Author: Vernon Miles

Vernon Miles is the ALXnow cofounder and editor. He's covered Alexandria since 2014 and has been with Local News Now since 2018. When he's not reporting, he can usually be found playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with friends.

Feature

Arlington Company Contracted to Fight Alcohol Abuse

By Vernon Miles

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. 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.

Excella, a Courthouse-based technology firm, has been selected as the lead partner in an effort to put together an app to detect alcohol misuse and risk of relapse.

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Around Town

Renovated Oakland Park in Virginia Square to Open by Year’s End

By Vernon Miles
Construction workers at Oakland Park (file photo)

A small plot on Wilson Blvd bisected by a gravel trail will be reopening as a park with paved central walkway.

The Oakland Park project is centered around plans to bring the park in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and adding overall enhancements to the green space at 3705 Wilson Blvd.

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News

Au Revoir, Crashed Columbia Pike ART Bus

By Vernon Miles
The Penske Truck Rental depot on Columbia Pike following the removal of the ART bus

After serving as a local fixture and punchline for nearly a month, the Arlington Transit bus lodged into the side of a truck depot on Columbia Pike has been removed.

On Aug. 5, a bus carrying roughly 10 passengers lost control and careened through the Pike and S. George Mason Drive intersection, veering over the curb and smashing into the side of the Penske Truck Rental building at 4110 Columbia Pike.

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News

Plans for Church Redevelopment in Clarendon Coming Soon

By Vernon Miles
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Clarendon (file photo)

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church is tired of being the big, ugly brick church in Clarendon.

St. Charles occupies a large piece of land in Clarendon, near Northside Social, and the church is continuing to review how that land should best be used — namely, the pastor says the church needs visual overhaul.

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Around Town

New Irish Pub Plans to Replace Fiona’s in Crystal City

By Vernon Miles
Exterior of 567 23rd Street S.

Crystal City may not be without an Irish pub for much longer.

Fiona’s Irish Pub (567 23rd Street S.) closed suddenly in June, after only a few months in business. Signs in the window said the closure was temporary, but those signs have since been replaced with new ones announcing McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant.

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News

County Board Incumbents Defend Arlington’s Growth Against Independent Challengers

By Vernon Miles
County Board Member Katie Cristol at the Civic Federation debate

The independent challengers for Arlington County Board confronted the two Democratic incumbents on local hot button issues at last night’s Arlington County Civic Federation debate.

Democrats Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey faced off against perennial candidate Audrey Clement and newcomer Arron O’Dell at the Civic Federation’s annual candidate, which serves as the unofficial kickoff of the fall campaign season.

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Around Town

CorePower Yoga Flexes Discounts for Ballston Exchange Opening

By Vernon Miles
CorePower Yoga in the Ballston Exchange

CorePower Yoga is now open in Ballston Exchange and newcomers can receive one week of yoga classes for free.

The yoga studio at 4201 Wilson Blvd is celebrating its opening with a series of deals. CorePower’s Black Tag Membership is offered at 10 percent off for the first month, in addition to having the first week of classes free. The studio had been holding a series of free outdoor, public classes in advance of its opening.

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News

Plans for Ballston Church Redevelopment Resurrected

By Vernon Miles
Vacant church at 1031 N. Vermont Street

After a year of silence, plans for the redevelopment of two blocks along N. Vermont Street straddling 11th Street N. could be coming back to the table.

In February 2018, Arlington County Board approved developer NVR’s plans to replace the two-story church and its parking lot at 1031 N. Vermont Street — formerly Grace Community Church and currently Portico Church Arlington — with a 72-unit condominium building and 12 townhouses. Four of the units on-site would be committed as affordable housing.

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Schools

Back to School Traffic Changes Planned Across Arlington

By Vernon Miles

The school year for Arlington Public Schools starts up again on Tuesday (Sept. 3), and there are a variety of traffic changes around the county for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians to be aware of.

There are several new traffic patterns around new and newly-repurposed schools. At Dorothy Hamm Middle School in Cherrydale, there are new traffic signals and signs, crosswalks and crossing guards near the school at 4100 Vacation Lane. At The Heights Building on Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, students will be arriving at buses on 18th Street N., which will be closed to the public The Montessori Public School of Arlington on S. Highland Street is now a countywide school, meaning more buses will be at the school.

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Schools

First Montessori Public School in Virginia Opens in Arlington

By Vernon Miles
Ribbon-cutting for the new Montessori Public School

At a ribbon-cutting yesterday (Thursday), Arlington’s Montessori community celebrated the landmark ribbon-cutting for Virginia’s first standalone public K-5 Montessori school.

For years, the Arlington Public Schools’ Montessori program operated as an entity within Drew Model School. But now, the program has launched its own school inside 701 S. Highland Street — formerly Patrick Henry Elementary School.

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Around Town

Indie Rocker Bar Galaxy Hut in Clarendon Cooks Up New Vegan Options

By Vernon Miles
The "Big Mock" at Galaxy Hut

(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) Vegan Americana has been making waves, from the new Impossible Whoppers at Burger King to Kentucky Fried Chicken’s vegan chicken buckets. But at one popular Clarendon bar, vegan options are a longtime specialty receiving a new focus.

Galaxy Hut is a small, dimly lit bar at 2711 Wilson Blvd with regulars huddled around tables with built-in arcade games or in the outdoor brick alleyway. The bar has a long history in the local punk rock scene, opening in 1990 in the nascent era of the Clarendon bar scene. It’s strictly for the over-21 crowd, opening at 5 p.m. every day and closing at 2 a.m.

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