Author: Ethan Rothstein

Arlington Agenda (Oct 20-26)

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

Wakefield logoThe Ultimate Wakefield Warrior
Wakefield High School small gym (1325 S. Dinwiddie Street)
Time: 6:00 p.m.

Members of Wakefield’s Interact service club compete in five Crossfit style exercises, all to raise money for A-SPAN. Students have already raised $700 and hope the competition will raise greater awareness.

Wednesday

Close-the-Door-to-Homelessness-HH-2014-10-22-FlyerClose the door to Homelessness*
Sushi Rock (1900 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Arlington Thrive is hosting a happy hour to raise money for its homelessness prevention cause. A $10 donation is encouraged, and raffle tickets for prizes will be sold. Register online here.

Friday

Homebody SandmanLive Music: Homeboy Sandman
IOTA Club & Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 9:00 p.m.

Renowned underground hip-hop artist Homeboy Sandman takes the stage at the cozy IOTA Club. The lyrically deft “Boy Sand” brings his high energy shows to Arlington. Tickets are $12 at the door only.

Saturday

POP Halloween PartyPotomac Overlook Halloween Party*
Potomac Overlook Regional Park (2845 N. Marcey Road)
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Potomac Overlook hosts a party with “live music, food, games, arts and crafts, storytelling, and guided hikes through the woods.” Guests must register and pay $10 in advance by calling 703-528-5406.

eminova_and_belovA Night of Italian Opera*
Spectrum Theatre (1611 N. Kent Street)
Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Opera stars soprano Yana Eminova and baritone Anton Belov perform pieces from famous Italian operas like Don Giovanni and La Traviata with the National Chamber Ensemble. Adult tickets are $30.

Halloween Trail of TerrorHalloween Trail of Terror
Douglas Park cemetery (S. Quincy and 16th Streets)
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

The trail of terror returns to scare visitors for another year. Guests bring canned goods for the Arlington Food Assistance Center and get a fright in the cemetery. There’s a separate trail for children.

Vihstadt Outraises Howze in County Board Election

By Ethan Rothstein

John Vihstadt and Alan Howze debate at the Arlington Civic federation on Sept. 2, 2014Incumbent John Vihstadt continues to outpace Democratic challenger Alan Howze in fundraising before the two square off in the Nov. 4 Arlington County Board election.

According to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, Vihstadt enters the home stretch of the election with $89,058 in cash on hand after raising $42,908 last month. Howze has $22,800 in cash on hand after raising $36,847 last month.

Vihstadt’s biggest donation was a $5,000 gift from Arlington County firefighters, who gave him $2,500 during his special election campaign against Howze in April. That election, in which Vihstadt also outraised Howze, the Republican-endorsed independent became the first non-Democrat member of the County Board in more than a decade.

Outside of the firefighters group, all of Vihstadt’s receipts of $1,000 or more came from individuals in Arlington, except for $1,000 from Christopher Brigham in Fairfax.

Howze received just two donations of more than $1,000: $2,500 each from Jennifer Marie Bodie and the Reston-based “Laborers Mid Atlantic Regional Organizing Coalition.” Several of Howze’s donations came from elected officials and their campaign war chests, including Walter Tejada, Del. Alfonso Lopez and state Sen. Barbara Favola.

In the race for the 8th Congressional District, Democrat Don Beyer raised almost $570,000, according to federal election filings, in the period from July 1 to Sept. 30, and has $168,468 in cash on hand. Beyer raised almost $400,000 for the Democratic primary in June, far outpacing his opponents.

Republican Micah Edmond raised $37,177 in the past quarter, and has $25,686 in cash on hand for the final month in his bid to upset Beyer, the heavy favorite.

In Virginia’s Senate race, incumbent Sen. Mark Warner (D) raised just over $2 million last month to enter the final month before the election with $8.1 million in cash on hand. Republican challenger Ed Gillespie’s raised $1.8 million in the last quarter.

Group Calls for More Latino Police Officers in Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington police carThe Arlington County Police Department needs to hire more Latino and bilingual officers, according to one community group.

BU-GATA, a nonprofit that advocates for tenants rights and Latino issues, issued a statement during ACPD’s community outreach meeting last night asking the ACPD to step up its hiring practices so its department reflects the demographics of the community it serves.

“[The] lack of Latino, Spanish-speaking police officers is a major problem,” the group’s statement says. “In Arlington where 15.3 percent of the population is Latino, only 6-8 percent of the police force is Latino.”

The group charged that the lack of a “Latino, go-to liaison within the police department” and the lack of professional interpreters at community meetings have helped foster a “lack of trust between police officers and community members.”

Speaker from BU-GATA at the Arlington County Police Department forum Oct. 15, 2014“There continues to be great concern in the Latino community about rising numbers of Latinos being stopped and arrested by Arlington County police,” BU-GATA states. The ACPD only compiles demographic statistics based on “white” or “black” arrests, with Latinos largely grouped into the white demographic, an issue BU-GATA says should be rectified for a broader analysis of why Latinos are arrested at a higher rate than other demographics.

BU-GATA analyzed arrest data from 2011, it said, and found that Latinos made up for 23 percent of all those arrested in Arlington, based on “Spanish last names.” Many of the arrests were for one of three crimes: drunk driving, driving without a license and drinking in public.

Arlington County Police Chief Doug Scott responded to the call for hiring more Latino officers with an acknowledgment that the ACPD can do a better job.

“Our numbers of Latino officers may not be exactly where we want to be, but more and more we’re recruiting officers who are bilingual, so we’re trying to address some of those issues,” Scott said. “We do our best to have a police department that reflects the community that we serve.”

The ACPD offers incentives for bilingual officers, but BU-GATA said it does not do enough outreach to find bilingual candidates. The police department also has a standard of two years of college for its officers, which it recently has decided to waive for some with military or prior law enforcement experience.

BU-GATA said Arlington could create a “basic patrol” position, which other jurisdictions have, in an effort to hire more Latino officers who don’t qualify for the education requirements. After being hired, the “basic patrol” officers could then be reimbursed for tuition costs, the group proposed.

Scott said that although the numbers don’t fully match up demographically, he’s pleased with the department’s recruitment and diversity efforts. He said federal and local law enforcement agencies in the D.C. area are all competing to recruit Latino officers.

“Our numbers are pretty good in terms of the demographics of Arlington and the demographics of our police department,” he said. “We do quite a bit in terms of targeted recruiting for more African American officers, Latino officers, Asian Pacific officers. In fact the county manager gave an award to our recruitment staff for meeting our goals.”

Capital Bikeshare Ridership Up 31 Percent in 2014, New Stations Planned

By Ethan Rothstein
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The Capital Bikeshare program continues to grow in Arlington, and its annual report shows more residents are using it, and riding farther, than ever before.

As of June 30, 2014, Capital Bikeshare had 2,771 registered members in Arlington, a 31 percent increase over 2013, and the biggest year-over-year increase since the program was introduced in 2011. The program cost the county $536,000 last year — it spent about $1.4 million and generated $895,000 in revenue — also the best recovery-to-expenditure ratio since the program started.

While announcing its annual report for Capital Bikeshare, BikeArlington said it’s planning to have 137 stations in operation by FY 2020, compared to the 75 stations that are up and running today.

There are nine stations in the county that are currently funded and ready to be installed, with four along Lee Highway and four scattered throughout South Arlington. Crystal City, Pentagon City and Rosslyn will benefit most from the FY 2015 planned expansion, which projects to add 18 stations throughout the county.

There were 191,961 Capital Bikeshare trips that started in Arlington last year, a 24 percent increase over 2013, and BikeArlington estimates riders burned 16.2 million calories during their trips.

One development that may slow progress during 2014 was the bankruptcy of Capital Bikeshare’s equipment supplier in January, and the more recent bankruptcy of the region’s station vendor.

“There is still some uncertainty about the supply of new equipment due to our station vendor’s bankruptcy,” BikeArlington wrote on its website. “In addition to the equipment vendor’s bankruptcy, the two companies that worked together on the hardware and software components of the system have discontinued their partnership. The manufacturer of the software and circuitry for our Capital Bikeshare stations has committed to producing a new, enhanced bikeshare station that will work seamlessly with our existing system. We haven’t yet had a chance to test this new station, but look forward to ensuring this equipment meets or exceeds our expectations.”

BikeArlington didn’t say whether the bankruptcies or dissolved partnerships would delay the installment of future stations. The ones that have been installed since the bankruptcy were purchased before the company went under.

Images via BikeArlington

Amsterdam Falafelshop Opens in Clarendon Today

By Ethan Rothstein
1/5

Amsterdam Falafelshop, a fast, top-your-own-dish D.C. restaurant chain, is opening its newest location in Clarendon this afternoon.

The shop, in the former BGR: The Burger Joint space at 3024 Wilson Blvd, opens to the public at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, according to CEO Arianne Bennett, who was celebrating the new space with a friends-and-family lunch this afternoon. The location will be open until 3:00 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2:30 a.m Tuesdays and Wednesdays and midnight on Mondays.

The eatery has been in the works for months, and Bennett said her two D.C. locations — in Adams Morgan and on 14th Street NW — were fielding calls every day asking when her first Virginia shop would open.

“When we started doing tastings outside yesterday, there was a flock of people,” Bennett said. “People have been telling us they can’t wait until we open.”

The excitement is over a simple concept: a customer walks in and orders either a falafel sandwich in a regular or wheat pita, or a falafel bowl. They can then load up with toppings like hummus, cucumbers and onions, baba ghanoush, pickled beets and cabbage, cole slaw, imported pickles, pickled turnips and pickled cauliflower. A regular sandwich costs $6.55, a small costs $5.55, and both come with unlimited toppings. A bowl is charged by weight. The shop also serves Dutch-style fries and brownies.

“Our friends moved to Amsterdam years ago, and when we visited, there were falafel shops everywhere, like pizza places here,” Bennett said. “And everyone was topping for themselves, it wasn’t done for you. So we just wanted something like that.”

The walls are covered in paintings by G. Byron Peck, the lead artist for many wall murals in D.C. There are photographs on the walls and laminated onto the tables — Bennett said they are all vacation photos from her and her husband’s trips to Amsterdam.

The Clarendon shop is the first Amsterdam Falafelshop franchise owned by David Rosenstein, but he said he has a five-franchise deal and is looking more around the D.C. area for his next shops. He’s targeting Georgetown for his second franchise, but said he wasn’t sure about the locations for the other franchises.

“We’re going to take it one store at a time,” Rosenstein said. “We’re looking for the right combination of office, housing and nightlife, and in the right spot with the right people.”

Periwinkle in Shirlington to Close

By Ethan Rothstein

Periwinkle in Shirlington (photo via Periwinkle)Periwinkle, a women’s clothing boutique in the Village at Shirlington, plans to close at the end of the year.

The shop, at 4150 Campbell Ave., is owned by Elizabeth Mason, who said she has decided not to renew her lease after being in the location for five years.

“Business is down and rent continues to go up, but it was always going to be a 5-year deal, the option to renew was never going to work for me,” Mason told ARLnow.com via email. “The landlord and I did discuss if I wanted to renew, but they wanted too much rent and as I said, this year sales have been down so it worked out to just let the lease end.”

Periwinkle also has a location in Old Town Alexandria, which Mason said is closing in November when her lease is up there. She plans to focus on Periwinkle’s online shop, her affordable online shop The Pink Armoire, and finding a new retail space in the area.

Periwinkle is the third storefront to close in the Village at Shirlington in the last two weeks, following Bloomers and Aladdin’s Eatery. Mason said “business is down” while a Bloomers employee told ARLnow.com the store may have shut down due to “a lack of foot traffic.” A manager in a nearby store told ARLnow.com that both companies have no one to blame for their closing but themselves.

“Bloomers always struggled in its execution,” the manager, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “The average female doesn’t look for lingerie and bras on the sidewalk. Periwinkle has struggled in the past year, but I heard from customers it’s because of the shop’s pricing and sizing.”

The manager, who said she had worked in the Village at Shirlington for more than five years, said foot traffic in the shopping and restaurant district has rarely been better.

“Shirlington has great foot traffic,” the manager said. “People never used to come to the side of the village with Bloomer’s and Periwinkle because they didn’t know it was there. It’s just been getting better and better over the years.”

Photo via Periwinkle

Arlington to Request, Receive Millions for Transportation Projects

By Ethan Rothstein

Road construction in ClarendonArlington County could soon be getting an influx of state transportation dollars in the tens of millions.

The Arlington County Board will vote on Saturday to apply to the Virginia Department of Transportation for $4.2 million in funds to help complete seven transportation projects. In addition, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is ready to reimburse the county for four transportation projects worth a combined $18.8 million.

The Board is expected to request $4.215 million in matching funds from VDOT for the following projects:

  • $1.45 million for rehabilitation of the Shirlington Road bridge over Four Mile Run
  • $800,000 for reconfiguration of the Boundary Channel Drive/I-395 interchange
  • $530,000 for sidewalks and bike lanes on S. Walter Reed Drive from Arlington Mill Drive to Four Mile Run Drive over Four Mile Run (with a $591,000 local match)
  • $245,000 for sidewalks on N. Carlin Springs Road from Edison Street to Vermont Street
  • $500,000 for reconstruction of the intersections of Arlington Ridge Road at S. Lang and S. Lynn Streets (with a $595,000 local match)
  • $235,000 for sidewalk and crossing improvements to Pershing Drive between N. Barton and N. Piedmont Streets (with a $245,000 local match)
  • $455,000 for sidewalk and crossing improvements to Military Road from Nellie Custis Drive to 38th Street N.

The NVTA, which manages the allocation of funds from last year’s HB2313 transportation funding bill, already approved the four projects for which Arlington will receive funding, but NVTA spokeswoman Kala Quintana that the project agreements have recently been reached, and the authority is finally reading to start “mailing some checks.”

The four projects: $12 million toward the Columbia Pike Multimodal Project; $4.3 million for the Boundary Channel Drive interchange; $1.5 million for significant improvements to the Crystal City Multimodal Center on 18th Street S. between Bell and Eads Streets; and $1 million to purchase four buses for the ART 43 route, to mitigate the impacts the Silver Line has had on Blue Line commuters.

“[Arlington] can submit bills for reimbursement once they start turning dirt, purchase the bus, etc.,” Quintana said. “The project list was approved last year but the Authority needed to work with the jurisdictions to create the funding agreements… We are now ready to distribute, or have distributed these dollars. All they have to do is send us the bill and we will send them the money.”

Quintana said the NVTA is beginning work on the next two years of its six-year funding plan, which will distribute an estimated $203 million in FY 2015 funds among all the jurisdictions in Northern Virginia: Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park.

The NVTA estimates Arlington will receive an additional $11.2 million in direct funding through the transportation package, which is likely to be allocated to its Transportation Capital Fund.

File photo

Clarendon Church to Host ‘EDM’ Show

By Ethan Rothstein

The newly-renovated Church at ClarendonThe Church at Clarendon (1210 N. Highland Street) is swapping the organ for a laptop and turntable this Saturday night when it hosts an electronic dance music (EDM) show.

The concert will be free and held at the church from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m., according to church Community Ministry and Discipleship Director Stephen Taylor. The star of the show will be DJ Rick Solo, a Charlotte-based artist who holds DJ-led, Christian services in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C.

The Church at Clarendon says it’s trying to reach the younger demographic that lives in the Clarendon area. The church has expanded its community offerings to include yoga classes, game night and a concert series that included a performance from the Go Go Symphony earlier this month, as well as the EDM show.

“At all these events we are trying to serve the community and get people connected,” Taylor told ARLnow.com in an email. “The stereotype that church people are going to be pushy or impose opinions doesn’t fit the reality of the Church at Clarendon. For many people, church is no longer or never was part of their life. If someone wants to explore faith questions here or elsewhere, we welcome it. But if they are not interested, we are just as happy to make new friends and promote community.”

The church gained attention last year for its DJ-led Sunday morning services, and Taylor said Christian EDM is becoming more of a nationwide trend in the church community. DJ Rick Solo plays “similar music to what is on the radio or at a club,” Taylor said.

Former Kitty O’Shea’s Owner to Open Pike Irish Pub

By Ethan Rothstein
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The former owner of Kitty O’Shea’s in Courthouse is bringing a new Irish Pub to Arlington, this time along Columbia Pike.

Danny McFadden owned the Courthouse pub until it closed in 2011 and he moved it to Tenleytown after a dispute with the landlord, the Schupp Companies. He no longer owns the Kitty O’Shea’s in D.C., according to his business partner, Mike McMahon, and has thrown his energy into The Celtic House, the pub that is planning to replace Manee Thai at 2500 Columbia Pike.

McMahon, McFadden and a former chef at Ireland’s Four Courts are the three founding partners of the restaurant, McMahon told ARLnow.com today, and he said the pub should be open “within a few weeks.” A new bar is being built and the remaining work is “just cleanup and waiting for permits,” he said.

“We like the area,” McMahon said in his Irish brogue. “It’s upcoming and there are a lot of young people here.”

McMahon said between the three partners, they combine for more than 100 years of restaurant experience, almost entirely in Irish pub-style restaurants. He said the menu will be “very broad,” and feels there’s enough room for customers despite P. Brennan’s Irish Pub being just a few blocks away.

“We’re going for very traditional Irish food with some American dishes, too,” he said. “We want it to be welcoming for everyone, to bring their families, children, grandparents and the like.”

Hat tip to @EmmaK84

Arlington Top 10 in the Country for Halloween Parties

By Ethan Rothstein

Halloween decorations (Filckr pool photo by Ddimick)Arlington in the ninth-best locality in the country for Halloween parties, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by financial advice company NerdWallet using data from online event platform EventBrite, says Arlington’s “overall score for Halloween parties,” which is a combination of number of RSVPs and affordability, is 83.79 out of 100.

Arlington registered a seven out of 10 for its “party engagement score” and has an average party cost of $12.15, second-lowest in the top 10, behind No. 8 Nashville, Tenn., at $12.11. Washington, D.C., is the 17th-best city in the country for parties with an overall score of 81.73 and an average cost of $25.64.

The engagement score is on a scale of 1-10, according to NerdWallet, with a 10 meaning more than 20,000 people in one city have RSVP-ed to a Halloween party. The only city in the country to achieve a 10 was San Francisco, the top city on the list. Behind San Francisco, which had an overall score of 96.14, on the list are New York City, San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix.

Flickr pool photo by ddimick

Aladdin’s in Shirlington Closes

By Ethan Rothstein

Aladdin's Eatery closes in Shirlington Aladdin's Eatery closes in Shirlington

Aladdin’s Eatery, the health-conscious, Lebanese restaurant in the Village at Shirlington, has closed.

The restaurant, at 4044 Campbell Ave., is locked and had all of its furniture removed this week. ARLnow.com has been unable to confirm with the company’s corporate office whether the closure is permanent or for a renovation. There is no indication on the exterior of the building of the nature of the shop’s closing.

The location in the Village at Shirlington was Aladdin’s only restaurant in Arlington. It had recently featured belly dancing shows from Saffron Dance in Virginia Square.The closest location is in Burke, almost 10 miles away.

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