Author: Ethan Rothstein

Cash-Strapped Drew School PTA Hosts Spring Fair

By Ethan Rothstein

Drew Model School grocery store revenue (image courtesy Drew Model School PTA)The Drew Model School Parent Teacher Association is throwing its first Spring Fair next weekend, in hopes of closing a $22,000 funding gap.

Because of changes to local grocery stores’ policies in the last two years, donations that have come from shoppers signing up to donate a portion of their purchase to schools have almost disappeared. According to Drew PTA President Evan Thomas, grocery store donations accounted for $22,700 of the PTA’s $30,000 budget in the 2012-2013 school year.

This year, the PTA projects $495 in revenue from the two stores that it has received money from, Harris Teeter and Safeway.

A manager at Harris Teeter said their program hasn’t changed, but schools are no longer allowed to sign up shoppers on the way in, which has hamstrung participation, Thomas said. According to a manager at Safeway, the chain was just purchased, and in the lengthy negotiations over the past two years, the “program has changed some.” According to Safeway’s website, donations through its eScrip program aren’t taken from credit card purchases.

Thomas doesn’t begrudge the grocery stores, he said, but the fiscal reality of the PTA’s current budget is inescapable.

“We felt fortunate that we were able to work within the program as we were before those changes were made,” he told ARLnow.com today. “It’s just a reality of where we are, and we’re just trying to look for ways to move forward and fundraising without doing it on the backs of our families.”

The PTA has responded by hosting a Spring Fair next Saturday, May 16, to draw families to the school and raise a few thousand dollars.

Drew School (Photo via Google Maps)The fair will take place on the school’s grounds (3500 23rd Street S.) from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There will be foods from a variety of food trucks, a moon bounce, a cake walk game, and raffles. There will also be carnival style games, with the price of participation going to the Drew PTA.

“We’re really hoping the Spring Fair can serve as a signature event so we can have a little more certainty going into each year to allocate comfortably,” Thomas said.

The PTA has received help from its counterpart at Nottingham Elementary School in North Arlington. The Nottingham PTA has chipped in $1,500 to offset costs and provided mentorship and support — Drew is hoping to model the Spring Fair after Nottingham’s annual MayFest.

As for the drastic downturn in PTA revenue, Thomas said purchases the group has made in the past, like smartboards for classrooms and a climbing wall, will no longer be feasible. Thomas said 65 percent of Drew students are on a free or reduced lunch program. APS spokesman Frank Bellavia said it’s one of nine schools in the county that have at least 40 percent of its students receiving free or reduced lunches.

Image, top, courtesy Drew Model School PTA. Photo, bottom, via Google Maps

Photos: Redskins Attend SpinFire Pizza’s Grand Opening

By Ethan Rothstein
1/9

(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) The new Rosslyn fast-casual pizza restaurant, SpinFire Pizza, held its grand opening party yesterday, an event celebrated by co-owner Pierre Garçon and several of his Washington Redskins teammates.

Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and wide receiver Ryan Grant were among Garçon’s teammates to attend the grand opening at 1501 Wilson Blvd, enjoying the pizza made in SpinFire’s custom oven, cooked in 90 seconds.

The pizza shop opens at 11:00 a.m. every day, and it closes at 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Garçon was also filmed by TMZ on the street outside his business, discussing the business and how users of legalized marijuana in D.C. can enjoy the pizza.

Below is the press release announcing the grand opening.

Last night, Washington Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garçon welcomed over 500 guests – including teammates Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Grant – to the grand opening of his new Rosslyn pizza eatery, SpinFire. Garçon and partner Fouad Qreitem, Paisano’s Pizza founder, opened the doors to their second SpinFire location in Arlington late last month.

Located at 1501 Wilson Blvd in the heart of the bustling Rosslyn neighborhood, SpinFire specializes in made-to-order individual pizzas, gourmet salads and hearty calzones, all freshly served in 90 seconds. Pizza aficionados can choose from over 30 fresh toppings, hand-cut in-house daily. Offerings at the Arlington restaurant include over 12 menu items that range from classic Italian combinations like the Prosciutto Arugula Pizza (arugula, prosciutto, olive oil, fresh mozzarella, ricotta and citrus vinaigrette) to American favorites such as the Hawaiian Pizza (shredded mozzarella, pineapple, smoked ham and scallions). Diners looking for a lighter meal can opt for a specialty salad – Fresh Mozzarella, Chicken Caesar or Prosciutto Arugula – or handpick their favorite ingredients.

With over 70 seats, Garçon and Qreitem’s brainchild also offers sweet tooth patrons the chance to indulge in homemade gelato and sip local brews from Port City Brewing Company of Alexandria, VA.Garçon is thrilled to offer SpinFire’s signature 90-second-service to the Rosslyn neighborhood. “We’re excited to be in Arlington and to provide quick service with an amazing product. Even with a line to the door, you can enjoy SpinFire on a quick lunch break,” confirms Garçon.

Arlington Historical Society Looking for Volunteers

By Ethan Rothstein

The Hume School (photo via Arlington Historical Society)The Arlington Historical Society is hoping to expand the hours it hosts visitors to the Arlington Historical Museum and other historical properties it serves, and it needs help.

The AHS has put out the call for volunteers to sign up to be docents — who serve as guides and helpers — at the museum at The Hume School (1805 S. Arlington Ridge Road) and the Ball-Sellers House (5620 3rd Street S.), the oldest school building and house, respectively, in the county.

“With the right mix of volunteer docents we could not only preserve … visiting hours but also expand weekend hours and — most eagerly sought — add at least one weekday afternoon to our schedule,” AHS said in a posting on the Volunteer Arlington website. “At present many potential visitors, including school students, simply can’t explore the museum during the week, which means that whole sectors of visitors never have the opportunity to see what we have to show them. Museum certification organizations and many grant-makers also require weekday opening hours, which prohibits us from upgrading and expanding the museum.”

AHS is also looking for a volunteer to run its newsletter and a new membership director, and general volunteers for a “variety of behind-the-scenes roles, including public relations, event and program planning, database management, writing and editing, and curating.

The nonprofit runs both properties as museums and testaments to Arlington’s pre-20th century history. Each docent is expected to work just a few hours a month, staffing each property during their hours of operation and catering to guests.

Photo via Arlington Historical Society

Pinkberry in Clarendon Plans to Reopen

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

Arlington’s dwindling frozen yogurt market will get a boost sometime soon: the Pinkberry in Clarendon appears set to reopen.

The shop closed this winter when its franchise owner, which operated a handful of Pinkberry locations in the D.C. area, filed for bankruptcy. It was put up for auction and has been laying dormant ever since, with the frozen yogurt machines, cups and furniture all in place on the inside.

Last month, the shop started to show signs of life. A “Now Hiring” sign was posted, announcing the shop was looking for workers and managers, and two signs on the doors were posted, saying simply “Swirling Soon!”

There’s no indication of when the shop will reopen, or if a new franchisee will own it or the California-based Pinkberry corporation. A message to the email address listed on the “now hiring” sign was not immediately returned.

‘Walk for the Animals’ Returns on Saturday

By Ethan Rothstein

Walk-for-the-Animals-ImageThis Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington’s Walk for the Animals, and, in honor of the occasion, the nonprofit is adding a “Pet Fest” to the event.

The annual dog walk takes place in Bluemont Park (329 N. Manchester Street), with check-in at 9:30 a.m. and the 5K walk beginning at 10:30 a.m. There is also a one-mile “stroll” through park. After the walks conclude — you can register for them here for $30 or at the event for $40 — the Pet Fest will begin.

Owners are discouraged from bringing cats to the event.

The festival will last until 12:30 p.m. and include a “retail row,” with vendor booths from Dogma Bakery, KissAble Canine, Lazy Dog Art Studio and other pet-related local businesses. There will also be demonstration’s from Shirlington’s WOOFS! Dog Training and food from the CapMac DC truck.

With games like “bobbing for biscuits,” music from a local DJ and a “kids corner” where children can make pet-related crafts, there is no shortage of things to do when the walk is over.

“The Walk not only supports the thousands of animals the League cares for each year, but it is also a way for people to be a part of the solution for improving the lives of animals in our community,” AWLA CEO Neil Trent said in a press release. “We encourage people to walk with or without a dog, in memory of a beloved pet or in honor of their cat or other companion animal.”

The annual Walk for the Animals is one of AWLA’s biggest fundraisers. So far, the fundraising drive has generated $67,389 of its $100,000 goal. Even those who decide not to walk can still donate.

Ballston Tuesday Night Bicycle Rides Postponed Indefinitely

By Ethan Rothstein

Fresh Bikes in Ballston

Update: Tuesday Night Rides are expected to resume in June after organizer Scott McAhren admitted he submitted the special events permit less than two weeks before May 5. 

(Earlier) Driver complaints have pushed Arlington County to reconsider the future of Tuesday Night Rides, the weekly mass-cycling event in Ballston Tuesday evenings during the summer, according to the ride’s organizer.

Steve McAhren, the owner of Fresh Bikes on Wilson Blvd between N. Pollard and Quincy Streets, has organized the weekly rides since May 2006. When they started, he said, there were just 15-20 cyclists participating.

By 2010, as many as 500 people would come to ride up and down their route, primarily along Military Road, and McAhren had a weekly permit with the county and paid for the expense of a police escort.

McAhren told ARLnow.com this afternoon that he reached out to the county earlier this year to make sure the permit would be renewed again, and the county staff told him the permit was unlikely to be renewed.

“[Special events staff] said there’s almost a zero percent chance we’re going to approve it every week again,” McAhren said. “In the past, they just kind of rubber-stamped it because the county was so pro-cycling.”

McAhren said he agreed to reduce the rides to once a month, but he said the county was planning to still put the permit’s renewal before the County Board, and asked him if he could move the time to the weekends to reduce traffic impacts.

“It became kind of a critical mass thing,” McAhren said. “Long story short, they got a few complaints last season and I think they got six complaints over the last month from people who remember the ride from last year. It’s the kind of stuff I can’t really believe would affect their decision.”

County staff did not immediately return requests for comment this afternoon.

McAhren sent an email to the Tuesday Night Rides group at about 1:00 p.m. and told them to contact the county and post on this website advocating for the county to approve its permit renewal.

“If we can get 1,000 people saying that they like the ride and want to keep it,” he said, “hopefully that will outweigh the handful of complaints.”

The rides have run at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday from the first Tuesday in May — which would be tonight — to about mid-September. Since they’ve grown, Fresh Bikes has continued to offer them for free and has served burritos and played music outside their shop, where the ride begins and ends.

Once the rides started to get police support — and the police were very supportive of the rides back in 2010, McAhren pointed out — they grew in popularity.

“Word got out around the Beltway and we had people come all the way from Maryland for the ride,” McAhren said.

Two cyclists were sent to the hospital during a ride last May, he said, the only major injury they’ve had since the rides began eight years ago.

Just because the ride has been officially postponed doesn’t mean Ballston drivers have no more cyclists to navigate around this evening — while the police escort and official store support will not be in place tonight, McAhren said he believes hundreds of cyclists will continue the ride on their own.

“The ride’s going to happen anyways, all that’s really going to happen is it’s not going to be sanctioned by me or a police escort,” he said. “Unless lightning strikes right at 6:30 p.m. there are going to be 200 cyclists in Ballston, and it will be even more unsafe.”

Ask Adam: Historic Designated Neighborhoods

Ask Adam Real Living header

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Adam Gallegos, Arlington-based real estate broker, voted one of Arlington Magazine’s Best Realtors of 2013 & 2014. Please submit your questions via email.

Q. My husband and I are just beginning a search for a single-family house in Arlington and our first steps are to designate the neighborhoods and areas we are interested in (and those we are not). Since we don’t plan on purchasing anything in the next 6-9 months, we aren’t yet working with a Realtor.

We recently visited a nicely updated home in Maywood, which we knew was in a designated historic community. The real estate agent at the open house was helpful in explaining some of the restrictions (mostly exterior limitations). We then heard from another agent from a different open house that Penrose also has restrictions.

I’ve tried to find a list of neighborhoods with restrictions due to historical status and have come up empty. Do you know of a resource that lists the neighborhoods and describes what types of restrictions are in place for each or have you created anything like this you could share?

A. I think it is always a good idea to consider whether your plans for a home are consistent with the neighborhood. Even if there is not a homeowners association or restrictive covenants in place, we can all think of examples where a certain home is very out of place in a neighborhood.

I recall a recent conversation with a neighbor that wanted to make sure my clients weren’t planning to tear down and rebuild the house we were looking at. There technically wasn’t anything to stop them from doing so, but you are usually better off trying to find a location where new homes fit in a little better.

For the purpose of identifying historic neighborhoods, Arlington has a very good website that lists all the historic districts within the county. You can drill down for a wealth of information about the specific designations you are interested in.

The Arlington County list does not include Penrose and I have never heard of any restrictions within that neighborhood. Hopefully, we have some Penrose residents who will provide insight within the comments section of this article. You can also call the county for questions about any neighborhoods you would like more information about: 703-228-3000.

There is a field that listing agents can use within the multiple listing service (MLS) to inform buyers whether or not a property has a historic designation. It is subject to human error so I wouldn’t rely completely on this, but it is an additional tool at your disposal.

Thank you for this week’s question. Please keep them coming to [email protected]. This is also a great place to reach me for anyone looking to buy or sell a home in the Arlington area.

The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

County Buys Land in Virginia Square for $30 Million

By Ethan Rothstein

The N. Quincy Street property purchased by Arlington County The Arlington County Board signed a major deal to acquire land this afternoon, paying $30 million for 6 acres along N. Quincy Street, across from Washington-Lee High School.

The land was owned by Bill Buck, founder of Buck & Associates and Arlington real estate mainstay, who agreed to let the county pay for the land in stages: $1.2 million at the close of the sale, $1.8 million in 2016 and $27 million by November 20, 2017, after the county undergoes a revision to the Capital Improvements Program.

The County Board approved the purchase 5-0.

“This is a rare opportunity for the county to acquire a significant piece of property in North Arlington that is zoned for light industrial use, at a time when our community is struggling to find public land to accommodate our many facilities’ needs,” County Board Chair Mary Hynes said in a press release.

“We are thrilled that Bill Buck, whose family has played such an important role in the development of Arlington, has agreed to give us this purchase option. Over the next two years, we will be having a conversation with the community about the best uses for this site, using the criterion and process being developed by our Community Facilities Study effort.”

The N. Quincy Street property purchased by Arlington CountyIn the announcement, the county said it has no specific plans for the site yet, but all but 1.35 acres of it is zoned as light industrial. That zoning allows the county to decide which of its chief land priorities — school buildings, a new transportation storage facility and open space — it wishes to devote the new land to.

Currently, Nova MMA/Crossfit Arlington occupies the westernmost building on the land, where it moved in 11 months ago after it was forced to move from its first location in Courthouse. It had previously stood next to Wilson Tavern, where a Hyatt House hotel expects to open next year.

The Board can opt out of the purchase before November 2017. The first payment was funded through CIP 2014 bond money. The land will be rolled into the ongoing Community Facilities Study, after which time the county will involve Arlington Public Schools — which just announced a plan to put 71 new trailers at elementary and middle schools by 2020 — in discussions on the site.

“Although funding for this purchase is not in the current CIP, sometimes you have to act when opportunities arise,” Hynes said in the release. “For many years, community members have suggested that this property should be in the public realm. We are delighted that after complex negotiations, we are able today to achieve that goal.”

This is the biggest county land acquisition since it acquired 7.1 acres for Long Bridge Park in 2011, in an exchange for additional zoning from a developer. The 1.35-acres not zoned for industrial use are zoned for residential, which allows building streets, sidewalks, trails and recreational facilities.

New Play in Arlington is ‘Part Bridesmaids, Part The Hangover, Part Mean Girls’

By Ethan Rothstein

The Dominion Stage production of "Bachelorette" (photo courtesy Dominion Stage)(Updated at 3:00 p.m.) A community theater in South Arlington is showing “Bachelorette” this month, a play with a disclaimer of “adult situations, strong language, sexually suggestive situations, nudity, smoking and depictions of drug and alcohol use.”

Dominion Stage is producing the show, running at Theatre on the Run (3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive) Thursday, Friday and Saturday the next two weeks after opening this past weekend. It’s being billed as “part ‘Bridesmaids, part ‘The Hangover and part ‘Mean Girls’… only the girls are much meaner!” according to a promotional email.

The premise of the show is four friends convene in a hotel suite for a bachelorette party in New York City.

“Fueled by jealousy and resentment, the girls embark on a night of debauchery that goes from playfully wasted to devastatingly destructive,” the email states. “Their old fears, unfulfilled desires and deep bonds with each other transform a prenuptial bender into a night they’ll never forget.”

Tickets are on sale online and at the door for $20. Each show starts at 8:00 p.m. The play was turned into an R-rated moviem “Bachelorette,” starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan and Rebel Wilson. It scored a 56 on Rotten Tomates.

Photo courtesy Dominion Stage

Summers in Courthouse Reopens Back Bar as ‘Summers 2’

By Ethan Rothstein

Summers in Courthouse planning to reopen(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) Summers Restaurant in Courthouse, a longtime haven for soccer fans, reopened in February after closing at the end of 2014. Now, the sports bar at 1520 N. Courthouse Road will try something new to draw in more customers.

Summers 2, the re-branded back bar, is hosting a grand opening party Friday night, with 1990s cover band The Dial Up. On Saturday, the bar will show the boxing match between superwelterweighs Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland, with no cover.

The sections of Summers will remain connected and part of the same business, according to a restaurant employee reached by phone this morning. Owner Joe Javidara hired a promotion company, Bar Concepts, to liven up the space.

“We’re just trying to spice up the other bar,” the employee said.

Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The back bar will host events almost every day of the week, with “Draft Night” on Tuesdays, “Drunk Karaoke” on Wednesdays, trivia on Thursdays and live bands on Fridays and DJs on Saturday, according to its website.

The back bar was damaged by a fire in June 2013, and, according to the Washington Post’s Steve Goff, when it was reopened, the business did not return. The Summers employee reached by phone said that business has picked up steadily since the restaurant’s brief closure, and the rebranded bar is another attempt to rejuvenate the 31-year-old business.

File photo

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