(Updated at 6:00 p.m.) Power is gradually being restored after a widespread outage in parts of North Arlington.
More than 9,800 Dominion customers were without power at the height of the outage this evening. The affected several neighborhoods, including Ballston, Virginia Square, Cherrydale, Donaldson Run and parts of Clarendon and Rosslyn. Arlington’s 911 center received numerous calls of tripped alarms and stuck elevators as a result..
The text of the marker describes how the nondescript garage at N. Nash Street and Wilson Boulevard helped unravel the political scandal that ultimately resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
“Mark Felt, second in command at the FBI, met Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward here in this parking garage to discuss the Watergate scandal. Felt provided Woodward information that exposed the Nixon administration’s obstruction of the FBI’s Watergate investigation. He chose the garage as an anonymous secure location. They met at this garage six times between October 1972 and November 1973. The Watergate scandal resulted in President Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Woodward’s managing editor, Howard Simons, gave Felt the code name “Deep Throat.” Woodward’s promise not to reveal his source was kept until Felt announced his role as Deep Throat in 2005.”
According to a tipster, the Ballston Park Condominiums building at 1050 N. Stuart Street has lost its landline phone service, and no one from Verizon has been available to fix it. The outage has affected residents’ ability to call 911, use the emergency phone system in the elevators and buzz people into the building, according to the tipster.
“Our building manager called Verizon and notified them that this is an emergency situation,” the tipster wrote. “They said they will try and get someone out tomorrow but could be as late as next week some time.”
Pinkberry Opens in Clarendon — The new Pinkberry frozen yogurt store in Clarendon officially opens its doors at 11:00 this morning. Yesterday evening, people queued up around the block as the store gave away free frozen yogurt to anyone willing to wait in line. The giveaway didn’t seem to be hurting Red Mango, Pinkberry’s froyo rival. One block away, Red Mango was still doing brisk business as the Pinkberry line grew.
Dems Plan Dunk Tank at Chili Cookoff — Arlington County Democrats have a new weapon in their fundraising arsenal — a dunk tank. County Dems plan to roll out the dunk tank during their annual Labor Day Chili Cookoff, with the goal of collecting cash from those who want to dunk elected officials. [Sun Gazette]
WTD is offering $7 worth of burgers, shakes or fries at Ballston’s brgr:shack restaurant (4215 Fairfax Drive) for one dollar. Haven’t been yet? Check out brgr:shack’s menu, including their specialty burgers, shack salads, sweet potato fries and thick shakes.
The offer is on sale for the next five days. Already, more than 1,400 vouchers have been sold.
Around 2:15 a.m. the officer was “responding to a call for a disturbance at a bar” at Ballston Common Mall when his cruiser collided with another car at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Glebe Road.
The officer is reported to be in serious condition while the driver’s injuries are said to be non-life threatening.
Update at 5:00 p.m. — “This occurred outside the bank near the ATM in the mall,” Arlington Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal tells ARLnow.com. “It does not appear to be hazardous at this time and was not a robbery or attempted bank robbery.”
Update at 4:20 p.m. — We’re told that tests have revealed the substance to be “non-hazardous.” At least one patient was transported to the hospital, however.
They’re offering $20 worth of food at First Down Sports Bar & Grill (4213 N. Fairfax Drive) for only $8. First Down has a menu that includes loaded tater tots, tex mex eggrolls, pizza, burgers, and 40 different chicken wing flavors. If you’re not watching sports on the restaurant’s HDTV’s, you can play shuffleboard, foosball and other bar games.
First Down is a “home” bar for fans of the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, Steelers, Red Sox, Virginia Tech, and WVU.
This week’s Arlington County crime report contained an item seen only once or twice in the past year and a half. A couple was carjacked while parked in Pentagon City early Saturday morning.
CARJACKING, 07/09/11, 400 block of S. 12th Street. On July 9 at 1 am, a couple was sitting in a parked vehicle when two unknown men approached the car. The suspects opened the doors and demanded the victims exit. One suspect displayed a handgun and valuables were stolen from the victims. The suspects then drove off in the victim’s car. The car was later recovered in Maryland. The suspects were both African American men approximately 20 years old. One suspect was 5’9″, 140 lbs and wore a grey hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect was 5’5″, 140 lbs, and wore a grey hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
Called “Zap a Tat,” the shop is “a new concept in laser tattoo removal,” according to a help wanted ad on Craigslist. The store will attempt to undercut other tattoo removal services on price, according to the Linked In page of its owner, a Harvard MBA alum.
Zap a Tat will “provide high quality laser tattoo removal at a reasonable price,” according to the Linked In page. “We are testing our concept and will begin roll-out soon thereafter.”
The Red Hook Lobster truck made its public Northern Virginia debut in Ballston today.
Camped out near the corner of N. Stuart Street and Fairfax Drive, the truck served lobster rolls, shrimp rolls, Whoopie pies, Maine Root sodas and other New England-inspired fare to Ballston lunchgoers.
Either you make steep cuts that will inevitably draw the ire of many constituents, even your supporters, or you don’t cut enough and allow your country to gradually slip into the fiscal abyss.
Cognizant of the political challenges, nonprofit deficit hawks have stepped in to try to rally public support for tough budget choices by giving voters the chance to play congressman for a day — and thus experience the challenges themselves. One such exercise is coming to Arlington next week.
