News | ARLnow.com - Part 1062

Morning Notes

Published March 10, 2015 at 9:30AM

Pasha Cafe Changes Name — Pasha Cafe, at 3911 Lee Highway, has changed its name to Bistro 29. Owner Bill Hamrock tells ARLnow.com that “75% of the menu is the same,” but there have been some changes. “Some of our new items include: Fried Green Tomatoes, Shrimp ‘Tempura,’ Shrimp and Crab Potstickers, Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Balsamic Glazed Chicken and a Grilled Chicken Salad with Fried Brie and Mango Buttermilk Vinaigrette.” [Bistro 29]

Cigar Connection Closes — The Cigar Connection store across from the Ballston Metro station has closed after 12 years in business. [Facebook]

Three People Fall into Hole Under Collapsed Stairwell

By ARLnow.com

Published March 9, 2015 at 9:45PM

Photo via @ACFDPIO

Three people were hurt when a staircase collapsed, sending them plummeting into a 10 foot hole.

The incident happened around 6:45 p.m., outside a home on the 900 block of N. Madison Street, in the Dominion Hills neighborhood.

Can Arlington Land Marriott’s New HQ?

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 9, 2015 at 4:45PM | Updated March 9, 2015 at 6:15PM

The Key Bridge Marriott hotel in 2015 (file photo)

Marriott International occupies 900,000 square feet of office space in Bethesda, but CEO Arne Sorenson told the Washington Post last month that the hotel chain with more than $12 billion in annual revenue “will be moving.” Sorenson said he still wants the company to stay in the D.C. region, and made more comments sure to make Arlington real estate owners’ ears perk up.

“I think it’s essential we be accessible to Metro and that limits the options,” Sorenson told the Post’s Jonathan O’Connell. “I think as with many other things our younger folks are more inclined to be Metro-accessible and more urban.”

JUST IN: Matchbox, Sugar Factory Coming to Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Published March 9, 2015 at 3:35PM

The restaurant, noted for its wood-fired pizza and craft beer selection, will be located in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, in a yet-to-be-built two-level expansion near the mall’s current S. Hayes Street main entrance.

The new Matchbox will be a whopping 11,000 square feet, with outdoor seating along Hayes Street.

Snowball Fight Turns Violent Outside Carpool

By ARLnow.com

Published March 9, 2015 at 2:45PM | Updated November 18, 2016 at 3:02PM

Arlington police car parked in the snow (file photo)

Police say two men in their mid-20s were chucking snowballs near the entrance to the Ballston bar early Sunday morning when a couple approached.

The male half of the couple asked twice that the men stop throwing the snowballs so he and his girlfriend could safely enter the establishment.

Jogger, Driver Tangle During Alleged Road Rage Incident in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Published March 9, 2015 at 2:00PM | Updated December 23, 2021 at 3:33PM

File photo

(Updated at 3:30 p.m. on 12/23/21) An Arlington man is being accused of almost running over a jogger during a fit of road rage near Courthouse.

The alleged incident happened Saturday around 10:15 a.m. Police say a jogger was crossing 10th Street at N. Barton Street when a man driving an older BMW “nearly struck” him in the crosswalk.

Market-Rate Affordable Housing in Arlington May Disappear by 2020

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 9, 2015 at 10:30AM | Updated March 9, 2015 at 11:14AM

In 2000, 19,740 apartments owned by for-profit property owners in the county were affordable for someone making up to 60 percent of the region’s area median income, according to findings from the county’s three-year Affordable Housing Study. In 2013, there were 3,437 “MARKs,” as they’re called.

(“Affordable” is defined as costing less than 30 percent of a household’s income.)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 9, 2015 at 9:30AM | Updated March 9, 2015 at 1:17PM

School Board Candidates Sound Off — The two candidates for the Democratic endorsement for Arlington School Board, Reid Goldstein and Sharon Dorsey, formally announced their candidacies last week, making the case to fellow Democrats for why they should be on the board. The Democratic School Board caucuses will be held in May. [InsideNova]

Arlington Explains Salt Shortage — Updated at 1:15 p.m. — Arlington County officials are explaining last week’s road salt shortage. County officials say a 4,000 ton order for salt placed by the county on Jan. 19 was never filled, due to high demand for salt among eastern seaboard states that have been buried by heavy snowfall this winter. The county was expecting a 2,000 ton salt delivery from Pittsburgh Friday evening. An Arlington official explained the shortage but did not apologize for it, as earlier reported, according to a county spokeswoman. [WTOP]

County Board Candidates Promise Change, Progressive Values

By ARLnow.com

Published March 6, 2015 at 4:30PM | Updated March 6, 2015 at 5:35PM

James Lander at the Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting

(Updated at 5:35 p.m.) Change and a fresh perspective is needed on the County Board — that was the overall message from the five Democrats seeking the nomination for two open board seats.

While all of the candidates touted their “progressive values” at Wednesday’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, most suggested that the Democratic status quo is in need of a refresh.

Sinkhole Swallows Up Dog in Lyon Park

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 6, 2015 at 2:00PM | Updated March 6, 2015 at 4:06PM

A sinkhole at the corner of 1st Street N. and Edgewood Street (photo courtesy Chris Timura)

A dog fell into a sinkhole that opened up right under its tiny feet in Rockwell Park on Wednesday, according to a witness.

The park, which sits at the intersection of N. Cleveland, Edgewood and 1st Streets, is popular for dog walking in the Lyon Park neighborhood. Resident Elsie Frasier told ARLnow.com that two days ago she and her husband “heard someone screaming” at the park from their adjacent house. Someone walking their dog said it had fallen into the hole.

Lyon Park Resident Finds Drunk Man Sleeping on Porch

By ARLnow.com

Published March 6, 2015 at 11:40AM

File photo

A homeowner on the 200 block of N. Fillmore Street says he woke up just after midnight to the sounds of someone trying to open the front door. He went downstairs and discovered a man apparently passed out on the porch.

After trying but failing to wake him up, the homeowner called police. In an email, he described to ARLnow.com what happened.

Tejada: Democrats Must Prevent ‘New Arlington of Rich, Entitled People’

By ARLnow.com

Published March 6, 2015 at 10:00AM

Tejada is the last member of the County Board who still defends the now-canceled Columbia Pike streetcar “unapologetically and unequivocally.” He has been one of the more vocal supporters of adding affordable housing and providing immigrants safe haven in the county.

“I will never apologize for these efforts,” he told the Arlington County Democratic Committee Wednesday night.