Author: Ethan Rothstein

Favola Bill to Include LGBT in Hate Crime Definition Fails

By Ethan Rothstein

The Virginia State Capitol in RichmondA bill that would have expanded the definition of hate crimes in Virginia to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals has failed in the state Senate.

Sen. Barbara Favola (D) sponsored the bill, SB 799, which failed by a 7-6 vote in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee last week.

Another local state Senator, Janet Howell (D), serves on the committee and voted to pass, along with five other Democrats. “No” votes by the seven Republicans on the committee doomed the bill before it reached the Senate floor.

If it had passed, the bill would have given crimes directed at people because of sexual orientation or gender identification the same protections under state law as those directed because of race, religion, ethnicity or national origin.

Favola’s bill was one of several proposed by Arlington legislators aimed at increasing protections for the gay and transgender communities. Del. Patrick Hope introduced HB 1385, which would make conversion therapy — interventions and efforts to change one’s sexual orientation — illegal when conducted on someone under 18 years old. That bill is in subcommittee in the House of Delegates Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin, Virginia’s first openly gay state legislator, has a number of bills on the matter, including one officially striking down Virginia’s state prohibition on same sex marriages and civil unions. Even though the state Supreme Court has ruled that same sex marriage is legal in Virginia, the state’s laws still do not reflect that.

Ebbin has also introduced bills to replace “husband” and “wife” with “spouse” in the state code and to prohibit discrimination in the public sector when considering gay and transgender job applicants.

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Board to Consider 20-Story Pentagon City Apartment Building

By Ethan Rothstein
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After pushing its decision back two months, the Arlington County Board this weekend will consider a plan to redevelop a vacant office building at 400 Army Navy Drive in Pentagon City into apartments.

Bethesda-based developer LCOR has proposed turning the former Department of Defense Inspector General office, also known as the “Paperclip building,” into a 200-foot tall, 20-story apartment complex with 453 residential units. County staff and the Arlington Planning Commission are recommending the Board approve the redevelopment at its meeting this Saturday.

The new apartment complex will consist of twin residential towers on a common platform.

LCOR is planning on making the north tower, with unobstructed views of the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery, a condominium building and making the apartments in the south tower, fronting 11th Street S., rental units.

The existing office building has three levels of underground parking beneath it, which LCOR plans to keep and build two levels of parking above ground, as part of the platform beneath the residential towers. On top of the platform, the developers is planning to have 11,000 square feet of recreational space, including a 4-foot deep pool and areas for grilling.

The redevelopment plan comes with some street changes, including removing Old South Eads Street from the street grid and turning it into a pedestrian walk. The plan also reinstates part of 11th Street S.

An adjacent county-owned “Teardrop Parcel” of land was formerly the planned site of the operations and maintenance yard for the now-cancelled Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar system. This redevelopment will not affect the parcel, but it’s now being kept clear to potentially be included in future redevelopment of either this location or the recently approved PenPlace office complex, according to the staff report.

In exchange for added density, LCOR has agreed to provide the equivalent of $6.6 million in community benefits, including 15 dedicated affordable housing units in the building, $1.1 million to the Crystal City Open Space fund and $1 million to the Army Navy Drive Complete Streets project. LCOR would also donate $91,000 toward the county’s utility undergrounding project, $75,000 to the county’s Public Art Fund and contribute to improving the traffic signal at the intersection of Army Navy Drive and S. Eads Street.

ABC Store Under Construction in Courthouse

By Ethan Rothstein

ABC sign in Courthouse (photo courtesy Andy Bailey)An ABC liquor store is under construction at 1919 Clarendon Blvd, in the ground floor of a new apartment building on the block.

ARLnow.com reported in July that the state Alcoholic Beverage Control department was in lease negotiations for one of the new retail spaces in the building, just a few blocks from the site of its former location in the Colonial Village Shopping Center.

Signs are already up in the windows of the new space, on Clarendon Blvd between N. Rhodes and Troy Streets, for construction. When contacted, an ABC spokesperson could only confirm the store will be opening in the future, but said there is no available information about when the store might be open.

The site of a possible new ABC store in CourthouseWhile the ABC store is undergoing their interior buildout, so, too, is Shawafel, a “quick served” Lebanese restaurant, next door. The location of Shawafel will be the H Street NE business’ second brick-and-mortar shop.

Before the ABC store opens, the closest spot to pick up bottles of liquor for Rosslyn and Courthouse residents is the store at 1001 N. Fillmore Street, at the intersection with Washington Blvd.

Photo, top, courtesy Andy Bailey. Photo (bottom) is a file photo.

NWS Issues Winter Weather Advisory for Wednesday Morning

By Ethan Rothstein

Winter storm hits Arlington Jan. 6, 2015(Updated at 6:20 p.m.) The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for tomorrow, Wednesday, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The advisory calls for 1-3 inches of snow in the D.C. metro area, with the flakes starting to fall tomorrow morning and continuing through the afternoon, possibly affecting the evening rush. The heaviest snow is predicted to fall in the late morning and early afternoon.

Although temperatures are hovering in the mid-to-high-40s this afternoon, they’re expected to drop to right around freezing overnight. The weather could prove tricky for morning commutes and school buses.

The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang says the 1-3 inch prediction is likely “overdone” but a band of stronger snow in areas is possible.

Arlington Public Schools is not likely to make a decision on a delay or cancellation until early Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service issued a similar winter weather advisory prior to the Jan. 6 snowfall that caused numerous traffic issues, leading APS to issue an apology the next day for not delaying the start of school.

According to the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jessica Baxter, snow crews are on alert, “hooking up trucks today and will be prepared to brine streets early tomorrow morning.”

… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM EST WEDNESDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM EST WEDNESDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS… 1 TO 3 INCHES. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.
* TIMING… SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING… AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAYTIME ON WEDNESDAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH MID AFTERNOON.
* TEMPERATURES… IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S.
* WINDS… EAST 5 TO 10 MPH.
* IMPACTS… TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE BELOW FREEZING WEDNESDAY MORNING… ALLOWING SNOW TO ACCUMULATE ON ROADWAYS AND OTHER SURFACES. THIS WILL RESULT IN HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE. SLIPPERY CONDITIONS COULD PERSIST INTO THE LATE AFTERNOON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES… AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

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Working Group Can’t Agree on Elementary School Plan for TJ Middle School

By Ethan Rothstein
1/4

(Updated at 5:55 p.m.) The working group charged by the county to help decide the fate of the green space next to Thomas Jefferson Middle School says it was unable reach a final consensus.

Arlington Public Schools is eyeing land surrounding the middle school as the site for a new $50 million, 725-seat elementary school for south Arlington. Those funds were adopted by the School Board as part of the 2015-2024 Capital Improvement Plan last June, and approved as part of the schools bond referendum by Arlington voters in November.

The 20-member Thomas Jefferson Working Group was formed by the Arlington County Board last year, after APS announced the middle school’s surrounding area was its “preferred” location for a new elementary school. The group has met 10 times over the last five months but still couldn’t reach an agreement on how best to proceed.

“While the group could not reach full consensus within tight constraints, we do agree on strong guidelines under which a new school, if approved, could be fitted into this important site without harming TJ Park or the many community activities there,” working group chair Carrie Johnson said in a press release.

An advocacy group, Friends of Thomas Jefferson Park, formed soon after APS announced it was considering the TJ site, and the Friends group has been expressing vocal opposition to the placement of a new school on existing parkland at the 27-acre site.

“Building adjacent to the middle school ignores the county’s future recreation needs by permanently converting parkland and valuable open space to non-park and recreation uses,” Friends group President Jim Presswood said in a December press release. “We agree that Arlington needs more seats for students, but we should not have to choose between schools and parks.”

The group now leaves the decision of whether to build on the site up to the County Board. If the Board elects not to build on the site, the elementary school seats the school could have provided to South Arlington would come from additions at Barcroft and Randolph Elementary Schools, an alternative plan the School Board has already approved but is more expensive than building a new school.

Johnson will present the working group’s recommendations to the County Board at its Saturday meeting, and the Board is expected to respond during its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27. During its deliberations, the working group engaged the community with open meetings, surveys and involving local civic associations in the discussion.

Any plan to build a school at the site needs County Board approval because part of the land is owned by the county, not Arlington Public Schools.

The complete working group report is available online. The group found that it’s feasible to build an elementary school site to the west of the existing middle school and it would have a relatively minor impact on current recreational uses. However, the group says building on the site removes it from consideration for future parkland — for which it’s currently slated — and it would pre-empt the comprehensive study the County Board is launching this year of all county- and school-owned properties for future use.

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Water & Wall, Jaleo Participating in Restaurant Week

By Ethan Rothstein

Restaurant week logoWinter Restaurant Week is already underway, and it runs until Sunday, Jan. 25.

At least 14 restaurants in Arlington are participating, offering prix fixe menus for $20.15 lunches and $35.15 dinner. The weeklong special is organized by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington to boost restaurant business after busy times, like the December holidays.

The list of restaurants participating in the promotion — which some argue isn’t a deal at all, but may cost diners more money — appears to have dwindled from previous restaurant weeks. Last August, 15 restaurants were featured on the RAMW website, a dip from 17 restaurants in 2013. This week, however, restaurants that have not previously participated have joined up, including the highly regarded Water & Wall in Virginia Square and Mazagan Restaurant on Columbia Pike.

The list of Arlington restaurants on RAMW’s website, where all of the restaurants participating in the D.C. area can be found, is below. Note: some restaurants may be offering separate specials for the week.

  • Epic Smokehouse — 1330 S. Fern Street, 571-319-4001
  • Fuego Cocina y Tequileria — 2800 Clarendon Blvd, 571-970-2180
  • Fyve at The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City — 1250 S. Hayes Street, 703-412-2762
  • Jaleo — 2250 Crystal Drive, 703-413-8181
  • La Tasca — 2900 Wilson Blvd., 703-812-9120
  • The Liberty Tavern — 3195 Wilson Blvd., 703-465-9360
  • Lyon Hall — 3100 N. Washington Blvd., 703-741-7636
  • Mazagan — 2901 Columbia Pike, 703-566-4173
  • McCormick and Schmick’s — 2010 Crystal Drive, 703-413-6400
  • Me Jana — 2300 Wilson Blvd., 703-465-4440
  • Morton’s The Steakhouse — 1750 Crystal Drive, 703-418-1444
  • Water & Wall — 3811 N. Fairfax Drive Suite 105, 703-294-4949
  • Willow — 4301 N. Fairfax Drive, 703-465-8800
  • Yayla Bistro — 2201 N. Westmoreland Street, 703-533-5600

Arlington Agenda (Jan. 20-25)

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County. If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form.

Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Tuesday

Sen. Tim Kaine (D) (courtesy photo)Sen. Tim Kaine’s Staff at Library
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

A member of Sen. Tim Kaine’s staff will be on hand to answer constituent questions, concerns and give assistance. The session is free and open to the public.

Encouraging Young Women to be Active in Politics
Patrick Henry Elementary School library (701 S. Highland Street)
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Susan Welford of the Running Start organization speaks about why more young women don’t seek public office, and the ways society can help more women become civically active sooner. The event is free.

Thursday

cheryl-rtrResolve to Run for Arlington Thrive*
Pete’s New Haven Apizza (3017 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Arlington Thrive hosts this training regimen to get runners in shape to run a 5K, 10-mile or half-marathon race. This happy hour is free, with drink specials, to help those interested get questions answered.

Diamonds and Dessert*
Crystal City Shops (1625 Crystal Square Arcade)
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

The Junior League of Washington hosts a night of “sips, sweets and sparkles.” A $25 ticket buys nibbles and a ticket into a diamond drawing.

Saturday

Rosebud_EventRosebud Video and Film Festival
Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 12:30-5:30 p.m.

This film festival pulls films only from D.C., Virginia and Maryland filmmakers, and gives cash prizes. Tickets are $10.

Sunday

settlersStrategy Gaming at the Library
Shirlington Branch Library (4200 Campbell Avenue)
Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.

A free evening of strategy-based board games like Settlers of Catan, Risk and Dominion. The night is free and knowledge of strategy games is not required.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event

Pot Advocates Lobby for Ebbin’s Decriminalization Bill

By Ethan Rothstein

Marijuana and handcuff (photo via Facebook)The Virginia chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is in Richmond today, lobbying legislators to support Sen. Adam Ebbin’s marijuana decriminalization bill.

Ebbin’s bill, SB 686, has been referred to the 15-member Courts of Justice Committee, and if it’s approved would need to be approved by the full Senate before going through the same process in the House of Delegates.

Both houses are controlled by Republicans, which has traditionally been the party opposing marijuana legalization efforts nationwide. For that reason, Ebbin and NORML are targeting decriminalization, instead of NORML’s preferred policy, recreational legalization.

“Decriminalization is the first step in the process of fully legalizing cannabis,” Virginia NORML writes on its website’s section for SB 686. “Virginia is slow to change its laws in general; it often takes several years to make any significant changes, and usually requires support from both Republicans and Democrats. Our goal is to make the simple change to stop charging people with a criminal misdemeanor for simple possession.”

More than 60 marijuana reform advocates converged on the state capital today to discuss the legislation with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. If it passes, Ebbin’s bill would reduce the penalty for marijuana possession from a $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail to a $100 citation payable to the state’s Literary Fund. According to Ebbin’s legislation, Virginia currently spends $67 million a year investigating, prosecuting and jailing marijuana offenders.

“Criminalizing marijuana disrupts careers and families resulting in more harm than the drug itself and decriminalization is a commonsense step to allow law enforcement to focus its efforts on serious crimes,” Ebbin said in a press release.

UPDATED: Arlington Man Admits to Child Porn, Sex Crimes

By Ethan Rothstein

Gavel (Flickr photo by Joe Gratz)(Updated at 4:00 p.m.) A 29-year-old Arlington man pleaded guilty in federal court today to producing child porn, and admitted to engaging in sex acts with a minor.

Patrick Joseph Friedel, 29, will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession and production of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.

Friedel admitted to meeting five underage girls over the internet and, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, exchanged sexually explicit images with them, using “persuasion, including sending depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and coercion, including threats to post images online and tell parents.”

According to a signed affidavit by the Department of Homeland Security agent assigned to the case and acquired by ARLnow.com, Friedel used social networking apps Kik and MeetMe with the username “gthoya” to find victims and persuade them to send him sexually explicit images and videos.

Law enforcement found approximately 500 images or videos on Friedel’s computer of minors engaging in sex acts or other lewd behavior, according to the affidavit. The majority of the media was sent to Friedel directly at his request. At least six of the images or videos were of children under the age of 10 engaging in sex acts with adult males, but agents believe Friedel acquired them from other sources online.

Friedel engaged in sexual activity with one of the girls with whom he had contact three times, taking pictures and videos of the incidents. According to Friedel’s plea agreement, the images “included sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.” The victim was 15 years old at the time.

The affidavit states Friedel rented a Zipcar to drive to the victim’s house, pick her up, and engage in intercourse and “oral and anal sodomy” in the back seat. On a separate occasion, Friedel picked her up and brought her to his home in Arlington, where he filmed their sexual encounters. On the videotape, the agent states, he instructs her to perform sex acts to him and “slapped her on the head” when she did not do as instructed.

Friedel is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24.

The full press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office is after the jump.

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Favola Introduces Bills to Regulate In-Home Child Care

By Ethan Rothstein

State Sen. Barbara Favola speaks to the crowd at the groundbreaking for the Union at Queen apartmentsState Sen. Barbara Favola has introduced a series of bills aimed at regulating the in-home child care industry in Virginia.

Her bills — SB 780, SB 818 and SB 898 — would require everyone who receives compensation for child care in their home to be licensed with the Department of Social Services, undergo background checks and include their own children in official counts of how many children are under their care.

Currently, only homes caring for six or more children must be licensed by the state as a child care provider. If Favola’s bills pass in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, all employees who are alone with children would also have to receive first-aid training and ensure the home is clear of fire hazards.

“We should give families some assurances that there’s some standard of care,” Favola told ARLnow.com this week. “Right now the law reads if you have five unrelated children, you’re not regulated. This would require all day-home providers to meet minimum standards, like CPR, background checks and house fire safety code.”

The bills are currently in the senate’s Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, which met this morning. Favola is hoping that she can draw support from across the aisle to win some form of child care legislation. Favola’s colleague in the senate, Sen. Adam Ebbin, thinks she may have a chance.

“Daycare is going to be a significant issue to see progress on,” he said.

Favola called her bills “baby steps” at this month’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, but she said she wanted to introduce legislation she felt could pass. Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in December that daycare is an issue he wants to see progress on in 2015. According to an editorial in the News Leader in Staunton, Va., 46 children have died in unlicensed daycares in Virginia since 2004.

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Beyer to Serve on House Natural Resources Committee

By Ethan Rothstein

Rep. Don Beyer sworn into Congress (photo courtesy the office of Don Beyer)Rep. Don Beyer, the 8th District of Virginia’s first new congressman since Jim Moran in 1991, will serve on the committee in charge of environment policy.

Beyer is one of the newest representatives of the 47-member House Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah). During his campaign last year, Beyer made the environment a chief platform, and he told ARLnow.com this afternoon that he asked to be placed on the natural resources committee.

“This is a great platform for continuing the discussion on climate change,” Beyer said. “Every day we seem to discover some new climate change fact that should inform the legislation we pass.”

Beyer campaigned on instituting a carbon tax, which will be introduced soon by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Beyer said he will be “an early co-sponsor” of the legislation, which is likely doomed to fail in the firmly Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

“I have no illusions, I’m a freshman in the minority,” Beyer said about his ability to get his pet legislation passed. “I think there will be some playing defense, but there will be some things we can do together too. Trying to continue to surface basic scientific facts, basic data observation points about what’s happening in the climate worldwide. They don’t have to have a significant label on anything, but they’ll hopefully lead all of us to good decisions.”

The ranking member of the 21 Democrats on the natural resources committee is Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who said in a press release he’s “tremendously pleased to welcome” Beyer to the committee.

“Rep. Beyer joins our committee as a welcome and established voice for conservation who understands the importance of protecting our natural resources and public lands, including the Chesapeake Bay,” Grijalva said. “Environmental allies like Clean Water Action support him because of his commitment to address climate change, promote renewable energy and stand up to Republican deregulation schemes. Those priorities are exactly what we need more of in this Congress, and I can’t wait to get started with him on our team.”

Beyer has requested to be placed on the subcommittee for the environment. He’ll also likely be placed on another House committee, and he believes it will either be the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology or the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform. Each, he said, would be an opportunity to impact the 8th District.

“The science, space and technology committee would be great because the National Science Foundation is moving to Alexandria and DARPA is in Arlington,” he said. “Oversight and government reform would be perfect because it has so much impact on the federal government.”

Beyer said he’s been texting Moran for advice — “Jim’s a dear friend,” he said — and hired five of Moran’s former staffers for his office in Capitol Hill, and two more for his district office. After less than two weeks in office, he’s already “been on the losing side of a lot of votes” and frustrated with the majority party’s actions so far.

“I hope the rest of the session isn’t like the first two weeks,” he said. “It seems to have been largely political symbolism, where the Republican majority has put bills up for passage confident they’ll pass, but probably with little confidence they’ll get through the Senate or the president will sign them.”

Photo courtesy the office of Rep. Don Beyer

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