The rabbit population is on the rise in Arlington.
A resident of the High View Park neighborhood, just north of Virginia Hospital Center, tells us that neighbors have been buzzing with talk of a bunny boom.
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parks department
What would have been a restaurant, bar and lounge called “Haze” is now being reduced to a pile of rubble. Arlington County purchased the property at 3540 Wilson Boulevard one year ago with the intention of tearing it down, and the demolition is finally happening today.
The property will be used to connect Maury Park and Herselle Milliken Park, two tiny swaths of recreational space located on the same block between N. Monroe and Lincoln streets. So what happened to Haze?
The Arlington County Parks Department is in talks with George Washington University, which uses the field for its baseball team’s home games, to fund new turf and other amenities, like restrooms, concession stands, a press box and a scoreboard. Upgrades to the existing field lights are not part of the discussion, the parks department said.
In exchange for use of the field, GWU currently is responsible for its routine maintenance, upkeep and improvements.
The animal rights group has written a letter to Arlington Parks Division Chief Caroline Temmermand with a “friendly suggestion” — to ban unsterilized dogs from the county’s dog parks.
“Dogs who haven’t been ‘fixed’ are nearly three times as likely to bite as are dogs who have been sterilized,” a PETA rep told ARLnow.com. Plus, the rep said, dogs that haven’t been spayed or neutered “can contribute to the animal overpopulation crisis.”
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At first, officials say, most people who contacted them were against banning kids. Now, with every major media outlet in town running their own version of the story, opinions are about 50/50.
Officials say the ban is far from a done deal. First, it must be cleared by county attorneys — although that seems likely, given that other Virginia localities, like Fairfax County, already ban young children. After it gets the legal go-ahead, Arlington Parks Department spokeswoman Susan Kalish says the matter will only be decided after some sort of community input process.
The playground, at 601 N. Manchester Street, features play areas with farm and train-themed play equipment, as well as climbing boulders, a play house, swings, a sandbox, picnic area, accessible paths, a drinking fountain and more.
The ceremony is being held between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, and is part of the county’s Neighborhood Day event list.
If Alice fell down this hole, she would probably reach Wonderland.
A hole that appears to be at least 20 feet deep has opened up in Haley Park, at 2400 S. Meade Street in Arlington Ridge. Police and crews from the county parks department responded to the scene this morning after a neighbor reported the hole, which apparently opened at surface level after this weekend’s heavy rains.
“Trout season” is actually an artificial creation in Arlington County — a contractor stocks Four Mile Run with trout trucked in from a hatchery. But don’t tell that to the dozens of kids who show up with their parents every year with rod and reel in hand, eager to catch a fish.
In announcing that trout fishing was canceled, the county parks department advised anglers that trout fishing is still available in Fairfax County. More information about fishing in Fairfax is available here.
The fields will be closed from sunrise to 3:00 p.m. for at least three weeks due to the light pole problem, which we first reported on March 9.
Work is already underway at Utah Park, in Fairlington. The park has also been closed due to light pole issues, but is expected to reopen by April 15, the start of the county’s sports season.
Earlier this month Arlington County released a decidedly pessimistic study of the 43-year-old amphitheater and its surrounding grounds. The study, conducted by Neale Architects, concluded that bringing the amphitheater up to current code standards would require $2.5 million for an extensive renovation or a $3.5 million for a completely new facility, not including significant costs associated with Americans with Disabilities Act, Resource Protection Area and floodplain compliance.
The study “found a number of existing conditions that represent a hazard to public safety, including open trenches; steep grades; deteriorated benches; tilting walls; crumbling paving,” according to the county’s Lubber Run Amphitheater web site.
“During a regular inspection, it was found that the light poles… need to be replaced to maintain a safe environment for our community,” said Arlington County Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish. “Our goal is to start as soon as weather provides a couple weeks of no rain and 50-degree weather.”
The work will take two to four weeks depending on the weather, Kalish said.
“I am a co-gardener of a garden plot in the Fort Barnard Community Gardens, [and] if my garden plot looked the way that many of the plots on South Four Mile Run do, my plot would be considered abandoned and the privileges to the plot would be revoked,” the man wrote in an email to a county official. He asked that his name not be used in this article.
“Nearly all of the plots are in violation of one or more of the County Community Garden Rules,” the gardener wrote. “I waited for 2 years to get a garden plot. To see residents [who] have garden plots neglect them and not use them to their full potential is frustrating.”