Author: Katie Pyzyk

Fashion Show, Charity Raffle for Gossip’s Anniversary

By Katie Pyzyk

Sometimes it seems like Arlington is a revolving door for small businesses and restaurants, but one store owner in Crystal City is bucking the trend and holding an anniversary party. Gossip (566 23rd Street S.) is holding its “5 Year Anniversary Festa and Fashion Show” tomorrow (November 10).

Owner Katherine Glorioso, who hails from Falls Church, had known for years that she wanted to open a boutique featuring Southern California fashions. She started off by selling a few items at Eastern Market. After four straight weeks of selling out halfway through the day, Glorioso’s parents pushed her to set up a brick and mortar establishment.

Glorioso originally thought her boutique would fit well in Georgetown, but she discovered that rent prices were too high. Her goal was to keep all pieces of merchandise below $100 each, which would make it difficult to pay Georgetown rents. Her father tipped her off to a potential space in Crystal City. Upon seeing the area her father had suggested, Glorioso had a flashback to being on 23rd Street when she was younger.

“I used to walk down the block my store is now on and thought, ‘One day I’ll have something on this block,'” said Glorioso.

She credits her father, an entrepreneur, for assisting her with opening the store.

“It was so much hard work, but it was the best decision I ever made. I feel very blessed,” Glorioso said. “I worked my butt off, I knew what I was doing and I had my wonderful father to help along the way. I was going to make it no matter what. There was no option of failure.”

Gossip began in a small 450 square foot space, then expanded last summer. In addition to clothing and accessories, the expansion allowed for adding vintage clothing, undergarments, shoes and children’s clothing. Glorioso continues keeping her eyes open for potential areas for expansion, because she would eventually like to open a store in North Arlington.

As part of tomorrow’s anniversary celebration, Gossip will run a sale from 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Customers who purchase at least $25 worth of merchandise will receive a free goodie bag with a surprise inside.

Additionally, there will be a fashion show across the street at Tortoise and Hare Bar and Grille (567 23rd Street S.) at 8:00 p.m. It will feature items from Gossip’s fall and winter collections. The event is free to attend and there will be complimentary appetizers. Raffle tickets will be sold at the fashion show for five gift bags filled with up to $100 in merchandise from Gossip. The raffle tickets are $2 each and all proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Boy Scouts Will be “Scouting for Food” on Saturday

By Katie Pyzyk

Boy Scouts will be hitting the streets on Saturday (November 10) for their annual “Scouting for Food” drive.

The scouts will stop at homes in a number of neighborhoods to collect food donations to benefit Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). They will directly visit residents who received bags and fliers last week explaining the drive. Out of courtesy for residents, scouts don’t knock on doors; instead residents are asked to leave food donations in plain sight near their front doors, by 9:00 a.m. All donations are expected to be collected by noon.

Residents who didn’t receive a bag on their door will not be visited by the scouts. These residents can still participate, however, by taking food donations to the Cherrydale or Harrison Street Safeway stores.

Suggested foods for donation include pasta, peanut butter, breakfast food, tuna, soup, fruit and beans. AFAC and the scouts both ask that items in glass jars are not donated.

The goal is to exceed last year’s total of 60,000 pounds of donated food.

Right now, AFAC serves about 1,400 people each week, but that may increase as temperatures grow colder.

Bluemont McDonald’s Plans to Re-Open

By Katie Pyzyk

The McDonald’s (5009 Wilson Blvd) in the Bluemont neighborhood that was razed in July has been rebuilt and should open next week.

A representative for McDonald’s said the rebuilt restaurant will help further the chain’s focus of modernizing and elevating the restaurant experience.

“McDonald’s wants to show customers that they can change with their times and needs, while retaining the basic principles that have made them the global iconic brand they are today,” a press release stated.

According to the representative, some of the new exterior features include landscaping, a clearly identifiable drive through and “a more defined and inviting entry into the restaurant.” Inside, features include plasma screen TVs, free wi-fi access and some lounge-style seating.

Although no exact day has been named, the re-opening is expected to occur “early next week.”

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Green Party Outperforms Past Results — By pulling in 12.4 percent of the vote for County Board, Green Party candidate Audrey Clement roughly doubled the percentage of the vote Green candidates have typically received during past County Board races. The question now is can the Greens get that percentage even higher next time by better identifying who is voting for the party’s candidates? [Sun Gazette]

Miss Saigon Coming to Signature Theater — Signature Theater has secured the rights to the well known musical Miss Saigon, and will open its 2013-2014 season with a version of the production. It will be the first time a theater company in the D.C. area has taken on the show in 15 years. [Variety]

Ballot Wording Angers Aquatics Center Opponents — Voters passed all four bond referenda on the Arlington ballot on Tuesday, including one for a park bond that funds the proposed $79 million Long Bridge Park aquatics and fitness center. Opponents of the facility, however, say the measure only passed due to vague wording on the ballot which stated that the bond was for “various capital projects for local parks and recreation, and land acquisition for parks and open space.” [Washington Examiner]

ABBIE Voting Ends Today — Today is the final day to cast your votes for Arlington’s best businesses. The businesses in 17 categories were nominated by residents and winners are determined by popular vote. ABBIE winners will be announced at the County Board meeting on November 27.

Disclosure: The ABBIE Awards/Arlington Economic Development is an ARLnow.com advertiser

Candidates Make Final Push Before Election

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 6:50 p.m.) The local candidates for Congress and Arlington County Board are making their final pushes to woo voters in the six days left until Election Day (Nov. 6). The common theme: hitting the streets this weekend.

“A lot of people wait until the last week to tune in to make their decision. People in Arlington have busy lives and we want to give them an opportunity to check in if they haven’t checked in yet,” said Matt Wavro, Republican candidate for Arlington County Board. “We’re making a last minute push to get the message out as far as we can. We will be at Metro stations handing out literature and continue talking with voters in every form we can get to to make sure the message gets out. It’s a sprint to the finish line.”

One of Wavro’s opponents, Green Party candidate Audrey Clement, agreed that last minute campaigning could sway voters.

“I think there are a lot of disinterested voters out there who ordinarily wouldn’t vote but will this year, because the race between Obama and Romney is so close,” she said. “I’m counting on these voters to split their ticket and will be canvassing the county through the weekend.”

Libby Garvey, the Democratic candidate for County Board, continues to encourage voters to take advantage of early voting.

“We’re especially emphasizing in-person absentee voting this year — you never know if there will be a work crisis or family emergency on election day!” said Garvey.

Jason Howell, Independent candidate for Congress, said he and some volunteers will get out into the community throughout the weekend to meet voters.

“We are excited about our campaign heading into election day,” said Howell. “We have worked hard all year, campaigned the right way and we’re not done yet.”

Janet Murphy, Green Party candidate for Congress, expressed disappointment over the cancellation of her final planned campaign event yesterday (Tuesday) due to Superstorm Sandy.

Rep. Jim Moran (D) is confident in his ability to win re-election and is spending his final days assisting other Democrats.

“Our campaign is running strong down the final stretch. We feel very comfortable with our race, but it’s going down to the wire for the President and Governor Kaine. Our focus is on helping to again, turn Virginia blue,” said a spokesperson for the Moran campaign.

Rep. Moran has made efforts in recent days to move beyond a controversy involving his son. A video surfaced last week showing what appears to be Patrick Moran discussing how to cast fraudulent ballots; the video prompted Patrick Moran’s resignation and an investigation by the Arlington County Police Department. The Virginia State Board of Elections has since voted to involve Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

Patrick Murray, Republican candidate for Congress, believes Moran’s handling of the controversy is pertinent to the election.

“He [Moran] has missed votes at double the rate of all other members of Congress despite having the District nearest to Washington, D.C.,” said Murray. “He has been AWOL on sequestration solutions, and he has not even held a town hall meeting in almost 600 days. Now in the wake of this massive voter fraud scandal where there are two separate criminal investigations into his campaign, Moran has vanished.”

(A Moran spokesperson responds: “Rep. Moran has over a 97% voting record in the current Congress and held 8 open community forums this year.”)

Howell prefers to keep the focus off of the video controversy and instead on who is a more desirable candidate.

“The Patrick Moran I’ve met on the campaign trail is a good guy and as his father said, will learn from his mistakes. We all do,” said Howell. “What I expect your readers to do is evaluate me against a future with Jim Moran and decide whether in 2013, we can do better.”

(more…)

Bikeshare Fares Well But Cyclists Cautioned of Hazards

By Katie Pyzyk

Capital Bikeshare is back in business following Superstorm Sandy, but cyclists are warned that hazardous conditions remain on the streets and trails.

Capital Bikeshare did not experience damage to any of its bicycles or docking stations, we’re told. The system did shut down for about 36 hours to prevent people from biking in dangerous conditions, and to protect the workers who have to travel around the metro area to re-distribute bikes where they’re needed.

The system began running again on Tuesday afternoon, and workers spent some time playing catch up on bike re-distribution.

Although larger obstacles such as fallen trees or downed wires still pose a problem for cyclists, BikeArlington’s Chris Eatough said such hazards are relatively easy to spot and shouldn’t take too many people by surprise. The lingering issue that might catch cyclists off guard is wet ground covered with slick leaves.

“The main thing we’ve heard and that I’ve noticed is slippery conditions. A lot of leaves came down along with everything else. They’ve come down so heavily saturated that in many cases they’re matted to the trails and roads,” Eatough said. “It’s definitely something to watch out for. That could take you off your bike before you even know what’s going on.”

Cyclists are reminded to control their speeds and use extra caution when turning. As always, cyclists should use a light when traveling in the dark. Eatough said the light is particularly important to have as darkness sets in earlier, especially with daylight saving time beginning on Sunday (November 4).

Cyclists looking for the latest biking conditions, including those on the trails, can check in online with the Washington Area Bike Forum or follow BikeArlington’s Twitter feed.

Hotel Worker Robbed at Gunpoint

By Katie Pyzyk

Police say a man with a gun robbed a worker at the Days Inn on the 2200 block of Arlington Blvd last night.

According to police, a man walked into the hotel lobby around 6:30 p.m. and pointed a gun at the desk worker while demanding she get on the ground. The suspect then went behind the desk and took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register.

While the suspect was in the lobby, a customer entered the area and the suspect turned the gun on him, ordering him to the ground. The suspect then fled through a back door. Nobody sustained any physical injuries in the incident.

The suspect is described as a white man, around 5’10” with a medium build. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing khaki pants, a dark jacket, a dark winter hat and a dark scarf that covered part of his face. The witnesses said he appeared to be in his 40s.

There are no pictures of the suspect because the hotel’s surveillance camera was not working at the time of the robbery. Besides the two victims, there were other people near the hotel lobby at the time of the incident, but they claim to have not heard or seen anything. According to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, those people were visiting from another country and had been drinking.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the suspect is asked to call the non-emergency line at 703-558-2222.

Registration Open for 5K to Benefit Local Preschool

By Katie Pyzyk

A 5K race to benefit a local preschool will wind its way along Arlington’s trails in a few weeks.

The Kinhaven School 5K and Fun Run will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 18. The event benefits Kinhaven School (4201-A N. Fairfax Drive), which is a parent run cooperative preschool founded in 1971.

The out-and-back course begins at Bluemont Park and takes runners west along the W&OD trail.

Ultramarathon champion Michael Wardian confirmed that he and his family will take part in the festivities, which include food, drinks and prizes. Participants receive a tech t-shirt and finisher ribbons made by the preschool students.

Registration is open online to the first 300 entrants, and the fee is $25 through today, increasing to $30 from tomorrow through race day. The fee will be $35 for on site registration the day of the race.

Mind Games Scheduled for Puzzle Festival at Library

By Katie Pyzyk

When thinking of head-to-head competitions, the Central Library’s quiet atmosphere may not seem like the obvious choice. Unless, of course, it’s part of the library’s annual Arlington Puzzle Festival.

This Saturday, November 3, the festival returns for a second year of words, logic, numbers and thinking. The mind games run from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the Central Library’s (1015 N. Quincy Street) auditorium.

Crossword puzzles are provided by New York Times puzzlemaster Will Shortz and sudoku puzzles will be provided by U.S. and world champion sudoku solver Thomas Snyder.

The event is free for Friends of the Arlington Public Library members. A donation is suggested for non-members.

There will be speakers throughout the day, including professional crossword puzzle writer Matt Gaffney, the crossword tournament begins at 10:00 a.m. and the sudoku tournament begins at 1:30 p.m. The full schedule of activities throughout the day is listed online.

Registration for the crossword and sudoku competitions is available online, and will also be available at the door on a first come, first served basis.

Storm Sends Beavers into Pentagon City Streets

By Katie Pyzyk

Humans aren’t the only ones suffering the effects of Superstorm Sandy. The storm apparently forced some beavers out of their habitats and into the streets of Pentagon City.

A few residents who live in a condo complex on S. Hayes Street were about to head out this morning when they were surprised by a wet, furry visitor.

The residents called animal control upon encountering the beaver scurrying from door to door. Desiree Lomer-Clarke said the animal control worker who came to the scene reported having to deal with two other beavers earlier this morning.

“Apparently their dam broke and they scattered from fear of drowning,” said Lomer-Clarke. “The other beavers were pushed towards bodies of water, but this one had to be trapped and released near its home.”

Arlington County naturalist Greg Zell said the animal sightings might indeed be weather related. The beavers may have chosen to leave if the pocket of air that’s typically present in their dens was compromised.

“It’s possible that high water could have driven them temporarily out of their homes,” Zell said. “It’s the first time I would have seen it in this area, but it’s certainly possible.”

Zell further explained that beavers ending up in a residential area is fairly unusual because they don’t seek out human interaction.

“Beavers are generally going to move away from people,” said Zell. “They eat sticks and twigs so they’re not attracted to people’s food and trash. This sounds like they were just homeless and cruising around.”

Because they avoid humans, there have been rare occasions when beavers have attacked a person or pet that came too close their dens and was deemed a threat. Zell recommends that anyone who encounters a beaver tries to avoid it, as with all wild animals. He said making loud noises, such as clapping, is often enough to send a beaver on its way.

The displaced beavers were not acting in an erratic manner to suggest they would have rabies — as happened twice this summer during beaver attacks in Fairfax County — so they were released near their homes.

As the area’s water levels return to normal, Zell said the beavers that wandered Pentagon City should be able to once again inhabit their dens. If the dens were damaged or destroyed by the storm, the animals should adjust easily to a new habitat.

“Beavers are very adaptable, they tolerate cold very well. They have a thick layer of fur and fat,” Zell said. “They’ll just find another place to go.”

Photo by Robert Dogan

UPDATED: Schools, County Gov’t Open Wednesday

By Katie Pyzyk

Update at 5:55 p.m. — All Arlington Public Schools (except Barcroft Elementary) will open on time tomorrow (Wednesday). “Parents are asked to be patient as buses may need to work around road closures in some parts of the county, causing delays on some routes,” said school spokesman Frank Bellavia.

All county government offices, libraries, courts, community centers, and nature centers will also be open.

Roads are gradually being cleared, dark homes are lighting up and residents are attempting to return to a sense of normalcy following Superstorm Sandy.

Currently, Dominion’s outage map shows 14,645 Arlington customers without power. The company promises to have crews working around the clock until power is restored. It’s hoping to complete its restoration efforts by Thursday night.

The federal government will be open for business tomorrow, according to the Office of Personnel Management, which will mean increased traffic on neighborhood streets that are still littered with storm debris.

Metro has resumed bus and train service and is slowly getting all lines back up to normal operation. Trains are running on a Sunday schedule. ART buses also resumed service this afternoon on routes 41 and 51. There may be delays if there is debris in the roads along the routes.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reports that Reagan National Airport fared well and didn’t experience any damage or flooding. Most flights are still cancelled today but there are a few taking off and arriving. Travelers are urged to check with their airlines directly for information about flights before going to the airport. MWAA will provide updates via Twitter as more flights begin to take off.

Early voters can go to Courthouse Plaza until 7:00 p.m. for in-person absentee voting. For now, the Barcroft and Madison locations remain closed, but the county hopes they can open tomorrow in addition to the Courthouse location. More information about absentee voting can be found online.

Trash and recycling services, including brush and leaf collection, will resume Wednesday. Monday/Tuesday pickups have been rescheduled for Wednesday, and Wednesday/Thursday pickups have been rescheduled for Friday. Storm debris removal can be requested online or by calling 703-228-6570. The normal requirement for brush to be less than 18 inches in diameter will be waived.

The county notes that an additional 2,000 people signed up for the Arlington Alert system during the storm, bringing the number of total subscribers to more than 50,000. The system provides emergency information updates via email or text message. Anyone interested in receiving alerts during the storm cleanup and for future public safety events can sign up online.

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