Events

(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) A series of underground bicycle races is coming back to Crystal City next month.

Throughout the month, several races will weave through the parking garage at 201 12th Street S. The sixth annual event series, organized by the Crystal City Business Improvement District, is billed as “the area’s only underground bike race.”


News

A long-delayed development project in the Potomac Yard area is likely to go back before the Arlington County Board this year with some changes.

Developer Meridian is expected to seek a modification to the earlier plan to build four office buildings on the empty plot of land along Richmond Highway, south of Crystal City, known as Potomac Yard Land Bay C.


Events

In case you forgot, Friday is Valentine’s Day. Wait, before you make a panicked purchase on Amazon and hit “next day shipping,” a market is scheduled this Friday in Crystal City to rescue last-minute shoppers.

The Valentine’s Market is scheduled to run from 4-8 p.m. at The Grounds (1102 S. Eads Street) with a variety of local vendors. If gift-giving isn’t really your style, an event listing said there will also be plenty of activities to turn it into a date night:


Opinion

At this point, the bike lane blocking problems on Crystal Drive are well understood. The combination of popular retail establishments, standard painted bike lanes and entitled drivers leads to non-functional bike lanes.

The parkingdirty.com data-gathering effort I led back in 2016 found that they are blocked between 50% and 64% of waking hours.


Events

Alternately billing it as a happy hour for renters and a millennial outreach event, a pair of Crystal City organizations is hosting an event geared toward younger residents tomorrow night.

The Crystal City Civic Association and the neighborhood’s business improvement district are co-hosting the event to engage renters in the quickly changing community.


News

(Updated at 6:40 p.m.) Firefighters from Arlington County and Alexandria are on scene of a truck fire in Crystal City.

A box truck caught fire along S. Bell Street, beneath the Crystal Square Apartments (1515 Richmond Highway). Firefighters have extinguished the blaze but smoke has been reported in some parts of the building. No injuries have been reported.


News

Kabob Palace restaurant in Crystal City has sent a cease and desist letter to ARLnow, threatening legal action over an article that reported on a possible measles exposure there.

The article was published Friday evening, after Arlington County and the Virginia Dept. of Health issued press releases warning that a person with measles had traveled to a number of places in Northern Virginia, including the restaurant on the 2300 block of S. Eads Street.


Feature

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.comStartup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

A Crystal City-based startup that works to integrate energy generated at home with the electrical grid is looking to scale up operations and create a better product, thanks to new some new funding.


News

A person with measles might have exposed people to the disease at a local restaurant last weekend.

Arlington County and the Virginia Department of Health disclosed today that the measles patient visited Kabob Palace in Crystal City, at 2333 S. Eads Street, from about 9 p.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday. The patient also spent time Dulles International Airport and sites in Fairfax County, including a hotel and Inova Fairfax Hospital.


News

It’s ARLnow’s 10th Anniversary — On this day 10 years ago ARLnow quietly published its first article. It has since grown to be Arlington’s local news publication of record, read by a majority of those who call our county home. Join us to celebrate this milestone tonight at Bronson Bierhall in Ballston (4100 Fairfax Drive) from 5-7 p.m. [Facebook]

County Board Approves Solar Farm Deal — “‘This is a groundbreaking partnership for the County,’ said County Board Chair Libby Garvey. ‘It will take us a long way toward our goal of 100 percent use of renewable sources for all electricity used in government operations by 2025.’ Arlington County is the first locality in the Commonwealth to enter into a power purchase agreement of this scale for off-site solar energy with an investor-owned utility company.” [Arlington County, Dominion Energy]


Around Town

Bowlero — a bowling alley, arcade and restaurant — is hoping to roll into 320 23rd Street S. in June.

That’s according to a staff report to the Arlington County Board. The Board approved a renewal of the site’s use permit at its Jan. 25 meeting.


View More Stories