Author: Anna Merod

Underground Bike Races Return to Crystal City With New Name

By Anna Merod

Registration is now open for Crosshairs Garage Races, formerly known as Wednesday Night Spins, in Crystal City.

The underground bike races will begin in March. The course will be set up on the G4 level of the parking garage at 201 12th Street S., Designed as a “dry criterium” course, it will feature plenty of turns and no dismounts.

In addition to the new name for the series, there’s also a new competition to see who can rack up the most points over the first four races.

“Crosshairs Garage Races challenges amateur and elite cyclists alike to compete weekly for prizes and points in pursuit of the ‘Petty Cup.’ Named in honor of Joseph Petty, the former Crystal City BID employee and Crosshairs racing team member who conceptualized the event, the Petty Cup is awarded to the racer in each category with the most points earned over the course of the first four weeks of the series (March 7th to 28th),” the Crystal City Business Improvement District said in a press release.

The event is free for spectators and $15 for most bicyclist race registrations. There will also be a pop-up bar.

Here’s the list of upcoming races:

  • March 7
    • Beginners’ Race Series, 6:30 p.m.
    • Women’s Open Series, 7:25 p.m.
    • Open Race Series, 8:25 p.m.
  • March 14
    • Beginners’ Race Series, 6:30 p.m.
    • Women’s Open Series, 7:25 p.m.
    • Open Race Series, 8:25 p.m.
  • March 21
    • Beginners’ Race Series, 6:30 p.m.
    • Women’s Open Series, 7:25 p.m.
    • Open Race Series, 8:25 p.m.
  • March 28
    • Beginners’ Race Series, 6:30 p.m.
    • Women’s Open Series, 7:25 p.m.
    • Open Race Series, 8:25 p.m.
  • April 4
    • Beginner/Intermediate/Junior Open Race, 6:30 p.m.
    • Feds v. Contractors Race, 7:25 p.m.
    • Cargo Bike/Tandem/Bikeshare Showdown, 8 p.m.
    • Fixed Gear Finale, 8:25 p.m.

Crosshairs Garage Races is hosted by the Crystal City BID in partnership with JBG Smith and In The Crosshairs.

Photo courtesy Crystal City/Bruce Buckley Photography

Plastic Pipes from I-395 Bridge Washed Away into Four Mile Run

By Anna Merod
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Several plastic pipes washed away from a construction project on the I-395 bridge into Four Mile Run after a downpour of rain Sunday.

The I-395 project between the Shirlington interchange and Glebe Road currently uses 35 plastic pipes to redirect water in Four Mile Run away from the work area. The rain’s movement of the pipes did not harm the construction project, said Jennifer McCord, a Virginia Department of Transportation spokesperson.

Workers are currently moving the pipes out of the creek by hand and should be done with the removal sometime today or tomorrow, McCord said. She added that she is unsure if the pipes will be put back into place as they may no longer be needed for the project.

The project costing $7.2 million should be complete by November 2018, she said.

Photos by Mark Wigfield

Amid Concerns, School Board Says New H-B Woodlawn Building is Inclusive of Students with Disabilities

By Anna Merod

As plans for a new building for the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program move forward, members of the Arlington Special Education Advisory Committee (ASEAC) say the design is not inclusive enough for students with disabilities.

In emails sent to the Arlington School Board, ASEAC and other groups expressed concern about a separate entrance intended for disabled students in the Stratford Program.

“The current design still appears to envision Stratford students entering the school through a separate door on the ground level of the building’s northwestern corner, next to the Stratford offices, with the main entrance being at the center of the building one level up, next to the H-B Woodlawn offices,” said a Jan. 14 email from a coalition of individuals and groups, including the Arlington Inclusion Task Force.

“Designing a building that has a separate entrance for students with significant disabilities reinforces the idea that students with disabilities are inferior, second-class citizens to be kept out of sight and out of mind,” the email continued. “Separate entrances emphasize difference, encourage isolation, and erect barriers, rather than fostering connections and providing opportunities for engagement. Separate entrances are an affront to Arlington’s inclusive values.”

The School Board responded in another email that all three entrances to the building will be accessible to all students.

The new facility, which will replace and demolish the Wilson School property in Rosslyn, has an estimated cost of around $100 million and is expected to be complete in time for the 2019-2020 school year.

ASEAC also criticized what it said was a lack of communication with community members during the design process.

“Feedback from parents, the Inclusion Task Force, and this committee appears to have had little, if any, impact on the final design. Concerns were raised and provided in writing to the School Board and APS staff in October 2015, allowing reasonable opportunity for these concerns to be accommodated,” ASEAC members wrote.

Universal Design principles, as defined by the Disability Act of 2005, were not applied to the new building and should not fall on the responsibility of parents to uphold, ASEAC said. Members called for the school to consider making the best of inclusive spaces such as the cafeteria, library and other common spaces.

In a letter, School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen said Universal Design was included throughout the design process and feedback from parents, administrators and faculty were considered throughout as well.

“We wish to confirm that design and operation of the new school on the Wilson will comply with the principles of Universal Design and inclusion and that students in the Stratford, ESOL HILT, Asperger’s and H-B Woodlawn programs will not be segregated from one another,” the School Board responded.

The full response to ASEAC, after the jump.

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Drafthouse to Show ‘The Princess Bride’ on Valentine’s Day

By Anna Merod

Next week the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse will be hosting an alternative to the traditional Valentine’s Day sit-down dinner: stand-up comedy and a showing of “The Princess Bride”

There will be two showings of both on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Doors will first open at 6 p.m., with the stand-up starting at 7 p.m. and the movie beginning at 7:30 p.m. For the second showing, doors will open at 9:30 p.m., the stand-up will start at 9:45 p.m. and the screening will begin at 10:15 p.m.

Tickets are value-priced, according to the Drafthouse’s website.

“Only $10 — inconceivable!” the website says.

Fret Zealot Makes Learning the Guitar Easy Again

By Anna Merod

Startup Monday header

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Fret Zealot is a game changer when it comes to learning how to play the guitar, said Shaun Masavage, CEO of Fret Zealot.

The technology is a LED light script that can be installed on any full-sized electric or acoustic guitar. The light script is accompanied with an app that teaches people how to play different chords and songs by indicating which strings to play via the lights. The LED light script is also accompanied with a small rechargeable battery pack that can last up to 12 hours.

To install the Fret Zealot, the strings must be pulled aside to place the lights on the fret board.

Masavage said he was inspired to create Fret Zealot after learning how many people give up learning to play the guitar.

“The statistic now is that 90 percent of people stop learning guitar, and it’s just like why? Normally it’s barriers to entry, so we designed Fret Zealot to take away all of those barriers to entry,” Masavage said.

The Arlington-based startup in Crystal City has been in development for five years, and shipped its first orders of Fret Zealot in December and has sold 3,000 so far. The product has also reached a global scale, selling to more than 40 different countries.

Before the technology became accessible to the public, Fret Zealot launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $250,000 within a month. Just recently the cost of the LED lights dropped making it possible to sell Fret Zealot for a more affordable price at $200.

“[This] is our year,” Masavage said. The company has been in talks with major guitar manufacturers and several retailers, he said.

Fret Zealot will also be expanding to different instruments. In the spring, a bass version will be released and a ukulele version will come out later in the summer.

The app has a tuner and currently 100 songs for anyone to play. In a few weeks, it will be able to listen to the user, so when playing songs the app will go at the user’s pace — not showing the next note until the user has played it. Soon users will also be able to upload any song they want to the app so long as it passes the app’s quality standards.

Several music teachers have reached out to the company, wanting to build their own courses using Fret Zealot, said John Tolly, chief technology officer of Fret Zealot.

“[We are] not even replacing teachers, we’re adding to them. They can have students learn proper notes and chords, and then they can concentrate on helping with technique,” Masavage said.

For Masavage it’s been very satisfying seeing people from beginners to retirees use Fret Zealot.

“It’s very fulfilling, because you see people at all levels light up when they use the product,” he said.

Photos Courtesy Shaun Masavage

Here’s What on The Stand’s Menu This Month

By Anna Merod
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The Stand, a food stand in Crystal City that has been open since November, has some new offerings.

The food stand, which is located along Crystal Drive, adjacent to the Crystal City water park and an entrance to the Mt. Vernon Trail, has a rotating menu reflecting new food trends in the area.

Here is what The Stand is offering throughout February:

Ristorante Murali Closes on Pentagon Row

By Anna Merod
1/2

Ristorante Murali is “closed forever,” according to the Italian restaurant’s website.

The signs on the restaurant’s building in Pentagon Row have been taken down with only a small sign in the door remaining.

The Italian restaurant had been open for 14 years before closing recently.

“After many years in business, we are forever closed. Thank you for your loyalty and we wish you well,” wrote the website.

Korean Restaurant to Open in Place of Shawafel in Courthouse

By Anna Merod

Bibimix, a quick-service Korean restaurant, is getting ready to open in Courthouse as soon as next week.

The new Korean restaurant at 1910 Wilson Blvd will be replacing the former Shawafel, which closed in 2016 after only being open for about a year.

Restaurant co-owner Sang Moon described Bibimix’s format as “Chipotle style,” where customers can make their own rice or salad bowls using up to 40 different toppings. They will also be serving Korean fried chicken, he said.

Moon expects to host a soft opening next week. Customers will be able to get 20 percent off their meal on March 1, during the store’s official grand opening, Moon said.

Bibimix hopes to be able to find staying power after an eatery with a similar format struggled elsewhere in Arlington. Chipotle-style Korean restaurant KBQ Korean BBQ & Bar closed in Crystal City last year after being in business for six months.

Photo courtesy Christopher Cahill

Crystal City to Host Annual Fashion Show

By Anna Merod
1/10

The annual Crystal Couture fashion show in Crystal City will return this weekend.

The free event includes models walking the catwalk in fashions from local designers, plus more than two dozen pop-up shops from local boutiques and designers. There will also be a bar and free five-minute makeup and hair makeovers.

The event is scheduled for Friday (Feb. 2) from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday (Feb. 3) from 2-9 p.m.

Special guest hosts slated for appearances include Ashley Darby from the Real Housewives of Potomac, media personality Paul Wharton and Sunni from radio station WPGC.

‘Little Community Pantry’ Helps to Feed the Hungry in Ballston

By Anna Merod
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After the 2016 presidential election, Tori Phillips said she felt “helpless” and thought there was a community divide in Arlington.

To address that, Phillips reached out to multiple churches in 2017 with the idea of launching a “Little Community Pantry.” The idea is similar to that of a “Little Free Library,” from which people can give and take books as they please, except with Phillips’ pantry people can donate non-perishable food items and other items such as foot and hand warmers, packaged toothbrushes and tampons.

This past August Phillips was able to establish her “Little Community Pantry” outside the Central United Methodist Church, just across the street from the Ballston metro.

Phillips said she monitors the pantry weekly with the help of family, friends and members of the church. A member of the church also painted the pantry box, she added.

Some weeks she has been pleasantly surprised to find the pantry full, but in general she said the demand is higher than the supply.

Phillips said she thinks the pantry has helped bring the community together. Multiple people have stopped and thanked Phillips when she fills up the pantry. Sometimes people donate scarves, hats and gloves though the pantry doesn’t prompt it.

In the future Phillips hopes to see more pantry boxes outside of Arlington. She has her sights set on the Del Ray neighborhood in Alexandria as the next Little Community Pantry location.

Photo by Tori Phillips

‘Bash Boxing’ to Replace Cafe Asia in Rosslyn

By Anna Merod

Bash Boxing, a boxing-focused interval workout studio, will open its first location this spring in Rosslyn.

The new studio will be replacing Cafe Asia (1550 Wilson Blvd), which closed in 2016 after nearly 15 years in business.

The boutique studio’s fitness routine combines boxing on an water-filled aqua training bag and high intensity interval training for a total 45-minute workout. Half of the workout is boxing on the water bag and the other half is on the floor doing interval training.

Alex Trakas, one of the co-founders of Bash Boxing, noted the benefits of using an aqua training bag over one filled with sand.

“There’s no pain that goes into your joints. Every time you hit into the bag it just absorbs all the punch and all the energy,” Trakas said.

What differentiates Bash from other boxing gyms in the D.C. area is that it’s interval training focused, but uses boxing for cardio, said Lee Smith, another co-founder of Bash.

Trakas said the studio is “driving a community vibe” and is one of the reasons she and other co-founders invested into Bash Boxing. She added that there will be a pre-sale mid February that future members can access on the studio’s website.

Other partners in the brand include Arlington area entrepreneurs Scott Parker (A-Town, Don Tito, Barley Mac, The G.O.A.T.), Win Sheridan (Apex Systems, Echostage, Soundcheck, Bresca) and Sherif Abdalla (TTR Sotheby’s).

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that Bash will take up just over half of the cavernous former Cafe Asia space.

Photo courtesy Andy B.

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