Author: Vernon Miles

News

Broadway Star Traces Roots to Arlington Golf Club

By Vernon Miles
Audra McDonald (image via PBS)

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) In the latest episode of PBS’ Finding Your Roots, historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. helped guide six-time Tony-winner Audra McDonald on a tour of her family lineage — a journey that led her to a golf club in Arlington.

McDonald’s trip through her family tree started with her maternal grandfather, whom she credited as a major influencing force on her life. Her grandfather, Thomas Hardy Jones, was described by McDonald as “born into the depths of the Jim Crow era” but managing to build a respected career as an educator in historically Black institutions.

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News

Incumbent Delegate and Alexandria Vice Mayor Square Off in Unique 45th District Race

By Vernon Miles

The race for the 45th District House of Delegates seat is a weird one.

Delegate Mark Levine announced in December that he would be running for Lieutenant Governor. A month later, Alexandria Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker announced that she would be running for Levine’s delegate seat. The wrinkle in all of this, however, is that Levine is also running for reelection in the 45th district as a precaution in case he doesn’t win the fairly crowded Lieutenant Governor primary.

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Events

Vintage Clothes, Pirate Cookies and More Headed to ‘National Landing Market’ Next Month

By Vernon Miles

A new bazaar is planning to bring everything from vintage clothing to artisanal food to a National Landing Market starting next month.

The new market is scheduled to launch Saturday, May 15 with a selection of artist vendors. The market will be held at Plaza at 220, a surface parking lot at 220 20th Street S. in Crystal City, and will be open every Saturday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

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News

The Crossing Clarendon Has a New Name and May Be Getting a New Pedestrian Plaza

By Vernon Miles
The Crossing Clarendon (staff photo)

Big things are afoot at The Crossing Clarendon (2800 Clarendon Blvd) — a stretch of interconnected stores, restaurants, offices and residential space formerly known as Market Common Clarendon — as the center starts to brush off the dust from the past year.

As an overview: The Crossing refers to a multi-block stretch of mixed-use development that includes the Whole Foods, the Cheesecake Factory and the Apple Store. With some recent rebranding, the collection of retail on the opposite side of Clarendon Blvd from the Whole Foods is now known as The Loop.

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News

New ‘Rappahannock’ Development Keeps a 50s Face on a Mixed-Use Project

By Vernon Miles
Rendering of Rappahannock development (via Arlington County)

(Updated at 11 a.m.) A long-delayed redevelopment at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. Barton Street finally appears poised to become a reality.

A new mixed-use building at 2400 Columbia Pike, featuring 120 residential units and ground-floor retail space, will be replacing the current, low-slung 1950s buildings, one of which holds independent cafe Rappahannock Coffee. The County Board approved a modification to the development plan, including adding 15 residential units to the originally-proposed 105, at its meeting last weekend.

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News

County Board Kills Historic Designation Process After Failure to Save Febrey-Lothrop Estate

By Vernon Miles
Demolition of Rouse estate in Dominion Hills (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

In a rear wing of the Febrey-Lothrop Estate in Dominion Hills, there was an ornate wooden compass floor inlay built into what had been a library.

Like the windows, decorative ornaments and columns, it had been part of the original 1859 home that had seen Civil War soldiers, servants and national celebrities come and go over the years.

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Around Town

New Crystal City Eatery ‘The Freshman’ Opens This Week

By Vernon Miles
Nick Freshman at the bar for The Freshman in Crystal City (photo courtesy Joseph Tran)

At the end of the long road from a pop-up in 2019, The Freshman is ready to graduate this week from long-delayed concept to Crystal City’s newest restaurant.

The Freshman is the creation of Nick Freshman, owner of Spider Kelly’s in Clarendon. The restaurant, which offers an all-day breakfast menu as well as lunch and dinner options, advertises itself as one of the first to come into the area in the wake of the Amazon HQ2 announcement.

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Events

Excellent! Bill & Ted and More Headline National Landing Film Festival

By Vernon Miles

Feeling a little stir-crazy for the movie experience but not quite ready to return to theaters yet? The National Landing BID is bringing back an outdoor film festival next month.

The BID will show a new movie every Friday at 8 p.m. on a softball field at Virginia Highlands Park (1600 S. Hayes Street) in the Pentagon City area.

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Around Town

‘Dine After Dark’ Returns, but Ramadan Options Still Limited by Pandemic

By Vernon Miles

A year after the pandemic severely limited Ramadan dining options, Arlingtonians preparing for iftar will likely find this year a little easier.

The Islamic holiday runs from today (April 12) through May 12 and traditionally involves fasting between sunrise and sunset.

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Events

Grab Your Scrap: Hazardous Material Collection Event Returns to Arlington

By Vernon Miles
Paint recycled at E-CARE event (photo via Arlington County)

(Updated at 11:25 a.m.) If hazardous materials and old electronics have been piling up around your Arlington home, help is on the way.

Arlington County is relaunching its biannual Environmental Collection and Recycling Event (E-CARE) after an extended pandemic hiatus. The event is scheduled to return on Saturday, May 22, from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at 1425 N. Quincy Street, across from Washington-Liberty High School

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