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.”
The accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest the biker’s injuries are minor.
The right-hand lane of I-66 is temporarily blocked.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will stop by Arlington on Wednesday to participate in a grand opening ceremony at the new offices of New Media Strategies in Rosslyn.
NMS recently moved into larger offices at 1100 Wilson Boulevard, and the governor will help CEO Pete Snyder formally dedicate the space. No word yet on whether Snyder will break out the jumbo ribbon-cutting scissors for the second time this month.
The drive around Arlington wasn’t terrible during this morning’s deluge — nothing like the dozen drivers who had to be rescued due to rising water in the District.
There were patches of bad traffic, though.
Arlington officials took select members of the media (read: not us) on a hard hat tour of the still under-construction Artisphere last night.
In her write-up of the tour, the Washington Post’s Jacqueline Trescott is skeptical of the county’s ability to finish the project in time for its scheduled October 10 opening.
This morning’s storms did not slam Arlington with the widespread flooding and power outages with which the District is still coping.
The weather did, though, prompt Rosslyn to cancel its lunchtime farmers market and concert today.
Considering that it’s one of the area’s biggest commercial centers, Rosslyn is a bit lacking when it comes to places to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. And that’s not to mention the dearth of fun places to hang out at night (with the possible exceptions of Continental and the handful of restaurants with outdoor seating up Wilson Blvd).
But here’s the good news. We have the ear of a real estate firm that’s looking to attract a new eatery to the area. Something moderately-sized — bigger than a lunch counter but smaller than a Cheesecake Factory.
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).
The man — white, mid-30s, balding, well-dressed — worked for Verizon, according to police and witness accounts. It’s not known why he wanted to take his life that day, nor why he chose to do so in a way that thoroughly traumatized the 10-15 people who witnessed it. The word around his office was that he was a quiet man who was divorced and had kids. On this particular day, people said, he was particularly quiet.
The office workers on their smoke and lunch breaks scattered as the glass fell. If it wasn’t for the glass, a witness said, the man could have easily landed on top of someone. Police arrived within seconds of the 911 call but it was too late. The man was on the ground, bleeding.
