It’s time again for our annual list of most-read stories of the year.
Readers gravitated toward stories comical and serious, from signs that look like genitals to car crashes and elections. The year turned out to be an historic one, with unprecedented election results and massive policy shifts. It also proved that Arlington readers care just as much about local politics as they do about drunken shenanigans.
Now that the Christmas season is over, Arlington is once again offering residents a chance to turn their trees into mulch.
Most of the activity around town can be found at the mall, as procrastinators wrap up their Christmas shopping.
On this Dec. 24, ARLnow.com again wishes you and yours a happy and peaceful holiday. This has been a volatile year of change in Arlington, but regardless of your stance on those changes, Christmas is a time we can come together and be thankful for the the great community we have.
Arlington TV, the county-run television channel, has released its annual year in review video.
Thirteen new police officers will soon be patrolling the streets of Arlington County after police academy graduation yesterday.
Of the 14 candidates who started in police academy, 13 will now begin training to become full-time ACPD officers, along with five sheriff’s deputies who also graduated from the academy. The officers were sworn in by Arlington Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson on Friday, according to ACPD spokesman Lt. Kip Malcolm.
All of the courts in the Arlington County Justice Center will be closed tomorrow, Dec. 24, and the DMV select will close tomorrow at noon.
Arlington Public Schools will also be closed on Dec. 24, and students won’t return to school until Monday, Jan. 5.
Clarendon has been ranked among the nine “yuppiest neighborhoods in America” by the website Thrillist.com.
The Orange line neighborhood made the list thanks to young, affluent residents and their standard-issue upscale haunts, like Whole Foods, Pottery Barn and Lululemon. From the website:
The restaurant announced on its Facebook page Friday that it is terminating its lease as of Jan. 1, 2015. It did not specify a reason for the lease termination.
“We are very grateful to our loyal customers who throughout the past 30 years have made it possible for Summers to twice be voted as America’s Best Sports Bar,” the restaurant said.
The Clarendon park, which has facilities for both dogs and humans, was called “a model for today’s urban parks” by the society.
“From using rainwater for irrigation to solar power to native plantings to increasing the urban tree canopy, this park is at the forefront of environmental sustainability,” the group said, according to a county press release.
Artisphere — with multiple theaters for programming of everything from local orchestras to international groups with experimental sounds and galleries for its free visual art displays — will continue operating as planned, Executive Director Jose Ortiz said.
“The show must go on,” he told ARLnow.com yesterday. “It was definitely a disappointing decision … We have programs that are planned and on the books, from exhibitions and performances to rentals. The items that are on the books must continue.”
Red, Hot & Blue, the barbecue chain restaurant at 1600 Wilson Blvd, is closing on Sunday.
Manager Chris Hawkins confirmed to ARLnow.com that the restaurant — which he says has been open since at least 1989 — will have its last day on Sunday, but he said the staff has been kept in the dark as to why.
(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) Tejo Remy, an artist for the Netherlands whose work has been featured in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, is designing a fence for the plant that filters Arlington’s sewage.
The fence surrounds the Water Pollution Control Plant, on the 3400 block of S. Glebe Road, and it will be designed in Remy and design partner Rene Veenhuizen’s style of reusing common objects to create engaging works of art.
