Author: Jennifer Currier

ACPD Seeking Additional Victims of Sexual Assault Suspects

By Jennifer Currier

Old Arlington County police car paint job (file photo)Arlington Police are searching for additional victims of two men who were arrested earlier this week and charged with sexual assault.

Plain clothes officers arrested Alexandria residents Jose Euseibo Guevara-Rodriquez, 39, and Elmer Umberto Lopez-Velasquez, 38, on Tuesday.

According to police, the men sexually assaulted a woman who was involved in “escort-related activity” at a motel in south Arlington, threatening her with a weapon and stealing her iPad before leaving the room.

Investigators believe the suspects could have other victims — specifically, sex workers who do not speak English and who are therefore less likely to report a crime to police.

The department’s Homicide Robbery Unit is investigating the incident. They’re asking victims who may have had an encounter with these suspects to call Det. Greg Seibert at 703-228-4199.

From the ACPD press release:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide Robbery Unit is investigating two suspects involved in a sexual assault and are seeking additional victims. On January 12, 2016, the female victim was involved in escort-related activity at a motel in S. Arlington when two suspects unknown to the victim knocked on the door. Upon entering the motel room, the suspects sexually assaulted the victim while using the threat of a weapon to hold her against her will. The suspects fled the room with the victim’s iPad. The suspects were apprehended by police working a plain clothes detail in the area.

Jose Euseibo Guevara-Rodriquez, 39, of Alexandria, Virginia was charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, rape, abduction with intent to defile and resisting arrest. Elmer Umberto Lopez-Velasquez, 38, of Alexandria, Virginia was charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted rape and abduction with intent to defile and resisting arrest. Both suspects were arrested and held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Investigators believe the suspects are targeting non-English speaking victims in hopes that they will not report crimes to police. Anyone who had past inappropriate encounters with the suspects is asked to call Detective Greg Seibert at 703-228-4199 or email [email protected].

KFC on N. Glebe Road Closes, Reportedly For Maintenance

By Jennifer Currier
1/6

The KFC on N. Glebe Road in Buckingham appears to have temporarily stopped serving “finger-lickin’ good” fast food.

According to a notice posted on the restaurant’s drive-thru menu, the KFC at 70 N. Glebe Road is “currently closed due to maintenance.”

“We apologize for any inconvenience and we will re-open shortly,” the notice — which is signed from “KFC Management” — says. “Thank you for your patience and we value your patronage!”

Though maintenance is the explanation given for the closure, there’s no sign of such work happening inside the establishment at the moment. The notice also does not explain when it will reopen.

A representative from Yum! Brands — the company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell — could not be immediately reached to confirm this or provide more information. There was also no answer for the location’s provided telephone number and no answering machine.

The restaurant is near the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Arlington Blvd and is across the street from a McDonald’s.

Arlington is home to only one other KFC location, at 4901 Lee Highway. There’s also a KFC just outside the county on Columbia Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads.

Library and Emergency Management Team Up for Pet Preparedness Event

By Jennifer Currier

Pawprints of Katrina (via Turner Publishing)The Arlington Public Library and Arlington Office of Emergency Management are combing their resources and missions for a book talk and information session on pet preparedness next month.

The session will be held at the Central Library at 1015 N. Quincy Street on Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 7-8:30 p.m.

It will involve both a book discussion focusing on the need for pet emergency preparedness across the country, as well as a talk about ways residents can train their pets in case of an emergency, such as unusual or extreme weather events.

The discussion will focus on Cathy Scott’s book “Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned.” It’s a journalistic account of the aftermath of the hurricane that hit Louisiana more than a decade ago, telling the stories of pets who were separated from their owners because of the storm. The book recounts the rescues of these pets as well as the reunions with their families.

After discussing the book and the issue, participants will receive safety advice and a free pet preparedness starter kit. The kit will include a collar strobe light, a collapsible food/water bowl and a waste bag dispenser.

Copies of the book will be available to borrow from the Central Library reference desk starting on Jan. 25.

Photo via Turner Publishing

Clarendon Mardi Gras Parade Planned for Early February

By Jennifer Currier

Clarendon Mardi Gras Parade 2016Pending good weather, floats, bands, horses and “critters in costumes” will march down Wilson Blvd during the 17th Annual Clarendon-Courthouse Mardi Gras Parade, scheduled for early February.

This year’s parade is planned for Fat Tuesday, which falls on Feb. 9. It will start at 7 p.m., traveling along Wilson from N. Barton Street to N. Irving Street. The deadline to register to participate is Feb. 1, and bead orders must be submitted by Jan. 25.

Snow has forced the family-friendly parade to be postponed to mid-March the last two years in a row, but this year the organizers — the non-profit Clarendon Alliance — have planned an additional event that’s not weather-dependent on the evening of the parade.

The first-ever Clarendon Mardi Gras Ball will be held from 7-11 p.m. at the Clarendon Ballroom at 3185 Wilson Blvd. The ball will have live performances from jazz ensembles the Yamomanem Jazz Band and the 8 Ohms Jazz Band. A ball king and queen will be announced between the bands’ sets.

Traditional Louisiana food will be served alongside wine, beer and punch. Ticket holders will get one free ticket upon entry. All other food and beverage sales will be cash only or from additionally purchased food and drink tickets.

Ball guests under the age of 21 are welcome to attend but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Tickets to the ball are now for sale online for $20 per person, and parade participants can get their tickets at a discounted rate. Proceeds from the tickets — beyond parade expenses — will benefit St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

Couture Fashion Show to Return to Crystal City Next Month

By Jennifer Currier

Crystal Couture 2013The annual Crystal Couture fashion show and sale is scheduled to return the first weekend of February for its eighth consecutive event.

This year’s show will be held from Feb. 4-6, taking place from 6-10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 2-10 p.m. on Saturday.

The “360 degree immersive shopping experience” will be held at the Crystal City shops at 1750 Crystal City Drive.

The event is a combined fashion show and fashion pop-up sale, bringing together upwards of 50 boutiques, designers and retailers from throughout the metro area. Shoppers will be able to purchase discounted merchandise from these vendors both off the rack and off the runway.

2012 Crystal Couture fashion showAttendees can also enjoy drinks from the bar, music, complimentary 5-minute makeovers — makeup and hair — and the opportunity to meet local fashion consultants.

While admission is free all three days of the show and sale, shoppers can upgrade to the “VIP Experience” for $20 per person. The experience will last from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6 and will include gift bags, access to three hours of VIP shopping, an open bar and $20 of “Couture Cash” to spend at any retailer.

Applications for interested retailers, models and beauty team members are now being accepted in preparation for the event.

File photo

Stricter Ft. Myer Access Policy Extends to Bowling Center

By Jennifer Currier
1/4

With the new year, some Arlington residents are finding Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s recently-updated access policy also extends to the base’s bowling center.

According to an ARLnow.com reader, civilians are no longer allowed to bowl on base, in leagues or otherwise, except in certain circumstance. He said he and his friends have been bowling on base for years without incident.

“I’m told the bowling leagues were decimated since many team members were civilians,” the tipster said.

Civilians who are not escorted by someone with a Department of Defense ID are not being allowed on base to bowl, unless they have a special access pass, Robert Joswiak from the JBMHH public affairs office confirmed.

Joswiak said the security policy has not changed since it was updated nearly a year ago. Last summer, the same policy caused a stir among local cyclists who could no longer ride through base without first applying for and receiving an Automated Installation Entry (AIE) pass.

“Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall takes every precaution to assure the safety and wellbeing of joint base residents, personnel and visitors,” Joswiak said. “Non-affiliated members of the public are being turned away — no matter their intent of entering the base, bowling center or otherwise — because they either do not have an DoD ID, or are not being escorted by someone with a DoD ID, or do not have an AIE.”

Civilians, cyclists and bowlers can apply for an AIE for base access. If they do so with the sponsorship of a family member or friend with a valid Department of Defense ID, the approved AIE could be valid for up to one year. A non-sponsored AIE pass is valid for 60 days with the option to reapply after that time is up.

Joswiak added all non-affiliated individuals — those without a DoD ID who are not being escorted by someone with a DoD ID — must have a valid reason to enter the base and are subject to vetting. It is likely members of the public will be turned away unless they are escorted or have an AIE.

Questions regarding this policy can be directed to 703-696-8968, Joswiak said.

Photos via JBMHH

Arlington Agenda: Jan. 11-17

By Jennifer Currier

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

Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Tonight

Teal-Center-PhotoMeditation Made Easy*
The Teal Center for Therapeutic Body Work (4001 N. 9th Street, Suite 230)
Time: 7-9 p.m.

Designed for beginners, this class will teach easy techniques for practicing meditation through a discussion, lessons on techniques and time to practice them. The session costs $40 per person with registration available online.

Tuesday

ACC-logo-bluePACE Informational Session
Arlington Chamber of Commerce (2009 14th Street N)
Time: 9-11 a.m.

The Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee is hosting an information session about the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a way to finance energy efficient and renewable energy upgrades to existing buildings. The session is free, but interested guests should register online.

12400518_1131207553564642_6235127170574567787_nArlington Young Democrats State of the Union Watch Party
Mad Rose Tavern (3100 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 7-10 p.m.

President Obama will give his final State of the Union address as AYD hosts a watch party at Mad Rose Tavern. There will be bingo with prizes for the winners, as well as food and drinks available for purchase.

Deck-handsCards Against Urbanity Game Night
Courthause Social (2300 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The parody card game is holding its second game night for the urban planning game. New, special cards dedicated to Arlington will be included in the night’s decks. This event is free, and interested players can sign up in advance online.

Wednesday

aachen-groupGerman High School Exchange Information Meeting
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Arlington students have an opportunity to visit Germany this summer through the Arlington-Aachen Sister School Exchange program. Students and parents are welcome to attend the meeting to learn about the program and what it will entail.

Thursday

Aqueduct-BridgeAHS Presents: How the C&O Canal and W&OD Railroad Shaped Arlington
Marymount University (2807 N. Glebe Road)
Time: 7-8 p.m.

The Arlington Historical Society’s year of programming will begin with a lecture from Michael Nardolilli, telling the stories of both transportation corridors and their connections to Arlington’s history. The program is free and open to the public.

Historical photo of Aurora Hills Branch LibraryNew Aurora Hills Readers Discussion Group
Aurora Hills Branch Library, Large Meeting Room (735 18th Street S.)
Time: 7-8 p.m.

A new monthly discussion group for the readers of the Aurora Hills Branch Library begins tonight with “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo. This group will regularly meet on Thursday nights and has selected books to discuss through the summer.

Friday

Tom Green (photo via FacebookTom Green Live
Arlington Drafthouse & Cinema (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Stand-up comedian Tom Green returns to the Drafthouse for four performances this Friday and Saturday. He’s most known for MTV’s “The Tom Green Show” and has appeared on several late night television shows, including hosting Saturday Night Live. Tickets are $25.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) content

Fast-Growing Business in Ballston Offers Salesforce-Based Tools for Associations

By Jennifer Currier

Startup Monday header

Editor’s Note: 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.

Fonteva Logo (via Fonteva.com)A software company based in Ballston is working to make its flagship association management application as efficient as possible via the cloud.

Fonteva, Inc. was founded in 2010. It focuses on “easy-to-use and innovative” software for associations, universities and governments to help streamline an organization’s management of members, alumni or resident services.

Its flagship customer relationship management (CRM) software is called MemberNation, a service for member-based organizations that create and manage subscriptions and services using online portals.

The application is completely built on the Salesforce platform. Using cloud technology, Salesforce serves as a host for other developers to solve management problems as they see fit, using and integrating the infrastructure into their own product.

MemberNation has been on the market for about three and a half years and targets both trade and professional associations. It can be credited with much of the company’s recent growth, making Forbes’ Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. Last year, Fonteva was ranked No. 1527. The company made the top 500 in 2014, making the list — alongside a handful of other Arlington-based businesses — at No. 286.

Arlington proved to be an ideal location to encourage this growth. Its proximity to Washington, D.C. not only put Fonteva among a hub for the types of associations MemberNation primarily targets, but it also allowed them to recruit talent from the greater Metro area.

Most recently, one of Salesforce’s own joined the Fonteva team to help continue building and expanding MemberNation’s capabilities.

Chris Noone is now Fonteva’s Vice President of Business Development after being a Salesforce partner managing the company’s public sector.Fonteva Online Portal (via Fonteva.com)

“The Fonteva founders really saw an opportunity to build on the success of Salesforce and wanted to use it as a platform because of its ability to scale,” Noone said, describing the company’s beginnings. “They saw a niche space and an opportunity to go after this market. I saw what they were doing, I loved the idea, I saw the opportunity for growth, and I decided to jump on board.”

One of Noone’s first tasks is preparing to launch four new product lines based on MemberNation.

“We’re working on four different feature sets for our flagship product so that all the benefits of the cloud can come to realization,” he said.

One of the products, called Spark Framework, is Fonteva’s own platform for building new software and applications. The others are called Engage, Charge and Assemble Events and are applications that will provide additional accessibility, e-commerce, event planning and management services.

As Fonteva continues to expand and build on MemberNation’s capabilities, Noone said they’ve recently chosen to do so with product extensions available on the company’s own application marketplace to preserve the integrity of their original product.

“We want to initiate our own marketplace so if we want to keep innovating, we don’t have to make our base product slower or larger,” Noone said. “It’ll also allow us to provide our customers with options for the features they want.”

In his first week officially on the job, Noone shared his excitement for MemberNation’s success, but even more for pursuing new opportunities for Fonteva’s services.

“We’ve barely tapped the market, so we’ve got a long way to go to gain leadership in that space,” he said. “We’re constantly looking for new challenges, so it’s much more about messaging and focusing on a new customer base, but it’s not changing our delivery.”

“We don’t ever want to lose focus on what our true calling is,” he added.

Photos via Fonteva.com

Annual Martin Luther King Tribute Scheduled for This Sunday

By Jennifer Currier

MLK Tribute Event 2016 (via DPR)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Event will return to Arlington this weekend in preparation for the federal holiday next Monday.

The 47th annual tribute is scheduled for this Sunday from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Wakefield High School Auditorium at 1325 S. Dinwiddie Street.

Hosted by the Department of Parks and Recreation, this year’s tribute is called Freedom: America’s Goal, Our Destiny. It will be a celebration with a variety of live music, spoken word and dance performances.

The performances were produced and directed by inspirational arts programmer Nolan Williams, Jr. The featured work will be performed by BET Sunday Best Allstars finalist Clifton Ross, the NEWorks Freedom Dancers and students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Jacquie Gales Webb from WHUR Sunday Afternoon will emcee.

The tribute also includes a food drive for the Arlington Food Assistance Center. Guests who’d like to contribute can bring nonperishable food items to the event. Community groups can also register in advance to organize a collection of their own that will end on Sunday night. The group that collects the most donations will be recognized for their contribution during the performances.

The tribute is free, open to the public and does not require any registration in advance.

Photo via Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation

Crystal City Sports Pub to Host Unconventional Yoga Night

By Jennifer Currier

Crystal City Sports Pub (photo via Facebook)Avid sports fans probably think of their go-to watering hole as the last place they would go to practice yoga, but one Crystal City hangout is hosting an event that might change that.

Crystal City Sports Pub at 529 23rd Street S. is holding a yoga night followed by a round of drinks on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.

The event — dubbed “Detox & Retox” — will give guests a chance to unwind during a fitness class before reverting back to what people normally go to bars for.

The class will be vinyasa for all levels. Vinyasa is a type of yoga that focuses on connecting movements and breathing as class members transition from one pose to the next. After the class is over, participants can sip on a draft pint or glass of house wine, their choice.

The event is B.Y.O.M. — bring your own mat.

Space for the class is limited, so interested participants can register online to reserve their spot. The cost of the class is $15 and will be accepted at the door, cash only. The fee includes class participation and one after-exercise drink.

Photo via Facebook

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