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Morning Notes

Published December 9, 2010 at 5:00AM

Planetarium Fundraising Now Exceeds $100K — The Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium group has now raised $120,000 to help fund renovations at the 40-year-old facility. The group is still far from its goal of raising $400,000 by summer 2011, but it is hoping to close the gap by landing a few major donations from local defense contractors. More from TBD.

Sharrows on Clarendon Boulevard — Arlington County is doing away with a bike lane between Courthouse Road and Rhodes Street on Clarendon Boulevard. In its place, the county is making the right-hand traffic lane a shared car/bike lane. Bikes should be able to keep up with traffic on the stretch of road, much of which is a steep downhill. More from WashCycle.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 22, 2010 at 7:47AM

Earmark Could Save Planetarium — Rep. Jim Moran says he’s going to try to dig up $400,000 in federal funds to help renovate and save Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium. But even if he’s successful, Moran’s press secretary says the money would not be available until late next year — past the fundraising deadline the school board set for the non-profit Friends of the Planetarium group. More from the Sun Gazette.

Golf Farce Premieres at Signature Theater — Now playing at Shirlington’s Signature Theater: A Fox on the Fairway. The show, which is making its world premiere at Signature, is a “screwball comedy” and “a tribute… to the great English farces of the 1930s and 1940s.” Starring Jeff McCarthy, Holly Twyford and Andrew Long, A Fox on the Fairway is “about love, life, and man’s eternal love affair with… golf.” See a video promo here.

News

Planetarium Group Receives Major Gift

By ARLnow.com

Published October 7, 2010 at 12:42PM

An approximately $50,000 grant from the Children’s Fund of Metropolitan Washington will be made by the end of the month, Friends of the Planetarium president Alice Monet said today.

Up to this point, the Friends had raised about $22,500. The group is trying to raise $400,000 by next summer to upgrade the 40-year-old planetarium facility.

Events

Have Fun at Weekend Fundraisers

By ARLnow.com

Published September 30, 2010 at 3:58PM

Want to have fun, learn something new, get some exercise, meet cool people and raise money for a good cause? If so, there are three great events to attend this weekend, starting tonight. (Is it wishful thinking to consider Thursday night the weekend?)

Tonight, the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation is partnering with the Colon Cancer Alliance, Harry’s Tap Room and socialite/blogger Pamela Sorensen to throw a happy hour fundraiser, part of the DC Goes Blue Week for Colon Cancer. It’s taking place from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Harry’s Tap Room (2800 Clarendon Blvd). The happy hour will include a silent auction, raffle prizes, a signature “Blue Life” cocktail specially created for DC Goes Blue week, as well as special guest celebrities. A portion of all sales from the event will go to benefit Chris4Life and the Colon Cancer Alliance.

Events

Planetarium Boosters Plan Another Night of Shows

By ARLnow.com

Published September 27, 2010 at 10:29AM

The program will start at 3:00 p.m. with a “Solar System Tour” for ages 3 and up, followed by a show called “Hubble Vision II” for ages 8 and up.

From 5:00 to 9:30 p.m., space fans will be able to look at real stars thanks to a collection of telescopes that will be set up outside the planetarium.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 17, 2010 at 8:15AM | Updated September 17, 2010 at 8:50AM

Planetarium Group to Sell Seats — You can now have your name etched permanently in the David M. Brown Planetarium. The Friends of the Planetarium, which is raising money for much-needed renovations, is offering to engrave brass plaques on the back of one of 55 seats, for a donation of $1,000 or more.

BRAC Meeting Gets Rowdy — For the most part, it was an informative and respectful discussion. But some folks couldn’t contain their anger at the lack of transportation planning related to Alexandria’s massive Mark Center project. Military officials heard an earful. The meeting was organized by Rep. Jim Moran, who has sponsored legislation to delay the move of 6,400 military jobs to the building until sufficient transportation infrastructure is in place. More from the Washington Post.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 2, 2010 at 5:26AM | Updated August 2, 2010 at 9:04AM

Circulator Bus Service Comes to Arlington — On Sept. 1, DDOT will begin operating a new Circulator bus route between Georgetown and Arlington. More from the Washington Examiner.

Planetarium Fundraiser Draws a Crowd — More than 400 people attended the “Night at the Planetarium” fundraiser at the David M. Brown planetarium Saturday night, organizers said. The event raised about $4,500 to help save the planetarium from closure.

Events

To Do This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Published July 30, 2010 at 1:20PM

Rosslyn’s “I Love the 90s” outdoor film festival has been been plagued by rainy weather this summer. But not tonight. Expect perfect clear skies and comfortable temperatures for tonight’s screening of 1994’s “Dumb and Dumber” in Rosslyn Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway). The movie starts around 8:00.

On Saturday, more perfect weather is expected for the Friends of the David M. Brown Planetarium fundraiser. From 4:00 to 9:30 p.m., the Friends and the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club will be holding a marathon session of planetarium shows, to be followed by a chance to look at real stars through NOVAC’s telescopes. The event is being held at the planetarium, near Washington-Lee High School (1426 North Quincy Street).

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 30, 2010 at 9:16AM

Woman Locked Inside Virginia Square-GMU Station — A 25-year-old woman said she felt “completely terrified” when she found herself alone locked inside the Virginia Square-GMU Metro station Tuesday night. Metro says the station manager, who is supposed to walk the length of the platform before locking up at night, will receive some “retraining,” Fox5 reports.

Planetarium Group Doesn’t Expect to Meet Fundraising Goals — The board president of the Friends of the Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium says the fundraising goals set by the school board are “unrealistic” and she doesn’t expect to be able to meet them. Alice Monet says she hopes that showing a large base of support will convince the board to keep the aging planetarium open. More from the Washington Post.

Events

Planetarium Fundraising Event Planned

By ARLnow.com

Published July 13, 2010 at 2:09PM | Updated July 14, 2010 at 11:01AM

From 4:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 31, the Friends and the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club will be holding a marathon session of planetarium shows, to be followed by a chance to look at real stars through NOVAC’s telescopes.

The stargazing will take place outside the planetarium (1426 North Quincy Street). The County will shut off the lights at the nearby Washington-Lee High School track so the dark sky will be visible.

Schools

Planetarium Fundraising Underway, But Goals Are Daunting

By ARLnow.com

Published June 21, 2010 at 10:58AM

Not bad for a grassroots community organization. But in order to meet the first fundraising goal set by superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy, the group will have to raise another $158,620 over the next 100 days. In order to meet the final goal, the group will need to raise another $400,000 over the next year.

The daunting goal is more than the group thinks it needs to raise to upgrade the 40-year-old planetarium. School officials have included a $162,000 dome replacement in the cost — an expense the group disagrees with. Instead of squabbling over the dome, however, organizer Raphael Perrino says the group has decided to focus on raising money.

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