Author: ARLnow.com

Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

New Rooftop Beer Garden in Clarendon — The company behind Ambar is opening three new Mexican restaurant concepts in the former La Tasca space: “Tacos, Tortas & Tequila (TTT), Buena Vida and eventually a rooftop Mexican beer garden called Up.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

School Board to Gather Once More at Ed Center — Past and present Arlington School Board members will gather prior to the April 19 board meeting for a final group photo at the Arlington Education Center building. School administrators are leaving the 50-year-old building for leased administrative offices along Washington Blvd, to make way for a new high school program. [InsideNova]

Deloitte Expanding in Rosslyn — “Global consulting firm Deloitte LLP plans to significantly increase its footprint in the Waterview building in Rosslyn, where it recently subleased about 120,000 square feet from Gartner Inc. The sublease boosts Deloitte’s presence at 1919 N. Lynn St. to about 450,000 square feet, including the five floors it has picked up from Gartner… The firm now has around 8,000 employees in Rosslyn, its largest of 13 offices across Greater Washington.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Named Nation’s Top Place for Runners

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has been named the No. 1 best “city” for runners, according to new rankings from the website SmartAsset.

From the 2018 rankings:

Anyone who lives and runs in Arlington is probably aware of the large number of races in the city. According to our data, no city in the study has more races relative to population size than Arlington.

And if road races are not your speed, there are plenty of other ways to run in this city. It has top 10 scores for number of gyms per 10,000 residents and percent of residents who have park access.

The top 10 best cities for runners, according to the rankings, are:

  1. Arlington, Va.
  2. Minneapolis, Minn.
  3. Madison, Wis. (tie)
  4. San Francisco, Calif. (tie)
  5. Seattle, Wash.
  6. Pittsburgh, Pa.
  7. Washington, D.C.
  8. St. Paul, Minn.
  9. Boston, Mass.
  10. Denver, Colo.

The rankings took into account “number of races per 10,000 residents, walkability, safety, housing cost as a percent of income, gyms per 10,000 residents, percent of a city covered by parkland and percent of residents with access to a park.”

Image via SmartAsset

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Woman Killed in Freak Accident — Anne Viviani, an Arlington resident and world class triathlete, was killed when the car she was a passenger in struck a deer on I-85 in South Carolina Monday morning. Viviani, 68, was pronounced dead at the scene. [Greenville News]

Arlington Man Killed in Fiery Crash — A 32-year-old Arlington man, Antwuan Barnes, was killed early Sunday in Martinsburg, W. Va. Police say the driver of a car in which he was passenger tried to take a turn too fast and slid into a tree, shearing the vehicle in two and causing it to burst into flames. [Martinsburg Journal, MetroNews]

Fairlington Condo Association Rolls Out Trash Cans — The Fairlington Villages condo association has rolled out dozens of large black trash bins for residents to deposit their garbage. The move follows a series of raccoon attacks in north Fairlington and is intended to discourage the nocturnal critters from taking up residence. Following the roll out, the association suspended its raccoon trapping campaign. [Fairlington Villages]

Crystal City Building Wraps, Explained — Washington Post columnist John Kelly has an explanation for why property owner JBG Smith commissioned a series of four colorful building wraps to spruce up some of its older office buildings in Crystal City. Not mentioned in the article: that the neighborhood is a top contender for Amazon’s HQ2. [Washington Post]

Thousands Ticketed for Driving Slow in Left Lane — “Thousands of people have been fined since Virginia implemented a law setting penalties for driving too slowly in the left lane of a highway… from July 1, 2017, through April 3, more than 16,000 people were cited under various portions of the law.” [NBC Washington]

Late Night Hot Pot — Chinese hot pot restaurant Mala Tang has extended its hours until 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, according to a press release.

BREAKING: Governor Vetoes Country Club Bill

By ARLnow.com

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has vetoed legislation that would have dramatically reduced Arlington County’s tax revenue from two country clubs.

HB 1204 would have reduced the tax bills for Army Navy Country Club and Washington Golf and Country Club, but would have cost the county’s coffers nearly $1.5 million annually.

The state legislature will now have an opportunity to override the veto.

More from an Arlington County press release:

“We are grateful to Governor Northam for vetoing HB 1204,” Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said. “The governor, by his action to keep authority over local property assessments in the hands of local government, and not in Richmond, has shown real leadership.  This legislation had major implications for all localities across the Commonwealth.”

Arlington encourages all local governments to unify and ask their legislators to sustain the veto when the General Assembly reconvenes April 18 at the State Capitol, Cristol said.

“We are committed to resolving the assessment issue with the golf courses, and we are confident that we can find an equitable solution,” she said. “I want to thank our Arlington delegation for standing strong with us throughout this process.”

In his veto message, Northam says that he expects Arlington and the clubs to reach a compromise soon. The clubs are suing the county, fighting back against what they say is an unfair way to assess what is essentially open space — treating the many acres of golf courses as developable land.

The governor’s veto message is below.

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1204, which requires the County of Arlington to assess two private country clubs within its boundaries as land dedicated to open space rather than its current method of highest and best use.

This is a local dispute over a local government’s method of assessing land for property taxation. As such, the solution to this dispute should be reached on the local level without the involvement of the state.

I have been assured that an agreement acceptable to both sides of this dispute is close to being reached. I encourage the parties to continue negotiations to find a solution so that similar legislation will not be necessary in the future.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.

Sincerely,

Ralph S. Northam

Thank You to Our Advertisers

By ARLnow.com

ARLnow.com is an advertiser-supported independent local news website.

Our advertisers allow us to hire reporters and bring their local reporting to the entire community without a paywall. Please join us in supporting local organizations that support local journalism.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Overturned Vehicle Reported on GW Parkway

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4 p.m.) A vehicle has overturned on the GW Parkway near the Roosevelt Bridge.

The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest the vehicle crossed several lanes of traffic before running off the side of the southbound GW Parkway.

The vehicle overturned and came to rest on the driver’s side. The occupant of the vehicle was able to get out and was not reported to be seriously injured.

Southbound traffic is slow approaching the crash scene, backing up well past the Key Bridge.

Image (top) via Google Maps

Cupcake Shop, Mediterranean Restaurant Coming to Pentagon Row

By ARLnow.com
1/6

A pair of new restaurants are coming to the Pentagon Row shopping center in Pentagon City.

Smallcakes, a cupcake and ice cream chain, is set to open in a vacant storefront adjacent to the former Ristorante Murali.

Smallcakes has more than 200 locations in the U.S. and abroad. It touts its freshly-made treats, including a daily offering of 18 cupcake flavors — with “seasonal and special flavors such as Maple Bacon, Fat Elvis, Cannoli, Strawberries N’ Crème, Tiramisu, French Toast, and Pumpkin” — and 15 ice cream flavors, which are “a nod to Smallcakes’ famous cupcake recipes.”

The Pentagon Row Smallcakes location is simply listed as “coming soon” on the company’s website.

Also coming to the shopping center is Aabee Restaurant, a “Persian and Mediterranean fusion” restaurant formerly located in Fairfax. Permanent signs are up for Aabee, which is opening in the former NKD Pizza storefront across the parking lot from Harris Teeter.

Aabee’s former location is listed as closed on Yelp. Neither its former website nor Facebook page have been updated to reflect the apparent closure and new location, though a new website was recently launched. A phone number listed for the business has been disconnected.

In its previous location, Aabee offered soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, kabobs and Iranian stew dishes. It also had Saturday night belly dancing shows, according to the restaurant website.

Weekend Crime: Indecent Exposure in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

A woman called police early Saturday morning after a man allegedly walked up to her car while masturbating.

The incident happened shortly before 1 a.m. on the 1300 block of N. Danville Street, a residential block several blocks down from Clarendon’s bar district.

The victim told police that she had just gotten into her car when the man approached with his genitals exposed but his face covered by a hood.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2018-04070016, 1300 block of N. Danville Street. At approximately 12:53 a.m. on April 7, police were dispatched to the report of an exposure. Upon arrival, it was determined that as the female victim entered her vehicle, an unknown male suspect approached the vehicle on foot and allegedly began masturbating. The victim yelled and the suspect fled the area prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a black male in his late twenties, approximately six feet tall, with a full beard, wearing an army green hooded sweatshirt, with the hood covering his face, and grey sweatpants. The investigation is ongoing.

Photo via Google Maps

Potential Trouble for Alt’s in Lyon Park

By ARLnow.com

Alt’s, a new restaurant in Lyon Park specializing in meatless burgers, may be hitting some roadblocks on its way to opening.

Last month, after a representative showed up unannounced at our offices to drop off menus, it seemed like an opening was imminent. Over the weekend, however, a local resident sent us a photo of a legal notice posted on the storefront at 2300 N. Pershing Drive that suggests the opening might not be happening soon, after all.

The notice says Alt’s has failed to obtain proper insurance and pay more than $56,000 in rent.

Should Alt’s fail to fix each of the items detailed in 10-15 days, the notice says, “then be advised that KV Associates, LLC intends to exercise its option… to terminate the lease.”

The Alt’s Facebook page was last updated on May 22, 2015 when the restaurant announced that it had signed a lease.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

First Responders Say Starting Pay Is Too Low — “Patrick Gorman was just beginning to enjoy his job as an Arlington, Va., police officer when he decided to quit. His wife was pregnant with twins, and they already had a 2-year-old. Even with both working full time, he said, they couldn’t afford to live in the area. Two months out of training, he left the department in February and moved to North Carolina.” [Washington Post]

Large Arlington Contingent for Boston Marathon — Some 77 runners from Arlington are set to compete in the prestigious Boston Marathon a week from today. [InsideNova]

Public Safety Personnel Recognized for Crisis Interventions — “Four Arlington County police officers, two sheriff’s deputies, and a 9-1-1 dispatcher were honored this week for their exemplary work in responding to people in a mental health crisis when on a call or on the job.” [Arlington County]

Spotted: Michael Irvin — Former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin was spotted hanging out at Champps on Pentagon Row over the weekend. [Twitter]

Rosslyn Hotel Opening Brings Up HQ2 — It’s difficult to find an economic development event in Northern Virginia these days that doesn’t spark discussions of Amazon’s HQ2. At an opening for the new Homewood Suites hotel in Rosslyn, Arlington Economic Development Director Victor Hoskins remarked that “you’d have to build, like, 10 more of these” if Amazon were to come to Arlington. [Washington Business Journal]

ARLnow Doesn’t Have a Wikipedia Page — Did you know that despite being around for more than eight years, and being cited as a source in plenty of Wikipedia pages, ARLnow does not have its own page? With Facebook now starting to use Wikipedia as a signaling mechanism for trustworthiness, now would be a great time for someone to finally give ARLnow its own Wikipedia entry. Pretty please?

JUST IN: Goody’s to Serve Last Slices Tonight

By ARLnow.com
1/12

Beloved Clarendon pizza shop Goody’s will be closing up shop after tonight (Saturday).

Co-owner Vanessa Reisis — affectionately known to customers as “Momma Goody” — confirmed in a brief phone conversation that the family-run pizzeria will be closing after Saturday night and that she and her husband will be retiring.

An anonymous tipster told ARLnow.com Saturday morning that “somebody bought them out” and that the petite storefront along Clarendon’s main drag of bars could “possibly reopen as pizza spot.” Reisis declined to provide additional details about the closure.

Goody’s opened in 2006 and has served legions of local residents, bar-goers and Clarendon office workers since. It is also popular with Arlington police officers, particularly those working the weekend Clarendon bar detail.

Over the past few years Goody’s managed to hang on to its loyal clientele despite competition from the likes of Bronx Pizza and the recently-downsized Pete’s Apizza. Despite the competition, Goody’s continued to serve only two varieties of New York style pizza by the slice: plain and pepperoni.

In a 2016 interview, Reisis said the closing of Hard Times Cafe was a bad harbinger for the “friendly little neighborhood places” that helped turn Clarendon into a popular food and nightlife destination. In 2017, Reisis said on ARLnow’s 26 Square Miles podcast that business had picked up, but running a small shop like hers was still difficult given the neighborhood’s rising rent.

In addition to what it was best known for — food and family — Goody’s was also noted for the hand-drawn seasonal signs on the front window, which always proclaimed that the “best pizza in Arlington” was inside.

View More Stories