News

Arlington Heights Gets New Stop Sign — “The Arlington Heights neighborhood became a safer place for students and other pedestrians on Oct. 30,” after the neighborhood got a new all-way stop sign at the intersection of 2nd Street S. and S. Irving Street. Residents collected some 500 petition signatures in support of adding the stop sign. [InsideNova]

Reminder: Daylight Saving Time — Early Sunday morning is the time to “fall back” as Daylight Saving Time ends and clocks get set back an hour. [USA Today]


Around Town

The annual autumnal time change is associated primarily with earlier sunsets, but fatigue due to disrupted sleep patterns is another side effect.

Between darkness suddenly occurring during the duration of the evening rush hour, and bleary-eyed drivers, the time change can actually be a safety hazard on the roads.


News

Historical Society Requests Heritage Center — The Arlington Historical Society formally requested including a heritage center in the the plan for redeveloping the Courthouse Square area. The organization said it could assist with developing such a facility, but could not foot the bill entirely on its own. [InsideNova]

Wizards’ Marcin Gortat Buys $1.6M Home in Arlington — Washington Wizards player Marcin Gortat has purchased one of the most expensive homes on the market in Arlington. He bought the 5-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom home for $1.6 million. The 4,008 square foot new house on N. Quebec Street should have plenty of room for the 6’11” Gortat. [Curbed DC]


Around Town

The change will result in an extra hour of daylight in the evening, but will come at the cost of darker mornings and an hour of lost sleep.

AAA Mid-Atlantic warns that the change can leave drivers drowsy on Monday morning. The automobile association issued the following press release, urging drivers to make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep.


News

Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday — Be sure to set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed on Saturday. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, meaning an extra hour of sleep but one fewer hour of daylight at night. The changing of the clocks is also a good time to replace smoke alarm batteries.

Dems Worry About Libertarian’s Impact on Gov. Race — Historically, polls overestimate the potential votes for third party candidates because voters who might have expressed support for a third party in a poll end up choosing one of the major party candidates in the voting booth. Arlington Democrats worry that Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli is thin enough that supporters of Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis may tip the election on Nov. 5 if they break for Cuccinelli. [Sun Gazette]


News

Spring Forward This Weekend — Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend. Clocks should “spring forward” one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. [Yahoo]

Condo Residents Still Oppose Homeless Shelter — Arlington County has failed to allay the fears of Woodbury Heights Condominium residents, who still oppose the opening of a new year-round homeless shelter on their block in Courthouse. A vocal group of residents spoke out at an Arlington Planning Commission meeting last night. [Patch]


Opinion

As Arlington residents “fall back,” fire departments across the country are reminding folks that it’s also a good time to replace smoke alarm batteries. The Arlington County Fire Department offers free smoke alarms for those who need them; call 703-228-4646 for more information.

While we’ll get an extra hour of sleep this weekend, the time change also means that it will be dark an hour earlier.


News

Daylight Saving Time Begins This Weekend — Daylight Saving Time will begin at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 11. Clocks should be moved ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night. The start of Daylight Saving Time is also commonly cited as a good time to replace the batteries in smoke detectors.

Artistic Fence Coming to Water Treatment Plant — The County Board is expected to approve a $350,000 contract for an artist to build a 1,600 foot fence around the water treatment plant on S. Glebe Road. The fence, a functional work of art, “redefines the traditional purpose of a fence,” according to county staff. [Sun Gazette]


Opinion

On Sunday at 2:00 a.m., clocks will “fall back” to 1:00 a.m. The time shift will give bar-goers an extra hour of partying, will give others an extra hour of sleep, and will force Metro to stay open an extra hour.

Daylight Saving Time was originally created in order to save energy and to reduce the number of daylight hours people wasted by sleeping through in the summer. While popular with folks who work from 9-5 and who don’t like leaving work at dusk (the sun will set at 5:02 p.m. on Monday, and days will continue getting shorter until the winter solstice on Dec. 22), farmers, who have to wake up especially early during the summer growing season, typically oppose Daylight Saving Time.


Around Town

What cell phones and computers won’t do for you is change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Luckily, fire departments across the country are reminding residents to do just that.

Arlington County recommends that residents test smoke detectors monthly and replace smoke detector batteries at least once a year. Typically, batteries are changed when the clocks change in the spring or the fall. If you didn’t replace your batteries in the fall, you’ll want to do it now.


Around Town

We spotted this big flock of birds flying north, in formation, over Arlington and the District. It’s a sure sign that spring is just around the corner.

The official start of spring, by the way, is March 20. And don’t forget to set the clocks forward an hour this weekend. Daylight Savings Time starts in the wee hours of this coming Sunday, March 14.