Courthouse | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published August 27, 2013 at 9:05AM

SmartTrip Card for Students — Arlington Transit is rolling out a new SmarTrip card specifically for middle and high school students. The card will entitle students to discounted, $0.75 ART bus rides. The card can be purchased for $3.00 starting on Sept. 3 at Arlington Commuter Stores. [Arlington Transit]

Nauck Profiled by Post — The Washington Post’s Real Estate section has profiled Arlington’s Nauck neighborhood, also known as Green Valley. Properties currently on the market in Nauck range from a $109,000 efficiency condo to a $1.2 million six-bedroom house. [Washington Post]

Around Town

Wilson Blvd Closure Catches Business By Surprise

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 19, 2013 at 2:15PM

Wilson Whitney, co-owner of Rhodeside Grill at the corner of Wilson and Rhodes, estimates he lost as much as $3,000 during the closure, largely because he wasn’t given proper notification of the closure.

“I was given no notice or warning this was going to take place,” Whitney wrote in an email. “This has virtually closed down our restaurant… I could have at least staffed and stocked accordingly or maybe even closed for some of our own improvements.”

Around Town

Some “Superblock” Construction May Wrap Up by Year’s End

By Katie Pyzyk

Published August 9, 2013 at 3:00PM

Some of the ongoing construction on the Courthouse “superblock” along Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd, from N. Courthouse Road to N. Rhodes Street, may begin wrapping up by the end of this year.

Barring any major setbacks or weather delays, the proposed completion date for the development at 1900 Wilson — referred to as 19Nineteen Clarendon — currently stands at December of this year. It had previously been expected to open this summer. Construction on the neighboring 2001 Clarendon — which is considered a joint project with 19Nineteen Clarendon — is expected to finish in the spring of 2014. 19Nineteen Clarendon is managed by Harkins Construction and 2001 Clarendon Blvd (sometimes called Washington View) is managed by S.E. Foster.

Around Town

County Seeking Input on Korean Embassy Park

By ARLnow.com

Published August 7, 2013 at 1:30PM

The park is being built on a third of an acre of what is currently vacant land along Clarendon Blvd, between N. Adams Street and N. Barton Street. The land, which belongs to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, is being leased to the county at no cost for at least two years, under the condition that the county maintains the land.

The park proposed for the parcel is being described as a “dynamic, inviting and sustainable open space” and Arlington’s “first temporary pop-up park.” It will include paths accessible to those with disabilities, chairs, tables, umbrellas, benches, planters, a drinking fountain, a small lawn area, shade trees, other plantings, and a small lawn area.

Events

Latte Art Competition Coming to Courthouse

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 5, 2013 at 2:35PM

Thursday Night Throwdown, a monthly competition for local coffee professionals, will be coming to Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Road) on Thursday. The event opens to the public at 8:30 p.m. and the competition begins at 9:00. The restaurant is technically closed during the event, but spectators can still what the competition and drink some artfully designed lattes.

About 30 baristas are expected to compete in the throwdown, fashioning leaves, hearts and more designs into the foam that sits atop the coffee drink. The event occurs monthly at a variety of small, independent coffee shops around the region, but only comes to Northern Virginia every once in a while.

News

Break-Ins at Dunkin’ Donuts

By ARLnow.com

Published August 1, 2013 at 11:00AM | Updated August 1, 2013 at 11:18AM

Two Arlington Dunkin’ Donuts stores were broken into overnight.

The Courthouse and Cherrydale Dunkin’ Donuts locations, on the 2200 block of Wilson Blvd and the 3500 block of Lee Highway, were closed this morning while police investigated the crime.

News

UPDATED: Authorities Investigate Suspicious Truck in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Published July 4, 2013 at 5:35PM | Updated July 4, 2013 at 6:02PM

Arlington County police and bomb squad personnel are on the scene of a suspicious vehicle in the county-owned surface parking lot in Courthouse.

An Arlington sheriff’s deputy spotted the suspicious truck earlier this afternoon while walking from the area near the movie theater to the jail. It’s described as a Hertz rental truck.

News

Fire at Courthouse Printing Store

By ARLnow.com

Published June 23, 2013 at 11:05AM | Updated June 23, 2013 at 1:51PM

A fire broke out at the USA Print & Copy store at 2044 Wilson Blvd in Courthouse late Saturday night.

Firefighters responded to the family-owned store around 11:30 p.m. for a report of black smoke coming from the one-story structure. Upon arrival, firefighters forced entry into the store and discovered an active fire in the back of the building. It was extinguished by 11:45 p.m.

Around Town

Fitness First to Become Gold’s Gym

By ARLnow.com

Published June 20, 2013 at 5:05PM | Updated June 21, 2013 at 3:32PM

Members of the health club were notified of the planned acquisition via email today from founder Peter Harvey.

Fitness First’s Arlington location, at 1310 N. Courthouse Road in the Courthouse neighborhood, will be rebranded as a Gold’s Gym “within the next 2-3 months,” according to Gold’s spokeswoman Caitlin Maddox.

Events

New Dating Startup to Hold Arlington Event

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 18, 2013 at 12:00PM

Think of the concept of Datesocial as a group date for the digital age. Singles (and their friends) can sign up for one of the events online and then show up at the designated event for an in-person experience.

Co-founder and CEO Ian Lang explained that 20 men and 20 women can participate in each event, and they are split into groups of four. The groups are each paired up for 12 minutes at a time — we’re told that’s long enough to make an impression, but not so long as to make things awkward. At the end, participants turn in a list of up to five people they’d like to see again. If there’s a mutual match, Datesocial will re-introduce them via email within 24 hours.

Traffic

Confusing Intersection to Get New Marking

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 6, 2013 at 3:55PM | Updated June 6, 2013 at 4:48PM

ARLnow.com contacted the Department of Environmental Services regarding the section of N. Veitch Street between Clarendon Blvd and Wilson Blvd.

The street does not have a yellow divider line and on numerous occasions, it has created confusion over which lanes belong to southbound drivers and which belong to northbound drivers. Some drivers even believe it may be a one way street.

News

ART Bus Suffers Brake Malfunction, Rolls Down Hill

By ARLnow.com

Published June 3, 2013 at 3:30PM | Updated June 3, 2013 at 5:31PM

(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) An Arlington Transit bus suffered an apparent brake malfunction and rolled down a steep hill on N. Barton Street this morning, coming to a stop half-way down the hill after it ran into a car.

The crash closed N. Barton Street between Fairfax Drive and 14th Street N. in the Courthouse area for more than an hour, as a heavy-duty tow truck was brought in to haul away the bus.