Metro | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published January 8, 2016 at 9:30AM

Violent Attack at Pentagon City Metro — A seemingly random act of violence at the Pentagon City Metro station injured a man late last month. Details of the attack were just released: a 19-year-old man collapsed on the platform after being sucker-punched. Witnesses took cell phone photos of the attacker, who fled. The incident is one of a string of recent violent incidents at Metro stations. [Fox 5 DC]

GGW Questions Garvey’s Leadership — Will new County Board Chair Libby Garvey move Arlington forward with smart infrastructure investments, or pull back and scale down the county’s ambitions? That’s the question being posed by urbanist blog Greater Greater Washington, which has been critical of Garvey’s anti-streetcar stance. [Greater Greater Washington]

Around Town

Ballston Resident Helps Disabled Man Lost on the Metro Get Home

By Jennifer Currier

Published January 5, 2016 at 1:30PM

Yesterday’s evening commute for Ballston resident Andrea Gagliardi was following the normal routine, until she found herself helping a disabled man find his way home.

The man — who Gagliardi described as approximately 50 years old, mute and mentally disabled — was being helped by another woman when she arrived at the Courthouse Metro station. That woman was visibly upset, saying someone had dropped him off at the station, leaving him to figure out how to get to an address written on the back of a business card.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2016 at 9:05AM | Updated January 4, 2016 at 9:22AM

Garvey Named 2016 Arlington County Board Chair — Libby Garvey, who is facing a challenge in this year’s Democratic primary, has been named the Chair of the Arlington County Board. Articles to follow.

Update: Family Given Lease Extension — An Arlington family with a disabled son has been given a 30-day lease extension, after they went to the media to protest the landlord’s reported refusal to renew their lease. The family said the manager of Columbia Pike apartment complex complained about them making too much noise. [Washington Post]

News

Local Lawmakers Laud Federal Spending Bill

By ARLnow.com

Published December 18, 2015 at 3:35PM

The bill, a rare bipartisan budget compromise, passed both houses of Congress this morning. It includes a raise for the federal workforce, $150 million for WMATA, $30 million for Arlington National Cemetery, and billions for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and various other military spending priorities.

The office of Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) described it as “good news for federal employees” in a press release.

News

Metro Planning for Crowding for Wreaths Across America Event at ANC

By ARLnow.com

Published December 11, 2015 at 4:05PM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:53PM

Thousands of volunteers are expected to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and help place some 230,000 wreaths as part of the annual Wreaths Across America event.

Gates open to the public at 8 a.m. Saturday and an opening ceremony is planned at 9. The wreath laying is expected to begin at 10 a.m., followed by a closing ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at noon.

News

Officials React to Selection of New Metro Chief

By ARLnow.com

Published November 6, 2015 at 1:30PM

Following a lengthy search process, the WMATA Board of Directors is expected to make Wiedefeld’s appointment official on Nov. 19.

With Metro in turmoil due to ongoing rail service reliability problems and financial challenges, state officials and lawmakers welcomed the appointment of an experienced executive to Metro’s top post.

News

Officials: Don’t Self-Evacuate from Metro Trains

By Heather Mongilio

Published October 23, 2015 at 10:00AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:53PM

If there’s one lesson to take away from Arlington’s Metro Safety Seminar Wednesday night, it’s don’t evacuate a train until told to do so. Even though a woman died after not being able to evacuate a disabled, smoke-filled train outside of the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station earlier this year.

In the case of smoke in a tunnel, Arlington County Fire Department and Metro will work together to figure out the source of the smoke and decide if evacuation is necessary, officials said Wednesday at the seminar in Ballston.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 21, 2015 at 11:30AM | Updated October 21, 2015 at 12:05PM

Fire Station 8 Task Force — At its Tuesday meeting, the Arlington County Board approved a charge for its new Fire Station No. 8 task force. The task force will review viable sites for the fire station, will seek a location that will improve fire and EMS response signs, and will seek to balance costs with service needs. [Arlington County]

More Metro Delays This Morning — Delays and overcrowded trains made for “another miserable day” on the Orange Line during this morning’s commute. Metro says it’s hoping to have full service restored on the Silver, Orange and Blue lines by the end of the year, following a catastrophic fire at an electrical substation in D.C. [WMATA, Twitter, Twitter]

News

Zimmerman: Metro Breakdowns Were ‘Foreseeable’

By ARLnow.com

Published October 19, 2015 at 3:00PM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:53PM

Federal and state budget disputes were preventing Metro from getting the $1.5 billion in maintenance investment it needed, leading White to warn of “a systemic service meltdown.”

Eleven years later, White’s prediction seems to be coming true. And he wasn’t the only one to see it coming.

News

Problems Reported on Orange, Silver Lines

By ARLnow.com

Published September 28, 2015 at 9:00AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:53PM

Metro said that an inbound Orange Line train offloaded at East Falls Church just before 8:30 a.m. due to a brake problem.

That, coupled with reduced rush hour service on the two lines due to power issues around the Stadium-Armory station following last week’s transformer fire, has caused big delays.

News

Woman Falls on Track at Ballston Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Published September 4, 2015 at 9:10AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:53PM

Metro is describing the incident as a “medical emergency.” A Twitter user said a woman walked off the platform and onto the tracks.

“Lady just walked smooth off the platform onto the tracks at Ballston station right in front of me,” said @Durrrius.

News

Suspicious Note on Metro Train Prompts Investigation, Delays

By ARLnow.com

Published September 1, 2015 at 5:35PM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 2:53PM

Metro Transit Police responded to the Pentagon City Metro station around the beginning of the evening rush hour for a “report of [a] suspicious package,” Metro said via Twitter.

According to Metro spokesman Mike Tolbert, a “suspicious note” was found on a train. The note was similar to another note — a bomb threat — that caused delays on the Blue, Silver and Orange lines this morning, Tolbert said.