health | ARLnow.com

Published April 6, 2015 at 2:30PM

Livability.com — the same website that named Arlington the third-best place to live last year — said Arlington’s access to exercise, recreation, healthy food and low obesity rate all factored in to its ranking.

“Nearly every resident of Arlington, Va., can access healthy foods and places to exercise,” the website says in its blurb about Arlington. “Arlington is filled with parks that offer great hikes, athletic fields, and leisurely strolls and private fitness centers offering yoga, Pilates, CrossFit and a variety of other workouts.”

News

Asbestos Shuts Down Columbia Pike Preschool

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 26, 2015 at 3:05PM | Updated March 27, 2015 at 4:03PM

Danger signs after Trinity Episcopal Church's preschool was found to have asbestos

A Columbia Pike church preschool has shut down indefinitely after asbestos dust was found in the floors.

Trinity Episcopal Church‘s School of Early Learning sent out a letter to parents on Tuesday, confirming the presence of asbestos dust in the air at the school. The church’s rector, Rev. Kim Coleman, also serves as the school’s headmaster and said the more than 100 students will not be allowed to enter the building for an “indeterminate amount of time.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 25, 2015 at 9:20AM

Alleged Bank Robber Was Staying at Retirement Home — The FBI tracked down an accused bank robber in an Arlington on Friday thanks to his cell phone usage. The so-called Bicycle Bandit is accused of a dozen bank robberies, including a robbery in Alexandria just a few hours prior to his arrest. Investigators used phone records to figure out his identity. The suspect, Woosen Assaye, was staying at his father’s apartment at The Carlin retirement home at the time of his arrest. [NBC Washington – WARNING: Auto-play video]

Arlington Named Healthiest County in Va. — A new study has named Arlington County as the healthiest county in Virginia. Albemarle, Fairfax and Loudoun ranked second, third and fourth, respectively. [Associated Press]

Schools

APS: 100 Students Aren’t Vaccinated

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 3, 2015 at 3:30PM

The number represents only 0.4 percent of the 24,529 students currently enrolled in APS. There are only two reasons a student is allowed to attend school without receiving proper immunizations: medical or religious reasons.

“For a medical exemption, a letter must be written from a licensed medical provider stating specifically from which immunizations a child is exempt,” Arlington School Health Bureau Chief Marian Harmon said in an email. “For a religious exemption, the parent must complete the religious exemption form for immunizations and have it notarized.”

Feature

Wright Way: Sugar Is Not So Sweet for Your Health

By ARLnow.com

Published August 21, 2013 at 2:30PM | Updated August 21, 2013 at 3:03PM

Editor’s Note: This sponsored health and fitness column is written by Virginia Wright, founder of BbG Fitness, which offers group fitness classes around Arlington. Sign up for a free class today.

What exactly does it mean to be healthy? For many of us, “good health” is just a vague notion — until something goes wrong and we’re forced to take a closer look.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published March 21, 2013 at 9:10AM

911 Outage Report Released — A report regarding Northern Virginia’s 911 outage following last summer’s derecho storm calls on Verizon to provide an audit of its entire 911 infrastructure. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Board of Directors approved the report, which found that the outage was caused by the loss of commercial power and the subsequent failure of one of the two backup generators in each of Verizon’s Arlington and Fairfax central offices. Improper maintenance and incident response also reportedly contributed to the outage. [MWCOG]

Arlington Third Healthiest County in Virginia — A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin researchers indicates that Arlington is the third healthiest county in the state. Coming in first is Fairfax County, followed by Loudoun County. The study examined data from nearly every county in the nation. Overall, Northern Virginia counties fared better than those in the southern parts of the state. [WTOP]

Around Town

Arlington Deploys Healthier Vending Machines

By ARLnow.com

Published March 14, 2013 at 1:00PM | Updated March 14, 2013 at 3:02PM

The new vending machines are part of the county’s FitArlington initiative. At first, about half of the contents of the vending machines will contain healthier snack options that are lower in calories, fat and sugar.

One such snack machine includes options like baked potato chips, Clif bars, Nutrigrain bars, Sun Chips, 100 calorie sweet packs and other options. Drink machines will offer low-fat milk, low-calorie teas and bottled water — although the county is discouraging people from buying the latter.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 7, 2013 at 9:45AM | Updated February 7, 2013 at 11:00AM

Board Members Want More Capital Projects — Arlington County Board members don’t want to stop new capital spending projects, saying that “now is not the time to stop investing in the future of the community.” Board members say that interest rates are low and the construction market is competitive making new building projects cheaper than they might be in the future. [Sun Gazette]

Reporter Peeved About FOIA Fees — Connection Newspapers reporter Michael Lee Pope is continuing his crusade against public records practices at the Arlington County Police Department. This time around, Pope notes that the police department has charged or threaten to charge between $31.16 and $573.25 for his Freedom of Information Act requests. Pope writes that “Arlington County’s system of nickel-and-diming the public and the press serves as a barrier to public access.” [Arlington Connection]

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published January 24, 2013 at 9:45AM

Metro Closing Several Pentagon Escalators — Metro will begin its third major escalator replacement at the Pentagon station on February 4. Three of the six “southside escalators” at the station entrance will be shut down for replacement with new, more reliable units. Customers will still be able to use the three other escalators on the north side. [WMATA]

Proposal to Extend Voting Hours Fails — The proposal by state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) to extend voting times in Virginia has failed in committee. The measure would have pushed poll closing time from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. [Sun Gazette]

Schools

Norovirus Outbreak Reported at Arlington Public Schools

By ARLnow.com

Published December 12, 2012 at 3:55PM | Updated December 12, 2012 at 5:05PM

It’s the second publicly reported norovirus outbreak at Arlington Public Schools so far this year. In February a norovirus outbreak was reported at two Arlington schools.

This time around, outbreaks have been reported at Patrick Henry and Randolph elementary schools, according to APS Assistant Superintendent for School and Community Relations Linda Erdos, who added that the letter below was sent to all parents “because it’s that time of year” for norovirus outbreaks.

Events

Man With Healing Gaze to Stare at Crowds in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Published October 5, 2012 at 10:45AM

A man purported to have a healing gaze will be gazing at rooms full of people at a Crystal City hotel this weekend.

Braco, a Croatian man who purportedly has the gift of being able to awaken “positive and beautiful feelings and energies” simply by gazing at people, will be holding nine daily 30-35 minute “gazing sessions” at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway) today (Friday), Saturday and Sunday.

News

Local McDonald’s Restaurants to Post Calorie Counts

By ARLnow.com

Published September 12, 2012 at 1:20PM

Last week, or perhaps even earlier, the McDonald’s restaurant at 3031 Columbia Pike started using a new drive-thru menu that included calorie counts for each menu item. Although some jurisdictions require chain restaurants to post calorie counts for menu items, Arlington does not. That prompted us to ask McDonald’s why its Columbia Pike location was doing so voluntarily.

Was it a one-off experiment, or something even bigger? Today we finally got the answer.