News | ARLnow.com - Part 1018

County Board to Vote on Artisphere Lease Termination

Published October 12, 2015 at 10:30AM

Arlington County leased the 62,000 square foot former Newseum space at 1101 Wilson Blvd in November 2008. It opened Artisphere on Oct. 10, 2010.

Intractable financial losses at Artisphere — contrary to rosy projections made prior to the center’s opening — combined with a lack of local community participation to doom it. An effort to have the Artisphere space used for a tech incubator and conference center apparently fell through, leading to the lease termination recommendation from county staff.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 12, 2015 at 9:30AM

School Growth Slowing? — Arlington Public Schools has released its official Sept. 30 school enrollment figure. The school system has 25,238 students enrolled, according to the count. That’s some 400 students lower than estimates and represents “the lowest year-over-year increase since 2010.” [InsideNova]

Man Dies at Arlington County Jail — A man with a history of medical problems was found unresponsive in his jail cell at the Arlington County Detention Facility Sunday morning. He was later pronounced dead at Virginia Hospital Center. The man’s family is seeking answers as to how he died. It’s the second inmate death at the jail this year. [WUSA 9]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 9, 2015 at 10:15AM

Caps, Star Spotting at Don Tito — The Washington Capitals play their season opener Saturday, but the team has already been spotted out on the town. Members of the Caps were seen dining at Don Tito in Clarendon Wednesday night. Among those in attendance: Caps center Brooks Laich and fiancee Julianne Hough, of Dancing With the Stars fame.

Key Bridge Rehab Coming — D.C. is seeking a contractor for a two-year, $30 million rehabilitation of the Key Bridge. The project will include safety improvements for pedestrians. [Washington Business Journal]

Crime Report: Westover Residents Scare Away Man Trying to Enter Shed

By ARLnow.com

Published October 8, 2015 at 3:30PM | Updated February 27, 2020 at 4:12PM

File photo

Police say the residents of the home on 16th Street N. confronted the man, which caused him to run off.

From the Arlington County Police crime report:

Arlington Residents Voice Criticism of VDOT Plan for I-66 Tolls

By Heather Mongilio

Published October 8, 2015 at 11:40AM | Updated October 8, 2015 at 2:53PM

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) At a public forum last night, Arlington residents spoke out against the Virginia Department of Transportation’s plan to turn I-66 into a toll road during rush hour.

VDOT officials met residents at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford Street) to discuss the I-66 Inside the Beltway project, which would convert the highway into a toll road during rush hour by 2017 and increase the HOV requirement to three people by 2020.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 8, 2015 at 9:20AM

Sandra Bullock Remembers W-L Cheerleader Days — Oscar-winning actress and Arlington native Sandra Bullock says her Washington-Lee High School cheerleading uniform still fits like a glove. “That might come in handy some sexy night. I don’t know who I’m saving it for,” she told Glamour magazine. [Daily Mail]

ICE Detainer for Sexual Assault Suspect — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Melvin Bonilla, the suspect in a string of sexual assaults in Arlington. Bonilla was arrested by Arlington County Police yesterday morning. [Fox 5]

Republican-Endorsed County Board Candidate ‘Concerned About Overdevelopment’

By ARLnow.com

Published October 7, 2015 at 6:00PM

McMenamin, a former Arlington County Civic Federation president who’s endorsed by the Arlington County Republican Committee and County Board member John Vihstadt, says he shares concerns about traffic and a strain on local services with residents from a nearby neighborhood.

Residents of Arlington Ridge — an affluent neighborhood overlooking Pentagon City — have long protested planned development in Pentagon City and Crystal City areas on the grounds of negative impacts to their community. Among the projects causing concern: approved development on the Pentagon Centre shopping center site and the as-yet vacant PenPlace site, plus proposed additions to the RiverHouse apartment complex.

BREAKING: Police Arrest Serial Sexual Assault Suspect

By ARLnow.com

Published October 7, 2015 at 11:35AM

Arlington County Police have announced an arrest in a series of sexual assault cases that have had the community on edge since mid-summer.

Police say a 19-year-old Arlington man has been arrested and charged with two counts of attempted abduction in connection to at least three sexual assault cases. The man was arrested early this morning and has confessed to multiple attempted sexual assaults, according to police.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 7, 2015 at 9:30AM

County Gov’t Open on Columbus Day — Arlington County government offices will be open on Monday, Oct. 12. Courts, the Sheriff’s Office, the DMV and Arlington Public Schools, however, will be closed in observance of the Columbus Day holiday. [Arlington County]

Arlington Same-Sex Marriage Stats — Over the past year, same-sex marriages have accounted for 7.2 percent of all marriage licenses in Arlington County. [InsideNova]

Police: Man Chokes Clerk, Smashes Display Cases After Returning Engagement Ring

By ARLnow.com

Published October 6, 2015 at 4:30PM | Updated October 7, 2016 at 1:30PM

Arlington County officers responded to the store just after 11:35 a.m., after receiving a frantic 911 call about an assault in progress.

Police say a homeless man, 34-year-old Monbain Brown, had earlier in the day returned a $4,000 engagement ring after having a change of heart about the purchase. He returned shortly thereafter and “engaged in a verbal altercation with one of the workers behind the display case because the money had not showed up in his account yet,” according to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Arlington Man Charged with Exposing Himself at Fairfax JCPenney Store

By ARLnow.com

Published October 6, 2015 at 3:45PM | Updated October 6, 2015 at 4:35PM

File photo

Fairfax County Police say the man exposed himself to employees on two occasions, in the dressing rooms of Springfield Town Center stores, while shopping for lingerie.

From a FCPD press release:

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 6, 2015 at 9:00AM

Office Vacancy Down in Arlington — Arlington has had a 1.6 percent positive net absorption of commercial office space so far this year. Crystal City in particular has done well, gaining 313,000 square feet of occupancy. [Bisnow]

History Plan for Arlington Centennial — Arlington County is seeking public comment on the mid-term report produced by the Arlington History Task Force. The task force is trying to come up with a plan for preserving Arlington’s history, in time for the county’s centennial in 2020. [Arlington County]