Author: Shreeya Aranake

Abercrombie, Swatch Close at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Mall

By Shreeya Aranake
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Young adult fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch and watch shop Swatch are no longer open in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.

A mall employee told ARLnow that both stores shuttered this week. The closures come amid a rash of retailers closing up shop, in part because of the rising popularity of e-commerce, dubbed by some as a “retail apocalypse.”

Earlier this year, jeans company True Religion also left the mall, an employee at a True Religion store in Maryland said. Greeting card and stationery store Papyrus, which is closing all of its stores, is currently holding its final sale at the Fashion Centre.

Nearby at Tysons Corner Center, several chain retailers and restaurants have left recently, including Lord and Taylor, BareMinerals, Armani Exchange and Brio Tuscan Grille.

Stores have also been closing with alarming regularity outside of malls. A Pier 1 home furnishings store is closing in Rosslyn and a World Market store at Pentagon Row closed last fall.

Hat tip to @calebfiles

Arlington Seeking Poet Laureate for 2020-2022 Term

By Shreeya Aranake

Arlington County is looking for a new top poet.

The selected poet would be the second laureate in the county’s history, succeeding Katherine E. Young, who ended her term in 2018. The new poet laureate would serve from 2020 to 2022, and will receive an honorarium of $1500 per year, according to Arlington Cultural Affairs.

Applicants must be published poets, with a track record of publishing their original work in poetry journals, magazines, and/or websites, that are predominantly not self-curated, personal websites or personal blogs. Interested poets must be 18 years of age or older.

The poet laureate will have several duties to carry out. One of those duties is to write and present two original poems on a subject that relates to issues relating to the county. In 2016, for instance, Young presented a poem about a thunderstorm in Ballston that felled a prominent tree.

The new poet laureate will also serve as a juror for Arlington Transit’s Moving Words Competition and facilitate community engagement programs with the Arlington Public Libraries and Arlington Public Affairs staff.

“The poet selected [as] Arlington’s poet laureate will serve as an advocate for poetry and the literary arts and will advance Arlingtonians’ consciousness and appreciation of poetry in its written and spoken forms,” Arlington Cultural Affairs said in a press release. “He or she will represent Arlington County’s commitment to fostering a creative environment that encourages collaboration, innovation and community participation.”

The county is accepting applications until March 24 at 5 p.m. The poet laureate’s term is set to begin on July 1 of this year.

The full county press release is below, after the jump.

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Elderly Couple Trying to Find Their Former Dog’s New Owners

By Shreeya Aranake

An older couple from South Carolina is trying to find the new adoptive owner of their dog, who’s likely somewhere in Arlington or Northern Virginia.

Janice and Chuck Davis gave Bullets, their rat terrier, up for adoption in late October. They were forced to call animal control on Bullets because he had violent tendencies that had become difficult to manage, Janice said. He was then picked up by Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, which has its headquarters in Arlington.

Bullets had a difficult life prior to his adoption by the South Carolina couple, which led to behavioral issues.

“We had [Bullets] for four years and he had been abused [before we adopted him],” said Janice. “Every time he felt threatened he bit us. We’re getting up in our age and we had an incident with him so we turned him in to animal control.”

However, the dog had left a lasting impression that the Davises did not fully realize until Bullets was gone.

“My husband didn’t realize how attached to the dog he was,” Janice said.

In their four years together Bullets and Chuck, who’s 80, developed a routine. They would get in Chuck’s truck and ride around their property in Florence, South Carolina together. The two would then sit in the car and keep an eye out for deer.

When Chuck was at home, he would sit down in his recliner and motion for Bullets to come and sit on his lap. Chuck would spread out a certain blanket, and Bullets would jump on.

Despite the good times, the Davises made the difficult decision to give Bullets up. They quickly regretted it, but by the time Chuck went to get Bullets back, he had already been taken to the Lucky Dog shelter.

Now, the couple is hoping to find the new owners of their dog, if for nothing else than to give Bullets his blanket.

Chuck “is missing this dog terribly and would just like to know if the new owner is pleased with [him] and if he is doing fine,” said Janice. “He would like to send the new owner Bullets’ favorite blanket.”

“We just want to make sure he is in a good home,” she added.

If Bullets’ new owner is reading this, email us at [email protected] and we can connect you with the couple 

Arlington Agenda: January 27-February 2

By Shreeya Aranake

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.

Monday, January 27

Arlington Dems Volunteer Open House*
NRECA Conference Center (4301 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 7-8:30 p.m. 

Join Arlington Democrats at this volunteer open house in Ballston to learn about local opportunities to get involved in the next election.

Encore Learning Lecture
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 3-4:30 p.m.

Encore Learning presents a local history lecture entitled “New Light on Arlington’s Little War: Balls Cross Road Skirmish” by Peter Vasekioykis, President of the Third U.S. Infantry Sesquicentennial Committee.

Books & Burton: A Story Hour for Adults 
Columbia Pike Branch Library (816 S. Walter Reed Drive)
Time: 7-8 p.m. 

Relax, color or put together a puzzle while listening to a short story read by LeVar Burton from the podcast LeVar Burton Reads.

Love is Love Book Club 
Shirlington Branch Library (4200 Campbell Ave)
Time: 7-8 p.m.

The club is hosting a series of discussions about LGBTQIA+ books. The January title to be discussed is “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides. Bring your favorite books to share and compare, along with the monthly reading selection.

Tuesday, January 28

Virginia for Pete Buttigieg*
Ballston Quarter Food Hall (4238 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

Virginia for Pete Buttigieg will share information with fellow Pete supporters about opportunities to volunteer and support Buttigieg’s campaign for president.

Pride & Prejudice & Tea
Columbia Pike Branch Library (816 S. Walter Reed Drive) 
Time: 6-8 p.m. 

Celebrate the 207th birthday of the famous novel, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, with tea and discussion about the book, plus Regency history, etiquette, and of course, Mr. Darcy. Tea and snacks will be served.

Thursday, January 30

Heroes, History & Hamburgers
Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street) 
Time: 7-9 p.m.

The library will be hosting a free viewing of a documentary about Arlington’s history, covering everything from Arlington being the first place in Virginia to desegregate its public schools, as well as the place where Orville Wright first tested his airplanes.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
H-B Woodlawn @ The Heights (1601 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m. 

Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an award-winning musical which has been performed for years including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway. There will also be showings on Friday and Saturday.

Friday, January 31

Hidden Braces $1000 Off Special Event*
VCO Orthodontics (1600 Wilson Blvd, Suite 810) 
Time: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

VCO Orthodontics in Rosslyn is hosting a special event for hidden braces, lasting only for one day. These 3D printed braces go on the inside of your teeth, making them completely invisible.

Saturday, February 1

Lunar New Year Celebration
Fashion Centre at Pentagon City (1100 S. Hayes Street)
Time: 12-5 p.m.

The Pentagon City mall will celebrate Lunar New Year with a special Asian New Year event. There will be live entertainment, including lion and dragon dances, two Hanfu fashion shows, and musical performances.

Cozy Mysteries with Local Authors
One More Page Books (2200 N. Westmoreland Street #101)
Time: 2-3 p.m. 

Garage sales, gluten-free cooking and murder! One More Page Books welcomes two local mystery writers, Sherry Harris and Libby Klein, to discuss their latest novels.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event.

Arlington Youth Soccer Coach Wins National Volunteer Award

By Shreeya Aranake

John Mingus, an Arlington youth soccer coach, was named National Volunteer of the Year by US Youth Soccer on Saturday.

Mingus began coaching soccer when his first daughter began playing in the spring of 2001. He coached both of his daughters until they began high school. He continued to coach kindergarten boys, first grade and high school girls even after he stopped coaching his daughters’ teams.

He is currently the club manager of the Northwest Lions, the largest club in the Arlington Soccer Association. As club manager, Mingus places new players in separate teams, he recruits the coaches for each team, and sets policies and procedures for the program.

“I love volunteering because I believe strongly in [Arlington Soccer]’s mission,” Mingus said. “I believe Arlington rec soccer is an incredible program that offers kids of all ages to play soccer. It is important to have a program that provides regardless of their ability.”

Mingus began playing soccer mostly as a neighborhood pick-up player growing up, and later played intramural soccer in college and grad school.

With the prize, Mingus received a pass to get free Chipotle burritos for one year.

Compass Coffee Set to Open New Location in Ballston Next Month

By Shreeya Aranake
1/3

Compass Coffee’s new Ballston location will be opening in mid-February, a company rep tells ARLnow.

Work is nearly complete on the interior of the space at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Randolph Street, on the ground floor of the Origin apartment building that was built as part of the recent renovations to what is now Ballston Quarter mall.

The new cafe will offer the same drink selection as other Compass Coffee locations — including the Rosslyn location at 1201 Wilson Blvd that opened in 2018 — but its food menu will vary slightly depending on the needs of the Ballston neighborhood, Stephanie Junkin, the manager of the new location, said. Customer favorites such as cold brew coffee and croissants will be offered in Ballston.

The cafe will host a “Free Coffee Day” on or soon after the day of its opening. Customers will be able to receive a drink of their choice at no charge on this day, Junkin said.

Compass is currently in the process of hiring baristas for the Ballston location.

Arlington Free Clinic Looking for Dentist Volunteers

By Shreeya Aranake

Arlington Free Clinic is looking for a few good dentists to join their volunteer team.

The clinic, which is located just off Columbia Pike at 2921 11th Street S., wants to serve more patients than its current paid dental team can handle, and is seeking volunteers to help out.

Arlington Free Clinic is a nonprofit that provides medical care to low-income adults who do not have health insurance. The clinic is volunteer driven and a majority of its funds are donated by people and businesses from the community. It provides primary care, mental health services, physical therapy, and a pharmacy for its patients.

“About five years ago we started a modest dental program,” said Alicia Nieves, the Director of Development and Communications at the clinic. “We gradually filled out our new space using a grant from the Virginia Health Care foundation to increase our staff, dig into dental and truly meet our patient’s needs.”

The clinic also received a $250,000 donation for dental care from a retired Arlington special education teacher in 2018.

More from a press release:

Arlington Free Clinic (AFC) is the only nonprofit providing free, high-quality medical and dental care to low-income, uninsured Arlington adults.

AFC has been caring for Arlingtonians in need for over 25 years. In 2015, AFC expanded beyond medical care and launched a dental program. For the first three years, AFC delivered dental services 24 hours per week using space donated by Arlington County.

AFC took its early success in dental – and the knowledge that patient needs far outstripped the capacity of the modest, offsite program – to make a case for successfully raising the $1.5M needed to grow our dental program and move it onsite.

Since January 2019, Arlington Free Clinic has been ramping up operations in its new, onsite, three-chair dental clinic. We added Dentist and Dental Assistant hours, hired a Dental Hygienist, and began integrating Hygienist Students and Dentist Volunteers.

Currently, operating at maximum paid staffing levels, we are able to provide 250 dental visits per month. The only way we will be able to add additional visits and see more patients is by supplementing the paid dental team with volunteers.

On the medical side of our organization, the majority of care is delivered pro bono by providers who come onsite to see patients or agree to see patients for free in their private offices throughout the community. We have had over 25 years to establish and solidify connections within the medical community, but we are just beginning to form relationships with local dentists.

If you or a dentist you know is interested in learning more about volunteering with Arlington Free Clinic’s Dental Program, we encourage you to get in touch. The commitment can be anywhere from four hours once/week to every other month. We have daytime, afternoon, and evening hours, and are open Saturday mornings in the dental clinic, and would welcome volunteer dentists any time.

  • To get involved as a volunteer dentist, call Jody Steiner Kelly at 703-979-1425, ext. 124
  • To learn more about becoming a patient, call 703-979-1400
  • To support financially, call the development department at 703-979-1425, ext. 121