News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An overturned vehicle is tying up traffic on westbound eastbound I-66.

A car flipped on its roof in the eastbound lanes near Great Falls Street just before 2:30 this afternoon. Initial reports suggest paramedics are evaluating at least one patient. Firefighters are working to reach another person who’s trapped in the vehicle.


News

A large piece of scaffolding apparently used for washing windows fell about 15 stories from the top of a Crystal City office building this afternoon.

The scaffolding fell onto some trees in a courtyard below. Amazingly, nobody was injured and the building did not appear to have suffered any damage.


News

County staff notified residents that they intended to restrict parking to one side Edgewood Street between 1st Road and 2nd Road after finding that some fire trucks are too wide to fit down the narrow street with cars parked on both sides. As we reported after the Feb. 12 board meeting, members of the board seemed sympathetic to the association’s request that the restrictions to be put on hold until the county and neighbors could come to a mutually agreeable solution.

In a letter to County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman, LPCA President Natalie Roy makes it clear that the association views the parking question as an issue of county-wide importance. Roy says the group is worried about how the county plans to implement restrictions on other narrow streets.


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