Local pools could be at risk of indefinite closure due to visa processing issues for potential lifeguards.
According to a resident of the Barkley Condominiums (1016 S. Wayne Street), on Sunday a notice posted to the building’s bulletin board said the pool would be closed indefinitely, due to the pool service company having difficulty getting lifeguards into the country because of visa issues.
The notice also reportedly said the issues would hopefully be resolved within the next week, but that timing was unclear. Another source who lives in the building confirmed the pool’s closure. The condo’s property manager declined to comment.
Many local pools rely on young, foreign lifeguards who come to the U.S. during summer months through a non-immigrant visa program.
A press release on May 26 from the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals explained that pools in Mid-Atlantic states might experience delayed openings because of regulatory changes. The Mid-Atlantic is primarily affected because in this region, lifeguards must be present for most commercial or condo pools to be used.
“The pools affected are those run by pool management companies who recruit lifeguards from certain countries through the U.S. State Department’s J-1 Summer Work Travel Program,” the press release said.
In the meantime, the association is trying to recruit lifeguards from local high schools and colleges so that people can still cool off in the summer months.
Chris Teale contributed reporting. Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick.
Rosslyn’s annual outdoor summer cinema series is set to kick off one month from now.
The free Friday night movies in Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway) will begin June 2 and run through Aug. 25.
There will be food trucks on site to serve dinner and popcorn, while a “Pub in the Park” will offer beer, wine, mocktails and movie-themed cocktails. On five nights — June 2, June 16, July 7, July 28 and Aug. 18 — a DJ will perform before the film.
The films on the docket for 2017 are:
- June 2 — Grease
- June 9 — Frozen
- June 16 — Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
- June 23 — National Lampoon’s European Vacation
- June 30 — Some Like It Hot
- July 7 — GoldenEye
- July 14 — The Father of the Bride
- July 21 — Moana
- July 28 — The Wizard of Oz
- August 4 — When Harry Met Sally
- August 11 — Lego Batman
- August 18 — The Avengers
- August 25 — Mary Poppins
The films generally start shortly after sundown. The event is sponsored by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.
Another local BID, Crystal City, decided to discontinue its usual summer movie nights this year, citing a crowded marketplace of similar events around the area.
Civic Federation Debate — The candidates for Arlington County Board, School Board and Congress took the stage at Tuesday’s Arlington County Civic Federation meeting, marking the unofficial kickoff of general election campaign season. During the County Board debate, independent challenger Audrey Clement went on the attack against “backroom deals” allegedly facilitated by incumbent Libby Garvey. [InsideNova, InsideNova, InsideNova]
September Heat Wave — Temperatures are expected to soar into the upper 90s today, and the heat and humidity will stay mid-summer-like through Saturday. [Capital Weather Gang]
New Flight Path Closer to Arlington? — To appease unhappy Northwest D.C. residents, the FAA is considering a new northern departure flight path for Reagan National Airport that’s closer to Arlington. A community meeting will be held to discuss the plan on Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington. [WUSA 9]
Outdoor Movies on the Pike — Four films are left on the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization outdoor movie calendar. Tonight, the critically-acclaimed film Brooklyn will be screened outside the Arlington Mill Community Center. [CPRO]
Clement Against Lubber Run Plan — County Board candidate Audrey Clement says it’s “inappropriate and unnecessary, given the county’s current 20% office vacancy rate,” for Arlington County to be planning to spend $46 million on a new four-story Lubber Run Community Center that will include new offices for the Dept. of Parks and Recreation. [Audrey Clement]
Beware the Cute Puppy Scam — Scammers are active on some local Facebook groups, trying to convince people to part with their cash and personal information to adopt a (fake) cute puppy from a (fake) man who can no longer afford to take care of it. [Fox 5]
A “pop-up plaza” has opened in Courthouse.
Put up in only two days near the Courthouse Plaza surface parking lot, workers cleaned up the area, painted the concrete, and added plants and furniture, transforming it into a public square similar to larger efforts done in places like New York’s Times Square.
Its purpose is to show the public what the entire parking lot might look like if it were to be transformed into a town square under the “Envision Courthouse Square” plan.
The plan calls for putting the parking underground, thus making way for a large, open green space and some new development.
Join us today at 12:30 to celebrate the new #popupplaza and see County Manager Mark Schwartz paint the final square pic.twitter.com/YdxpC0oXLW
— Plan Arlington VA (@planArlingtonVA) August 4, 2016
County Manager Schwartz fills in the final square of the #popupplaza under the Soldier's Tree at Courthouse Plaza pic.twitter.com/pLYTp8WEih
— Plan Arlington VA (@planArlingtonVA) August 4, 2016
Pop-up plaza's first visitor, he even wore a matching shirt pic.twitter.com/0fQO7LQ9VY
— Plan Arlington VA (@planArlingtonVA) August 4, 2016
A group of outdoor enthusiasts will be taking a “moon walk” on Theodore Roosevelt Island tomorrow night.
The nonprofit group Friends of Theodore Roosevelt Island is leading the “Full Moon Walk,” which will give participants the rare opportunity to explore the park at night, during a full moon.
The 1.5 mile hike around the island will be led by a National Park Service volunteer. The Friday, June 17 event has already filled to capacity, with 25 visitors registered.
The cost for members of the Friends of Theodore Roosevelt Island was $15 while non-members paid $20.
The Village of Shirlington recently released the schedule for its annual “Shirlala Music Festival” series of outdoor concerts.
The festival is an expansion of the former Shirlington Jazz Festival and this year’s selection contains a wide range of genres including swing, pop, rock, and even tropical steel drums.
The concerts take place every Thursday from the beginning of June until August 25, running from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The schedule is as follows:
- June 9 — Justin Trawick & the Common Good (Urban Folk Rock)
- June 16 — Lloyd Dobler Effect (80s & 90s Cover Band)
- June 23 — King Teddy (Swing)
- June 30 — Taylor Carson (Acoustic Rock)
- July 7 — Jelly Roll Mortals (Folk/Pop/Rock)
- July 14 — Dan Haas Trio (Pop Rock)
- July 21 — The Shack Band (Southern Funk)
- July 28 — Ewabo (Tropical Steel Drums)
- August 4 — Paul Pfau (Pop, Rock & Blues)
- August 11 — Daryl Davis ft. Sandra Dean Band (Blues & Soul)
- August 18 — King Teddy (Swing)
- August 25 — Dan Haas Trio (Pop Rock)
For 50 years, Arlington County students have been able to experience the outdoors thanks to Arlington Outdoor Education Association’s Outdoor Lab.
The Outdoor Lab is a 225-acre facility in Fauquier County, about 40 miles from Arlington, that serves as an outdoors classroom for students to learn about science and outdoor skills in a natural setting. Four classes a week visit the facility, including one overnight class. There are also three week-long summer camps.
In all, the facility serves over 9,000 students from elementary through high school.
The Outdoor Lab features a spring-fed stream, a pond, nature hiking trails, plant and animal identification areas. It also houses an observatory with a 10-inch reflecting telescope for astronomy studies.
The experiences differ depending on grade level, ranging from third-graders learning about simple machines and animals to high schoolers studying biology and earth science.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Arlington Outdoor Education Association’s Outdoor Lab is holding an fundraising gala this weekend
The gala will take place Saturday from 7-10 p.m at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Ballston. Tickets are $50 and the proceeds will go to ensuring the lab’s continued operation. The lab’s goal is to raise $50,000 for its 50th anniversary — as of Friday it had raised $28,145.
“[We] will use this milestone to raise funds for our capital needs, such as replacing one of our buildings and land acquisition to buffer the property from encroaching development,” said Mike Nardolilli, president of the AOEA board. “Generations of Arlingtonians have contributed to making the Arlington Outdoor Lab a very special place and all of us have a duty to continue this tradition so that future generations of Arlington students continue to enjoy this unique, wonderful resource.”
Photos courtesy Karen Bate
Starting Saturday, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) will begin its annual showing of outdoor movies.
From June 4 until September 17, movies will be shown every Saturday in Penrose Square and movies will also be shown on Thursdays from August 11 to September 15 at the Arlington Mill Community Center.
All movies will begin around 8 p.m. or when it gets dark. Seating is limited, with patrons encouraged to bring their own chairs. In the event of inclement weather, updates will be posted on the CPRO website along with its Facebook and Twitter pages.
The Penrose Square schedule is as follows.
- June 4: Spongebob Squarepants: A Sponge Out of Water
- June 11: The Martian
- June 18: Belle
- June 25: The Fault In Our Stars
- July 2: Juno
- July 9: Fantastic Four
- July 16: The Book Thief
- July 23: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- July 30: Moulin Rouge
- August 6: Joy
- August 13: All That Jazz
- August 20: The Devil Wears Prada
- August 27: The Princess Bride
- September 3: Spotlight
- September 10: That Sugar Film
- September 17: Water
The Arlington Mill schedule is as follows.
- August 11: Kung Fu Panda 3
- August 18: Maze Runner: Scorch Trials
- August 25: The Sandlot
- September 1: The Peanuts Movie
- September 8: Brooklyn
- September 15: He Named Me Malala
At Arlington Public Library the library isn’t just for reading and summer reading events are not just for kids.
The library is holding two outdoor movie screenings (Aug. 6 and Aug. 13) as part of its Summer Reading 2015 for Adults event. Movies start roughly at 8:45 p.m. on the field next to Arlington Central Library (1515 N. Quincy Street).
Attendees are encourage to “bring a picnic and blanket and watch a movie under the stars.” Both movie showings are free. In the case of bad weather, the event will be canceled.
The first screening is “Empire Records” on Aug. 6. The movie, rated PG-13, is about a group of record store employees attempting to save the store from selling out, which just like the movie is a very Gen X concern.
“A flashback to a time when there were record stores and people paid to work in them,” the library notes on its event page. “It’s a day in the life of a staff of hip, quirky youngsters who are fighting a store buyout from a big greedy record store chain. Those once existed too.”
The second screening is “The Great Gatsby” on Aug. 13. The 2013 movie version of the classic book by F. Scott Fitzgerald stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, a mysterious rich man pining after an old love. The movie is also rated PG-13.
Arlington County has enjoyed near-perfect weather today, with blue skies, plenty of sun and a high of only 82. What better way to celebrate the end of a beautiful summer day than to attend one of three outdoor concerts taking place this evening?
Summer concert series Rock at the Row kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. in Pentagon Row’s plaza area (1101 S. Joyce Street) with Bon Jovi cover band Slippery When Wet. The concert series also includes a VIP section with craft beers and food samples.
Residents less enamored of Bon Jovi can head over to Rosslyn for its “Throwback Thursday” concert in Freedom Park (1101 Wilson Blvd). Tonight’s concert features Baltimore-based cover band Sly 45. It’s the last scheduled Throwback Thursday concert until September.
Also tonight, the Village at Shirlington (2700 S. Quincy Street) will hold its weekly Shirlala music festival, which started in June. Playing from 6:30-8:30 p.m. will be alternative rock band Lloyd Dobler Effect. In addition to the live music, there will be $5 wine tasting courtesy of local cheese and wine bar Cheesetique.
All three concert series are free and open to the public. Rock at the Row’s lineup was announced earlier this summer. Shirlala’s remaining performances are below.
- July 23: Paul Pfau (pop, rock and blues)
- July 30: Ewabo (reggae and tropical steel drums)
- August 6: The Morrison Brothers Band (Southern rock)
- August 13: Dan Haas Trio (pop rock)
- August 20: King Teddy (swing)
- August 27: Sandra Dean Band ft. Daryl Davis (50s and 60s tribute)
Photo via lloyddoblereffect.com
The remaining Barre in the Park classes in Rosslyn have been rescheduled from Wednesday to Thursday evenings, starting this week.
Barre in the Park, which is in its second season, is a series of free outdoor classes offered weekly in Rosslyn’s Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway) by exercise studio Lava Barre, in partnership with the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.
(Barre is a type of trendy exercise class that combines elements of ballet with yoga and Pilates.)
Lava Barre is offering this free series in part to promote their new studio in Rosslyn (1528 Clarendon Blvd), which opened this summer. The Rosslyn studio replaced a Lava Barre studio previously located in Clarendon.
The series started in May and is slated to continue into the early fall. Although the classes are free, registration is required. According to Lava Barre, all registered participants need to bring is themselves, a towel or mat and some water.
Absent cancellation due to inclement weather, the remaining Barre in the Park classes will be offered Thursday evenings in Gateway Park from 6-7 p.m. Should a class be cancelled due to weather, the BID says a notification will be sent to those registered for the class via email.
Currently, classes are planned to continue from now until the end of September.
Photo courtesy Lava Barre
