Food delivery service Doctor Delivery has shut down.
A short, plain text message — “Dr. Delivery has ceased operations” — is now the only thing displayed on the company’s website. The website was still functional as recently as a week ago.
Based in Falls Church, Doctor Delivery launched in 2001 and served Arlington, D.C., Alexandria and part of Fairfax County, offering to deliver food from some 125 local restaurants.
The company also offered custom courier services — it would pick up your dry cleaning or bring you items from 7-Eleven, for instance. Orders could be placed online or via phone.
Lately Doctor Delivery has faced stiff competition from well-funded tech companies that have offered smartphone app-based food ordering services. Yet another delivery service, UberEATS, from the ride hailing company Uber, launched in Arlington late last week.
Community Garden Fundraiser Fizzles — Arlington County’s attempt to crowdfund a community garden accessible to those with disabilities has not gone so well. As of Sunday the county has only raised $465 out of the $10,000 it sought, with only five days to go in the fundraiser. The failure raises questions about local government use of crowdfunding, the Post suggests. [Washington Post]
Meeting on Career Center Changes — Some major changes could be coming to the Arlington Career Center. Arlington Public Schools will be discussing that and other South Arlington school projects at a meeting Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Career Center, at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive. [Taylor PTA]
More on Notable Tree Planted at Fire House — A Southern Magnolia tree planted outside Fire Station No. 4 in Clarendon was recognized as a “Notable Tree” last week. The tree was planted in 1965 in memory of ACFD Capt. Archie Hughes, who died while responding to a house fire at the age of 33. [NBC Washington]
New Movie’s Arlington Connection — A new indie flick, “Green Room,” follows the travails of a fictional Arlington-based punk band. The film was written and directed by Alexandria-born filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier. [DCist]
Spotluck Launches in Crystal City — Restaurant discovery and discount app Spotluck has launched in Crystal City. Participating restaurants include Crystal City Sports Pub, Kora and Kabob Palace. [Spotluck]
Arlington’s Diversity Highlighted — The world is learning about Arlington’s diversity. The Voice of America notes that Arlington is home to more than 130 ethnic groups, particularly around Columbia Pike. [VOA]
Normal service is starting to resume at the Clarendon Metro station after an earlier bomb scare.
Around 7:30 a.m., police and bomb squad units responded to the station for a report of a suspicious person who might have had explosives.
Bomb-sniffing dogs swept a Metro train at the station but did not find anything. The scene has since been cleared, although Metro riders should expect residual delays.
Clarendon Update: PD responded to report of possible suspicious individual with a bomb. Police and K9s swept train with negative results.
Erik Gutshall and Libby Garvey debate at an Arlington Young Democrats event in April 2016
A near-capacity crowd packed into Mad Rose Tavern in Clarendon Wednesday night for a Democratic showdown between County Board member Libby Garvey and primary challenger Erik Gutshall.
The Arlington Young Democrats-hosted debate was perhaps not the battle royale some were expecting, but there were a few pointed barbs from Gutshall and an assertive defense from Garvey of her record.
Gutshall started his line of attack before the debate even started, by CCing news outlets that morning on a letter to Garvey, questioning why former Republican Congressman Tom Davis donated $1,000 to her campaign. (In 2014, Davis also donated $1,000 to the campaign of independent County Board member John Vihstadt, who Garvey endorsed over Democrat Alan Howze.)
“I was shocked to learn that someone running to be the Democratic nominee would so openly solicit, and accept, campaign contributions from someone whose job and mission it was to defeat Democrats,” Gutshall wrote. He asked Garvey to sign a pledge to only support Democratic candidates and to reject campaign contributions from current or former Republican elected officials.
At the debate, Gutshall said it was “not acceptable” that Garvey had not signed the pledge, also citing her decision not to endorse Del. Rip Sullivan during his campaign.
“Absolutely, unequivocally, 100 percent I will support the Democrat, period,” Gutshall said.
Garvey, meanwhile, declined to make any absolute promises, saying she would make decisions based on “what is the right thing for Arlington… what is best for the people I serve.”
“Generally, that’s the Democrat,” she said. Her answer was followed by a couple loud boos from the crowd.
Gutshall attempted to re-litigate the streetcar battle, saying that Garvey “has sat on the sidelines” since she and Vihstadt helped to scuttle the project, which would have brought light rail transit to Columbia Pike. (The county has said an alternative transit plan will be coming this year.)
“We don’t have the transit that’s there to meet the needs of density” along Columbia Pike, said Gutshall. “We have the right to expect more and do better.”
Garvey said that until January, when she took over the County Board chairmanship, she “did not have the votes” to push a Bus Rapid Transit plan for the Pike. With the addition of like-minded Democrats Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey this year, she said the County Board is functioning well as a team.
“Your board is a very exciting board right now,” she said. “I have done a lot since January. I would like to build on this experience and build on this work.”
Gutshall accused Garvey of abandoning the infrastructure investment mindset that led previous generations of local Democratic leaders to support, for instance, the building of the Metrorail system.
“Progress comes by investing in the future,” he said. “The main reason I’m running here is that I have heard rhetoric that we should turn and look inward and that we cannot afford to meet these challenges.”
County Announces ‘Energy Lending Library’ — Today, on Earth Day, Arlington County is formally announcing what it says is the nation’s first “energy lending library.” Via Arlington Public Library, residents will be able to borrow thermal imaging cameras, energy meters and books that will help residents identify areas of energy waste in their homes. [Arlington County]
Woman Arrested After Foot Chase in Pentagon City — A shoplifting suspect was taken into custody in Pentagon City after leading police on a foot chase yesterday, just before 6 p.m. Police were still searching for the woman’s shoplifting accomplice. [Twitter]
New Lubber Run Community Center Planned — Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz has proposed a new, $45 million Lubber Run Community Center. The four-story structure would also include a parking garage, so that the existing surface lot can be converted to parkland. [InsideNova]
Arlington Hires Full-Time Ombudsman — Arlington County has a new ombudsman. Former Dept. of Human Services assistant director Robert Sharpe has been named to the county’s newly-created position of Director of Constituent Services. Sharpe’s job will be “troubleshooting issues on behalf of his fellow Arlington residents while working directly with departments, County leadership and the County Board.” [Arlington County]
Free ‘Pop Up Yoga’ Session on the Pike — On Sunday, from 11 a.m. to noon, a free “pop up” yoga class will be held at Penrose Square (2503 Columbia Pike). “Lisa Marie, local artist and certified yoga instructor, will lead the participants through postures, intentions and breath” that are specifically inspired by the pair of sculptures in the park. [With Love DC]
Medics on Motorcycles? — The citizen task force coming up with recommendations for Arlington’s Fire Station 8 has struck upon a novel idea: using motorcycle-based paramedics to get to patients faster in traffic than would a big, lumbering ambulance. Not every member of the task force, however, thought that was a good idea, citing potential issues with staffing. [InsideNova]
A man who accidentally left a friend’s two-year-old child in the back seat of his car, resulting in the little girl’s death, is now facing charges, police say.
Daiquan Fields, a 32-year-old Annandale resident, has been charged with felony child neglect and involuntary manslaughter. He will face prosecution in Arlington.
Police say Fields was to drop the child off somewhere Wednesday morning, but forgot and left her in the back seat of his car all day. When he went to pick up the mother in front of the Pentagon City mall around 3:30 that afternoon, he spotted the child, unresponsive.
Fields called 911 and the girl was transported to Virginia Hospital Center, where she was declared dead, according to police. From an Arlington County Police Department press release:
The initial investigation revealed a two-year-old girl had reportedly been accidentally left in the back seat of a car by a caretaker. Our initial investigation has determined that a male acquaintance of the child’s mother was supposed to drop three children off at two locations on the morning of April 20. It appears he dropped off two older children, ages 10 and 15, and then returned to the home in Fairfax County, not realizing that the two-year-old remained in the back seat of the car. Sometime later, the acquaintance got back in the car to pick up the children’s mother. When he arrived at her location in the 1100 block of S. Hayes Street, he looked in the back seat area of the car and saw the child. When he discovered that she was unresponsive, he immediately called 911.
Upon review, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner could not determine where the death actually occurred. After consultation between Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney’s Office and the Arlington County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, it was determined the prosecution would be handled by Arlington County.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective N. Brooks of the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4169 [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Arlington County will split the cost of connecting a group of Lyon Park homeowners to county-owned sewer lines, preventing a potentially costly legal battle.
Eleven homes on the 900 block of N. Daniel and Danville streets are connected to a failing sewer line that runs through their backyards. The line is believed to date back to the 1920s, when the first of the homes in the neighborhood were built.
As we reported in 2013, county workers had been clearing occasional blockages of the line, until the county determined that it did not actually own the line — it was privately constructed and the county had “no rights to operate or maintain this line.”
Facing steep plumbing and excavation costs for connecting to a public sewer line, homeowners threatened legal action. On Tuesday, the County Board settled the matter by voting unanimously to approve a compromise agreement with the homeowners.
Arlington will roughly split the cost of connecting all 11 homes — $253,980 plus a $50,000 contingency — and will advance the other half of the money to seven homeowners who asked for help financing the work. The seven homeowners will repay their share over seven years, at 2 percent interest, via the establishment of a “service district” that will levy a frontage assessment on their property.
Arlington County said the compromise was necessary because the private sewer line was failing and beyond repair, and a major sewage backup in the midst of a protracted legal dispute could have resulted in a significant public health hazard.
” The amount of time required to resolve the disagreement would delay the time when remedial action could be taken, thereby threatening the likelihood of a public health emergency, and would result in costly litigation for all involved,” notes the staff report. “In an effort to prevent further delay, the County and the property owners negotiated an agreement that would promptly address the looming public health concern.”
The incident started just before 10:30 p.m., on the 3600 block of Columbia Pike near the Burger King, as “a dispute between several subjects and a business owner over the sale of a vehicle.”
As police responded to the dispute, they received a report that one of the suspects was making a shooting gesture at the business owner with his hand. Moments later came word that actual shots were being fired.
“One subject brandished a firearm and shot multiple rounds towards the victim who was sitting in [his] vehicle,” police said in a press release.
Following the shooting, the subjects fled the area in what was reported to be a gray Dodge Charger.
“Officers observed the subject’s vehicle and initiated a short pursuit on northbound I-395,” said the press release. The chase was called off after officers lost sight of the vehicle prior to the 14th Street Bridge. A U.S. Park Police helicopter attempted to assist with the search but the vehicle was not found.
Following up on unspecified information, a SWAT team arrested two of the suspects on the 2400 block of S. Lowell Street, in the Nauck neighborhood, early this morning. The third suspect, it turned out, was the man who was struck by gunfire in front of the Burger King. He has also been charged in the shooting.
Police are still asking any witnesses to come forward. The full press release, from ACPD:
On April 20, 2016 at approximately 10:30 p.m., Arlington County Police responded to a report of a dispute in the 3600 block of Columbia Pike. Arriving officers located one male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. He was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The initial investigation revealed there was a dispute between several subjects and a business owner over the sale of a vehicle. One subject brandished a firearm and shot multiple rounds towards the victim who was sitting in their vehicle. Following the shooting, the subjects fled the area. Officers observed the subject’s vehicle and initiated a short pursuit on Northbound I-395. The pursuit was terminated in Washington D.C. United States Park Police assisted the investigation with the use of their helicopter.
Detectives from the Department’s Homicide/Robbery and Tactical Units developed suspect descriptions. Members of the SWAT Team took two suspects into custody from a residence in the 2400 block of S. Lowell Street. Martin Walker, 25, of Largo MD, was arrested and charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Attempted Malicious Shooting, Display of a Firearm during a Shooting, and Shooting at an Occupied Vehicle. Joseph Thompson, 26, of Manassas VA, was arrested and charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Shooting by Mob.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives determined that the initial male victim suffering from a gunshot wound had been an aggressor in the dispute. Gregory Porter Jr., 20, of Triangle VA, has been arrested and charged with Shooting by Mob. He is being held on no bond.
Anyone with information about this incident and/or who may have observed anything suspicious in the area is asked to contact Detective S. Roeseler of the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4182 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Two weeks before a teen girl was struck by a car and seriously injured in Ballston, a local resident tweeted a video of a car blowing by him as he crossed in the same crosswalk.
The resident tweeted the video at police, asking for more crosswalk enforcement.
Today, he and others are saying that police do not adequately enforce traffic laws to keep pedestrians safe.
Valor Awards Recount Harrowing Moments — Saving a suicidal woman who was about to jump from the seventh floor of a parking garage. Saving the life of a man who had just been run over by an SUV twice. Smashing a car window in order to resuscitate the victim of a major crash on I-395. Those are a few of the acts of valor recognized at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Valor Awards this week. [InsideNova, Arlington Chamber]
WaPo Questions Crystal City-Brooklyn Comparison — The Washington Post isn’t letting the New York Times get away with a quote that compared Crystal City to Brooklyn. The area’s hometown paper instead quoted a number of Twitter critics, one of whom called Crystal City a “Ballardian hellscape.” The Times story suggests that Crystal City — with its new restaurants, emerging tech scene, transportation improvements and community events — is experiencing something of a mini renaissance. [Washington Post]
Vida Fitness Coming to Ballston — High-end local fitness chain Vida Fitness is planning a new full-service gym in Ballston. The new location could open as soon by 2019. [Washington Business Journal]
Nauck Town Square Designs — Arlington County is seeking feedback on the draft design of the forthcoming Nauck Town Square park. The design includes a large sculpture of the word “FREED.” [Arlington County]
County Gets Adorable Letters — Arlington County gets adorable letters from children, who ask about things like raising backyard chickens and saving worms that might have gotten swept up as yard waste. [Arlington County]
(Updated at 10 a.m.) A teen was struck by a car in Ballston around 8:15 Wednesday night.
The victim appeared to be crossing at a marked crosswalk, at the intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Utah Street, when she was struck, according to witnesses.
One resident who was in her house at the time of the collision described hearing a “thud” followed by screaming. The victim was bloodied and remained lying in the middle of the street while passersby attended to her, we’re told.
The teen was conscious and breathing when paramedics arrived, said fire department spokesman Lt. Jason Hart. She was transported via ambulance to a local hospital and is being evaluated for a potentially serious head injury.
One local resident who emailed ARLnow.com said the intersection is a major pedestrian crossing that serves Cherrydale and Waverly Hills residents walking from the Ballston Metro station.
“Pitch dark at night,” the emailer said of the intersection. “Been trying for years to get county to put in pedestrian signals. Being studied forever…”
Food delivery service Doctor Delivery has shut down.
