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Morning Notes

Published April 26, 2011 at 8:37AM | Updated April 26, 2011 at 9:57AM

The Salsa Room relaunched with a new food menu in 2011

The Salsa Room Starts Serving Mexican Cuisine — Best known as a dance club, The Salsa Room (2619 Columbia Pike) has relaunched with a new food menu. Gone is the Bolivian food from the location’s days as Cecilia’s Restaurant. In its place are Mexican dishes like fajitas, chimichangas and fish tacos. A Sunday brunch menu will launch on June 5. Yesterday the restaurant offered a 50 percent off Groupon (the deal has since ended).

New Library Hours — Starting July 1, the library will expand the hours at certain branches on certain days. Among the branches with new hours: Columbia Pike, Shirlington, Westover, Aurora Hills, Cherrydale, and Glencarlyn. Central Library hours will not change. [Library Hours]

News

Budget Will Add Funds for Libraries, Lubber Run, Safety Net

By ARLnow.com

Published April 14, 2011 at 11:37AM

The County Board has allocated $258,000 to allow each branch library to stay open for an additional three hours per week. The funds will also support longer Sunday hours at the Shirlington and Columbia Pike libraries and allow the purchase of additional books and e-books.

The board is providing an additional $370,000 for park maintenance, Friday hours at the Lubber Run Community Center and for the restoration of seasonal programming at the shuttered Lubber Run Amphitheater. An additional allocation of $100,000 will fund early stages of restoring the amphitheater.

Around Town

Journalist Proposes to Girlfriend at Shirlington Library

By ARLnow.com

Published April 4, 2011 at 3:49PM

McGeough met now-fiance Nadia Itraish at the library 18 months ago, during the author talk for his book Kill Khalid: Mossad’s Failed Hit and the Rise of Hamas. Following a “very animated discussion” about the book, Itraish — a Palestinian-American peace activist, George Washington University alum and Freddie Mac manager — came up to McGeough to continue the conversation. The pair “hit it off” and started dating, according to library employee Ann-Marie Dittmann.

On Saturday afternoon, with the discreet help of library staff, McGeough brought Itraish to a library conference room — like the one in which they met — and asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the couple went across the street to Busboys and Poets to celebrate.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 4, 2011 at 6:25AM

Whitlow’s Rooftop Deck Opens Today — Wilson’s on Whitlow’s — the new rooftop deck atop Whitlow’s on Wilson (2854 Wilson Boulevard) — will open for the season at 4:00 tonight. With sunny skies and temperatures reaching into the upper 70s, the place may get a bit crowded. [Clarendon Culture]

Library Accepting ‘Operation Paperback’ Donations — Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Qunicy Street) is accepting donations of gently-used paperbacks for our troops. Books donated between now and April 30 will be shipped to U.S. troops overseas as part of the ‘Operation Paperback‘ program. “All genres except romance are needed,” the library notes. [Library Blog]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 31, 2011 at 8:45AM

More Registered Voters Than Residents? — Something here doesn’t add up. There are 14 voting precincts in Arlington where there are more registered voters than voting-age residents, at least according to recent census figures. [Sun Gazette]

New 7-Eleven Coming to the Pike — A new 7-Eleven store is coming to 2330 Columbia Pike, across from the new Siena Park and Penrose Square apartments. The 24-hour convenience store is expected to open in the beginning of 2012. It replaces a former furniture store. [Pike Wire]

Opinion

Morning Poll: Libraries vs. Taxes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 22, 2011 at 7:57AM | Updated March 22, 2011 at 8:33AM

Although Arlington will benefit from rising property values this year in the form of higher tax collections, the Board still must make tough choices when it comes to deciding what to fund and how to fund it.

County Manager Barbara Donnellan has recommended keeping real estate taxes steady at 95.8 cents per $100 in assessed value, following a year in which the rate jumped 8.3 cents. The Board gave itself the flexibility of raising that rate slightly by advertising a 96.8 cent rate.

Events

Long-Time Arlingtonians Tell Their Story

By ARLnow.com

Published March 4, 2011 at 9:38AM

Since last month, Arlington County has been asking residents to tell their story for a new initiative that seeks to “celebrate Arlington’s rich cultural diversity through a variety of events, celebrations, and story-telling.”

Around Town

Library Staff Monitoring New Catalog System

By ARLnow.com

Published February 21, 2011 at 3:00PM

Some library patrons have been reporting difficulty logging in, placing holds and setting up lists. Staff have been responding to the feedback and encouraging more people to report their experience with the system.

In addition to the bugs, one tipster worries that the process of signing up for the new catalog system presents an opportunity for identity theft.

News

New Arlington Public Library Catalog System Goes Live

By ARLnow.com

Published February 17, 2011 at 3:07PM

The Arlington Public Library system rolled out its new catalog and account system this afternoon.

The new system will allow self check-out at branch libraries, mobile access to the library’s catalog and enhanced online services for library cardholders.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 14, 2011 at 8:40AM

Happy Valentine’s Day — To celebrate, Caribou Coffee is offering a buy one, get one free coupon. [Shirlington Village Blogspot]

Fairfax Supervisor Slams Arlington on HOT Lanes — The animus for Arlington continues over at the Washington Post. In an opinion piece published online, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity says the Arlington County Board has “thumbed their noses at every motorist sitting in traffic on our region’s congested highways” by using “gutter-style tactics” to block HOT lanes and other projects. A pro-Arlington Letter to the Editor, however, says that “The Post needs to stop blaming Arlington County for congestion on I-395.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 9, 2011 at 8:39AM

Water Woes Continue in Ft. Myer Heights — Some Ft. Myer Heights residents were without water last night as crews worked to repair a persistent water main leak. Workers installed some temporary piping as they worked deep below the surface to repair the leak. [Ode Street Tribune]

Libraries Will Offer Self-Checkout — As part of a host of changes set to take place next week, Arlington Public Libraries will now be offering self-checkout at its Aurora Hills, Cherrydale, Columbia Pike and Glencarlyn branches. [Library Blog]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 24, 2011 at 7:37AM | Updated January 24, 2011 at 9:45AM

New Library Catalog System Coming Mid-February — Arlington Public Libraries will be rolling out a new online catalog system that includes a feature that sends you a text message when a book you had on hold becomes available. The system should launch mid-February. [Library Blog]

Penrose Square Ramps Up Marketing — The new Penrose Square apartments on Columbia Pike have a slick new web site. The site markets the apartments as “urban apartment homes” in a “LEED-influenced” building.” Residents are expected to start moving in in May. [Pike Wire]