As Arlington’s restaurants try to return to some semblance of normalcy during the first phase of reopening, some local restaurants are anxiously awaiting Arlington County approval of temporary outdoor seating permits.
Owners of two eateries along the Columbia Pike corridor, Ethiopian restaurant Dama Pastry & Cafe (1505 Columbia Pike) and Ididos Coffee and Social House (1107 S. Walter Reed Drive) said getting access to outdoor dining is a crucial part of getting business back to normal.
The front of a CVS store along Columbia Pike was smashed overnight in what police say was a burglary attempt.
The driver of a car ran into the entrance to the store near Penrose Square, at 2601 Columbia Pike, in the wee hours of the morning. It’s unclear if anything was stolen. The vehicle was found abandoned nearby and the suspect remains at large.
The annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival isn’t exactly canceled this year, but with lingering concerns about large crowds during the phased reopening of the region, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization is radically rethinking the event while hoping to keep the spirit intact.
Officially, the 25th Pike Blues Festival will be held in 2021, but in the meantime, CPRO is planning an alternative Backyard Blues Festival on June 20 from 5-7 p.m.
The Boston Market restaurant at 3233 Columbia Pike has closed its doors permanently.
“Thank you for your support and patronage,” says a sign on the door. “It has been a privilege and honor to serve you. Unfortunately, this Boston Market restaurant has closed. It would be our pleasure to serve you at one of our nearby Boston Market restaurants.”
A new walk-up coronavirus testing site opened Tuesday along Columbia Pike.
The testing center is a partnership of Arlington County, Virginia Hospital Center and Arlington Free Clinic. At a media briefing yesterday, officials from all three spoke about the importance of the facility in the fight against the virus.
The highest relative proportion of coronavirus cases in Arlington is along the Columbia Pike corridor, new data shows.
As of Friday morning, there were 1,281 known COVID-19 cases in Arlington, with 227 hospitalizations and 57 deaths. That’s an increase of 277 cases, 58 hospitalizations and 15 deaths compared to one week prior, and continues a slowing of new cases over the past few days.
Takis Karantonis, the former director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, will be the Democratic nominee for County Board in the upcoming July 7 special election.
With just days to select a nominee ahead of Friday’s court-set filing deadline, the Arlington County Democratic Committee — despite efforts to get the election date pushed back — opted for a ranked choice voting process among party insiders.
(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A fight in the Penrose Square Giant led to a series of events that closed portions of two major roads and prompted a massive police response.
Police were dispatched to the grocery store around 2:30 p.m. for a report of a disturbance in the store, potentially involving a weapon. After arriving, an officer was nearly struck by a fleeing vehicle.
Four people were taken into police custody early Sunday morning after a license plate reader alerted an officer to a reported stolen vehicle.
The incident happened around midnight. Police say the driver of the stolen car took off after the officer attempted a traffic stop, then bailed out and fled on foot — along with three other vehicle occupants — near the intersection of 9th Street S. and S. Oakland Street, in the Alcova Heights neighborhood near Columbia Pike.
Several local and regional advocacy groups are planning a strike along Columbia Pike tomorrow (Friday) against the collection of rent during the coronavirus crisis.
Nationally there has been a numerous of strikes against paying rent during the pandemic, with many service workers or low-income families are out of work. New Virginia Majority — a progressive organization aimed at rallying marginalized communities — is planning statewide action along with Tenants and Workers United, Asian American Civic Engagement Collaborative, and the Virginia Student Power Network.
Blind Triplets Have Coronavirus — “The blind Virginia triplets who defied the odds and made history when they became Eagle Scouts in 2017 are facing another challenge. All three young men have now been diagnosed with COVID-19 and their father is praying they continue to beat the odds.” [WUSA 9]
Wakefield Seniors to Get Yard Signs, Too — “Through donations from teachers, alumni, and community members, every senior gets a yard sign!” [Twitter]
The Arlington County Board is set to vote this weekend on the federal government’s plan to realign Columbia Pike to facilitate the southern expansion of Arlington National Cemetery.
Under the plan, Southgate Road, which runs from the entrance to Henderson Hall to the intersection of the Pike and S. Joyce Street, would be removed to make way for new cemetery grounds and interment spaces. Columbia Pike would be realigned near the Air Force Memorial to run directly down to Joyce Street rather than curving around the memorial.
