Around Town

The plaque marks the building where employees of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency helped to conceive ARPANET, the forerunner to the internet. Last week several of those former DARPA employees attended an Arlington County Board meeting, where the plaque was unveiled and dedicated.

Imagine the surprise of our tipster, then, when he saw the words at the bottom of the sign: “Erected in 2008 by Arlington County, Virginia.” The sign was only installed last week, so why does it say it was erected in 2008?


News

APS High Schools Ranked in Top One Percent — Arlington’s public high schools each ranked in the top one percent of the Washington Post’s national Challenge Index rankings. H-B Woodlawn ranked the highest at #46, and was #1 among Washington area high schools. Wakefield was at the bottom of the pack at #367 nationally and #50 locally. The Challenge Index measures the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests taken by all students at a high school in 2010. [Arlington Public Schools]

Lopez Attracts Local Political Support — House of Delegates 49th District candidate Alfonso Lopez has named County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman and County Sheriff Beth Arthur as co-chairs of his campaign. Lopez will face Stephanie Dix Clifford in the August 23 Democratic primary. [Sun Gazette]


Traffic

The Rosslyn stretch of Wilson Boulevard from N. Arlington Ridge Road to N. Oak Street is in the process of being repaved. Part of the repaving east of N. Lynn Street has already been completed. Much of the rest of the road has been milled, awaiting repaving.

The milled surface will make for rough driving until it can be covered with blacktop. The repaving is being done as part of Arlington’s summer street repair program, which seeks to repair “old, substandard streets.” N. Arlington Ridge Road is also being repaved as part of the program.


News

Tolliver is being sought for questioning by Arlington police after several office burglaries in Rosslyn and Crystal City. Cops say that someone matching Tolliver’s description poses as a maintenance worker or mold inspector, then enters unsecured or “under-secured” offices and takes cash from wallets, purses and petty cash boxes.

According to a letter sent to property managers:


Around Town

Mixed Signals During Fire Alarms at Senior Facility — During fire alarms at The Jefferson senior living facility in Ballston, a recorded voice tells residents to evacuate the 21-story building via the stairwell. Except, for safety reasons, most residents are supposed to remain in their condo with the door shut. This has confused some elderly residents, who risked injury by attempting to walk down long flights of stairs during fire alarms. While acknowledging the inconsistency, both building management and the fire department say they can’t change the recorded message due to “liability” reasons. [Washington Post]

Politico Reporters to Speak at Rosslyn Lecture Series — Politico White House reporter Julie Mason and congressional reporter Jonathan Allen will be the speakers at Rosslyn’s “Rooms with a View” lecture series next week. Mason and Allen will discuss “Washington’s divided political landscape” and take questions from the audience. The event is free (RSVP required). It will be held on Thursday, May 19, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Boeing conference center at 1200 Wilson Boulevard. [Rosslyn BID]


News

(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) Police investigated a bomb threat at the WJLA (ABC 7) building (1100 Wilson Blvd) in Rosslyn this afternoon.

Initial reports suggest the threat was non-specific. Pedestrian traffic was still allowed in and out of the building as normal as police and building employees searched in and around the building. A police dog could be seen sniffing around news vans at the station’s parking lot.


Around Town

It’s hard to say whether it was a normal lunchtime crowd or if people were feeling a bit more festive today for Cinco de Mayo, but the Chipotle in Rosslyn was packed to the gills today. A line snaked around three walls of the restaurant as office workers and residents waited patiently for their burrito fix.

Elsewhere along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, a healthy crowd sat outside Mexicali Blues in Clarendon, sipping Coronas in the cool sunshine. Santa Fe in Rosslyn, meanwhile, was still doing steady business at 1:15 p.m.


Around Town

There’s a (relatively) new food truck in town.

Doug the Food Dude‘ has been cruising the streets of Rosslyn since the beginning of the month. The truck serves a varying menu of all-natural (MSG and preservative-free) dishes. Today’s specials included parmesan-crusted salmon, Italian sausage albanese, steak  fajita egg roll and a variety of wraps.


Events

Rosslyn’s outdoor film festival returns to Gateway Park on Friday, and this year’s theme is “Saturday Night Live performers.” Every Friday night from now until August 26, different movies starring different Saturday Night Live stars will be shown on a big inflatable screen.

The movies get underway just after dusk — about 8:00 p.m. After 6:00 p.m., parking is available for $3 at 1901 and 1911 N. Fort Myer Drive, across the street from the park.


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