Around Town

A Pulp Juice and Smoothie Bar is moving into the storefront at the Virginia Square Towers at 3444 Fairfax Drive. Signs advertising the new eatery went up recently.

A look through the Ohio-based company’s menu reveals a long list of smoothies in flavors such as “pulp fusion,” “peach beach” and “orange chill.” The cafe also sells wraps, which can be filled with ingredients like spicy turkey, tuna and peanut butter.


News

Locals who want to put their kids in preschool or daycare programs might have to wait for months before an opening appears. At Early Steps Bilingual Preschool in Lyon Village, the wait list for the upcoming 2017-18 school year is between 20 and 30 names long. And that’s fairly average, according to the preschool’s director, Michelle Clark.

“I have many parents who come to me before they have given birth who put their children on the wait list,” she said. “When parents ask me what the probability is of getting in, I tell them it’s kind of a strange science.”


Opinion

It’s been a busy week, especially for local wildlife. On Tuesday, animal control officers rescued a raccoon that got stuck in a drain at Wakefield High School. Then, earlier today, a curious creature dubbed the “trash raccoon” hitched a ride on a garbage truck from Rosslyn to Falls Church.

In other news, are IOTA Club’s days numbered? The new owner of Market Common Clarendon is proposing major changes to the development, including the possible demolition of the building that holds the well-loved cafe, outdoor bar and live music venue. IOTA co-owner Jane Negrey Inge told us, however, that she didn’t expect the renovations to happen “any time… soon.”


Events

The “Feel the Heritage Festival” is scheduled to take place at the Drew Community Center (3500 23rd Street South) next Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1-6 p.m. This is the event’s 25th year running.

As in previous years, attendees will be able to experience Arlington’s African-American roots through food, art, and entertainment. The event will also have free activities for kids and a “Hall of History” with photos and artifacts from Arlington churches and organizations.


Around Town

(Updated at 1:36 p.m.) A raccoon apparently took a wild ride through Arlington today.

Politico reporter Helena B. Evich first spotted an adventurous animal hitching a ride on the back of an American Disposal Services trash truck in Rosslyn a little after 11 a.m. this morning.


Schools

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) A co-op child care center for Arlington Public School employees has plans to move to a new space in Ballston, possibly splitting it up from a special needs program it has long integrated with.

The Children’s School’s board of directors this week signed a letter of intent to relocate its program to 4420 N. Fairfax Drive for the 2017-2018 school year.


Around Town

The Nando’s Peri-Peri in Pentagon City is set to hand out free chicken as part of a promotional event planned for next week.

The South African-Portuguese chain’s eatery at 1301 S. Joyce Street is scheduled to serve free quarter-chickens, sandwiches, wraps and pitas on Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 6-8 p.m. Sides and drinks still will cost money, however


News

A new apartment building could rise from a lot in Crystal City.

Crystal House Apartments Investors filed a preliminary site plan for an infill development that would construct a new apartment building called “Crystal House III” near the corner of S. Eads Street and 18th Street. The proposed construction site is adjacent to the existing Crystal House apartment buildings, which are two 12-story residential towers that were built in 1961.


Schools

Pasi announced his plans in a recent email to parents.

“As you might imagine, this has not been an easy decision to make,” he wrote in his email. “I have given it serious thought, however, and after 20 years here in Arlington as the Yorktown principal, and nine years as a principal elsewhere before coming here, I believe the time is right.”


Around Town

A new barre studio is slated to offer some free workout sessions this weekend to celebrate its opening in Pentagon City.

Pure Barre will open its doors on the ground floor of the Bartlett apartment building at 520 12th St. South on Saturday, Feb. 18, according to co-owner Lauren Lafaye-Benson.


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