Pentagon | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published September 8, 2011 at 9:16AM

DCA Workers Injured By Lightning Strike — Two workers at Reagan National Airport were injured after lightning struck near American Airlines Gate 32. The injuries were not considered life-threatening. [WUSA 9]

Recounting 9/11 at Va. Hospital Center — The injured came flooding into Virginia Hospital Center by private car, military vehicle and ambulance on Sept. 11, 2001, employees recalled at a recent commemoration. Now the hospital says they’re better prepared to handle all sorts of emergencies. [MyFoxDC, WTOP]

Traffic

Washington Blvd Closed Briefly Due to Suspicious Item

By ARLnow.com

Published August 25, 2011 at 11:04AM

A suspicious item prompted authorities to briefly close Washington Boulevard between I-395 and the GW Parkway around 10:00 this morning.

The item was located along the fence line of the Pentagon and Washington Boulevard, according to Pentagon Force Protection Agency spokesman Chris Layman. The item has since been cleared.

News

Major Road Closures Planned for 9/11 Event This Week

By ARLnow.com

Published August 15, 2011 at 3:03PM

According to an email from Arlington Alerts, police are planning on shutting down eastbound I-66 from the Beltway to Route 110, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

“The [police] escort is being provided to ensure the safety of all motorists along the path of travel,” the email said. “It is recommended that anyone who travels along this route take alternate routes to their destination during this period. It is anticipated I-66 will be reopened by 4:00 pm at the beltway to minimize the impact on rush hour traffic.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 11, 2011 at 7:55AM

Police Investigate BB Gun Bike-By Shooting — Arlington Police searched for a pair of young men on bikes last night after one of them allegedly shot a woman in the arm with a BB gun near the intersection of N. Pershing Drive and N. Thomas Street, in the Buckingham neighborhood. The suspects made a clean getaway, although one may have been briefly spotted near Ballston. The woman required medical treatment for the wound.

Pentagon Memorial Called ‘Contemplative,’ ‘Noisy’ — Visitors to the Pentagon Memorial are reportedly weirded out by the sound of low-flying planes at the Pentagon Memorial — which was built in honor of the 184 people who died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon’s west wall on 9/11/01. The Pentagon is along the flight path of Reagan National Airport. [Associated Press]

Events

Discounted Registration for 9-11 5K Ends Today

By ARLnow.com

Published August 4, 2011 at 1:00PM

Pentagon Memorial by BrianMKA

The annual race will be held on Sept. 10 this year. Registration is $25 today, $30 from Aug. 5 to Sept. 9 and $35 on race day. Teams (including firefighter, law enforcement and military teams) need to be registered by Sept. 1.

The race will kick off at 6:00 p.m. from the DoubleTree Hotel in Pentagon City (300 Army Navy Drive). Runners will follow a course that will take them past parts of the Pentagon. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trader Center and the Pentagon.

Around Town

Bike/Pedestrian Underpass to Columbia Island Marina Now Open

By ARLnow.com

Published July 11, 2011 at 1:49PM | Updated July 11, 2011 at 5:56PM

A bike and pedestrian pathway between the Mt. Vernon Trail and Columbia Island Marina/Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove is now open.

The pathway opened less than two weeks ago. It runs under the new Boundary Channel Humpback Bridge, which carries traffic from the GW Parkway and the Mt. Vernon Trail.

News

Route 110 to Close for Gates Retirement Ceremony

By ARLnow.com

Published June 29, 2011 at 3:49PM

President Obama will be among the dignitaries in attendance at the ceremony, which is expected to get underway at the Pentagon around 9:45 a.m. A military spokesman was unable to release any other details about the event.

Route 110 will be closed tomorrow from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Northbound traffic will be diverted to I-395 and southbound traffic will be diverted to Washington Boulevard, according to Arlington’s Office of Emergency Management.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 24, 2011 at 8:38AM

School’s Out for Summer — Today is the last day of school for elementary students in Arlington. High school students had their last day on Wednesday and middle school students had their last day on Thursday. [YouTube]

Man Charged With Pentagon Shootings — Alexandria resident Yonathan Melaku, 22, has been charged with destruction of property and firearm violations in five separate shootings at Northern Virginia military installations last year. Melaku was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery last Friday, authorities say, with a backpack containing a ammonium nitrate, a key component in certain explosives, and a notebook containing referencing Al Qaeda and jihad. Sources tell Fox News that Melaku was “self-radicalized through the internet,” but there’s “no indication he was planning to harm individuals.” [FBI, Fox News]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 23, 2011 at 8:27AM

Pentagon Suspect Suspected in Shootings — The man whose arrest prompted authorities to shut down Washington Boulevard during the Friday morning rush hour is now being investigated for a possible connection to a mysterious series of incidents of shots fired at the Pentagon and various Northern Virginia sites linked to the Marine Corps. Yonathan Melaku, a 22-year-old Marine reservist, is currently being held at a Loudoun County jail. [Inside Nova]

Arlington Cabbies Stage Sit-In — Arlington taxi drivers surprised county officials by packing into a Arlington County office yesterday in protest of regulations that they say give the owners of taxi companies too much control over drivers. [Washington Examiner]

News

BREAKING NEWS — Roads Closed Near Pentagon

By ARLnow.com

Published June 17, 2011 at 6:34AM | Updated June 17, 2011 at 12:58PM

Update at 11:55 a.m. — News outlets have identified the man who was taken into custody as Yonathan Melaku of Alexandria. Melaku is a Marine Corps reservist, according to Fox News.

Update at 11:00 a.m. — The scene has been cleared and all roads around the Pentagon have reopened.

News

Police Investigate Suspicious Package Near Pentagon

By ARLnow.com

Published June 13, 2011 at 9:46PM | Updated June 14, 2011 at 2:28PM

Update at 2:25 p.m. — Charges have been filed against a North Carolina man.

Willie Amaz Braddy, 41, of Rocky Mount, N.C., was taken into state police custody and charged with reckless driving and for concealing a weapon without a valid permit. The incident remains under investigation.

News

Army Fatigues Given Marching Orders at Pentagon

By ARLnow.com

Published June 13, 2011 at 10:13AM

The Army — which will be celebrating its 236th birthday tomorrow — has just announced an impending policy change for personnel who work at the Pentagon. Starting as early as October, soldiers assigned to the Pentagon will be asked to wear the more formal Army service uniform instead of the camouflaged Army combat uniform (ACU).

“Our perspective is that this is the corporate part of the Army,” Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III told the Army News Service. “The business-part of the Army is done in the Pentagon, and as a professional there are certain standards of attire associated with certain activities. For the business aspect of the Army, it is the Army service uniform.”