Crystal City

Around Town

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

The Portofino Restaurants Celebrates 40th Anniversary — Portofino, the family-owned Italian restaurant on 23rd Street in Crystal City, is celebrating 40 years in Arlington this month. The restaurant opened its doors on August 17, 1970. Since then, three generations of the Micheli family have been cooking up authentic Italian dishes for thousands of patrons. Current and former employees and restaurant regulars will gather to celebrate the anniversary at an invitation-only bash later this month.

Arlington Library Director Rocks Out With Summer Tunes — Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh has compiled a list of her favorite summer songs. “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper, “Hot Fun in the Summer Time” by Sly and the Family Stone and “Stoned Soul Picnic” by Laura Nyro round out the top three. Also on the list: the David Lee Roth cover of “California Girls.” See all 20 selection on the Library Blog. Just don’t sing along if you happen to be listening in a library.

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News

Moran Secures $1.25 Million for Crystal City Transit Way

By ARLnow.com

The five-mile-long Crystal City/Potomac Yard transit way is expected to run from Pentagon City to Alexandria’s Braddock Road Station, with most of the stops concentrated in Crystal City and Potomac Yard.

The project will create a dedicated bus route with stops throughout Crystal City. Eventually, a street car line may be installed in the transit way.

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Around Town

Groundbreaking for Crystal City Chick-Fil-A

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) To help mark the start of construction on the new Crystal City Chick-fil-A, a groundbreaking ceremony (or, in the chain’s parlance, a ground ‘mooving’ ceremony) was held at 10:30 this morning outside 2200 Crystal Drive. Local leaders and the famous Chick-fil-A cow were on hand for the event.

Since the restaurant will be located on the ground floor of an existing office building, the gathered leaders donned hard hats and shoveled some plush cow toys in a park across the street.

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Events

Dates, Details Set for Fall Beer and Wine Festivals

By Scott Brodbeck

Vintage Crystal is back with the same Latin flavor as last year. The fourth annual festival will feature wine and tequila tastings, all-you-can-eat tapas from more than 20 local restaurants, Latin American music and salsa dancing.

Tickets are $20 and come with a complimentary wine glass.

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Events

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Crystal City Fit Fair Kicks Off — Crystal City is holding a “fit fair” today from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The event is part health fair, part blood drive. Inova’s bloodmobile will be on hand to let donors give blood in air conditioned comfort. For the general public, Inova will be providing blood pressure screening, Dermaview facial skin screening, Body Mass Index Assessment, tobacco cessation consultation and other services. There will also be gait analysis for runners, sports movement analysis, chair massages, and a fitness class demonstration. The event is taking place on Crystal Drive between 18th Street and 20th Street.

Arlington Lawyer Faces More Fraud Charges — An Arlington lawyer accused of practicing law without a license will face three additional charges of fraud. Howard Deiner, who specialized in bringing cases against school districts on behalf of families with special needs children, was already facing two charges when the grand jury tacked on three more on Monday. A trial date is expected to be set today. More from the Washington Post.

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Around Town

The Future Crystal City: A Vision of ‘Manhattan on the Potomac’ Realized?

By ARLnow.com

A thriving “see and be seen” street life and a dedicated cultural district are among the goals of planners who hope to convert Crystal City from the workaday home of monolithic government office buildings to an urban oasis of gleaming trophy office towers, shiny new apartment buildings and busy retail corridors.

To achieve the vision of a pedestrian-oriented urban community, however, major investments will need to be made in Crystal City’s inadequate transportation infrastructure — specifically, the roads.

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Around Town

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Joins Region-Wide HOV Enforcement Effort Today — Today Arlington police will be joining Virginia State Police and other local law enforcement agencies in an effort to crack down on HOV violators. During the morning and evening rush hours, police will step up HOV patrols on I-66, I-395 and other local highways. More from WaPo’s Dr. Gridlock.

Injured Vets Stop at Iwo Jima Memorial on Cross-County Bike Ride — A group of 18 bicyclists, many of them wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stopped in Arlington last night on their way from San Francisco to Virginia Beach. The vets stopped at the Marine Corps Memorial to see the retiring of the colors ceremony. More from the Associated Press.

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Around Town

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

End of the Rainbow Found — During yesterday’s sunny downpour in Pentagon City, we spotted the actual end of the rainbow. Turns out it’s the shuttered Crystal City Motel on Old Jefferson Davis Highway. Bad news for anyone wanting to search for a pot of gold: you’ll first have to scale the high fence around the decaying property.

Library Book Sale This Weekend — Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St.) is holding its two-day Friends of the Library Summer Book Sale this coming Friday and Saturday. The sale will take place outside, next to the garden and the tennis courts. See the Library Blog for more info.

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Around Town

Bozzelli’s Italian Deli Coming to Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Bozzelli’s Italian Deli will be opening next to the Starbucks at 2600 Crystal Drive, on the ground floor of the Concord apartment building. It will serve the same fresh Italian fare — subs, salads, pasta and pizza — that has generated some intense customer loyalty at its original Springfield, Va. location.

A building permit and a “coming soon” sign are posted at the front of the future storefront.

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Around Town

Jimmy John’s Joins Parade of Restaurants Coming to Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

The new Jimmy John’s will be located on 23rd Street, next to the future Buffalo Wild Wings and Pizza Autentica restaurants. No word yet on when it will open.

Jimmy John’s has a short and simple menu but a large and loyal following, much like Chick-Fil-A, which is expected to open next month just down the road on Crystal Drive.

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Around Town

Streetcars, New Metro Entrance Among Big Changes Coming to Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Tonight the County Board is expected to advertise public hearings on the blandly-named but far-reaching Crystal City Sector Plan 2050.

The plan sets a vision of the new Crystal City that will emerge once dozens of federal agencies and thousands of federal jobs move out as a result of the Base Realignment and Closing Act.

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