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Morning Notes

Published September 30, 2014 at 10:25AM | Updated September 30, 2014 at 11:36AM

Alexandria Murder Suspect in Arlington Jail — Charles Severance, who’s charged in the murders of three Alexandria residents, has been transferred to the Arlington County Detention Facility in Courthouse. The transfer is intended “to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest,” since Severance is charged in the murder of the wife of a former Alexandria sheriff. [Washington Post]

Roadside Sunflowers Chopped Down — A patch of sunflowers planted at the intersection of Lee Highway and North Powhatan Street has been cut down by VDOT after someone complained to say the flowers blocked her view while turning. The resident who has been planting the sunflowers for the past seven years mounted a sign in the flowers’ place saying “hope you are happy!” [Falls Church News-Press]

News

Arlington Doctor Charged With Running Oxycodone Ring

By ARLnow.com

Published August 29, 2014 at 1:15PM

Dr. Derron McRae Simon, who ran the WithinMe MD medical clinic at 5275 Lee Hwy in Arlington, has been indicted on charges that he ran an oxycodone distribution ring.

Starting in February 2013, federal prosecutors say Simon and five co-conspirators wrote, filled and sold fraudulent prescriptions for more than 11,000 oxycodone pills and “other controlled substances.” The pills had a total value of nearly $750,000 and Simon sold the prescriptions for between $500 and $1,000, according to prosecutors.

Around Town

Catholic Gifts Store Coming to Cherrydale

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 14, 2014 at 10:00AM

A new “Catholic gift store” is getting ready to move into Cherrydale next month.

Joyful Spirit Gifts is a new business owned by Meg Miller Rydzewski, a parishioner at Saint Agnes Catholic Church, and it says on its website that it plans to open its brick-and-mortar and online store Sept. 1. The shop is located at 3315 Lee Highway, in the Lee Centre strip mall.

Around Town

HomeMade Pizza Company Closes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 2, 2014 at 4:30PM

The HomeMade Pizza Company store in the Lee Heights Shops has closed.

The store closed suddenly on Friday as part of a company-wide shutdown. The Chicago-based company had nearly 40 stores in the Chicago, Minneapolis, New York and Washington areas, all of which are now shuttered, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The Arlington store, at 4514 Lee Highway, opened in 2009.

News

Employee Arrested for Masturbating at Gas Station

By ARLnow.com

Published May 28, 2014 at 10:00AM

File photo

The incident happened around 7:45 p.m. at a gas station on the 3300 block of Lee Highway, just east of Cherrydale and west of I-66.

Police say a woman was pumping gas when she saw an employee with his pants down, masturbating in one of the garage bays.

Around Town

Busty Mermaid Carving Cut Down

By Ethan Rothstein

Published May 5, 2014 at 1:30PM | Updated May 5, 2014 at 1:48PM

File photo

The mermaid carving along Lee Highway that drew national attention when it was put up for sale in 2011 has been cut down.

The statue had been up in the front yard of Leeway Overlee resident Paul Jackson since 2004. In 2011 Jackson hoped to sell the statue for $3,000, with the requirement of the buyer “slicing her off and returning her home.” He apparently didn’t find a buyer, as the statue, which was built out of a dying, 100+ year-old ash tree, remained in the yard.

Around Town

Former Lee Highway 7-Eleven Now a TitleMax

By Ethan Rothstein

Published April 15, 2014 at 4:45PM

TitleMax, which lets individuals with poor credit borrow against the title of their automobile, moved into the space a few weeks ago, according to representatives of Virginia Hospital Center, which owns the building.

The 7-Eleven closed Oct. 21 of last year after the convenience store chain’s corporate arm declined to continue its month-to-month lease. In the months between 7-Eleven’s closing and TitleMax opening, Virginia Hospital Center Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Adrian Stanton said there was little interest in the property.

News

BREAKING: Attempted Bank Robbery on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

Published April 1, 2014 at 2:10PM | Updated April 1, 2014 at 2:47PM

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Arlington County Police are on the scene of an attempted bank robbery at the M&T Bank at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Glebe Road.

The crime happened around 2:00 p.m. Initial reports suggest a man entered the bank and demanded cash from the manager, but fled empty-handed. The suspect was unarmed and no one was hurt.

Around Town

E-Cigarette Store Brings ‘Vaping’ to Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 25, 2014 at 3:30PM | Updated February 25, 2014 at 11:35PM

My Vapez owner Jonathan Elias

In the lower level of the Garden City Shopping Center at the corner of Lee Highway and N. George Mason Drive, Jonathan Elias, Chris Bienlein and their friends can be found amidst a haze of vapor, puffing away on electronic metal tubes.

Elias, 30, owns My Vapez, a store at 5183 Lee Highway that sells vaporizers, a form of e-cigarette. Bienlein is his friend and partner in the fledgling enterprise, but it has become increasingly clear to them that, even though e-cigarettes are a new phenomenon, the market is booming.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 13, 2014 at 10:30AM

Work to Begin Soon on Bergmann’s Development — Developer McCaffery Interests is planning to begin demolition work soon on the former Bergmann’s dry cleaning plant, at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Vietch Street. Workers could be seen surveying the building last week. On the site, McCaffrey will build a mixed-use development now called “Verde Pointe.” The project, which was approved in 2012, includes 177 apartments, 23 townhomes and a 14,000 square foot MOM’s Organic Market grocery store. [Washington Business Journal]

Opower Files for IPO — Courthouse-based energy efficiency company Opower has filed for an initial public stock offering. The company has nearly 500 employees across 5 offices worldwide. It was founded in 2007. President Obama visited the company’s Courthouse headquarters in 2010. [Wall Street Journal]

Traffic

UPDATED: WB Lee Hwy Closed Due to Water Main Break

By ARLnow.com

Published February 7, 2014 at 8:20AM | Updated February 7, 2014 at 3:12PM

The westbound lanes of Lee Highway are shut down near Glebe Road due to a reported water main break.

We’re told that both westbound lanes of Lee Highway are closed between N. Columbus and Buchanan Streets, just west of Glebe Road. Eastbound lanes remain open. Repairs are expected to take the better part of the day.

Traffic

Photos: Boat Accidentally Sails Down Lee Highway

By Ethan Rothstein

Published December 23, 2013 at 2:30PM

Photo courtesy of Tom McNulty

A boat fell off its trailer on Lee Highway in Cherrydale Saturday evening, requiring a 40-ton crane and several hours to remove it from the roadway.

The boat belongs to Tom McNulty, a Yorktown resident who took his 16-foot Bayliner power boat out on the Potomac to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather on Saturday. Driving back on Lee Highway, McNulty said he hit a big bump in front of the Dunkin Donuts at 3520 Lee Highway.