News | ARLnow.com - Part 1069

Morning Notes

Published February 5, 2015 at 9:30AM

Scammers Threatening to Kill Wives, Kids of Doctors — Scammers are calling Arlington doctors and pretending to hold one of the doctor’s family members hostage. The scam usually includes a woman screaming on the other end, pretending to be the doctor’s wife or daughter, and the supposed hostage taker making threats to kill her. So far this week at least two Arlington doctors have received the call. [MyFoxDC]

Hit-and-Run Driver May Have Been Intoxicated — Police are investigating whether the woman who ran over a man in a Columbia Pike parking lot may have been drunk and/or on prescription medication at the time of the incident. [NBC Washington – WARNING: Auto-play video]

Four-Story Condo Building Coming to Columbia Pike

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 4, 2015 at 3:45PM | Updated February 4, 2015 at 8:47PM

The closed El Tutumato, planned to be bulldozed for a new mixed-use development

(Update at 6:25 p.m.) A new, mixed-use development is in the works for the western end of Columbia Pike.

Pillars Development Group, which built The Berkeley condominium in Ballston, is planning on constructing 78 condominiums and 8,000-square feet of ground floor retail at 4707 Columbia Pike, next to S. Buchanan Street, in the location of the now-closed El Tutumaso Bolivian restaurant.

Crime Report: Woman Bound, Robbed in Buckingham

By ARLnow.com

Published February 4, 2015 at 1:45PM | Updated February 27, 2020 at 4:07PM

Arlington police car outside police headquarters (file photo)

Police say the woman had just left her N. George Mason Drive apartment Thursday afternoon when a masked man forced her back into the apartment, bound her hands and stole her money and cell phone. After the man fled the scene, the woman managed to escape, hail a cab and go to a friend’s house, from which she called police.

From the crime report:

County Board Chair Hynes Announces Retirement

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 4, 2015 at 12:30PM

Hynes, 59, will serve out the rest of her term in 2015 before stepping down. Her decision, along with County Board member Walter Tejada’s announcement last Wednesday, paves the way for the first County Board election with two open seats in decades.

“After nearly 20 years of elected service to our community, it’s time for a new chapter in my life. It has been a privilege to serve this community, and I am incredibly optimistic about Arlington’s future,” Hynes said in a press release. “Arlingtonians are involved, thoughtful, and hardworking. I know they always have — AND always will — find ways to make our community a special place for those who choose to live, work, play, and learn here.”

Mountains of Dirt Next to Rt. 50 ‘Aren’t Going Anywhere’

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 4, 2015 at 11:30AM

The mound of dirt at the ramp from northbound Washington Blvd to westbound Route 50

The two large mounds of dirt at the Route 50-Washington Blvd interchange “aren’t going anywhere,” the Virginia Department of Transportation says.

Ellen Vogel, VDOT’s district landscape architect, told the Arlington Civic Federation last night at its monthly meeting that the twin mounds of dirt are too expensive to move.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 4, 2015 at 9:00AM

Arlington’s Population Rises — The latest population estimate for Arlington is 229,302, an increase of 21,675 residents in just four years. [InsideNova]

ACPD Detective Profiled — ABC 7 recently profiled Arlington police Sgt. Angela Comer as part of its Working Woman segment. The detective, who has been with ACPD for 17 years, decided to follow her father’s footsteps into law enforcement, leaving an early career in banking and business. [WJLA]

Teen Groped While Walking Home from School

By ARLnow.com

Published February 3, 2015 at 12:00PM | Updated February 3, 2015 at 2:36PM

File photo

The incident happened around 4:15 p.m. on the 4100 block of Four Mile Run Drive. Police say a 17-year-old girl was walking home from Wakefield High School when a man ran up to her and grabbed her buttocks.

“The suspect fled on foot and is described as a Hispanic male in his twenties, approximately 5’11” tall and 140 lbs,” according to a crime report item. “He was wearing a blue beanie, long sleeve gray t-shirt with blue sleeves and jeans.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 3, 2015 at 9:15AM | Updated January 16, 2018 at 2:33PM

New Chinese Restaurant? — Noted chef Peter Chang appears to be planning to open a new Chinese restaurant at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center on Lee Highway. [Washington Business Journal]

Rosslyn: Hub of Hillary Intrigue — Rosslyn is home to an organization devoted to helping Hillary Clinton’s presidential prospects, an organization that spends much of its time trying to dig up dirt on Hillary, and a news organization that is covering the 2016 presidential race. This has created some awkward moments at Rosslyn’s few after-work watering holes. Concludes a magazine article: “The epicenter of the country’s great Hillary debate remains a small, charm-deficient enclave across the river from D.C.” [National Journal]

Glebe Road Shut Down After House Fire

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 2, 2015 at 2:45PM | Updated February 2, 2015 at 3:30PM

Emergency crews have shut down a portion of N. Glebe Road this afternoon after responding to a small fire in a single family house.

The house on the 2500 block of N. Glebe Road, just a few blocks from Marymount University, caught fire at about 2:00 p.m. today. Smoke was coming from a room in the front of the house when fire crews arrived on scene. The flames were quickly extinguished.

Friends Raising Money for Man Run Over in Pike Parking Lot

By ARLnow.com

Published February 2, 2015 at 1:30PM

Noormustafa “Noor” Shaikh, a 40 year old Stafford, Va. resident, was still in critical condition as of Friday afternoon, we’re told. He suffered numerous injuries last Tuesday when a Fairfax woman allegedly ran him over with her SUV, as he tried to prevent her from leaving the parking lot of his automotive business on the 3600 block of Columbia Pike.

Alexandra Mendez, 39, was arrested the next morning and charged with aggravated malicious wounding. She was also charged with hit and run for allegedly striking two cars in the parking lot, which prompted Shaikh — a co-owner of MK Auto Sales and Service — to try to stop her from leaving.

Metro Contractor Arrested for Stealing Copper in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published February 2, 2015 at 11:10AM

Police say 42-year-old Daniel Groseclose of Edgewater, Md. was employed by Kone, a company that does elevator and escalator repair work for Metro, when the thefts were discovered. He’s accused of stealing copper that was located on a construction site near the Rosslyn Metro station. The copper was owned by the electrical contractor M.C. Dean.

Metro Transit Police announced Groseclose’s arrest Friday afternoon.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 2, 2015 at 9:00AM | Updated February 2, 2015 at 9:21AM

Wind Advisory Today — A wind advisory is in effect from noon until midnight today. Forecasters warn of 20-30 MPH winds with potentially damaging gusts up to 50 MPH. [National Weather Service]

Body Discovered Near DCA — A woman’s body was discovered near Reagan National Airport over the weekend. The body was found in the water around where Four Mile Run flows into the Potomac. [WJLA]