Around Town

The publicity stunt will start at the intersection of N. Lynn Street and Lee Highway in Rosslyn. “Flight Time” will dribble and spin basketballs for one mile from the intersection, across the Key Bridge, and to a basketball court at a playground in Georgetown. (See a map of the route here.)

“Flight Time’s grand arrival tips off ‘Globetrotter Week’ in the D.C. metropolitan area, which includes multiple school visits and goodwill appearances,” the Globetrotters said in a press release. “The week concludes as the Globetrotters bring their one-of-a-kind skills to town for three big games on March 24 & 25: Verizon Center in Washington D.C. (Sat., March 24 at 1 p.m.) and the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA (Sat., March 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Sun., March 25 at 2 p.m.).”


News

Anti-Obama Metro Ad to Stay — A controversial advertisement in the Clarendon Metro station that tells President Obama to “go to hell” will not be taken down early. Metro General Manager Richard Sarles says he’s offended by the ad, but Metro cannot legally remove the ad due to its content. The ad is scheduled to be taken down on Sunday, March 11 following the end of a one month run. [NBC Washington]

Rosslyn as San Francisco — Civic boosters once tried to brand Rosslyn as “Manhattan on the Potomac.” But Arlington’s new planning director has another comparison in mind. He says Rosslyn reminds him of San Francisco. [Ode Street Tribune]


News

Frida Kahlo Opening Tonight — An exhibit of 259 personal photographs of renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo will go on display at Rosslyn’s Artisphere cultural center (1101 Wilson Blvd) tonight. It’s the first time the photos have been on display in the U.S. A public opening is being held tonight from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. The exhibit will run through March 25. [PBS Newshour]

Kapinos Re-Ups with Steelers — NFL punter and Arlington resident Jeremy Kapinos has re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kapinos, who lives in Arlington in the off-season, is reportedly making between $600,000 and $1.26 million for the one-year deal. [Steelers Depot]


News

Management Change at Hotel Palomar — After being sold for some $45 million, Rosslyn’s upscale Hotel Palomar (1121 19th Street N.) will be changing management companies. Effective Feb. 22, Kimpton Hotels will no longer manage the property. Instead, it will be managed in partnership with Starwood Hotels and Le Meridien. [Hotel Palomar]

Legal Advertising Bill Fails in Richmond — A bill that would have lifted the requirement that Virginia localities place legal notices in newspapers has failed in the General Assembly. The bill could have saved localities thousands of dollars per year. Most of Arlington County’s legal advertising is placed in the Washington Times. [Sun Gazette]


Events

The week celebrates social media — think: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. — and “its role as a catalyst in driving cultural, economic, political and social change in developed and emerging markets.” This is the first year that the D.C. area formally hosted events for Social Media Week, which now counts 21 cities worldwide as participants.

Rosslyn’s Social Media Week events will take place at Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd) starting at 8:00 tonight. First up is is e-Geaux (beta), an interactive theater event that finds comedy and some cautionary tales in social media. e-Geaux — pronounced “ego” — has been profiled on NPR, DCist.com and elsewhere. Tickets to the show, at Artisphere’s Dome Theater, cost $15.


News

Arlington cannot proceed with building a boathouse without approval from the National Park Service, because the waterfront land along this side of the Potomac River actually belongs to NPS. By law, NPS is required to perform a study about how such a venture would impact the cultural and natural resources in the area.

Estimated to take from two to three years, an environmental impact study is the longer and more thorough of two main studies that can be performed. The other is an environmental assessment, which is done on less controversial matters and typically takes one to two years. Environmental assessments had previously been initiated for an Arlington boathouse, but due to various limiting factors including staffing and lack of resources, they were scrapped. This time, all involved parties are dedicated to seeing the EIS through.


News

Blasting for the project is now complete, officials say, having resulted in the excavation of more than 11,000 cubic yards of rock over the past 10 months.

The $32.6 million project will add a new entrance to the Rosslyn Metro station, featuring three high-speed elevators and an emergency staircase, but no escalators. The project cost includes the construction of new fare collection and vending equipment, as well as a new kiosk and a new entrance mezzanine.


Around Town

The training center is connected to Verve Health & Fitness near the Rosslyn metro. Verve Co-owner Michael Lin explained that part of the existing facility was partitioned off to add CrossFit. Lin believes offering both CrossFit style workouts and more traditional exercise options benefits customers.

“I believe the balance is very important to keep a person as healthy and capable as physically possible,” said Lin.


News

Hotel Palomar For Sale? — Connecticut-based HEI Hospitality LLC is in talks to buy Hotel Palomar (1121 19th Street N.) in Rosslyn for a reported $45 million, or nearly $300,000 per room. The high-end hotel is currently owned by JBG Cos. and operated by Kimpton Hotels. [Bloomberg]

Redistricting Lawsuit Could Delay Primaries — Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has requested that the state delay the June 12 congressional primaries by two months, following a decision by the Virginia Supreme Court to allow a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s recent redistricting process to proceed. [Washington Post]


News

From 10:00 p.m. Friday to the end of the day on Sunday, the Blue and Orange Lines will be effectively split in two segments. No trains will run between Foggy Bottom and Arlington to “allow for rail fastener renewal, insulator replacement and sludge removal from the tunnel beneath the Potomac River.”

Shuttle buses will run between the Foggy Bottom, Rosslyn and Courthouse stations and from the Foggy Bottom, Rosslyn, Arlington Cemetery and Pentagon stations.


News

Update at 1:00 p.m. — Metro says via Twitter that crews have completed repair work on the cracked rail.

Blue and Orange Line Metro trains are single-tracking through parts of Arlington due to a cracked rail at Rosslyn. As of 11:55 a.m., Metro crews were reported to have repaired 50 percent of the crack.


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