ceremony | ARLnow.com

Published November 8, 2012 at 3:05PM | Updated November 12, 2012 at 12:02PM

The ceremony for the 17,000 square feet park, located at 2503 Columbia Pike, will be kick off at 4:00 today. The park features a tree-covered upper terrace with movable tables and chairs, an inner plaza with a water feature, small gardens, a sustainable storm water runoff bio-filtration and re-circulation system, and “Echo,” a large two-piece sculpture by Richard Deutsch (more information, below).

The park was designed by the prominent local design firm Oculus. A second phase of the project will include “a transit Super Stop in front of the square along Columbia Pike to support the current Pike Ride buses as well as future generations of transit.”

Around Town

Arlington Closures, Ceremonies for Veterans Day

By ARLnow.com

Published November 8, 2012 at 10:55AM | Updated November 8, 2012 at 11:47AM

All Arlington County courts, libraries, public schools, and administrative offices will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12.

The county’s three indoor swimming pools will be open under holiday hours. Metro and ART will be operating under a holiday schedule. Trash and leaf collection will proceed as normal.

Traffic

Ribbon Cutting Scheduled for Glebe Road Bridge

By ARLnow.com

Published October 15, 2012 at 2:50PM

A ribbon cutting ceremony has been scheduled to celebrate the completion of the new Glebe Road bridge over Route 50.

The event will be held Wednesday morning near Thomas Jefferson Middle School, just to the southeast side of the 100-foot-long bridge. Among those expected to ribbon cutting are County Board Chair Mary Hynes, state Sen. Barbara Favola, Del. Patrick Hope, and officials from VDOT, which oversaw the project.

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

New Arlington Police Officers Sworn In

By ARLnow.com

Published June 26, 2012 at 1:50PM

Thirteen new Arlington County police officers were sworn in this afternoon at Kenmore Middle School.

The recruits — eight male, five female — pledged an oath and were given their badges. The ceremony followed the recruits’ graduation from a regional police academy. They will now undergo nearly half a year of field training before becoming full officers.

News

ACPD Helps Wounded Veterans Get Segways

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 16, 2012 at 6:10PM | Updated August 29, 2013 at 1:02PM

The charity Segs4Vets arranged to give the vehicles to the wounded warriors, many of whom are amputees. Some of the Segways are specially outfitted to accommodate individual disabilities, such as having a built-in seat for when the user becomes too tired to stand.

Jerry Kerr started the organization in September 2005. He had broken his neck in 1998 and was paralyzed from the neck down. Although he has some movement now, he was told he would never be able to walk again. That prompted him to devote time to investigating what technologies were available to allow him to become more mobile.

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.

News

Advocates Honored at Proclamation Ceremony

By Katie Pyzyk

Published March 7, 2012 at 9:46AM

Those honored have helped people with disabilities participate in community activities, in addition to obtaining job skills and employment.

Families, friends, educators, employers and others packed the atrium at the National Science Foundation in Ballston to honor the two individuals and three employers.

News

Honorees Chosen for Women of Vision Award

By Katie Pyzyk

Published February 27, 2012 at 1:30PM

Carolyn Cook, Angela Fox, Anita Friedman and Kathleen Sibert were chosen by the Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women for their contributions to improving the lives of women and girls in Arlington. They will be honored at a ceremony and reception next Tuesday.

At the event, County Manager Barbara Donnellan will moderate a roundtable discussion on women’s education and empowerment.

News

Ceremony Held for ACFD Retirees

By ARLnow.com

Published January 24, 2012 at 4:30PM

The large number of nearly simultaneous retirements is the result of changes to Arlington County’s retirement health benefits that, according to a fire official, prompted some 200 county employees to retire at the same time.

The fire personnel honored this morning had a combined 477 years of experience. It’s a loss that’s being felt across the department, despite the recent addition of large new recruit classes.

News

Wreaths Arriving Saturday at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery

By ARLnow.com

Published December 9, 2011 at 3:16PM | Updated December 11, 2011 at 1:39PM

On Saturday morning more than 100,000 wreaths will arrive at Arlington National Cemetery. The wreaths will each be placed next to grave markers at the cemetery by teams of volunteers, and will remain there through the end of January.

It’s the biggest holiday wreath-laying yet, with more than three times more wreaths than last year. The wreaths are all funded by donations and shipped via tractor trailer from the Worcester Wreath Company in eastern Maine.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2011 at 7:55AM

Looming Defense Cuts Worry Some in Crystal City — Some Crystal City business owners are worried about the ripple effects that could be caused by billions in looming Defense Department cuts. Others, however, are more optimistic about the prospect of military-related offices moving out and a more diverse employment base moving in. [Public Radio International]

Zimmerman Endorses Bondi — Democratic County Board candidate Melissa Bondi has scored another relatively high-profile endorsement. County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman has joined fellow Board member Walter Tejada in endorsing Bondi’s campaign. [Bondi for County Board]