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Morning Notes

Published April 14, 2011 at 5:00AM

Route 50 Interchange Project Nears — In March, we were told that the lane closure on westbound Route 50 would finally be lifted by around this time. That’s still yet to be seen, but some new closures are just around the corner. Dr. Gridlock reports that VDOT plans to start construction on a new Route 50/Courthouse Road/Fairfax Drive interchange next month, with nightly traffic disruptions. The $39 million project is expected to wrap up in Fall 2013. [Dr. Gridlock]

Arlington’s Fuel Bill Going Up — Arlington County could spend hundreds of thousands of additional dollars on gasoline this year, thanks to rising gas prices. The county’s vehicle fleet — which includes fuel-sipping Toyota Priuses — consumes about a million gallons of gas every year. [Washington Examiner]

News

Arlington First Responders Place First in Hockey Tourney

By ARLnow.com

Published April 7, 2011 at 3:51PM | Updated April 7, 2011 at 4:12PM

The joint ACFD/ACPD team beat Montgomery County Fire (score: 5-1), D.C. Fire (score: 7-0) and Baltimore City Fire (twice) to win their division at the annual D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation hockey tournament in Laurel, Md. They won 5-4 in overtime in the championship game against Baltimore City on Sunday.

Team organizer Sean Spencer says the 30-man roster contains people who have been playing ice hockey since they were kids and people who just took up the sport in the past couple of years. They had great chemistry on the ice, he said, despite only playing together as a team one time prior to the tournament.

News

Lyon Village Parking Restrictions In the Works?

By ARLnow.com

Published April 6, 2011 at 10:03AM

Last week, residents of N. Danville Street and several other Lyon Village streets noticed county staff measuring street widths. Staff were reportedly checking to see if the streets were too narrow for trash trucks and fire trucks, as was the case with N. Edgewood Street in Lyon Park.

According to Lyon Village Citizens Association President H.K. Park, the county is considering restricting parking to one side of Danville and other neighborhood streets that county staffers have deemed too narrow. On Monday, the LVCA will meet to discuss the possible parking changes with county staff.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 1, 2011 at 8:34AM

ACFD 9/11 Memorial to be Landscaped — Last week the Department of Defense gave Arlington County’s first responders a chunk of limestone recovered from the Pentagon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. That stone now sits near a steel beam from the World Trade Center, in a field outside Fire Station 5 in Pentagon City. The county is planning to landscape the area around the two memorials, in advance of the upcoming 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. [Arlington Connection]

Missed Connections in Arlington — Someone is looking for a “Persian goddess in pink” who was spotted shopping for chickpea salad at the Clarendon Whole Foods. Also: a woman is looking for the “armsleeve tattoo man” she ogled at the Golds Gym. [Clarendon Culture]

News

BREAKING NEWS — Route 50 Shut Down Due to Gas Leak

By ARLnow.com

Published March 30, 2011 at 2:58PM | Updated March 30, 2011 at 4:57PM

Update at 4:15 p.m. — The gas leak has been stopped and all lanes of westbound Route 50 are now open.

Earlier: The westbound lanes of Route 50 have been shut down near Fairfax Drive in Courthouse due to a gas line rupture.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 30, 2011 at 8:03AM

ACFD Gets New Bomb Squad Truck — The Arlington County Fire Truck recently took delivery of a new, custom-built bomb squad truck. The bright red truck was one of six delivered to area public safety agencies through a contract with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The ACFD Fire Marshal’s office handles bomb disposal duties in the county. [Va. Fire News]

Documentary Project Accepting Applications — Arlington high school students interested in working in documentary production can apply for an internship with the 2011 Document Arlington Project. The project, run by Arlington Independent Media, allows six students to work together over the summer to produce two 15-minute documentaries about the Arlington community. [Arlington Independent Media]

News

Car Runs Off Road, Flips Over in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published March 24, 2011 at 9:03PM | Updated July 12, 2017 at 2:14PM

A driver was brought to the hospital after her Volvo ran off the road and flipped on its side in a small field across from the Marriott in Rosslyn.

The car was heading southbound on Fort Myer Drive, just past Key Bridge, when it hopped a curb, hit a tree and flipped over. Firefighters responded and used heavy equipment to extricate the woman from the driver’s seat.

News

USS Arlington Christening To Be Broadcast Live

By ARLnow.com

Published March 24, 2011 at 10:09AM

The amphibious transport dock ship, named in honor of the heroes and victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon, will be christened at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.

Arlington County Fire Chief James Schwartz, who was incident commander at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, will deliver the keynote address at the christening. Former County Manager Ron Carlee, current County Manager Barbara Donnellan and several Arlington County Police officers who were first responders on 9/11 will also be in attendance.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 22, 2011 at 7:22AM | Updated March 22, 2011 at 11:01AM

Arlington to Receive 9/11 Pentagon Stone –– On Thursday, Arlington will be presented with a piece of Pentagon limestone that was damaged on Sept. 11, 2001. The 800-pound stone, brought here from Indiana in the early 1940s while the Pentagon was being built, was part of the building’s west facade when it was struck by American Airlines Flight 77. The military is presenting stones to the Arlington County Fire Department, the New York City Fire Department and the FBI Washington Field Office in advance of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. [Arlington County]

USS Arlington to be Christened — The christening of the new USS Arlington is scheduled for Saturday morning in Pascagoula, Miss. The Arlington an amphibious transport dock ship intended for use in modern expeditionary combat situations. It is the sister ship to the USS New York and the USS Somerset. County Manager Barbara Donnellan, Fire Chief James Schwartz and other Arlington officials are expected to attend the ceremony. [Sun Gazette]

Around Town

ACFD Reminder: Change Smoke Detector Batteries for Daylight Saving Time

By ARLnow.com

Published March 11, 2011 at 9:41AM | Updated March 11, 2011 at 12:18PM

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.

Traffic

Yet Another Accident On SB I-395 at Washington Blvd

By ARLnow.com

Published March 10, 2011 at 11:53AM | Updated July 12, 2017 at 2:15PM

An SUV apparently spun out of control and hit a guardrail on the right side of the highway. The accident happened just 15-30 minutes after a rollover accident involving a Mercedes was cleared in the same area.

Virginia State Police are on the scene. So far, no injuries have been reported.

Traffic

TRAFFIC ALERT — Car Flips on Its Roof on SB I-395

By ARLnow.com

Published March 10, 2011 at 10:39AM | Updated July 12, 2017 at 2:15PM

A black Mercedes has flipped on its roof on southbound I-395 just past the Washington Boulevard exit.

Police and firefighters are on the scene reporting that the driver was able to walk away from the accident.