Author: Alex Koma

School Board Moves Closer to Renaming W-L High School Under Proposed Policy Change

By Alex Koma

(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) Washington-Lee High School could see its name changed by the end of the year under the terms of a policy change reviewed by the Arlington School Board Thursday night (May 31).

The Board has been mulling the possibility of stripping Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s name from the school ever since last summer’s violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville sparked a national conversation about Confederate symbols, but members asked school system staff to develop a more detailed policy framework to guide the naming of all buildings first.

Arlington Public Schools officials delivered that proposed change to the Board last night, and members are now set to take action on it by this coming Thursday (June 7).

“We said we’d seek to adopt naming criteria that reflect our values and allow us to judge every potential school name with objectivity,” said School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen. “We have kept these promises… and we’re in a good place. I really like what you’ve brought us. I think it’s going to be a model as other school communities grapple with this issue.”

The new policy, drafted over the course of the last nine months or so, is principally designed to guide Board members as they select new names for the bevy of new school facilities set to open in the coming the years.

It would recommend putting an emphasis on selecting geographical names with “historic or geographic significance to the Arlington community’s history. But if the Board is to name a school after an individual, that person’s “‘principal legacy’ (i.e. the key activity, advocacy or accomplishment for which the individual is most known)” needs to align with “the APS mission, vision, and core values and beliefs,” according to the proposal.

Yet, under those criteria, APS staff also suggested that the Board would need to rename Washington-Lee, given Lee’s legacy fighting for the Confederacy, which championed slavery.

“A lot of people don’t like change and we know that it’s difficult in all aspects,” said Linda Erdos, APS assistant superintendent for school and community relations and the facilitator of discussions around the naming policy. “But everybody kept saying, ‘Diversity should be on the minds of people, the diversity of the people served.'”

Such a change would certainly not be without controversy — some Washington-Lee alumni have been vocally protesting any change to the school’s name, over concerns that such move would tarnish a fixture of Arlington County. Washington-Lee has used that moniker since it opened in 1925, and some alums urged the Board to put the matter to a public referendum.

“The Arlington voters should make the decision, not five persons,” said Betsy Lockman, a W-L alum.

Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, echoed that call in a press conference ahead of the meeting. Stewart made his opposition to the removal of statues of Confederate generals in Charlottesville a hallmark of his failed bid for governor last year, and he dubbed any consideration of renaming Washington-Lee as an example of “political correctness gone rampant.”

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County Manager Pledges Not to Abandon Planned Construction Projects, Even Amid Community Grumbles

By Alex Koma

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) Despite mounting financial challenges, top Arlington officials say they don’t plan to walk away from some major construction projects that are already in the works — even if that stance ruffles a few feathers in the community.

County Manager Mark Schwartz has stressed repeatedly that his newly unveiled proposal for the next decade of Arlington construction projects, known as the Capital Improvement Plan, will maintain the county’s standing commitments to several major facilities around Arlington, even as he’s forced to make painful cuts elsewhere.

With the county sending more money to the Metro system, all while dealing with declining commercial tax revenues and rising public school enrollments, Schwartz is adamant that projects like the Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center and the new Lubber Run Community Center won’t be affected.

But the large price tag of those projects already has some community activists asking: why not change things up?

“We’re spending millions on synthetic fields and a new swimming palace… and 600 or 700 kids are moving into the county schools each year,” civic activist Suzanne Sundburg said at a town hall meeting Wednesday night (May 30) that was also broadcast via live Facebook video. “I understand people want to finish what they start, but at what point do we start re-evaluating priorities and reprioritizing?”

Schwartz said the question was a valid one, and will likely spark plenty of debate among County Board members as they evaluate his CIP proposal over the coming weeks. But he also warned that the risks of spurning these projects, particularly after the county has already awarded design and construction contracts, could far outweigh the benefits of saving some money.

“There are some things that are settled that we have to move on,” Schwartz said. “There are obligations on the books that crowd out our ability to do new things, and that is the situation we face.”

Schwartz was particularly concerned that people in the community might see abandoning the Long Bridge Park project as a viable option, even if they blanch at its $60 million price tag. Not only does he believe it would be a “breach of faith” with the community, following roughly two decades of discussions on the project, but he pointed out that a contractor has already spent the last five months working on it.

“If we back out on that, nobody in the contracting community is going to bid on any of our contracts for the next five years,” Schwartz said. “We’d probably not only be involved in protracted litigation with [the construction company], but we probably wouldn’t be able to do as much as we want to do, and our future projects would go up in price. People would build that in as a risk premium.”

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Rosslyn Opens ‘Parklet,’ Kicks Off Experiment in Adding Green Space to Urban Areas

By Alex Koma
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Arlington’s first “parklet” is now open to the public, providing a small splash of green space amid Rosslyn’s urban landscape — and perhaps giving county officials a new tool for adding more open spaces across Arlington.

Rosslyn’s Business Improvement District teamed up with the county to design the mini-park, located adjacent to the Roti Mediterranean restaurant at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Oak Street. Starting today (Thursday), anyone can take advantage of the parklet, which is just 30 feet wide — about the size of two parking spaces.

These sorts of mini-parks have become increasingly popular in heavily populated cities like New York and San Francisco, and Arlington tested out a temporary parklet at the same location last fall for PARK(ing) Day, an international event for cities to experiment with temporary green spaces built in parking spaces. Now, planners are hoping to make this parklet permanent, and even set up more elsewhere to help compensate for the county’s dwindling supply of available land.

“Cafe seating used to be the sum total of outdoor seating around here,” County Board Chair Katie Cristol told ARLnow. “But we know that mixed-use places need mixed-use spaces.”

Lucia deCordre, executive director of the Lee Highway Alliance and an architect of the parklet project back in her days working with the Rosslyn BID, says she came to the idea of creating a parklet like this as she started working on improvements to Rosslyn’s streetscape. As the BID looked at ways to add new benches and bike racks to make its streets more attractive, deCordre says her team “realized we needed to do something for pedestrians.”

“It’s all about helping create an identity for Rosslyn,” deCordre said.

She says the BID selected the space next to Roti because it didn’t have much existing sidewalk seating, and they needed “somewhere safe,” without too much vehicle traffic to test out  a parklet. Ultimately, N. Oak Street ended up being an ideal side street for the mini-park to sit next to, deCordre said.

But she didn’t want to simply see a few tables added to the sidewalk. She also wanted something that was both “flexible” and “user friendly,” so she made sure to include lots of greenery as well — the parklet includes a total of 18 chairs, five tables and four planter boxes.

“This should really boost retail here, but also bring together different stakeholders in the community,” said Mary-Claire Burick, the BID’s president. “And it’s particularly valuable here where open space is at a premium.”

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Family of Man Shot by ACPD Raising Money for Medical Care, Legal Defense

By Alex Koma

(Updated June 1 at 4:50 p.m.) The family of an Arlington man shot by county police, after he allegedly rammed police vehicles with his van, is raising money to help pay for his medical care amid claims he was treated poorly while in custody.

Relatives of 51-year-old Steven Best have so far raised more than $5,100 through a GoFundMe page since police shot Best during the May 3 incident.

Arlington police say they were trying to pull Best over near the intersection of 12th Street S. and S. Edgewood Street, just off Columbia Pike, after spotting a woman in his car wanted on outstanding warrants for violating her probation.

Police allege that Best ignored commands from officers and struck their vehicles in an attempt to flee the scene, prompting two officers to shoot him. Department spokesman Ashley Savage added that neither Best nor the woman in his car, 40-year-old Jessica Lary of Annandale, “displayed any weapons during the incident,” and were arrested after being found hiding in the area.

Best is now charged with three counts of the attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer, though he was released on bond on Tuesday (May 29).

During the last few weeks in police custody — in the hospital then in the Arlington County jail — Best’s family says he received “minimal medical care” for the six gunshot wounds he suffered. They are raising money to fund his “legal defense and medical rehabilitation.”

The family further alleges that Best was held “in protective custody and in isolation 23 hours a day” during his time behind bars, which took “a toll on him mentally and physically,” and that ACPD’s accounting of events leading to the shooting is false.

“We believe that this was an unlawful shooting by police, use of excessive force, abuse of power and now cover up,” the GoFundMe page says.

Maj. Susie Doyel, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff’s office, told ARLnow via email that Best was held in the detention facility’s medical unit, “where there are nurses on-duty 24 hours a day.”

“Mr. Best was initially placed on protective status due to the high profile of his case in the media (this is standard practice),” Doyel wrote. “However, he was removed from protective custody status on May 25. Had he not made bond, he would have gone to another unit once he had been cleared by medical.”

Best’s attorney, Michael Sgarlet, declined to comment on the case.

Best is set to appear in Arlington County District Court for a preliminary hearing on his charges on June 25.

“I believe in him,” Heather Rose-Walker, Best’s sister, wrote on the GoFundMe page. “However I don’t believe in the system anymore.”

Photo via GoFundMe

Workers with Disabilities at Army National Guard Center Go On Strike, Demand Ability to Unionize

By Alex Koma
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A group of workers with disabilities at the Army National Guard Readiness Center on S. George Mason Drive has gone on strike, pushing for the right to unionize and a reduction in healthcare costs.

A dozen employees with Didlake, a Manassas nonprofit that contracts with the National Guard to provide maintenance and custodial services at the center, walked off the job on this past Friday. They’ve been hoping for more than a year now to organize with the help of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, commonly known as LiUNA, but Didlake has repeatedly refused to recognize their efforts and negotiate with the workers.

The employees and union organizers claim that their Didlake supervisors have treated them poorly and done nothing to tamp down skyrocketing healthcare costs, a particularly troublesome development for workers who need to visit the doctor frequently to manage chronic health conditions. Didlake’s attorneys argue that the nonprofit only employs these workers through a federal program designed to help disabled people find work and therefore they don’t have the same ability to unionize as other employees.

The dispute has found its way to the National Labor Relations Board, but Didlake employees at the site said they decided to go on strike to force more attention to the issue.

“They don’t treat us equally,” Samantha Ulloa, a Didlake employee for the last five years who lives with epilepsy, told ARLnow. “They say they treat us better than regular people with no disabilities. But if we sit down for a few minutes, they say ‘No,’ and have us get up right away and work nonstop… We have nobody to support us right now.”

A spokeswoman for Didlake didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But, in NLRB filings, the nonprofit’s attorneys argue that Didlake has a “primarily rehabilitative relationship” with these employees as part of the federal “AbilityOne” program, and injecting a union into the arrangement could hurt the company’s ability to offer services to its workers.

“The fabric of Didlake’s rehabilitative program and the supports and services received by the participants are jeopardized and could be damaged” if the employees proceed with collective bargaining, Didlake attorneys wrote in a June 2017 NLRB filing.

Yet Ulloa argues that Didlake’s response to the workers’ complaints shows that the nonprofit isn’t truly listening to their concerns. While she appreciates the job coaching services the company offers, she noted that she and her husband currently pay about $800 a month just to afford health insurance — a cost that’s barely manageable on her minimum wage salary.

“The union could help us by getting us better benefits, supporting us and standing up for us,” Ulloa said.

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D.C. Sports Bar Launches ‘Pop-Up’ at Bistro 360’s Old Space in Rosslyn

By Alex Koma

(Updated at 2 p.m.) A former D.C.-based sports bar is temporarily setting up shop in the space once occupied by Bistro 360 in Rosslyn.

Parlay Sports Bar and Lounge has set up a “pop-up” bar at the location at 1800 Wilson Blvd., according to one-time Bistro 360 owner Art Hauptman. He told ARLnow that the temporary takeover is set to last through the end of this week, though he said it could become a more long-term set-up.

Parlay was once located near Dupont Circle, before shutting down in April. The bar’s management posted on Facebook that it would be “doing events throughout the summer at various places” as it searches for a permanent home in D.C., and a Parlay banner is now draped over Bistro 360’s old signs.

“We will have game 6 on tonight so swing by and grab some wings #ParlayVA,” said one recent Facebook post, encouraging patrons to visit the pop-up. “Just look for the group that seems like they’re not from Arlington.”

Parlay’s owner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his plans.

Bistro 360 had operated out of the space since the fall of 2014, but Hauptman said he decided to shutter the restaurant last week after receiving some lucrative offers for the space and losing his longtime chef and general manager. He’s since consolidated some of the restaurant’s wine and food options at the other Arlington eatery he owns: Cassatt’s Kiwi Café and Gallery, at the Lee Heights Shops off Lee Highway.

Photo by Alex Koma

Freddie’s Beach Bar Owner Planning to Revive Crystal City’s Cafe Italia

By Alex Koma
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(Updated at 1 p.m.) Longtime Crystal City restaurant Cafe Italia is getting new life, thanks to some former employees and one prominent local restaurateur.

Freddie Lutz, the owner and namesake of Freddie’s Beach Bar at 555 23rd Street S., says he’s planning to revive the restaurant after it closed in April.

Lutz worked for 25 years as a waiter and maitre d’ at Cafe Italia (519 23rd Street S.), and he hopes to reopen it in the next few months as “Freddie’s Italian Cafe.” To do so he’s teaming up with a former Cafe Italia bus boy and chef, brothers Adolfo and Birtillo Urrutia.

“I’ve missed it all these years, so it’ll be sort of like coming home,” Lutz told ARLnow. “Freddie’s brought a lot of diversity to Northern Virginia and Arlington and I’m proud of that, but I feel like I left my heart in Cafe Italia.”

Cafe Italia first opened its doors in 1976, and Lutz believes the place became “part of the history” of Crystal City. Though he says its former owners struggled to afford rising rent prices, thus leading to its closure, the Urrutias approached him a few weeks back with a plan to “bring it back to its former glory,” and he jumped at the chance.

“In the day, it really was something,” Lutz said. “I would tell people, ‘There’s an hour and 45 minute wait tonight,’ and they’d actually wait. I just hope we can restore it back to the fun, romantic little Italian restaurant it used to be.”

Lutz says he finished up the paperwork on the sale on May 21 and he plans to give the space a bit of “loving attention” before it’ll be ready for diners once more.

“The basic skeleton and soul of the restaurant is there,” Lutz said. “And the good news is we’re all in agreement that we want to get it open as soon as we can.”

Lutz, who still lives in the South Arlington home he grew up in decades ago, says he’s even kept in touch with some of the former patrons of Cafe Italia, and excitement is already building in the neighborhood. As new restaurants continue to cycle into that section of Crystal City, Lutz expects the revival of Cafe Italia will help the neighborhood continue to attract more business.

“Cafe Italia was always very gay friendly, and Freddie’s is very straight friendly,” Lutz said. “So both businesses will complement each other.”

Volunteers Wanted as Metro Plans ‘Full-Scale’ Emergency Exercise Sunday

By Alex Koma

WMATA is gearing up to test how first responders would handle a major Metro emergency in Arlington, and officials are looking for some help.

Metro is planning a “full-scale exercise” at the Crystal City Metro station (1750 S. Bell Street) on Sunday, June 3, and is looking for volunteers to make the event feel more real for participants. Check in for the event begins at 6:30 a.m., and it’s set to wrap up by 1 p.m, according to an event listing.

Volunteers will get the chance to “act out the role of a Metro rider who is on the train at the time of the emergency and will be able to see first-hand how regional emergency responders handle the situation.”

Metro is offering up free parking and light refreshments for anyone looking to participate; WMATA is also willing to provide documentation or certification for anyone who needs it after participating, “including Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and other service organizations.”

More details on the event from the listing, after the jump.

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ARLnow Holiday Weekend Discussion

By Alex Koma

At last, the long weekend is upon us, and summer is (unofficially) here.

If you’re one of the 1 million or so people leaving the D.C. area, here’s what you can expect on the way out. But if you’re sticking around Arlington, be aware that there is some rain in the forecast for Saturday night and Sunday, so get your grilling done early.

You may spot Rolling Thunder’s motorcyclists on the road this weekend, and be aware there will be plenty of road closures. If you’re looking for other things to keep you occupied for Memorial Day, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Or, you could always catch up on some of ARLnow’s top stories of the last week:

  1. Arlington Gets Shout Out on ‘SNL’
  2. Flier for a White Supremacist Group Spotted in Clarendon
  3. Goody’s Back Open in Clarendon, Under New Owner
  4. Crime Report: Mob Attacks Victim Who Was Taking Out the Trash
  5. Boccato Gelato Planning to Leave Clarendon Location, Relocate Elsewhere

Head down to the comments to chat about these stories, or your plans for the three-day weekend. Enjoy!

File photo

Podcast: A Conversation with ARLnow Intern Anna Merod

By Alex Koma

For the last four months, you might’ve noticed Anna Merod’s byline here at ARLnow; regrettably, that won’t last much longer.

Anna’s time as a spring intern is almost up, but before she leaves, she stopped by for a podcast conversation with ARLnow’s Alex Koma.

Topics included some of Anna’s favorite stories, like an analysis of racial disparities in suspensions in Arlington Public Schools and in-depth look at why millenials struggle to buy homes in Arlington, and what she’s learned in her time growing up in and covering the county.

Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn.

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