At a ceremony on the grounds of the Iwo Jima memorial this morning, some 50 wounded warriors will receive brand new Segway personal transport vehicles, the reward for “graduating” from a training program sponsored by the military charity Segs4Vets.
Although two such graduation ceremonies have taken place here every year for the past couple of years, this is the first in which the Arlington Police Department is playing an integral part.
Unable to sign a tenant or obtain financing for the building, owner Monday Properties is paying the first $30 million of the project’s estimated $300 million cost in cash, according to the Washington Post.
Once it’s built, the 390-foot building will be the tallest in the Washington area. It will offer expansive views of the DC skyline and surrounding areas.
A tipster tells us that Southwest reps, armed with ID cards, free peanuts and a bullhorn, are promoting their “bags fly free” campaign.
Our tipster notes: “When asked if they would be flying into DCA, the response was ‘we’re trying.'”
Two months ago the county board approved funding for construction of a second entrance to the heavily-used Rosslyn Metro Station. The new entrance will be built between North Moore Street and Lynn Street, across the street from the existing Metro entrance.
This week, the county released artist’s renderings of what the entrance will look like.
Bayou Bakery Opening Set — Cookbook author David Guas is hoping to open his Bayou Bakery coffee bar and eatery concept by November 1. The restaurant, which is taking over the old Camille’s space at 1515 North Courthouse Road, will feature Louisiana-style pastries, sweets, sausages, and other savory selections.
Rosslyn CVS To Renovate — The CVS at 1100 Wilson Boulevard will be getting a major facelift. The 26-year-old, nearly 10,000 square foot pharmacy will get a new layout, new window displays and new finishes throughout the store. No timeline was given for the construction. More from the Washington Business Journal.
Novo was a fixture of the arts scene in Columbia, S.C. up until earlier this month, when he packed up and moved to Arlington. Novo, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, left Columbia after 18 years to allow his wife, a chemist, to take a new job in the Washington area. As newspapers mourned his departure, Novo prepared himself for his new life in D.C.
The first act in his D.C. story comes tonight, when a selection of his works entitled “Sueños de Insomnio” (Dreams of Insomnia) will go on display at Piola restaurant (1550 Wilson Blvd). Novo hopes the exhibition, which runs through November 27, will serve as an “informal introduction… to the local audience.”
Via the scanner, we hear that the Arlington Fire Department is working on freeing three people from a stuck elevator at the Rosslyn Metro station.
Firefighters are currently trying to determine where the elevator car is within the long elevator shaft.
Crystal City Serves Up Latin Flare — On Sunday, food and wine lovers flocked to Crystal City for the consumption bonanza known as Vintage Crystal. Now in its fourth year, Vintage Crystal continued last year’s Latin theme. There were South American wines, tequila tastings, salsa dancers and lots and lots of food. See more photos on Flickr.
Capital Bikeshare Gets New York Times Write-up — The Old Gray Lady spent some time in Arlington recently to preview the Capital Bikeshare system, which officially launched yesterday. Not content to give Arlington and DC all the spotlight for hosting the largest bike share system in the country, the Times noted that New York is studying a possible bike sharing program of its own: 30,000 bikes, nearly 30 times as many as Washington’s modest collection of 1,100 custom-designed Capital Bikeshare cycles. More from the New York Times.
Update at 4:50 p.m. — Townhall tells us via Twitter that the suspicious package was not in their office.
Earlier: Police have shut down streets around 1901 North Moore Street in Rosslyn due to a suspicious package in the building. The package is reportedly being x-rayed at this time.
Home Alone in Rosslyn — Thanks to a summer rainstorm a few weeks ago, tomorrow will be the last day of the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival. Home Alone will be shown in the usual spot in Rosslyn’s Gateway Park. The 1990 classic family comedy (“without the family”) will play on the big screen starting at dusk.
Satellite Truck is Still Parked in Arlington — A mysterious satellite truck, which we’ve written about two times before, continues to pester residents in north Arlington. A tipster tells us the truck is parked on Fairfax Drive near Arlington Traditional School. It has been there at least a week.
Only about 1,000 workers have left as a result of BRAC, estimates Andrea Morris, BRAC coordinator for Arlington County.
Morris says there will be a slow trickle of BRAC moves for the next six months. But starting in May 2011, the floodgates will open. After the initial wave in May, BRACed jobs will continue to leave Arlington at a staggered pace up to the Sept. 15, 2011 deadline.
According to the Examiner, Rosslyn has experienced a “transformation” over the past decade that has made it “cleaner and greener” and a more attractive place to live.
“Rosslyn is becoming much more mixed use,” Rosslyn BID finance director John Seal told the paper. “There are so many things to do here that people tend to overlook.”
