Katie Pyzyk | ARLnow.com

UPDATED: Accidental Shooting at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery

Published May 29, 2013 at 9:50AM | Updated May 29, 2013 at 8:30PM

(Updated at 8:30 p.m.) An accidental shooting at Arlington National Cemetery sent one person to the hospital on Memorial Day (Monday).

The incident happened at the cemetery’s parking lot around 9:30 a.m., an hour and a half before President Obama was scheduled to lay a wreath at the cemetery.

According to a spokeswoman for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBMHH), which has jurisdiction over the incident, a cemetery visitor returned to his car in the parking garage after visiting the gravesite of a friend. The man reportedly opened the door to his vehicle and tried moving a handgun from under the seat.

The privately-owned gun fell out of its holster and underneath the vehicle, however, and fired once as the man attempted to retrieve it. The discharged bullet hit the leg of a vehicle passenger — the man’s mother — who then had to be transported to George Washington University Hospital with a non-life threatening injury. Nobody else was injured.

Visitors are prohibited from bringing a gun to the cemetery, according to JBMHH spokeswoman Sharon Walker.

“Weapons of any type are not authorized on military installations or reservations such as [Arlington National Cemetery],” said Walker. “Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Police and Arlington National Cemetery security personnel responded to the call.”

The Ft. Myer Fire Department and the Arlington County Fire Department also responded to the incident.

The owner of the gun was an active duty military service member, according to JBMHH spokeswoman Leah Rubalcaba, and the charges are pending under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to Walker.

Photo via Google Maps

Crystal City Outdoor Movies Begin Monday

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 28, 2013 at 5:00PM

Crystal City is getting ready for its summer showings of outdoor movies. The first movie will run next Monday, June 3.

This year’s theme for the Monday night Crystal Screen movie festival is “Blockbusters.” Last year, residents had the opportunity to vote for which movies they’d like to see relating to the theme.

The movies chosen are a mix of old favorites, such as Jaws, and newer options like The Help. The full schedule is as follows:

June 3 — E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
June 10 — The Social Network
June 17 — The King’s Speech
June 24 — Crash
July 1 — American Beauty
July 8 — The Blind Side
July 15 — Moneyball
July 22 — A Beautiful Mind
July 29 — Forrest Gump
August 5 — The Help
August 12 — Jaws
August 19 — Inception
August 26 — Jurassic Park

The movies are shown just after sunset in the green space at 1851 S. Bell Street. The free movies will play rain or shine, but could be canceled in the instance of severe weather.

Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser

Police Search for Clarendon Peeping Tom

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 28, 2013 at 3:45PM

Police are looking for a man accused of peeping on a woman while she was in a restroom stall at the Barnes and Noble (2800 Clarendon Blvd) in Clarendon.

Around 7:50 p.m. on Friday (May 24), a woman was using the restroom at the store when she saw a man peek over her stall. She and her husband immediately reported the incident to the store manager. The man allegedly fled the store when he saw the manager calling police.

The suspect is described as a 5’10” white male in his 40s with shaggy brown hair. At the time of the incident he was wearing a red t-shirt with a grey button down shirt over it, and blue jeans. He was also carrying a large green bag.

Police are examining the store’s surveillance video from the time of the incident. Anyone who may have seen the suspect or who the may have more information about the incident is asked to call the Arlington County Police non-emergency number at 703-558-2222.

Power Outage in Ballston

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 28, 2013 at 2:30PM | Updated May 28, 2013 at 3:48PM

Update at 3:45 p.m. — Dominion reports that the cause of the outage was an underground equipment failure and power has been restored to all customers.

Dominion crews are at the scene of a power outage that has left part of Ballston dark.

Dominion Power spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson confirms that around 250 customers are affected by the outage. Numerous ARLnow.com readers in the 4200 and 4300 blocks of N. Fairfax Drive report being without power since about 1:15 p.m.

Drivers and pedestrians should also be aware that the traffic light is out at the intersection of N. Fairfax Drive and N. Taylor Street.

A number of Dominion workers, apparently investigating and attempting to fix the problem, have been spotted along N. Utah Street near Fairfax Drive. So far, there is no confirmation of exactly what caused the outage or when customers should have power again.

Second Cantina Mexicana Location Opens

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 28, 2013 at 1:25PM

The owners of Cantina Mexicana have opened a new location just off of Columbia Pike.

The new restaurant, at 922 Walter Reed Drive, took over the space previously occupied by Senor Pan. It joins the existing location at 515 23rd Street S. in Crystal City, which has been in business since 1974.

Last year, owner Gloria Arias told ARLnow.com that she had hoped to open the new restaurant in November. It just celebrated its grand opening this past Friday, however.

The restaurant will serve the same “fine Tex-Mex cuisine” as the Crystal City location. In addition to bottled beer, wine and cocktails, the restaurant offers Dos Equis, Pacifico, Modelo Especial and Negra Modelo on tap.

New Bakery Food Cart Features French Inspired Fare

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 28, 2013 at 10:50AM

The new Hot Hot Bakery food cart is spending its first day on the streets of Arlington today, featuring freshly baked croissants and other French inspired fare.

Chris Deutsch and his wife Amy Fuller spent a year baking and training in Paris in preparation for opening a food business in Arlington. Deutsch, who is part French, grew up eating the type of pastries featured in his food cart.

“I used to work for the State Department but it wasn’t for me. I wanted to follow my passion and get into the food industry,” he said. “My mother is French so I’ve always loved this kind of baked goods, baguettes, croissants. I just felt that there was a need in this area for that kind of baking.”

Deutsch said he received help from his good friends at Pupatella (5104 Wilson Blvd). Upon returning from France, he was offered a job as Pupatella’s baker when the restaurant expanded last year.

“I signed on for that knowing that Enzo (Algarme) and Anastasiya (Laufenberg) would kind of allow me to run my own business at some point with their help, and here we are,” said Deutsch.

Algarme and Laufenberg even allowed Deutsch to use the old cart that helped them get their start in 2007, eventually leading to the opening of a brick and mortar location in 2010.

“This is their old cart that they used. It takes a lot of work to run the restaurant so they couldn’t really use the cart and they offered it up to me,” said Deutsch.

Hot Hot Bakery operates out of a cart and not a truck, so it can stay in one location for most of the day without being required to move. Deutsch plans to spend most of his time serving customers in the Ballston area because it’s so close to Pupatella, where he bakes his pastries in the wee hours of the morning.

Customers can enjoy sandwiches on house made breads baked with organic flours. Eventually there will be lunch specials and perhaps a few different donuts added to the menu. For now, Deutsch says he’s sticking to the basics, such as the croissants he has spent so much time training to make.

“It’s not rocket science but it’s tricky dough. I really wanted to bring the kind of croissants I grew up eating in Paris here. No offense to any bakers or bakeries in this area, but it’s hard to find this kind of baked goods,” said Deutsch. “What I do with the process of making these baked goods is that I let the dough take its time. When it’s ready to move on to the next step, that’s when I’ll go ahead. A lot of bakers will pump stuff full of yeast and put it in a hot chamber to make the process go really fast. But to get nice bread and nice croissants, you have to let it just hang out, basically.”

As far as the name Hot Hot Bakery, that also stems from Deutsch’s time in France.

“My grandmother lived in the south of France along the beaches. Along the beach is a guy who sells hot peanuts. He would go around screaming ‘Hot, hot peanuts!'” Deutsch said. “I was telling my twin brother and sister-in-law that I swear it’s the same guy doing it for the past 25 years. That’s how it came up and it kind of stuck.”

In order to cater to both the lunch and the breakfast crowds, the cart will be open from 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., earlier than many of the other mobile food options. Customers can follow Hot Hot Bakery on Twitter to find out the cart locations on Tuesdays through Fridays.

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 28, 2013 at 8:50AM

Obama Visits Arlington National Cemetery — President Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Monday during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery in honor of Memorial Day. In addition to remembering fallen service members, Obama asked that Americans “not forget our nation is still at war.” [Washington Post]

Record High County GOP Membership — The Arlington County Republican Party chairman says the county’s membership is at an all time high, at least over what is has been for the past decade. The number of members now stands at 139. [Sun Gazette]

Students Earn Latin Exam Medals — Forty-five Arlington Public Schools students have received gold medals for the scores they received on the National Latin Exam. Another 41 students received silver medals and 50 earned bronze medals. Three students earned a perfect score. The National Latin Exam is given in March to students at six levels of Latin and covers grammar, reading comprehension, Roman culture, history, geography and mythology and etymology. More than 500 students in Arlington joined the 154,000 students from around the world who took the exam. [Arlington Public Schools]

Traffic Alert: Emergency Repair Will Close Arlington Ridge Road

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 22, 2013 at 4:30PM

The Arlington County Department of Environmental Services is alerting drivers that Arlington Ridge Road will be closed tonight for emergency water repairs.

Arlington Ridge Road will be closed from 9:00 p.m.-3:00 a.m. Southbound traffic coming from I-395 will be re-routed east and west to 20th Street S. in both directions, and around to 23rd Street. Northbound traffic coming from Glebe Road will be re-routed east and west to 23rd Street S., and around to 20th Street.

The emergency water repair is necessary because an irrigation contractor working in the 2100 block of Arlington Ridge Road accidentally caused a leak. Water service needs to be replaced at that location, from the water main in the street to the meter box in the sidewalk.

Kite Runner Cafe Opens in Cherrydale

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 22, 2013 at 3:50PM

Signs went up at 3800 Lee Highway last year announcing the arrival of Kite Runner Cafe and now the restaurant is celebrating its first full week in business.

The restaurant began serving food over the weekend for both its soft opening and grand opening. Owner Homayon Karimy is originally from Afghanistan and has lived in Pakistan, but Arlington is where is heart is.

“This is home, Arlington is home,” he said. “We’re very happy to be here. Every foreigner says America is the land of opportunity and we want to have that opportunity.”

Prior to opening his own restaurant, Karimy worked at the Lebanese Taverna Market (4400 Old Dominion Drive). His years of experience there helped prepare him for his new venture. Plus, he grew particularly fond of the Cherrydale area.

“I’ve worked in this area only a quarter mile away so I know everyone here. I know people at the Cherrydale Hardware store, I know people at the bank, at the Safeway. I know a lot of people here and Arlington is very close to me,” Harimy said. “Cherrydale in particular because I notice that there is a very neighborhood type of feel. People care about each other, it’s a great community.”

Kite Runner Cafe mainly focuses on Afghan food but also has some Lebanese and Indian dishes. The menu is still being tweaked while employees figure out which dishes will and will not work well in the given kitchen space, which Karimy originally anticipated would be larger.

“The first month is always crazy. In the beginning when you open, there’s a lot of stuff that can go wrong. The other day our A.C. unit started leaking, the day of the grand opening, so I’m like, great. Today the soda machine stopped working,” he said. “Everyday there’s something new, but these are the challenges that come with a business. But we’re very positive.”

Another challenge is that immediately upon opening the doors, Kite Runner Cafe was packed. That, Karimy says, is a welcome problem.

Karimy notes that the restaurant is a family based business. A number of his family members help out there including his parents, sister and cousin.

“It’s a family effort, it’s a family business that we all want to share with the rest. We come from a different country with a different culture but we want to bring that to the people,” he said. “Afghanistan has great food. We don’t just want to hold onto that, we want to share it.”

Eventually, plans for Kite Runner Cafe include delivery service and catering. Until then, employees will focus on providing delicious food and friendly service.

“Come and give us a try. We’re very open to feedback,” said Karimy. “We’re here to serve, we’re here to delight people.”

Tonight the restaurant will team up with its neighbors in the 3800 Lofts building, Subway and House of Steep, for a mixer event from 7:00-8:00 p.m. There will be food samples paired with House of Steep’s tea and snacks from Subway.

Board Approves Bailout for Signature Theatre

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 22, 2013 at 2:35PM

The County Board approved a $250,000 grant for Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Avenue) during its meeting on Tuesday.

The Board discussed the matter in a closed session before unanimously approving it. According to County Attorney Stephen MacIsaac, it is standard procedure for the Board to discuss a grant behind closed doors. The grant agreement will be made public once the county attorney finalizes it.

County Manager Barbara Donnellan said the grant will help bring the theater current with real estate taxes owed to the county. Funding for the grant was provided from budget savings identified at the end of Fiscal Year 2012.

The Arlington County Department of Management and Finance indicates the grant includes around $85,000 for past due real estate and business tangible taxes, $99,000 for the next two payments of real estate taxes and around $30,000 for the next business tangible tax payment. The remaining $35,000 will either help fund a financial consultant study or go to future tax payments.

Signature Theatre has sole access rights and branding capability in its current space within a county owned building. It is responsible for the full costs of operating that facility, including real estate and business tangible taxes. Other county supported arts groups performing in county subsidized spaces are not required to pay taxes.

“Signature is thriving, and has a great future ahead of it,” Donnellan said. “This grant addresses an immediate, short-term need by providing temporary relief from a tax burden that is not shared by other supported arts groups.”

The county emphasizes that the theater is a cultural anchor for Shirlington and provides financial benefits to the community. It estimates that more than $150,000 in annual sales and meals taxes can be directly attributed to Signature’s presence in Shirlington.

Signature faced several debt-related lawsuits in Arlington General District Court last year, including claims from Waste Management, Conde Nast Publications and the Delancey at Shirlington Village apartment building. The Waste Management and Conde Nast claims were eventually dismissed. The court ruled in favor of Delancey at Shirlington Village.

County Treasurer Frank O’Leary told the Sun Gazette that Signature was delinquent on its real estate and business taxes.

Dog Park Reopening Delayed Until Summer

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 22, 2013 at 11:45AM

Construction issues will delay the anticipated “late spring” reopening of Clarendon’s James Hunter Park until summer.

According to Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish, a number of unforeseen conditions turned up during construction at the dog park site on the corner of N. Herndon Street and N. 13th Street. Some of the problems include difficult soils, grading issues and the discovery of “buried structures.” Kalish said although such issues are not unheard of, they will push the expected park completion date into July.

“This is not unusual at an urban site and we were able to make adjustments to ensure the park will be a great place for the community to gather,” she said.

Workers will spend the next several weeks installing site furnishings and landscaping.

“This space should look more and more like a park by the middle of June,” said Kalish.

Despite the delay, the $1.6 million renovation project remains on budget.