technology | ARLnow.com

Office Owner Sees Tech, Start-Up Future for Arlington

Published August 30, 2012 at 4:35PM | Updated January 30, 2017 at 6:52PM

Raymond Rahbar, a Courthouse resident, is a founder of UberOffices, a shared office space located on one floor of a high-rise at 1400 Key Boulevard. The office opened in July and already a number of young companies now call home.

Rahbar says he was able to attract a number of companies from other parts of the D.C. area thanks to a number of factors, including: Rosslyn’s central location relative to federal offices in D.C. and Northern Virginia; an abundance of nearby transportation options; proximity to the homes of potential employees; and relatively low taxes in Virginia.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 23, 2012 at 9:10AM

Man Saves Life of Granddaughter — A grandfather saved the life of his granddaughter on Sunday, after the little girl started choking on fruit inside her family’s Arlington home. The grandfather, Rick Corbett, used his CPR training from the Boy Scouts in order to help save her life. [WUSA 9]

County Still Trying to Buy Courthouse Building — Arlington County is in negotiations to purchase the 1960s-era office building at 2020 14th Street N. The potential purchase sparked controversy among neighbors, largely due to the plan to place a year-round homeless shelter on the building’s lower floors. [Sun Gazette]

Opinion

Apology for Tonight’s Technical Difficulties

By ARLnow.com

Published May 1, 2012 at 10:32PM | Updated May 2, 2012 at 9:20AM

ARLnow.com suffered technical problems around 6:30 tonight and we’re still working to get everything up and working again.

Articles and the home page were inaccessible from 6:30 until about 10:00 p.m. As of 10:25 p.m., we have restored most of the site, but we’re still trying to recover articles, comments and forum posts from the past 24 hours. Please be aware that there’s a risk that comments posted between tonight and tomorrow morning may be lost as we work to recover data.

News

Phone, Internet Problems at Schools, Central Library

By ARLnow.com

Published February 16, 2012 at 5:55PM | Updated February 17, 2012 at 8:45AM

As a result of the outage, librarians are checking out customers by hand at Arlington Central Library, according to library spokesman Peter Golkin. All internet at the library, including access to the library catalog system, is down. Customers at the library can still access the catalog via their smart phones, however.

Most Arlington Public Schools south of Route 50 are also experiencing the same problems, according to a school employee. Phone and internet service has been down at the schools since 2:00 p.m., around the same time Central Library lost its phone and data service.

Around Town

Amphibious Vehicle Demoed at Columbia Island Marina

By ARLnow.com

Published February 7, 2012 at 3:13PM

Michigan-based Gibbs Amphibians held the demonstration in the shadow of the Pentagon in hopes of convincing the military to place orders for their newest land/sea vehicle, dubbed the Phibian.

Company engineers say the Phibian is revolutionary for being able to travel at a high speed on land and on sea. The vehicle can reach up to 80 miles per hour on land, 45 miles per hour on the water, and can enter the water from land at a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour, we’re told. The 30-foot craft has a 7,000 lbs hauling capacity and can transport about a dozen people.

Events

‘Startup Virginia’ Launches in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published January 31, 2012 at 11:00AM

Startup Virginia, part of the privately-funded Startup America Partnership that President Obama helped to launch last year, promises to “support entrepreneurs and help startups drive job creation” in the Commonwealth. Organizers say Northern Virginia in particular is fertile ground for startups, with the numerous corporate headquarters in the area and with the area’s focus on science and technology.

“It’s about time this region got the recognition it deserves,” said a panelist at this morning’s launch event, which was attended by several hundred business leaders, academics and other attendees. Another panelist suggested that entrepreneurs can help pick up some of the economic slack that will be caused by expected cuts in defense spending.

News

APS Employees Meet With Apple Execs

By Katie Pyzyk

Published January 20, 2012 at 9:54AM

Some of the attendees included School Board Member Libby Garvey and Superintendent Patrick Murphy. APS Spokeswoman Linda Erdos notes that of the 12, Garvey was the only one who traveled on her own dime.

As pointed out by the Arlington County Taxpayers Association, some think the trip was an excessive expense, especially considering Arlington spends more per student than any school system in the region. But APS believes it was well worth it.

News

Mobile App Encourages Preparedness in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published November 22, 2011 at 3:50PM

The free app, which can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace and the Apple App Store, gives residents tips on what to do in the event of specific emergencies, provides a feed of Arlington’s emergency alerts, offers a checklist of emergency supplies and lists information about several emergency-related volunteer opportunities in Arlington.

Among the 10 emergencies covered in the “What Do I Do?” section are tornadoes (“if you are inside, seek a place of refuge such as a basement”), earthquakes (“many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris”), and chemical attacks (“immediately strip and wash… look for a hose, fountain or any source of water”).

Opinion

Thank You to Our Server Tech

By ARLnow.com

Published August 22, 2011 at 3:10PM

Yes — Alex and his partner Jennifer do all of those things, and do them well. But he’s also a wizard when it comes to Linux servers, open source server software, and the IT needs of small businesses, and that’s why we’d like to thank him today. Alex has been helping us with our technical/server issues since shortly after we launched, and now he’s spending hours of his scarce free time helping us transition to a newer, faster and more reliable server.

Without Alex’s help, we would have been hard-pressed to keep the site up and running as it grew. Plus, Alex has been our go-to guy for random technical questions and information security-related services.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 12, 2011 at 8:18AM | Updated July 12, 2011 at 8:42AM

Beloved Bishop O’Connell Football Coach Dies — Steve Trimble, Bishop O’Connell High School’s varsity football coach since 2002, died suddenly at his office yesterday morning. Trimble played high school football in Cumberland, Md., before playing for the University of Maryland on a scholarship. He played free safety for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears during the early-to-mid 80s, before playing in arena leagues and then joining the coaching staffs of several NFL teams. Trimble, 53, was the father of four sons, all of whom played football at O’Connell. [Arlington Catholic Herald]

Immigrant Advocate Wants Office for Latinos — Lois Athey, the head of tenants-rights group BU-GATA, told the County Board over the weekend that she would like the county to establish an Office of Latino Affairs for Arlington’s 31,000 Latino residents. Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman asked County Manager Barbara Donnellan to look into options for further outreach to the Latino community. [Sun Gazette]

Around Town

Library Staff Monitoring New Catalog System

By ARLnow.com

Published February 21, 2011 at 3:00PM

Some library patrons have been reporting difficulty logging in, placing holds and setting up lists. Staff have been responding to the feedback and encouraging more people to report their experience with the system.

In addition to the bugs, one tipster worries that the process of signing up for the new catalog system presents an opportunity for identity theft.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 4, 2011 at 5:10AM

District Taco Announces Taco Eating Contest — This sounds like a recipe for some fun, or vomit, or both. District Taco (5723 Lee Highway) will be holding a taco eating contest at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10. Ten contestants will compete to see who can eat the most tacos (without throwing up — seriously, it’s a rule) in 15 minutes. If you think you’ve got what it takes, fill out an entry form and submit it by Thursday. See more information on the District Taco web site.

Blame Technology for Rising Rents — Has your rent gone up recently? If so, a software program may be to blame. A number of large landlords are now using “sophisticated computerized models” to figure out how to price rentals. Arlington-based AvalonBay Communities, which owns rental communities in Ballston and near Shirlington, recently started widespread use of a software package called “Rainmaker” to squeeze every last dollar out of its properties. More from the Wall Street Journal.