controversy

Around Town

Pike Listserv Erupts Over Rap Music at Cinema Drafthouse

By ARLnow.com

An email listserv for residents of Arlington’s 22204 zip code has erupted with a full-fledged neighbor-versus-neighbor war of words over some profane rap music that was accidentally played at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse on Columbia Pike.

The controversy started when a local resident, Carole, emailed the listserv to report an incident that she found quite upsetting. She had gone to the Old Arlington Grill, the Cinema Drafthouse’s restaurant/lounge, to grab a bite to eat with a friend. Suddenly, the “raunchy” sounds of “cussing rap” music came through on the speakers.

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News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

State Senator’s Husband Pens Alarming Column — Tom Whipple, husband of state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D), has penned a column entitled “The Peak Oil Crisis: Civil Unrest” for the Falls Church News-Press. He writes: “By failure to guide the country to real solutions to real problems, our leaders are risking increasing violence as the frustrations of an unknowing people continue to grow.” [Not Larry Sabato]

Grocery Store and Development Proposed for Bergmann’s Site — A developer wants to bring a grocery store to the site of the Bergmann’s Cleaners on Lee Highway, provided the county also approves a 12-story apartment building next door. The apartment site is currently zoned only for single family homes. [TBD]

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News

Helen Thomas Joins Falls Church News-Press

By ARLnow.com

Thomas was a long-time fixture in the front row of the White House briefing room, having begun her daily White House coverage in 1960. She resigned as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers last year after making controversial remarks about Jews and Israel. When asked by a video camera-wielding rabbi what she thought of Israel, Thomas said that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go home” to Germany, Poland and the U.S.

Thomas, 90, will now be writing a weekly political affairs column exclusively for the News-Press.

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Around Town

Sinister Plot or ‘Saved By The Bell’ Plot?

By ARLnow.com

The photo (above left) of some sort of yellow rig near the Bishop O’Connell High School football field has neighbors speculating, according to TBD. Some believe that work is getting underway on a controversial athletic field renovation before the project has been formally approved by the county board.

We don’t know about that, but it does vaguely remind us the oil derrick from a 20-year-old Saved by the Bell episode entitled “Pipe Dreams,” in which oil is discovered underneath the Bayside High School football field. For a while, everybody thought the oil money was going to bring exciting improvements to the school, but in the end a beloved duck died and the whole situation was judged a fiasco.

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Around Town

Athletic Field Upgrade Plan Sparks Neighborhood Spat

By ARLnow.com

Bishop O’Connell High School wants to spend $6 million renovating its football and baseball fields. The renovations would add new artificial turf to the football field, making it doubly usable as a regulation soccer field.

The renovations would also add lights to both fields, so they can be used after the sun goes down. The school has agreed to limit hours of use, however.

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News

Views at Clarendon Lawsuit Dismissed, Again

By ARLnow.com

In 2004, the county gave its blessing to a plan that would build an eight story affordable apartment complex, known as The Views at Clarendon, on top of the First Baptist Church of Clarendon. The plan was touted for its ability to increase the affordable housing stock in Clarendon while paying for the construction of a new church sanctuary.

The developer would buy property from the church, thus supporting the sanctuary construction, and then pay for the apartment building’s construction with the help of nearly $50 million in loans and tax breaks from the county, the state and the federal government.

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Around Town

American Flatbread Closing

By ARLnow.com

Washington restaurant maven Don Rockwell is reporting via Twitter that American Flatbread in Clarendon will be closing for good on Christmas Eve.

In an article about the pizza restaurant published earlier today, Rockwell discussed the lack of customers at Flatbread, which sits two blocks away from Clarendon’s main Wilson Boulevard drag.

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News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Winter Weather Advisory in Effect — Expect 1-2 inches of snow today, says the National Weather Service. The flakes should start falling between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. The advisory is in effect until 9:00 p.m. More from Weather.com.

John Boehner Likes Guapo’s — House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) apparently enjoys drowning his sorrows at the Guapo’s in Shirlington. Boehner, who famously called the Bush administration’s immigration reform bill a “piece of s—,” reportedly dined at the Mexican restaurant on Tuesday. It was his second visit in a month, according to Shirlington Village Blogspot,

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Around Town

Towing Drama Outside Ray’s Hell Burger

By ARLnow.com

Across the street from the new restaurant, an Advanced tow truck and a guy in a Mercedes were locked in a towing stalemate in the parking lot of the shopping center that houses Ray’s Hell Burger. In one corner, the tow truck and its crew of two had the Mercedes in its steely grips. In the other corner, the Mercedes driver was laying on the horn and refusing to get out of the car.

Ten minutes into the struggle, an Arlington police officer showed up and mediated. After some discussion, he allowed the tow truck to haul the Benz off to the Advanced impound lot.

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