bridge Park is also blocked.
Owner Evan Matz said the original goal was to open by the end of July. That’s been pushed back to August 6, however, due to a few delays including the late arrival of some supplies due to last week’s storm.
Earlier this year, the County Board approved a request for outdoor seating and live music at the establishment. Free live entertainment will take place on Wednesday through Saturday evenings.
As of 2:30 p.m., Dominion’s outage website showed 1,438 customers without power. That’s down from 3,960 at the same time yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. Dominion reports it’s on track to have electricity restored to nearly all customers by Friday night.
“In a few instances, work in Northern Virginia may continue into Saturday where there was extreme damage,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion vice president of Electric Distribution Operations, in a statement.
Clean up of a hazardous material spill in Rosslyn is causing traffic to be re-routed.
Around noon, the Arlington County Fire Department received reports of the spill near 1400 Wilson Blvd. It’s currently unclear what the material is.
