News

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]


News

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]


News

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.


Around Town

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.


Events

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.


Opinion

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.


News

The report, commissioned by the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, examined three major corridors where redevelopment is underway: Alexandria’s Beauregard corridor, Fairfax County’s Baileys Crossroads area and Arlington’s Columbia Pike corridor.

All three areas, the report says, are affordable thanks to a “lack of private investment, along with poor transportation options and infrastructure” — attributes that have made the areas undesirable to more affluent residents. Now that the Arlington County is actively encouraging economic development and planning a new streetcar line along Columbia Pike, however, the “type of households” seeking to live on the Pike will likely change, leading to “opportunities” for the owners of existing affordable apartment complexes to “reposition their properties… to attract higher-income residents.”


News

Construction Planned for New Penrose Square Park — Construction is set to begin on a new public park in front of the Penrose Square apartment building on Columbia Pike. Included in the park will be a 50-ton granite sculpture of a “concave elliptical parabola.” [Pike Wire]

Free Pizza Offer — For some reason, Papa John’s and the Washington Post are giving away thousands of free pizzas over the next three days. Papa John’s has three Arlington locations. [The Capitol Deal]


Around Town

It’s not every day that a significant collision happens in a crowded lunchtime drive-thru line, but it happened today at the Wendy’s at 3431 Columbia Pike.

A white work van was rear-ended by a red Honda Accord as the van waited for its order at the pick-up window. The Accord’s tires squealed as it rounded the tight drive-thru corner at a relatively high speed, slamming into the back of the van. Neither the van driver nor the elderly female Accord driver were injured.


News

New Restaurant Coming to Penrose Square — Restauranteur Cathal Armstrong is reportedly planning to open a new fish-and-chips restaurant on Columbia Pike, in the new Penrose Square development. The restaurant will be the second location for Old Town Alexandria staple Eamonn’s: A Dublin Chipper. In addition to Eamonn’s, Armstrong owns Alexandria eateries The Majestic, Restaurant Eve and Virtue Feed and Grain. [Eater, Pike Wire]

Galaxy Hut Expanding to Falls Church — The owner of Clarendon’s Galaxy Hut is planning on opening a new location on W. Broad Street in Falls Church. Much like the Clarendon location, the new Galaxy Hut will be a music and entertainment venue, in addition to a bar. [Washington Post]


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