Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be appearing at a rally in Arlington Wednesday night.
Gingrich’s campaign has scheduled a rally from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the Key Bridge Marriott (1401 Lee Highway) in Rosslyn, according to an email published by Politico. The rally is apparently part of an effort to make sure Gingrich collects enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Virginia.
New traffic signals were being installed today at the busy intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Pollard Street in Ballston, near the Gold’s Gym and the Wiinky’s burger restaurant.
The installation comes about three months after the Sun Gazette reported, in an article entitled “Residents Find Developer Payments Don’t Translate Into Traffic-Signal Installation,” that a developer had agreed to contribute $150,000 toward the addition of traffic signals at the intersection back in 2004. At the time of the article, the County Manager Barbara Donnellan promised to investigate why the traffic signal had not yet been installed.
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a 70-year-old man, identified as a registered sex offender from California, is accused of “peeping into bathroom stalls” in the Ballston area.
PEEPING TOM-ARREST, 12/02/11, 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard. On December 2 at 1 pm, a man was witnessed peeping into bathroom stalls. Clyde Medeiros, 70, of Napa, CA, was charged with Peeping and for Violation of a Registered Sex Offender. He was held without bond.
The sports bar and restaurant, on the ground floor of the new Virginia Tech National Capital Region building at 900 N. Glebe Road, should open at some point between Christmas and New Year’s Day, The Greene Turtle’s Sattar Shaik tells ARLnow.com.
According to The Greene Turtle website, the restaurant will be open from 11:00 a.m. to midnight Sunday though Wednesday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
A taxi van caught fire last night in the middle of a Ballston-Virginia Square area intersection.
The fire broke out just before 7:30 p.m. in the intersection of 9th Street and N. Pollard Street. Firefighters quickly arrived on scene and extinguished the blaze.
(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) A bank robbery has been reported in Ballston.
Initial reports suggest a man with a gun held up the Presidential Bank at 901 N. Stuart Street. The bank is less than a block from the Ballston Metro station and a block and a half from Ballston Common Mall.
The 56-year-old employee, whose identity has not yet been publicly released, was attempting to move some cars around a service area using a stackable lift when the accident happened.
“It appears the lift came down on him,” said Arlington County Police Department spokesman Lt. Joe Kantor. “We still don’t know how it happened yet, that’s part of the investigation. It’s being classified as an industrial accident at this time.”
The march is timed to coincide with a march by Occupy D.C. from McPherson Square to the Key Bridge — which some fear may snarl afternoon rush hour traffic.
“A national day of action is taking place around the country in the Occupy movement,” Occupy NoVA said on its website. “We are going to be marching on this day in solidarity with Occupy DC, from Welburn Square to join in a Labor-Community-Occupy Day of Action and March on the Key Bridge in Rosslyn/Georgetown in protest of the deterioration of our public infrastructure and public services.”
Held at the American Service Center garage in Ballston, the feast attracted dozens (perhaps hundreds) of diners who paid $40 per head for unlimited oysters, burgers, hot dogs, barbeque and beer. Money raised at the event “helps to fund community youth projects and grants for other educational and non-profit organizations focusing on children in Arlington.”
The pre-Election Day event always attracts a large contingent of political candidates, who take the time to individually greet members of the civic-minded crowd — in between chowing down on fried food. Among the attendees was County Board member and state Senate candidate Barbara Favola, who’s facing off against Republican Caren Merrick in one of the most closely-watched local races in Northern Virginia.
The apartments are aimed at individuals or families earning 50-60% of the area’s mean income. A key selling point of the apartments is their proximity to local businesses and public transportation. They’re about one block from Ballston Commons Mall and about four blocks from the Ballston Metro. County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman pointed out that this is important because the people who typically need public transit the most are those with lower incomes. Residents at The Jordan are also eligible for a public transit subsidy.
Zimmerman said because Arlington is becoming a more expensive place to live, it’s vital to be creative and innovative in providing housing options. He said the county is at risk of losing its diversity without such options.
The project held its official groundbreaking ceremony yesterday. The hotel, which is expected to open mid-2013, will feature 11 floors and 183 all-suite rooms.
The Residence Inn is part of the Founders Square development, which by fall 2014 is expected to consist of two high-rise office buildings, one high-rise 257-unit apartment building, and a smaller building reserved for retailers — in addition to the hotel. All told, the complex will feature 775,000 square feet of office space and 28,000 square feet of retail space.
Cool, sunny weather is expected Sunday morning for the Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause 8K.
The race will shut down a number of major Arlington streets — from Ballston to Clarendon to Columbia Pike — for much of the morning. Among the expected closures:
