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.

News

Arlington Prepares to Sink Its Teeth Into Ballston Beaver Pond Project, Sans Beavers

By Vernon Miles
The Ballston Pond (file photo)

The Ballston Beaver Pond is about to get a makeover, but a little later than originally anticipated.

In January, county officials re-initiated a public discussion on a redesign for the pond. The pond was originally built in 1980 to collect stormwater runoff from I-66. To the surprise of county officials, beavers moved in and made the pond their home. The beavers dammed up the drainage system and were joined in the habitat by muskrat, geese, ducks, heron, egrets, redwing blackbirds, fish, turtles.

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News

Crashed ART Bus to Remain In Place on Columbia Pike for Now

By Vernon Miles
Interior of the truck depot where the ART bus crashed

A little over two weeks after an ART bus made an unexpected detour into the side of a truck depot at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Drive, the wayward bus is still there.

The Arlington Transit bus is sitting exactly where it was when first responders arrived to the scene, face planted against the side of the concrete wall.

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Around Town

Which Founding Fathers Got Bucked in the 1934 Arlington Street Renaming Shuffle?

By Vernon Miles

Arlington switched over to a more “rational” street naming system in 1934, but documents from the transition give some insight into the names that were lost.

Many of the casualties were founding fathers and other Revolutionary War-related vocabulary words.

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Around Town

New Book Showcases Photos of Green Valley’s Transition

By Vernon Miles
As We Are book cover (photo courtesy Robin Stombler)

From zoning to storefronts to its very name, Green Valley (formerly known, officially, as Nauck) is changing — so one Arlingtonian put together a book to remember the neighborhood as it exists today.

As We Are is a new book by Robin Stombler, vice-chair of the Four Mile Run Valley Initiative Working Group and a frequent voice of the neighborhood, collecting of photographs from 2015-2019 taken around Green Valley.

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Around Town

Across the Glebe Divide: Restaurants in Western Ballston Grapple with Spate of Closures

By Vernon Miles
Name scrubbed away from closed Cheesetique in Ballston

For some diners, Ballston ends at Glebe Road, and a handful of restaurant owners at the western end of the neighborhood are feeling left out.

As numerous businesses have sprung up in the central part of Ballston, the western edge has suffered a series of high-profile closures.

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Around Town

UPDATED: Pizza Roma Stops Serving Lunchtime Crowd, Remains Open at Night

By Vernon Miles
Pizza Roma in Ballston (file photo)

Update on 8/19/19 — Multiple sources tell ARLnow that Pizza Roma is, in fact, still open, but only in the evening. It stopped serving customers at lunchtime without notice.

Earlier: Pizza Roma, an Italian food bistro across from the Ballston Metro station, appears to have closed.

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Around Town

The Little Beet Set to Sprout into Pentagon City Mall Next Month

By Vernon Miles
The Little Beet to open soon in Fashion Centre at Pentagon City

(Updated 10 a.m.) The Little Beet, a veggie-focused eatery, is scheduled to open in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.

Diners can find The Little Beet underneath the escalators on the food court level, next to the Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. A listing on the mall’s website said the eatery is expected to open on Sunday, Sept. 15.

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News

Morning Notes

By Vernon Miles

SB Route 1 Blocked by Crash — Updated at 8:35 a.m. — Southbound Route 1 was blocked by a crash involving an overturned vehicle at 23rd Street in the Crystal City area. All lanes reopened shortly after 8 a.m. [Twitter, Twitter]

Arlington Real Estate Still Hot — “In July, Arlington had the most brisk trip between listing and contract – just nine days – followed in the local region by Alexandria (10), Fairfax County (17), Falls Church (20), Loudoun County (23) and Prince William County (24).” [InsideNova]

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