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Morning Notes

Published January 11, 2013 at 8:15AM

Another Military Daycare Worker Accused of Abuse — Another Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall daycare worker has been accused of abuse, just three months after another daycare abuse scandal broke at the base. This time, a daycare worker is accused of hitting a three-year-old child with a seat cushion. [WJLA]

Crystal City Plan Wins National Award — The Crystal City Sector Plan has won the American Planning Association’s 2013 National Planning Achievement Award for Innovation in Economic Planning and Development. “This ambitious, creative plan is already beginning to make Crystal City an even better place to live, work and play, and to help Arlington meet the serious challenges posed by BRAC,” said Arlington County Board Chair Walter Tejada, in a statement. [Arlington County]

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 28, 2012 at 8:45AM

Human Rights Award Winners Announced — The Arlington Human Rights Commission has announced the winners for the 2012 James B. Hunter Human Rights Award. Two community groups — Wakefield High School’s Project Upstanders and Washington-Lee High School’s Best Buddies Club — received the honor, along with two individuals — recent Wakefield graduate Sara Heisey and Santa Fe Cafe owner John “Kip” Laramie. Awards will be presented at a ceremony on December 13. [Arlington County]

Red Top Toys for Tots Drive — From now through Monday, December 17, all Red Top Cabs will serve as Toys for Tots collection sites. Customers can bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate when riding in one of the cabs. Red Top will deliver the toys to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation for distribution to local needy children. Arlington Yellow Cab is also participating in the program.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 16, 2012 at 9:30AM | Updated November 16, 2012 at 10:07AM

Yorktown Hosts South County in Semifinal — In high school football action, the Yorktown Patriots will take on the South County Stallions tonight in a Northern Region Division 5 semifinal playoff game. The contest is a home game for Yorktown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Yorktown lost to South County in the regional championship game last year. [Sun Gazette]

APS Awarded for Green Initiatives — Arlington Public Schools has “earned a Platinum Certification as a Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) Certified Green Schools Division.” The school system also placed first in VSBA’s Green Schools Challenge for large school divisions. [Arlington Public Schools]

Around Town

Arlington Building, Restaurant Win Industry Awards

By ARLnow.com

Published November 15, 2012 at 11:00AM

Epic Smokehouse, the new upscale barbecue restaurant at 1330 S. Fern Street in Pentagon City, won NAIOP’s “Award of Merit” in the “Best Interiors, Retail Project” category. The restaurant’s interior — which is heavy on wood, leather and concrete — was designed by Collective Architecture and built by rand* Construction Corporation.

The award ceremony was held last night in Tysons Corner.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 19, 2012 at 8:05AM

Glee Star to Visit W-L Today — Glee star Lauren Potter and Best Buddies founder Anthony Shriver will be visiting Washington-Lee High School’s Best Buddies chapter at 3:00 p.m. today (Friday). “The Washington-Lee chapter of Best Buddies was ranked number one among DC-MD-VA chapters based on the quality of friendships, student leadership and dedication to the Best Buddies mission,” according to Arlington Public Schools. Potter, who has Down syndrome, is best known for her role as Becky Jackson on the hit Fox TV series.

Chef Beats Out ‘Chief’ in Culinary Competition — Eventide Chef Adam Barnett emerged as the big winner in the Arlington Food Assistance Center’s “Chiefs vs. Chefs” cooking competition between professional restaurant chefs and amateur firehouse cooks. AFAC hopes to turn the fundraiser into an annual event. [Sun Gazette]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 26, 2012 at 9:00AM

Yom Kippur in Arlington — Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is traditionally observed with 25 hours of fasting and prayer. Arlington’s only synagogue, Etz Hayim Congregation on Arlington Boulevard, has sold out of its Yom Kippur service tickets.

Illegal Dog Mural Whitewashed — Wag More Dogs, the doggy daycare in Shirlington, has surrendered in its legal battle to keep a colorful dog-themed mural on its outside wall. Yesterday, workers removed the tarp covering the large mural — in place since 2010 — and painted over it. The painters — the same pair who painted an eyebrow-raising mural outside the Smokey Shope III store in Crystal City — are now planning to replace the mural with an “urban landscape” mural that, since it won’t feature dogs or anything connected to the business, shouldn’t constitute an illegal sign in the eyes of Arlington County. [Washington Post, WTOP]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 21, 2012 at 10:20AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 3:24PM

Suicide Thwarted at Metro Station — An alert Metro train operator helped to thwart a suicide attempt at the Reagan National Airport Metro station Thursday morning. Around 7:55 a.m., a man climbed down and laid on the southbound tracks. The operator of an approaching train saw the man and stopped the train in time. Transit police apprehended the man and took him to a local hospital. [Washington Examiner]

Park(ing) Day in Rosslyn — Today (Friday) is Park(ing) Day, a day where people worldwide transform parking spots into temporary public spaces. Artisphere in Rosslyn will again be participating. A giant shopping cart, created by artist J.P. Flick, will be placed near the corner of Wilson Blvd and Lynn Street. Passersby are encouraged to donate gently used professional attire by placing it in the cart. The clothes will go to a job placement program run by the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network. [Artisphere]

Schools

Arlington Traditional Named 2012 Blue Ribbon School

By ARLnow.com

Published September 10, 2012 at 11:50AM

The elementary school was named a 2012 Blue Ribbon School — one of only 269 schools in the country and one of seven elementary schools in Virginia this year — based on its “overall academic excellence.”

Duncan presented the Blue Ribbon School award to ATS Principal Holly Hawthorne at a school-wide assembly Friday morning. Also in attendance were Rep. Jim Moran (D), School Board Vice Chair Sally Baird, School Board member Abby Raphael, County Board member Libby Garvey, State Sen. Barbara Favola (D), Del. Patrick Hope (D) and State Board of Education President and former Arlington School Board member Dave Foster.

News

Little League Coach Receives Award Before Deployment

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 22, 2012 at 10:35AM | Updated June 22, 2012 at 2:33PM

Col. Randy Huiss, better known as “Coach Randy,” coaches the Orioles Little League team. After their final practice before “the big championship game” last week, the team and the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families honored Huiss with a Connect with Kids award. The awards are given to people who go above and beyond in spending time with, and building relationships with, children and teens.

Parents of the players are fans of Coach Randy’s interactions with the kids. They say he has a positive view of how the game should be played, with a focus on fun.

News

Five Local Cops Receive Crisis Response Awards

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 19, 2012 at 4:11PM | Updated June 20, 2012 at 10:53AM

Captain Andy Penn, Officer Garrett Bombard, Sergeant Eliseo Pilco, Officer Ben Brown-Bieber and Deputy Andrew Flowers received the National Alliance on Mental Illness – Northern Virginia Chapter 2012 Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) award. They received the awards, which include a plaque and a $500 donation to the Department of Human Services to fund ongoing CIT training, at a banquet on June 7.

“Our department fully supports the CIT training initiative and our goal is to continue to increase the number of officers certified by offering several training opportunities each year,” said Arlington Police Chief M. Douglas Scott.

News

ACPD Members Awarded for Fighting Crimes Against the Elderly

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 3, 2012 at 9:45AM | Updated May 3, 2012 at 11:40AM

One police official said the pair’s efforts were part of the department’s “War on Woodchucks” — a reference to the name sometimes given to scam artists who prey on senior citizens by performing unnecessary yard work and charging exorbitant amounts of money for it. Some of the offenders repeatedly target the same victims, or inform other scam artists of who to target. It’s not unusual for some of the victims to lose tens of thousands of dollars during interactions with woodchucks.

Even after being asked about winning the award, Everest turned the attention back to helping the elderly. She encouraged people to watch out for their neighbors and to call the police if they notice something suspicious. She added that there’s still a long road ahead in the fight to end these kinds of crimes in Arlington, and she’d like to see tougher laws put in place to bring the scam artists to justice.

News

ACFD Firefighters Receive Awards for Heroism

By ARLnow.com

Published March 26, 2012 at 4:17PM

The 2012 annual Arlington County Fire Department Recognition and Awards Program was held Thursday morning at Fire Station No. 5 in Crystal City. Below banners recognizing the station’s role in responding to the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and amid the periodic blare of the fire department dispatch loud speaker, nearly a dozen individual firefighters and paramedics and a dozen fire and EMS crews were recognized for their heroism in the line of duty.

Many of the awards given out on Thursday stemmed from two major incidents.