Ballston | ARLnow.com

Published March 4, 2013 at 10:55AM

The plates were installed near the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Randolph Street early last year after residents of the nearby Archstone Ballston Square apartments complained about noise coming from a Dominion Virginia Power vault cover, underneath which sits electrical equipment for their building, according to the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services (DES). The vault cover (located in the left-hand westbound travel lane) was broken and causing loud noises when cars drove over it.

The plates were to be installed over the vault cover as a temporary measure until it could be fixed. However, as of last month, the cover still wasn’t fixed and the plates were causing problems for drivers. In addition to producing a bumpy ride, one driver says the plates damaged his car.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 4, 2013 at 9:15AM | Updated March 4, 2013 at 4:39PM

‘Mussel Bar’ to Open in Ballston — Mussel Bar & Grille, from restauranteur Robert Wiedmaier, is set to open at 800 N. Glebe Road in Ballston this summer. The small gastropub chain has existing locations in Bethesda and Atlantic City. Wiedmaier is also known for BRABO in Old Town Alexandria and Marcel’s and Brasserie Beck in D.C. [Washington City Paper]

Deputy County Manager to Retire — Deputy County Manager Marsha Allgeier is planning to retire, and the county is now searching for her successor. Allgeier has worked for Arlington County since 1998. [Sun Gazette]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 25, 2013 at 10:15AM | Updated February 25, 2013 at 11:32AM

SUV Runs Off Memorial Bridge — An SUV drove off the Memorial Bridge and plunged into the Potomac around 10:00 last night. The driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. A bridge barrier was damaged and the bridge was closed by police until the early morning hours. [WJLA, Washington Post]

‘Ballston Southern Gateway’ Plan Approved — The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved an addendum to its North Quincy Street Plan, which is designed “to transform the southern gateway of Ballston from an automobile-oriented area into a more pedestrian-friendly, great urban place.” The plan calls for higher residential and commercial buildings in the area around the Harris Teeters and the Mercedes Benz dealership. [Arlington County]

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Four Orange Line Stations Closed This Weekend

By Katie Pyzyk

Published February 21, 2013 at 11:50AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:49PM

Starting at 10:00 p.m. on Friday the East Falls Church, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna stations will be closed. Crews will be working on signal system integration with the new Silver Line extension. Trains will still operate on a normal weekend schedule between Ballston and New Carrollton.

Free shuttle buses will replace trains between Ballston and Vienna. Express buses will run only between the Vienna and Ballston stops; local buses will serve all stops in between Ballston and Vienna. Customers taking the express buses should expect to add an additional 25 minutes of travel time and those using the local buses should add up to 50 minutes of travel time.

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Two Arrested for Brawl at Union Jack’s

By Katie Pyzyk

Published February 20, 2013 at 3:45PM

According to police, on Friday, Feb. 8, the two groups were involved in a verbal altercation inside the bar which escalated throughout the night. Both parties left and while one group of four was trying to walk away, the other group allegedly followed and started a physical altercation.

One of the victims was knocked down and had his head kicked, resulting in a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain. He spent four days in the hospital and was released to the care of his mother, who lives out of state. At the time he was released, the victim had not yet regained hearing in one of his ears.

Around Town

New Ballston Sandwich Shop to Open in April

By ARLnow.com

Published February 20, 2013 at 9:55AM

A new sandwich shop is expected to open in Ballston in April.

Which Wich, which is replacing the former Daily Grind coffee shop at 4300 Wilson Blvd, has set Monday, April 22 as a tentative opening date, according to company spokesperson Hala Habal.

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Board to Consider Long Range Plan for N. Quincy Street

By ARLnow.com

Published February 19, 2013 at 1:50PM

The current Harris Teeter supermarket and Mercedes-Benz dealership near Ballston could eventually be replaced with high-rise buildings under a new land use plan that’s up for County Board consideration this weekend.

On Saturday, the Board will consider an addendum to its 1995 North Quincy Street Plan. The amendment modifies the plan for the area around the Mercedes dealership and adds a plan for a parcel of land bounded by Carlin Springs Road, Glebe Road, N. Thomas Street and the Hyde Park Condominiums. The latter parcel includes the Harris Teeter store and its surface parking lot.

Around Town

Potomac River Running Completes Move

By ARLnow.com

Published February 15, 2013 at 3:15PM

On Thursday the store wrapped up a move from its former location at 3924 Wilson Blvd to the new location at 4501 N. Fairfax Drive. The new running store is located next to a FedEx office location, across from the Marymount University “Blue Goose” building at the corner of Fairfax Drive and Glebe Road.

While the new store doesn’t have the surface parking lot of the former location, it is validating parking at the building’s underground garage off of N. Vermont Street.

Around Town

Red Parrot Asian Bistro Opens Soon

By Katie Pyzyk

Published February 5, 2013 at 1:45PM

Ballston is about to get an influx of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese foods. All of those varieties will be served up at Red Parrot Asian Bistro (1110 N. Glebe Road) when it opens next week.

Workers are setting up furniture and making finishing touches on the restaurant, so owner Wendy Cheng expects to have a soft opening by next Thursday (February 14), with a grand opening in March. She already has two successful Red Parrot restaurants in Maryland, and had been looking to open an Arlington location for a while.

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Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published February 5, 2013 at 9:01AM

School Boundary Meeting on Wednesday — Arlington Public Schools will hold its next school boundary meeting on Wednesday (February 6), at 7:00 p.m. in the Williamsburg Middle School auditorium. APS will share feedback gathered at the January 23 meeting, and present a smaller set of boundary options. After reviewing the options, meeting attendees will have the opportunity to offer feedback. The final set of options is expected to be offered to the School Board in late March.

Metro Region Worst for Traffic — The annual Texas A&M Transportation Institute survey lists the D.C. metro area as number one for the country’s worst traffic congestion, topping Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Boston. The average driver is said to spend 67 hours per year sitting in traffic. Analysts believe drivers will add seven hours to that number by 2020. [Washington Post]

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Crime Report: Taxis Stolen

By ARLnow.com

Published January 30, 2013 at 5:00PM

Arlington County auto crimes detectives are “actively engaged in” an investigation into the thefts, said ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, who couldn’t recall any other taxi thefts in Arlington in the past year. The cabs all had D.C. tags and ranged in model year from 1998 to 2004.

From the stolen vehicle portion of this week’s crime report:

Around Town

Protein Bar Opens Tomorrow in Ballston

By Katie Pyzyk

Published January 29, 2013 at 12:25PM | Updated January 29, 2013 at 1:27PM

A new restaurant aimed at offering high protein foods is opening in Ballston tomorrow. Protein Bar (800 N. Glebe Road) will start serving its blended drinks, wraps and other entrees around lunchtime on Wednesday.

The goal is to serve foods high in protein, high in fiber and low on refined sugars. Founder Matt Matros based the menu on the diet that helped him lose weight.