September Sunset — As warm temperatures gave way to fall-like temperatures yesterday, mother nature compensated by providing the D.C. area with an exceptionally beautiful sunset.
Gunfire on the GW Parkway — An SUV was struck by a bullet while driving on the GW Parkway near the Chain Bridge early Thursday morning. [NBC Washington]
(Updated at 9:35 a.m.) A Virginia State Police motorcycle officer was struck by an SUV this morning on the ramp from eastbound Columbia Pike to Washington Boulevard.
The extent of the officer’s injuries are unknown at this time, but initial reports suggested he was conscious and alert after the accident. The officer was quickly loaded onto an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Update at 7:45 p.m. — Adding to the misery on the roads: more than 2,600 Dominion customers are without power in Arlington. Many of the outages are concentrated in the area of Route 50 and Carlin Springs Road. Several traffic lights are reported to be dark as a result.
Thanks to today’s heavy rain, and the resulting flooding in Alexandria, Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church, tonight’s commute can only be described as nightmarish.
The first of the so-called “Super Stops” will be built at Walter Reed Drive and the Pike. Work on two other stops — at Columbus and Dinwiddie Streets — is also expected to begin this fall, with a fourth Super Stop expected to be built at Barton Street, near Penrose Square, during the spring of 2012. Combined, the four stops serve more than 2,000 passengers per day.
The new stops will feature heated seats, floors, new lighting, glass windscreen walls enhanced weather protection, and electronic signs that will show bus arrival and departure information. The Super Stops will accommodate 10-15 riders, compared to the six riders who can fit in current bus shelters.
Perennial Taste of Arlington favorite Sangam Restaurant is moving from Ballston to Columbia Pike.
According to an employee, the restaurant will close its current location — on the ground floor of the Comfort Inn hotel on Glebe Road in Ballston — after Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, Sept. 1, Sangam will hold its grand opening at 3205 Columbia Pike, in the space formerly occupied by the Kabobs Inn restaurant.
On Saturday, Aug. 27, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization will host its first outdoor movie. The inspirational football flick The Blind Side will be screened at the new, grassy public square at the Penrose Square development, starting at 8:00 p.m. Giant is co-sponsoring the family-friendly movie night.
CPRO Executive Director Takis Karantonis says the screening is a trial of sorts — a one-time event that will hopefully lead to a full-fledged outdoor summer film festival on the Pike next year.
Lost Dog Cafe Expanding — The Lost Dog Cafe location on Columbia Pike is expanding. The restaurant is taking over the space once occupied by an adjacent cell phone store. [Pike Wire]
Changes to ‘Secure Communities’ — The federal government is changing the ‘Secure Communities’ program to “avoid further confusion” about whether it’s optional or not. Arlington tried to “opt out” of the program — which shares local arrest data with federal immigration authorities — last year. The program will remain mandatory for local jurisdictions, but now it will be conducted without formal, signed memoranda of agreement with individual states. [Washington Post]
Rush Hour Accident on the Pike — A two-car accident on Columbia Pike, between S. Scott Street and S. Rolfe Street, caused some minor delays during last night’s rush hour. One woman, whose car was rear-ended, was brought to the hospital for reported back pain.
Old Guard Horses Used For Soldier Therapy — Fort Myer’s Caisson Platoon, the horses that bring the caskets of fallen heroes to their final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery, are also being used to rehabilitate soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. [Examiner.com]
On the morning of Friday, June 10, a woman called police and claimed that two African American men in their 20s had stolen a $20,000 bank deposit from her as she approached the Wachovia bank at S. George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike. According to the crime report at the time, she described one suspect as thin with dark clothing and the other as heavyset with a black shirt and khaki pants.
Numerous police officers responded to the call and searched the area for the suspects. In the end, police say, the story was nothing but a ruse to collect insurance money.
Over the weekend, Pedro & Vinny’s opened in the tiny (repainted, non-mobile) building that once housed Santa Ana Restaurant on Columbia Pike, in the parking lot between the CVS Pharmacy and the new Penrose Square apartments.
Pedro & Vinny’s Pike outpost is not owned by cart proprietor John Rider. Rather, it’s the first Pedro & Vinny’s franchise, owned and operated by the owner of the former Santa Ana Restaurant.
The walk, “Pike Hike II,” is the second of a series designed to promote the sights, shops and history of the Columbia Pike corridor. It will focus on the western portion of the Pike’s evolving “town center.”
The walk will depart from the Arlington Career Center/Columbia Pike Library building (816 S. Walter Reed Drive) at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14. Walkers, led by County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman, are expected to complete the two-mile walk by 11:00 a.m. Attractions along the planned route include the 1940s-era Westmont Shopping Center, a church that predates the Civil War and one of the few remaining Lustron pre-fabricated, post-World War II homes.
In an editorial, the Washington Post suggests that now would be the “wrong time” to start building a proposed streetcar line along Columbia Pike.
After all, the Post opines, the federal funds that the county hopes to receive for the $140-million-plus project may become difficult to obtain now that the federal government is on the verge of approving spending cuts. Arlington’s leaders, the Post editorial board says, would be better off spending the county’s share of the 4.7-mile streetcar line’s big price tag “elsewhere” — perhaps on additional capacity for the burgeoning Arlington Public School system.
