Transit Displays Installed in Crystal City — Real time transit data displays are being installed around Crystal City as part of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway project. The signs display bus arrival data and have text-to-speech capability for the seeing impaired. [Twitter]
Snagajob Has an Office Slide — Ballston-based Snagajob, which recently raised $100 million, has the ultimate piece of startup workspace decor: an office slide. [DC Inno]
Residents in the East tower of Avalon Ballston Square, at 850 N. Randolph Street, have been forced to bundle up indoors while the building’s management has said crews are working on the issue, but no solution is in sight.
One resident, who declined to be identified, told ARLnow.com the temperature in her apartment has “hovered between 50 and 60 degrees since Tuesday morning.”
Arlington Public Schools will open on a two hour delay Friday morning, due to dangerously cold temperatures.
APS sent the following email Thursday night.
At The Market Common apartment building in Clarendon, the cold weather is causing fire alarms to go off repeatedly, thanks to exposed sprinkler heads bursting in the parking garage.
The alarms are apparently going off in Market Common Clarendon retail stores and restaurants, as well.
As of Monday morning, forecasters said 6-10 inches of snow may fall overnight. The snow is expected to begin Monday afternoon and wrap up Tuesday morning.
From the National Weather Service:
With Arlington and the D.C. region under a Wind Chill Advisory, the two hour delay on Thursday is intended to help protect students from the extreme cold.
APS issued the following statement about the decision tonight.
Wind chills will drop below zero as the temperature drops and winds gust up to 35 miles per hour, according to forecasters.
The county’s Emergency Winter Shelter in Courthouse is open all day today and is expected to remain open during the day tomorrow.
Arlington Public Schools are opening on a two hour delay today.
“There will be no elementary early release and all morning field trips are canceled,” the school system said in an email. “The Extended Day program will also open two hours late. All administrative offices and the pools will open on time.”
This week’s frigid temperatures could be deadly, even inside your home.
The Arlington County Fire Department warns that carbon monoxide incidents typically increase during cold weather as home heating units kick into overdrive. The department issued the following press release, with carbon monoxide safety tips.
The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory for the Arlington and the D.C. region starting early tomorrow morning.
Forecasters say wind chills as low as 10 below zero are possible Tuesday morning.
Streetcar Support Remains High in Fairfax County — The McLean edition of the Sun Gazette newspaper reports that Fairfax County officials are not nearly as divided over the Columbia Pike streetcar project as their Arlington counterparts. “While some Republicans on [the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors] have expressed concerns, support among Fairfax officials remains high,” the paper reported. “And with good reason: Fairfax will be responsible for only about 20 percent of the local cost of the project, but plans to use the streetcar’s arrival to spur the redevelopment of Baileys Crossroads.” [Sun Gazette]
Dominion Reports Record Power Demand — Dominion Virginia Power met record demand for electricity during Tuesday’s frigid temperatures. Use of heaters during this week’s “polar vortex” helped push energy demand to 19,730 megawatts during the day on Tuesday. That’s well above the previous peak winter demand record of 18,079 megawatts, set in February 2007, but below the company’s summertime record of 20,061 megawatts, set in July 2011. [Dominion]
