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.

Four Courts Gearing Up For Four Miler, Anniversary Celebration and St. Paddy’s Day

By ARLnow.com

2014 Four Courts Four Miler road race produced by Pacers Events. Saturday, March 15, 2014. Arlington, VA. Photo by Brian W. Knight/Swim Bike Run PhotographyIt’s going to be a busy six days at Ireland’s Four Courts (2051 Wilson Blvd) in Courthouse.

On Saturday morning, the local watering hole will again sponsor the sixth annual Four Courts Four Miler race. After the 9 a.m. race, the bar will be packed with runners enjoying their complimentary beverage and other post-race libations. There will also be a live band.

Registration is still open and will be available at Four Courts on the day of the race.

On Wednesday, Four Courts will mark its 20th anniversary. To celebrate, the bar will be offering Guinness for the original 1996 price of $4.50 from 4-8 p.m. Live music will follow, with Sanford Markley taking the stage at 6 p.m. and Sheen Righter at 9 p.m. There will also be a giveaway of $1,000 cash and other prizes, “in support of your loyal patronage.”

On Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day, Four Courts will open at 9 a.m. for the usual St. Daddy’s festivities. There will be live music all day and a heated tent in the back to help accommodate the crowds.

Dave Cahill, an Irishman and Four Courts’ long-time general manager, credits the establishment’s longevity, amid all the change in Arlington, to its core mission of being a community-oriented place to eat and hang out.

“I think we’ve never lost sight of the fact that we’re a neighborhood restaurant,” he told ARLnow.com today. “We have a great relationship with the community, we sponsor sports teams and donate to charities. We have a home-like atmosphere.”

The evidence of customer loyalty is literally hanging from the walls: Four Courts has sold 2,750 pewter mugs to its regulars. The mugs are proudly displayed around the bar, available for use when a customer comes in. Want more proof? Some of the staff are the now-grown children of Four Courts’ first customers.

In addition to pouring Guinness and running Four Courts, Cahill has another race day duty. He’s the race’s official running leprechaun, of course.

Ten minutes after the race starts, Cahill will take off down the course, dressed in green and accompanied by a lady leprechaun on a bicycle, announcing his approach. By the end of the four mile race, Cahill, 44, will have passed about two-thirds of the field.

“I usually catch the first people around the mile and a half mark,” he said. “I catch more people on the mile 2-3 turn. Then, coming up the hill [on Wilson Blvd between Rosslyn and Courthouse] people start looking over their shoulder waiting to see the leprechaun coming.”

Those who beat the leprechaun get a prize from Pacers. For every runner Cahill passes, $1 is donated to the Arlington County Police Benevolent Fund.

How does he do it? It’s not by tricks or the luck of the Irish. Cahill happens to be a very accomplished amateur runner. At last year’s Potomac River Run Marathon, he clocked a 3:10 finish time, good enough to qualify for his first Boston Marathon, in April.

The Four Miler will result in some road closures Saturday morning. The traffic alert from the Arlington County Police Department, after the jump.

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Bishop O’Connell Grad Dies in Ski Accident

By ARLnow.com

Nathan Rom (photo via Facebook)Nathan Rom, 19-year-old Arlington resident, has died in a ski accident in Colorado.

The Denver Post and other local media reports that Rom lost control on an intermediate trail at Copper Mountain Resort and crashed into a tree. Rom was wearing a helmet but died of blunt force trauma.

The incident happened Wednesday and was the second skiing death in Colorado that day.

Rom was a recent graduate of Bishop O’Connell High School, where he rowed crew and was recognized for academic achievement.

Photo via Facebook

UPDATED: Grateful Red Wine Shop Closes in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com
1/6

Grateful Red, a quirky local wine shop in Clarendon, has closed its doors after almost four years in business.

The store opened in 2012, with a wine selection focused on independent and local wine producers, along beer, gifts and gourmet items. It was located at 2727 Wilson Blvd, next to Revolution Cycles — and across the street from Whole Foods and its large beer and wine selection.

A sign in the window says the space is for lease. So far, there’s no word on why the store closed. The storefront next to Grateful Red — formerly B&C Jewelry — also remains available for lease.

Grateful Red’s Facebook page has not been updated since February. A Twitter post from Feb. 26 announced a storewide sale of up to 50 percent off.

The owners of Grateful Red also own nearby Screwtop Wine Bar, which remains open at 1025 N. Fillmore Street.

Update at 2:15 p.m. — Owner Wendy Buckley has shared an email she sent to customers last month.

Dear Wine & Craft Beer Lovers,

Grateful Red Wine and Gift Shop (brick and mortar) will be closing Sunday March 13th. We will continue to successfully operate a gift basket delivery and online business at GratefulRedWine.com.

This comes after a lot of soul searching within myself over the holidays on whether or not to renew our lease, and in the end I decided that the online and gift basket side of the business was the strongest and most worthwhile for us at the moment.

Current store employees will be absorbed into screwtop or website staff. Our last Beer & Wine Club pick up for Grateful Red will be held on Saturday March 5th. If you are a wine club member you may continue on with screwtop’s wine club, which is a wonderful club that features wines from all over the world. We will, however discontinue the beer club after March 5th.
If you have purchased or received a Grateful Red gift card, please try and use it before March 13th. Any gift card not used by the 13th, will of course be honored at screwtop. Please see the website on the back of your gift card to periodically check the balance, as these gift cards slowly lose value after long periods of time not used.

Thank you so much for all the love & support these last few years, and your continued support of screwtop.

If you have any questions you may reach me via email – [email protected]

If you know a business that might be a perfect fit for the space at 2727 Wilson, the broker in charge of re-leasing can be reached at [email protected].

I will also be looking for homes for some of the wine shelving and other fixtures, so shoot me an email if you have any interest. FREE to good home! :-)

Warmest Regards,
-Wendy Buckley, Owner

Morning Poll: Boat Shoe Time?

By ARLnow.com

Boat shoesIf there’s an article of footwear more ubiquitous than the famous brown flip flop in Arlington, it’s the boat shoe.

Come summertime, boat shoes abound, on the feet of both men and women.

But given this week’s warm weather, we were wondering when the appropriate time is to dust off one’s boat shoes and begin wearing them around town.

What’s your boat shoe rule?

Construction Accident Shuts Down Lynn Street Friday Morning

By ARLnow.com

An accident at the Central Place construction site in Rosslyn shut down N. Lynn Street earlier this morning.

The accident happened around 6:45 a.m. Lynn Street was closed at Wilson Blvd due to the emergency response.

“A construction worker was unloading material from a crane when the material fell on top of him,” said Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “Other construction workers on scene were able to [free] him.”

A construction crane was used to bring the injured worker down from the fifth level of the under-construction building, said a fire department spokesman.

The worker was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

https://twitter.com/thechrisroth/status/708260842597433344

Virginia Highlands Park Ribbon Cutting Scheduled for Sunday

By ARLnow.com
1/9

Arlington County will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at Virginia Highlands Park on Sunday, marking the completion of a nearly $2 million renovation project.

The renovations include new basketball courts, tennis courts, tennis practice courts, drinking fountains, water bottle fillers and site furnishings. There’s also new “dark sky” lighting and parking and accessibility improvements.

“Join the community in celebrating this newly renovated space!” said the invitation to the ceremony, which is scheduled to run from 1-2:30 p.m.

“The ribbon cutting ceremony will include fun activities for kids and adults including a tennis drill clinic for kids and adults hosted by FirstServe Tennis Academy and a basketball clinic for kids with shooting and dribbling instructions that will culminate into fun group games hosted by Tiptop Sports.”

The park is located at 1600 S. Hayes Street, near Pentagon City.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Partial Closures of N. George Mason Drive, Marshall Drive Tonight

By ARLnow.com

N. George Mason Drive (photo via Google Maps)The southbound lanes of a portion of N. George Mason Drive will be closed to traffic during the evening rush hour.

Southbound traffic is being detoured between Patrick Henry Drive and 20th Street, just south of Lee Highway, according to the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services. The closure is due to emergency water main repairs, said an Arlington Alert email.

“Seek alternate routes,” DES said via Twitter.

Separately, Marshall Drive remains closed tonight near the Iwo Jima Memorial due to a sinkhole reported this morning. Repairs to the roadway are still underway, according to scanner traffic.

Photo (top) via Google Maps

Driver Whacked With Bat in Road Rage Incident

By ARLnow.com

Police car lightsA road rage dispute between two drivers led to one hitting the other with a baseball bat.

The incident happened Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., at the intersection of S. Glebe Road and West Glebe Road, on the Arlington-Alexandria border near I-395.

Police say a verbal dispute turned violent when one of the drivers — both drivers were men — got out of his car and smashed the other’s car window with the bat, striking him with the bat and broken glass in the process.

From an Arlington County Police crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 160309023, 1200 block of West Glebe Road. At approximately 1:36 p.m. on March 9, following a verbal altercation between two drivers, a male subject pulled out a wooden bat and swung at the victim’s car. The victim’s vehicle was damaged and he was struck with the bat. The suspect is described as a black male in his fifties, approximately 5’11” tall and weighed 125 lbs. He was wearing a short sleeved cream colored button-up shirt and green pants.

It’s Pothole Season and Arlington Has Filled 2,440 Potholes So Far

By ARLnow.com

A VDOT pothole crew blocks traffic on the ramp from Washington Blvd to Route 50 for about 10 minutes on 3/8/16

We’re in the midst of the pothole season — that bumpy time on local roads as the spring thaw starts and asphalt pockmarks form.

Arlington County says its crews have filled 2,440 potholes this season, a relatively low number compared to last year’s record-setting 12,100 potholes following a rough winter.

In a press release (below), the county is encouraging residents to report potholes to county crews or to VDOT (if on a state route like Washington Blvd or Route 50).

They’re not here to save the world but the County’s Pothole Busters are out to prevent some haunting damage to tires, rims and maybe even your car’s pricey suspension.

If there’s a growing rut in your neighborhood, pick up the phone and call the Department of Environmental Services’ (DES) customer care center at 703-228-6570 (after hours, use 703-228-6555) to report the offender. Or complete the County’s online “Report a Problem” form.

Issues related to state routes such as Washington Boulevard are forwarded to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

With the arrival of warm weather, DES Pothole Buster crews have ramped up repairs along Arlington’s 974 lane miles of roads. Some 2,440 potholes have been filled so far this season. Last year the County patched a record-setting 12,100 dips and depressions.

In the words of Pothole Buster deputy director of operations Mike Moon, the goal is for all our streets to be “safe, smooth and durable” after a blizzard’s worth of harm.

Motorists can help by staying cautious and alert as additional trucks and crews are out repairing what at times may look like a supernatural asphalt assault.

For updates on Pothole Busters progress, follow @ArlingtonDES on Facebook and Twitter and look for the hashtag #PotholeBusters.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Tree blossoms in Lyon Park

Police Seek Witness in Pentagon City Investigation — Arlington County Police are trying to find a witness who rendered aid to an injured man found face down in the street in Pentagon City. The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. on February 25, on the 1200 block of S. Eads Street. The 65-year-old man remains in critical but stable condition. [Arlington County]

Group Forms to Oppose Gun Store — Updated at 11:05 a.m. — A group called Act4LyonPark has formed to oppose NOVA Armory, the gun store that’s planning to open on March 26 at 2300 N. Pershing Drive. So far, Act4LyonPark has raised $6,300 to support its activities. The group says that in a recent vote, 88 percent of residents who responded voted for the Lyon Park Citizens Association to take an official stance against the gun shop.

Board to Consider Relaxed Historic Rules for Schools — The Arlington County Board is expected to vote Saturday on a proposal to make it easier for Arlington Public Schools to make changes to schools within local historic districts. The proposal would remove schools from the oversight of the county’s rigid Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board. Facing a school capacity crunch, APS says going through HALRB adds unnecessary delays and costs to projects. [InsideNova]

One Person Filed 6,500 Noise Complaints Against DCA — A single individual is responsible for 6,500 of the 8,670 noise complaints filed against Reagan National Airport last year, according to the airports authority. [WTOP]

Chamber Savors Hotel Tax Victory — With Arlington’s 0.25 percent hotel tax surcharge reinstated, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is celebrating a long-awaited legislative victory. “Reinstating Arlington’s [Transient Occupancy Tax] was the Chamber’s top priority for the 2016 legislative session, with the funds generated by the additional TOT providing much needed support to ensure that Arlington remains competitive in attracting leisure and business travel,” said Chamber president and CEO Kate Roche. [Arlington Chamber of Commerce]

Local Musician Wins Songwriting Award — Arlington’s Justin Jones has won the $10,000 grand prize from a local songwriting competition in Bethesda. [Instagram]

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