Author: Airey

Amazon ‘Treasure Truck’ Rolls into Crystal City, Offering Unique Items for Sale

By Airey

Amazon is sending a pop-up store into Crystal City today with the hopes Arlingtonians will stop by.

The store-on-wheels is dubbed the “Treasure Truck” and travels the country offering “new, trending, local, or delicious items” per a company spokesman. Today the truck will be parked at 2011 Crystal Drive until 1 p.m.

Amazon app users can sign up for notifications that alert them when the truck opens and whatever the truck is offering that day. Users can then purchase the items they want online and pick-up in person at the truck.

In the past, the truck has served up an array of items from brownies to gold Bohemian Rhapsody movie backpacks to lightbulbs, according to Twitter posts.

The truck’s inventory was not available to this reporter online as of 10:45 a.m. this morning.

Amazon’s treasure truck heralds the company’s impending move to the area scheduled for 2021, when it will begin construction for its second headquarters in the Crystal City and Pentagon City area that some local officials have attempted to rebrand as “National Landing.”

The trillion-dollar company’s promise to occupy long vacant real estate and add 25,000 jobs comes in exchange for $23 million in county grant money, $750 million in state incentives, and a head’s up on any Freedom of Information Act Requests, according to documents released this week. It’s a deal that’s drawn criticism from unions and affordable housing advocates as ARLnow previously reported.

Arlington County has also been criticized for directly pitching tax incentives Amazon would be eligible to receive, but which few other businesses have taken advantage of, as ARLnow reported this week.

Photo via @Dr_Pete

Video: Arlington Shares Just How Workers Save Sewer Pipes Without Ripping up Roads

By Airey
Arlington county saves money and roadwork by relining eroded sewer pipes instead of replacing them (via Arlington County).

Have you seen Arlington utility workers feeding what looks like a giant flat worm into your neighborhood manhole?

The process is part of a project to repair sewers countywide. This week, you’ll spot workers on the 6000 block of 2nd Street N., and between W. Glebe Road and S. Fern Street on S. Glebe Road, according to Peter Golkin, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Services.

Above is a video that takes you down the sewer to see the process for yourself. The February video shows work on the four-mile “relief” sewer line along S. Glebe Road, which failed an inspection in 2015 because the pipe’s eroded interior. Digging up and replacing even 75 percent of the pipe could take up to a year and cost millions of dollars, workers said, which is why the county reuses pipes like this one by fixing the inside.

Workers feed a giant, flat polyester and fiber glass bag into sections of the pipe via the manholes. Then they heat up the so-called “cured in place pipe” with steam or hot water to cook resin in the bag. As the beat is “cured” for several hours it begins inflate around the interior of the pipe and harden.

The whole process takes about a day from start to finish and the newly outfitted pipes have an estimated lifespan of 50 years, per the county’s website. Relined pipes also have a better “flow capacity,” meaning they can move more sewage. But best of all, they prevent utility workers from having to rip up the streets.

“As you’d imagine, the savings in terms of money and time are substantial with relining,” Golkin told ARLnow. “At least half the cost, not to mention fewer months and traffic disruptions.”

Arlington hires contractors every year as part of a $16-million-dollar Capital Improvement Program to reline about seven miles of the county’s sewers.

County Board Signals Support for Library Collections Budget Increase

By Airey
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The County Board is moving closer to approving the first increase in the Arlington Public Library’s (APL) collections budget since 2014.

The proposal is part of the FY2020 budget sketched out by County Manager Mark Schwartz, which allocates $300,000 to APL’s budget for books and other materials for rent. The Board expressed broad support for beefing up the library’s budget during a work session Tuesday.

APL’s chief materials manager Peter Petruski presented that increasing the budget would help reduce the e-book hold times which have been “climbing precipitously.”

Together with APL Director Diane Kresh, Petruski told the Board that currently average hold times for an e-book are 38 weeks, but they are confident they can knock that down to 28 weeks.

“That’s a significant jump,” noted Board member Matt de Ferranti. “Is there any particular reason that we’re able to make that transition to pull that all the way down?”

“If we directly go towards the most in-demand titles, more copies of them, into people’s hands… that’s how we getting that 10-week that drop,” replied Petruski.

Director Kresh shared that the hold times for print books hover between 18 and 19 weeks, and that APL is “very hopeful” that the six-figure budget increase will help reduce that as well. Kresh also said the library would like to use the funding to buy extra copies of hot items, like Michelle Obama’s biography, which still has 300 holds.

APL also wants to use the funds to roll out a new movie and documentary streaming service called “Kanopy” currently used in Alexandria and D.C. public libraries. The last fiscal year budget cut 17 percent from the collections budget — leading the library to remove free digital services like its audiobook streaming service and investment research tool in July.

Schwartz previously forecasted up to $30 million more in county budget cuts this year, but proposed only $5.2 million due to some unexpected growth in real estate revenues and lower-than-expected employee healthcare costs. In a February letter about the proposed FY2020 budget Schwartz recommended using the county’s fortuitous finances to increase APL’s collection budget.

“This really goes a long way towards addressing where we’ve been in the past and we’re very, very grateful for the support,” Kresh said to the Board Tuesday afternoon.

“Since 2014, not only has the collection budget not increased as costs have escalated but the use of e-books and other digital platforms have become increasingly popular,” wrote Schwartz in February. “The library’s ability to provide popular materials to patrons in a timely manner, in either digital or print format, has eroded significantly.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Board members Katie Cristol and Eric Gutshall seemed to signal support for the budget increase by commending the library for its goals to reduce hold times and increase collections.

Board Chair Christian Dorsey said, “It’s remarkable when you think about it even though we’re having a budget discussion, libraries serve as any and everything for people in our community. Safe spaces for kids, productive spaces for teens, ways to combat social isolation for seniors and everything in between.”

The County Board will have until late April to amend the proposed county budget for the next fiscal year and is scheduled to vote on the final version on April 23.

Police: Man Broke into Apartment, Kissed Sleeping Woman on the Cheek

By Airey

An Arlington man is facing a misdemeanor charge after police report he broke into a woman’s home this weekend and sexually assaulted her while she slept.

Officers were dispatched to the scene at 3:26 a.m. on Saturday morning on the 3400 block of Columbia Pike after the woman allegedly woke up to find the man kissing her on the cheek.

She then “confronted” the intruder, police say, but he fled the area on foot. Police say they apprehended a suspect who matched the description of him and who they identified as Dominus Dayton, 37, of Arlington.

Police charged Dayton with two Class 1 misdemeanors, unlawful entry and assault and battery, for allegedly breaking into a woman’s home and kissing her while she slept. He was denied bond.

Dayton is currently out on bail and is scheduled to appear before an Arlington General District Court judge tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) for arraignment on the assault charge.

In Virginia, assault and battery carries a $2,500 fine, and a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, with a possible sentence up to a year.

Below are the details from the full crime report:

UNLAWFUL ENTRY, 2019-03020058, 3400 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 3:26 a.m. on March 2, police were dispatched to the report of a possible burglary in progress. Upon arrival, it was determined that the female victim was asleep inside a residence when she was awoken to an unknown male suspect allegedly kissing her on the cheek. Once confronted by the victim, the suspect left the residence on foot. Responding officers located a suspect matching the victim’s description and he was later positively identified. Dominus Dayton, 37, of Arlington, VA was arrested and charged with Unlawful Entry and Assault & Battery. He was held on no bond.

Cannon Fire Training to Begin This Week at Arlington National Cemetery

By Airey

Arlington residents can expect a special morning wake-up this week as a U.S. Army regiment begins its annual cannon fire training.

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall announced that the Presidential Salute Battery Guns Platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, a.k.a. the “Old Guard,” will begin firing off blank rounds in the Arlington National Cemetery between 7-8 a.m. on Thursday.

Joint Base community relations officer Leah Rubalcaba told ARLnow that the training will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 a.m. “going forward” but that there isn’t a scheduled end date because it depends on how long it takes to train the platoon.

Residents in Radnor-Fort Myer Heights, Foxcroft Heights, Columbia Heights, Aurora Heights and Pentagon City have previously reported being able to hearing the sounds, which they described as “pounding,” “banging,” “booming,” or “explosion.” The booming sound has been reported in neighborhoods even farther away, depending on weather conditions.

During the training, teams work together to fire howitzers and 21-gun volleys. The goal is to time the shots with a ceremony or song, but the guns were not always ceremonial, according to the platoon’s website.

The platoon is equipped with ten M5, 75mm antitank cannons mounted on the M6 howitzer carriage. Each gun weighs 5,775 pounds. The M5 cannon saw service in North Africa, Italy, and Northwest Europe from 1943 until the end of World War II. Today, the Presidential Salute Battery fires the 75mm blank ceremonial shell with 1.5 pounds of powder….

Ceremonies require a five-man staff and a two-man team for each gun. The staff consists of the Battery Commander, who initiates fire commands and ensures the proper number of rounds is fired; the Sergeant of the Watch, who marches the battery into position, controls the firing of the backup gun, and monitors the watchman and his assistant; the Watchman controls the timing between rounds and gives the command to fire; the more experienced Assistant Watchman ensures the Watchman stays in time; and the Counter, counts the rounds and signals the last round to the battery.

Rubalcaba wrote in email Monday that the Presidential Salute Battery Guns Platoon conducts the training in preparation for firing the cannons “at ceremonies in honor of the President of the United States, for visiting foreign dignitaries, during official government ceremonies, regional celebrations… and while rendering honors during the funeral services of our nation’s fallen service members and veterans.”

Rubalcaba said the training sessions will each end prior to the cemetery’s visiting hours.

New Polling Ranks Arlington Among Country’s Most Politically Intolerant Counties

By Airey

Arlington is among the country’s least politically open-minded counties, according to new polling published in The Atlantic.

The magazine partnered with polling company PredictWise to rank all 3,000 U.S. counties on an interactive map published today (Monday) by how much “partisan prejudice” citizens from the areas expressed. PredictWise is run by economist David Rothschild and is dedicated to “help progressive change-makers,” per its website.

Counties were ranked based off of surveys of 2,000 respondents who were asked questions such as, how they felt about family members marrying across the political aisle, and whether Democrats or Republicans were “selfish, compassionate, or patriotic.” PredictWise then combined the data was combined with county “voter files” that record voter turnout and registration. The result is a heat map ranking every county from “less prejudiced” to “more prejudiced.”

The polling places Arlington County in the most “prejudiced” category of the map. Not only that, but the polling data ranked Arlington in the 100th percentile of most prejudiced counties — that’s higher than Alexandria (99th percentile), D.C. (98th percentile of most prejudiced), Prince William (81 percentile), and Fairfax (95 percentile.) The least prejudiced county in the Greater Washington Area area is St. Mary’s County which was ranked at the 52nd percentile, meaning 48 out of 100 counties have more politically divided citizens.

PredictWise found that demographic variables like age, race, education, and proximity to cities correlated with the amount of prejudice in a county. They reported predicted more prejudice in communities that are whiter, older, urban, and more highly educated.

A subsequent poll showed that Arlington also ranked in the highest category for Democrats being dismissive of Republicans. But a third poll indicated Arlington’s Republicans are not very dismissive of Democrats — bucking a national trend showing Republicans are more dismissive of Democrats on average.

PredictWise co-founder and Chief Science Officer Tobias Konitzer tweeted that polling project is “data-driven ethnography” that “opens healthy debate.”

The area of the country PredictWise’s data deemed the most politically close-minded was Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The most open-minded was Watertown, New York.

Flickr pool photo by Jeff Reardon

Ballston Quarter Food Court Opens to Customers, Though Just One Restaurant is Serving Meals

By Airey
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Ballston Quarter’s long-awaited food court is now open, but the wait continues for most of its restaurants.

The space, dubbed “Quarter Market,” occupies 25,000 square feet in the renovated Ballston Quarter mall. As of today (Monday) Mi & Yu Noodle Bar is open for business, but all other eateries remain shuttered as construction continues and “coming soon” signs adorn the industrial digs.

Developer Forest City described the food court as an “indoor/outdoor eatery” with 14 restaurants scheduled to open:

Forest City previously told ARLnow that Quarter Market will “begin to open” on Feb. 27 after public signs promised a February opening date for months. But diners showed up that day to blocked-off entrances, and Forest City revised its timeline for the “food hall” until early March.

Delays have plagued the mall’s redevelopment with Forest City missing its September and October store opening deadline, with some stores opening in mid-November. The company also planned to open its pedestrian bridge spanning Wilson Blvd in time for that fall opening, but the bridge remains under construction five months later.

The County Board approved permits in September allowing six restaurants in the mall to build outdoor seating for diners in the 5,000-square-foot public plaza off of Wilson Blvd, despite  some county staff who worried private outdoor dining would cut into the public plaza area.

The September permits will allow Bartaco in Quarter Market to serve diners outdoors in warmer weather, along with five restaurants in other parts of the mall: Compass Coffee, South Block, Ted’s Bulletin, True Food Kitchen, and Union Kitchen, according to the mall’s online directory.

Hot dog food truck Swizzler and sushi burrito chain Buredo also previously announced they would be joining Quarter Market, but are not listed on the online directory.

The lineup of restaurants has fluctuated over the past several months: in May, Forest City announced that Chick-Fil-A, French Exit, Mezeh, Slapfish, South Block, and All About Burger were all slated to join. Those eateries will now be located elsewhere in the development.