The incident happened Saturday, at a market on the 5100 block of Lee Highway, around 10:15 p.m.
A clerk was clearing out the cash register around closing time when a masked man entered and brandished a gun. A second employee, in defense of her coworker, then started throwing bottles at the armed man, according to Arlington County Police.
Old Dominion Drive is being shut down in both directions in the area of N. Wakefield Street and Lee Highway due to downed utility lines.
A truck brought down the lines and damaged at least one utility pole in the process.
The sign on the front door says it all: new pie store Livin’ the Pie Life expects to open “April-ish.”
Located at 2166 N. Glebe Road, near the intersection with Lee Highway, the store is the bricks-and-mortar manifestation of what has up until now been a business that sold its wares primarily at local farmers markets.
The original District Taco at 5723 Lee Highway reopened at 11 a.m. this morning, after closing last month for renovations.
The restaurant doesn’t look all too different than it did before the renovations. We’re told much of the work focused on the kitchen; if anything, District Taco has been a victim of its own popularity in the form of out-the-door lines during the lunch and dinner rushes.
The draft plan envisions a tree-lined Lee Highway that’s more pedestrian- and bike-friendly, with mid-rise development concentrated in “mixed-use activity nodes.”
The rationale behind the plan, and the community process that helped inform it, is to set an aspirational vision for future development and transportation improvements along the Lee Highway corridor. The community can thus have more of a voice than if it were to just let piecemeal development take place along the corridor without a unified plan.
(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) The public comment period on a draft plan for the Lee Highway corridor is ending after Thursday.
The draft, first published online last month after a public “charrette” planning process in 2015, outlines a sweeping vision for the corridor, which currently is a primarily car-oriented mish-mash of strip malls, aging apartment buildings and other assorted low-density businesses and infrastructure.
More than 500 Dominion customers are without power at this hour due to a reported equipment problem.
As of 11:55 p.m., 541 Dominion customers were in the dark. The outage is centered around the High View Park neighborhood, along the Lee Highway corridor.
I-66 Public Hearing at W-L — VDOT is holding a public hearing on the changes planned for I-66 tonight. The hearing is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School’s cafeteria. Meanwhile, one letter-writer is decrying the “whining” from Arlington residents who complain about the proposed partial widening of I-66 while using it to make a reverse commute to Fairfax County — and the protestations from Arlington policymakers who are more than happy to have large employers come to Ballston and other dense neighborhoods along I-66, thus increasing traffic on the highway. [VDOT, Washington Post]
Wakefield, Yorktown Victorious in Key Games — The Wakefield boys basketball squad defeated Deep Run 50-48 on Saturday to advance to the semifinals of the 5A state basketball tournament. This will be the Warriors’ third semifinal appearance in four seasons. Yorktown’s hockey team, meanwhile, defeated Washington-Lee 5-3 at Kettler Capitals Iceplex Friday night. [InsideNova, Twitter]
Situated at 5723 Lee Highway, the restaurant first opened in 2010. Since then, District Taco has expanded with a slew of new locations in D.C. and Northern Virginia.
Osiris Hoil, who founded District Taco as a single taco cart and now serves as the chain’s CEO, said the Lee Highway restaurant is getting some needed TLC and will remain closed for a few weeks.
Widening Critics Still Questioning I-66 Deal — “Widening the highway for four miles from Beltway to Ballston will not relieve traffic congestion, according to every expert I’ve spoken to,” writes WAMU transportation reporter Martin Di Caro, regarding the I-66 deal struck by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D). Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette, meanwhile, says the overall plan for tolling I-66 is worth the compromise. [Twitter, WAMU]
Arlington Probably Won’t Sue Over I-395 HOT Lanes — After mounting an expensive legal battle over a plan by Gov. Bob McDonnell’s (R) administration to convert the HOV lanes on I-395 to High Occupancy Toll lanes, Arlington appears poised to accept a similar HOT lane plan by VDOT and the McAuliffe administration. There are some key differences between the two proposals, observers say. [Greater Greater Washington]
Gutshall, a small business owner who serves on the Arlington Planning Commission, warned in a statement (below) that Lee Highway could experience “crazy-quilt development” if not for “a thoughtful, community-led planning process.” He called on the County Board to prioritize long-range planning for Lee Highway this year.
Gutshall is challenging County Board Chair Libby Garvey in the June 14 Democratic primary.
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) A car with D.C. license plates caught fire in the parking lot of the Safeway at 3713 Lee Highway earlier today.
The fire, which was first reported around 10:15 a.m. this morning, was extinguished shortly after firefighters arrived. Nobody was injured during the blaze, said a firefighter on the scene. It was not immediately clear how the fire started.
