Author: Alex Koma

Washington-Lee High School to be Renamed

By Alex Koma

The Arlington School Board has kicked off a process to rename Washington-Lee High School, aiming to settle on a new moniker for the school before the year is out.

The School Board voted unanimously at its meeting last night (June 7) to approve a change to the school system’s approach to naming school buildings. Though the policy will apply to all current and future county schools, it specifically stipulates that the Board should select a new name for Washington-Lee, given Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s legacy fighting for the cause of slavery.

The Board has been considering a name change at the school since last summer, when a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville sparked a national conversation about Confederate symbols and prompted calls in the community to change the name. Yet the Board opted to revise its whole policy around school names, rather than just change Washington-Lee’s moniker specifically.

But with the new policy passed, the Board will now move forward with a three-month long process of finding a new name for W-L, which has borne the same name since it opened in 1925. Board members are set to pick a committee to deliberate on the name in September, and could vote on a change by December.

“Celebrating your school pride should not mean having to wear a shirt like this one that honors a person who may not share your values,” said Board member Monique O’Grady, while holding up a W-L t-shirt. “As we become a more diverse community, we must become more open to the perspectives of many, and how holding onto some elements of our past can have an impact on our future.”

The decision will undoubtedly come as bad news for some W-L alums. A number of graduates from the school have publicly objected to the move, both at Board meetings and in community demonstrations. Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, has even spoken out on the issue, in keeping with his defense of other Confederate symbols around the state over the last year or so.

“This implicitly would vilify virtually every southern family from the Civil War, in perpetuity,” said George Dodge, a W-L alum who spoke at the meeting.

But Board members stressed that they also heard frequently from parents interested in seeing the name change, fearing that Arlington Public Schools is sending the wrong message by so prominently honoring a man like Lee.

“If we continue to honor Lee the symbol, we continue to honor a set of values that has nothing to do with what Arlington is today,” Natalie Roy, a parent of APS students, told the Board.

(more…)

Earl’s Sandwiches to Shutter Ballston Location, Though Clarendon Store Staying Put

By Alex Koma

Earl’s Sandwiches is planning to close down its Ballston location next Friday (June 15).

The local sandwich shop announced the decision on its Facebook page yesterday (June 6). The location at 4215 N. Fairfax Drive, across from the Ballston Metro station, opened back in 2012.

Earl’s added in the Facebook post that the restaurant’s Clarendon store will remain open as part of this shuffle.

“While we have had a fabulous time running our second location, we’re ready to get back to our roots and fully concentrate on creating amazing sandwiches [and] experiences for our customers,” the post reads.

Earl’s first opened its Clarendon location, at 2605 Wilson Blvd, back in 2005.

https://www.facebook.com/earlsinarlington/photos/a.197185143628369.54959.195725183774365/2071012439578954/?type=3&theater

Photo via Facebook

Parents Planning Protest, Lobbying Effort to Reverse School Board’s Career Center Plans

By Alex Koma
1/2

A group of parents who could someday send their kids to a new high school program at the Arlington Career Center remain frustrated by the school system’s plans for the site, and they’re planning a new effort to make their voices heard.

Concerned parents, largely hailing from the Arlington Heights neighborhood around Columbia Pike, are banding together to form a new nonprofit called “Citizens for Arlington School Equality.” The organization, which will lobby the School Board to include a broader range of amenities at the school site, is planning to kick off its efforts with a march from Patrick Henry Elementary School to the Board’s meeting tonight (June 7) at the Syphax Education Center (2110 Washington Blvd), with a rally to follow.

The Board has yet to finalize just how it will build 1,050 new high school seats at the Career Center, but it is nearing a consensus on a new Capital Improvement Plan that would dictate how the construction proceeds over the next decade. A final vote on the plan is set for June 21, but the Board seems to be nearing agreement on a proposal to build the seats by 2024. Under the proposal, amenities at the site would include a multi-use gym, a “black box” theater, a performing arts wing, a synthetic athletic field and a parking garage, all to be added by 2026.

Yet that plan has done little to satisfy some Arlington Heights parents, who are concerned that the Career Center site wouldn’t offer the same features as the county’s other comprehensive high schools. They’re particularly concerned that the Board’s proposed design would fundamentally disadvantage students who live near the Career Center in South Arlington and are most likely to attend the new program.

“I want this for my kids, but I want to make sure I live in a county that cares about the education of all kids equally,” Jennifer Milder, the parent of two students attending Henry right now and one of the new group’s organizers, told ARLnow. “And the needle has moved very little on the inequality spectrum so far. There are still not adequate fields, still not adequate parking, or an adequate gym.”

Board members have spent plenty of time wrestling with how they can beef up amenities at the site, and examined several plans that would’ve added more amenities to the program and sped up their construction so they were available as the facility opened its doors.

But all of those proposals would have put a serious strain on the school system’s finances and were ultimately cast aside. Even the Board’s current plans will strain Arlington Public Schools’ borrowing capacity, and the county’s similarly challenging financial picture means the County Board may not be able to help, either.

Yet Milder and some her fellow parents believe both boards should view fully funding amenities at the Career Center site as a priority important enough to force a re-ordering of the county’s long-term construction plans.

“The county is doing all these things to attract businesses and people to Arlington, then not backing it up by supporting students they’re bringing here,” said Megan Haydasz, another Arlington Heights parent involved with the new group.

(more…)

County Hoping to Start Work on Mosaic Park Overhaul in Ballston Next Year

By Alex Koma
1/4

Arlington County is now hoping to kick off construction work on an overhaul of Ballston’s Mosaic Park early next year, following years of delays prompted in part by cost overruns.

County officials are planning to finish renovations at the park, located at 538 N. Pollard Street just behind the Gold’s Gym parking lot, by the end of 2019. Planners unveiled an updated timeline for the park’s renovations at a community meeting last Wednesday (May 30), along with detailed designs for new features like a playground, plaza and athletic courts.

The county’s eyed upgrades at the park back in 2008, and initially hoped that construction could begin in 2013. But planning work stretched on for years, particularly after its estimated construction costs overran the project’s budget.

That forced the county to re-tool the project slightly to bring costs down, in part by eliminating some planned solar panels at the site that would’ve powered the park’s lighting and reducing the number of trees and plants to be installed around the park.

The Shooshan Company, which owns some nearby developments, agreed to fund the first phase of the $6.6 million project. The county is also hoping to add a basketball half-court to the site, but that work will come in a second phase of the project.

The county plans to award a construction contract next spring, and start work soon afterward. Officials hope to wrap things up by winter 2019.

Graphic via Arlington County

Arlington’s Lone Social Security Office Set to Close on June 22

By Alex Koma
1/3

The lone Social Security Administration field office in Arlington is officially set to close its doors two weeks from now, as county leaders continue to press for answers on why the location is shutting down.

The SSA announced in a news release Wednesday (June 6) that the office, located at 1401 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, will close on June 22. That will force the roughly 25,000 Arlington residents who visit the office each year to leave the county to receive an in-person consultation on their benefits.

In its release, the SSA suggested that Arlingtonians will be able to visit the administration’s offices in Alexandria, Fairfax or D.C. instead, or even use the SSA’s online services. Yet, ever since news of the office’s closure became public last month, advocates for seniors and local elected officials have argued that Social Security recipients often lack the transportation options and technical savvy to make those alternatives viable.

“This field office is conveniently located for our older and disabled Arlington constituents who trust and rely on the direct assistance provided at this location and may lack close access to transportation, or wish to discuss their affairs in-person rather than over the internet,” U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote in a May 21 letter to the SSA’s acting inspector general. “At a time when our nation’s population of seniors is growing, it would be imprudent to reduce access to services seniors need and demand.”

The SSA claims, however, that its “expiring lease” at the Rosslyn building is forcing it to close the office. That argument doesn’t hold much water with Arlington leaders, who have long lamented that Rosslyn boasts an office vacancy rate of more than 20 percent.

“Given the vacancy rate within Arlington County and the likely continued availability of existing space, office space availability is not an issue,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) wrote in a May 1 letter to the administration’s inspector general.

Beyer also noted in his letter that the county has “made an overture to assist with finding a suitable space” for a new office in Arlington — a county spokeswoman confirmed that County Manager Mark Schwartz made such an offer. An SSA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on what discussions the agency has had, if any, with Arlington officials about staying in the area.

Kaine and Warner added in their note that county leaders have even floated the possibility that “it may be possible to extend the field office’s current lease because redevelopment of the Wilson Boulevard location is unlikely to occur for several years.” The County Board approved a full redevelopment of the block — also the location of the famed “Deep Throat” parking garage where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward met with a source to help break open the Watergate scandal — back in 2014, but demolition work still has yet to start in the area.

Accordingly, Beyer, Kaine and Warner all demanded an investigation into how the SSA ultimately decided to close the office, and the administration’s inspector general agreed to order a review of the matter on May 21.

“The Social Security Administration should postpone the closure of its Arlington office while this review goes forward,” Beyer wrote in a statement. “It would be inappropriate for the office to be closed before the effects on the community are assessed. I thank the Acting Inspector General for undertaking this review, and look forward to its conclusions.”

The SSA office closure in Arlington is hardly an isolated decision, however. The administration has closed 125 of its roughly 1,250 offices since 2000, according to the advocacy group Social Security Works.

Construction Kicking Off at Vexing N. Lynn Street Intersection in Rosslyn

By Alex Koma
1/4

Construction work is officially kicking off on improvements to the intersection of Lee Highway and N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn, long one of Arlington’s most dangerous locations for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The Virginia Department of Transportation announced that is starting work on the two-year, $9.3 million project this week. Workers will add wider sidewalks, on-street bike lanes and improved curb ramps as the northbound and southbound sections of Lee Highway meet Lynn Street. The project will also include improvements to the Custis Trail as it runs alongside the Lee Highway, though some work on that effort already kicked off in March.

“These safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists and the traffic management improvements are part of a much larger effort by the county and our community to make Rosslyn a more livable and thriving neighborhood,” Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said in a statement.

The county is helping to fund the construction. The project includes the “Corridors of Light” public art installation, which will feature “prominent elements at each of the four corners of the North Lynn Street bridge over I-66.”

The project, expected to wrap up in spring 2020, will require some lane and sidewalk closures. Full details from a VDOT press release:

For crews to complete the work, drivers can expect daytime and nighttime lane closures on southbound Lee Highway and North Lynn Street, on the following weekly schedule:

  • Mondays through Thursdays: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Monday nights through Thursday nights: 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
  • Fridays: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Friday nights: 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
  • Saturday nights: 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
  • Sunday nights: 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Bicyclists and pedestrians on the Custis Trail along southbound Lee Highway between North Lynn Street and North Oak Street can expect detours onto temporary paths around the work zone. Signs will notify bicyclists and pedestrians during these temporary configurations.

Pedestrians can also expect temporary closures of the sidewalks along North Lynn Street between northbound Lee Highway and southbound Lee Highway. When one sidewalk is closed, pedestrians will be detoured to sidewalk along the opposite side of the street.

Bob and Edith’s Could Open New Lee Highway Location By End of Year

By Alex Koma

A new Bob and Edith’s Diner along Lee Highway could open its doors in the next six to nine months, a lawyer for the local chain’s owner tells ARLnow.

Attorney Ryan Brown says Bob and Edith’s owner Greg Bolton is planning “significant renovations” of the space that once held Linda’s Cafe (5050 Lee Highway) before opening his fifth restaurant in the Northern Virginia area there. Linda’s had operated out of the space for the last 20 years before Bolton bought the property last Thursday (May 31).

Linda’s general manager Joe Ellian previously told ARLnow that Bolton’s attorneys told him he’d need to move out of the space before the end of the month, as the restaurant changes hands, lamenting that he’d barely have enough time to pack up all his equipment, let alone find a new location.

Brown says Bolton is sympathetic to Ellian’s situation, but noted that Linda’s has been renting the space from owner Joe Mehrdad Djassebi “on a month-to-month basis for several years.”

“As such, Mr. Bolton was not required to give more than 30 days notice to the current tenant to terminate the lease after he acquired the property,” Brown wrote in an email. “Presumably the current tenant could have purchased the building from the prior owner, or entered into a long-term lease if they desired to continue their business at that location.”

Brown added that Bolton bought the property from Djassebi for $1.1 million, and he reasoned that “if Mr. Bolton had not purchased the property, it is likely that another purchaser would have acquired” it. Ellian previously argued that he never had trouble paying rent, and believed Djassebi received a lucrative enough offer that he felt forced to sell the property.

Bob and Edith’s currently operates two diners in Arlington, one in Alexandria and one in Springfield.

Photo by Alex Koma

The Simple Greek Set to Open in Rosslyn Next Week

By Alex Koma
1/3

Fast-casual restaurant The Simple Greek has tabbed this coming Monday (June 11) for its grand opening in a shopping center near Rosslyn.

The restaurant, located at 1731 Wilson Blvd in the Colonial Plaza shopping complex, will be the first location of six for the chain in the D.C. region, according to a press release.

The store’s owners were previously hoping to open the Rosslyn location earlier this spring, but ended up pushing back those plans. The Simple Greek will serve customizable pitas and bowls, with “a build-your-own assembly line style set-up in an open kitchen,” according to the release.

The chain opened 15 locations across the country last year, and plans to open 30 more before the year is out.

Entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis founded the chain in 2015, in conjunction with a pair of Pittsburgh-based restaurant owners, while hosting the CNBC show “The Profit.” The episode was later the subject of a lawsuit.

UPDATED: New Caps Banner Above Columbia Pike Prompts Community Consternation

By Alex Koma
1/2

Update on June 7 at 10:30 a.m. — Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization officials say they’ve struck a deal with the Capitals to resolve this dispute.

Each group will now post a banner above Columbia Pike, one facing east and one facing west. They believe a contractor for the Caps inadvertently disposed of the old CPRO banner, and the team plans to replace it, at no cost to CPRO.

“We are happy that CPRO and the Washington Capitals were able to come together and make things work for both organizations,” John Snyder, president of the CPRO board, wrote in a statement. “The Pike community loves the Caps. We invite the Caps family and fans to join us at the Blues Festival on June 16th — and hope they bring along the Cup!”

Earlier: A new banner stretching over Columbia Pike proclaiming that “Arlington is All Caps” might not seem out of place, given the D.C. region’s hockey obsession these days — but the arrival of the pennant has ruffled a few feathers, all the same.

As recently as this past weekend, a banner hung from the same streetlight poles in front of the Audi dealership at 3200 Columbia Pike advertising the Columbia Pike Blues Festival, set for next Saturday (June 16). The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, known as CPRO, puts on the event and arranged to have that banner placed in such a prominent spot.

CPRO leaders say they were quite confused to see their pennant disappear in favor of the Washington Capitals-themed decoration, as they believed they had a permit from Arlington officials to leave the banner up a bit longer. But the Capitals themselves also believe they have the county’s permission to post the pennant, leaving CPRO at a loss.

“It could’ve been a snafu, we don’t know,” Cecilia Cassidy, CPRO’s executive director, told ARLnow. “It could’ve just been Stanley Cup fever.”

Megan Eichenberg, the Caps’ manager of communications and publicity, insists that the team has a county permit to post the banner. She declined to answer questions about when the Caps applied for and received that authorization, or what became of the banner, deferring comment to the county.

A spokeswoman for the county’s zoning office didn’t immediately have answers on the matter, saying only that staffers are looking into it. Cassidy added that CPRO has been in contact with the county about the issue, but has yet to hear more details.

Michael Garcia, an insurance agent with an office on the Pike and a CPRO board member, says the group’s chief concern isn’t in seeing the Caps banner come down, especially with the team on the cusp of its first-ever Stanley Cup. He is, however, interested in learning what became of the $1,800 banner.

“Has it been trashed? Or will it be returned to CPRO?” Garcia wrote in an email to ARLnow. “Who will reimburse CPRO for the $1,800 banner and cost of re-installation? And who authorized this without notifying CPRO in the first place?”

Army Navy Country Club Access Road Set for Lengthy Delay Due to County Funding Woes

By Alex Koma

Construction work on an access road crossing a portion of Army Navy Country Club could be pushed back by nearly a decade, as Arlington grapples with a funding squeeze impacting transportation projects.

County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed Capital Improvement Plan calls for engineering work on the project, which is designed to link the Arlington View neighborhood to Army Navy Drive, to start by fiscal year 2027 with construction kicking off two years later. The county has long expected to start design work for the project by fiscal year 2020, with work to begin in 2022.

Since 2010, county officials have aimed to build the new road, which would be reserved for emergency vehicles looking to more easily cross I-395, as well as bicyclists and pedestrians. The 30-foot-wide road would run from S. Queen Street, near Hoffman-Boston Elementary, to the I-395 underpass, where a country club access road meets up with Army Navy Drive.

The process has required a good bit of back-and-forth with the country club — the county only secured an easement on the club’s property as part of a deal to allow Army Navy’s owners to build a larger clubhouse than county zoning rules would ordinarily permit. Some members of the country club even sued the county to block the arrangement, over concerns that cyclists and pedestrians on the proposed trail would be disruptive to golfers.

Yet Arlington leaders have pressed ahead with the project all the same, with the County Board approving two different updates to the county’s Capital Improvement Plan, known as the CIP, including funding for the project.

Schwartz hasn’t gone so far as to ask the Board to abandon the project — his proposed CIP calls for the county to spend $837,000 on engineering work in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 — but the delay does reflect Arlington’s new challenges paying for transportation projects.

As he’s unveiled the new CIP, Schwartz has frequently warned that the deal hammered out by state lawmakers to send the Metro system hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding has hammered localities like Arlington. Not only does the deal increase the county’s annual contribution to Metro, but it sucks away money from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, a regional body that would ordinarily help localities fund transportation projects.

With the county having to shift money around to compensate for those changes, officials say smaller projects like the Army Navy access road will necessarily suffer.

“Overall, the transportation CIP has fewer resources for smaller, neighborhood-scale improvements due to reduced funding resulting from legislation,” Jessica Baxter, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Environmental Services, told ARLnow via email.

(more…)

‘District Dumplings’ Set to Open New Location in Arlington Ridge Shopping Center

By Alex Koma

(Updated, June 11 at 1:30 p.m.) A Fairfax dumpling restaurant will soon move into the space next to what was once the Arlington Diner in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center.

District Dumplings, based in the Mosaic district, is planning to open a new location at 2923 S. Glebe Road, once the home of a Domino’s, according to a manager who answered the phone at the restaurant’s Fairfax location. She says the new eatery could be open as soon as next week.

The building’s landlord secured a permit for a 28-seat “fast casual restaurant” in early March, according to county records. One reader noticed signs advertising the change up at the location as of Monday (June 4).

https://twitter.com/DanielMagnolia/status/1003759533808865283

The diner closed last May, after 32 years in business at the location. Its owner cited challenges in negotiating an affordable lease in his decision to close up shop.

The shopping center is also home to a Giant grocery store and a Gold’s Gym.

Photo via Google Maps

View More Stories