A-SPAN

Rosslyn Light-Up Ceremony To Be Held Thursday

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn will hold its annual holiday light-up night on Thursday. The event will feature speeches, music, free food and drink, and a winter clothing collection drive in front of the WJLA Jumbotron at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Lynn Street.

From a press release:

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID), Artisphere and Arlington Cultural Affairs welcome the 2011 holiday season with the 18th Annual LIGHT UP Rosslyn ceremony on Thursday, December 1, from 5:15 p.m.–6:30 p.m. NewsChannel 8 Anchor Morris Jones will host the evening’s outdoor festivities in front of the WJLA Jumbotron, located at 1100 Wilson Blvd. Arlington County Board Chair Christopher Zimmerman will offer remarks and then share the honors with Jones and Rosslyn BID Board President Peter Greenwald as they flip a giant switch to light up the Rosslyn skyline. The musical groups Beltway Brass and Snowday will perform holiday favorites, and Santa Fe Café will offer complimentary hot cocoa and chili.

The rooftops of nearly 40 properties will be illuminated. Rosslyn commercial and residential property owners whose buildings will be part of the 2011 LIGHT UP include, Beacon Capital, Clover Management, The JBG Companies, Key Bridge Marriott, London House, Monday Properties, Normandy House, Paramount Group, Penzance Companies, Tishman Speyer, River Place, Virginian Suites, Vornado, Waterview and Weissberg Corporation.

“It’s great to have so many Rosslyn property owners participating in this festive event,” said Arlington County Board Chair Christopher Zimmerman. “The Rosslyn BID does a wonderful job of kicking-off the holiday season with LIGHT UP Rosslyn while helping individuals in need through the annual clothes drive.”

LIGHT UP Rosslyn also serves as the final collection point for warm winter clothing, which the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) will distribute to clients who need it most. Rosslyn BID Ambassadors will be on hand to receive new or gently used winter coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, socks and jeans. This year’s winter clothing drive began on November 7, when the Rosslyn BID placed collection bins in offices and residential buildings around Rosslyn.

Photo by Steve Uzzell/Rosslyn BID

Emergency Winter Shelter Opens Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s Emergency Winter Shelter, which gives the homeless a warm place to sleep during the coldest months of the year, will open for the season tonight.

The 88-bed shelter, located at 2049 15th Street N. in Courthouse, remains open from Nov. 1 through March 31. Operated by the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, the shelter provides not only a place to sleep and meals to eat, but case management, nursing and mental health services.

“The Emergency Winter Shelter has been protecting homeless persons from winter’s cold since 1991,” said Anita Friedman of the county’s Department of Human Services. “In recent years, we have expanded the EWS’s capacity and additional safety plans we can turn to in extreme situations such as last year’s ‘Snowmageddon.'”

Friedman noted that Arlington County is working to “eliminate homelessness altogether” through its 100 Homes initiative.

For those interested in helping out, A-SPAN is seeking volunteers and donations for the shelter. The organization is also working with the county to try to eventually open a year-round shelter.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Construction Planned for New Penrose Square Park — Construction is set to begin on a new public park in front of the Penrose Square apartment building on Columbia Pike. Included in the park will be a 50-ton granite sculpture of a “concave elliptical parabola.” [Pike Wire]

Free Pizza Offer — For some reason, Papa John’s and the Washington Post are giving away thousands of free pizzas over the next three days. Papa John’s has three Arlington locations. [The Capitol Deal]

A-SPAN Launches ‘Street Soccer’ Team — The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network has set up a soccer team for its homeless clients. The team was created as part of the Street Soccer USA program. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

Heat Advisory in Effect Today

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:00 a.m.) Arlington and the rest of the D.C. region is under a heat advisory from noon to 8:00 p.m., as temperatures are expected to soar this afternoon.

Forecasters are predicting a high temperature of 96 degrees, with heat index values reaching into the 100s. Some forecasts even have the temperature hitting 100 today.

As a result of the dangerous heat, Arlington’s Office of Emergency Management issued the following advice this morning.

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS…STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM…STAY OUT OF THE SUN…AND CHECK IN ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE…RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK…THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY – CALL 9 1 1.

In response to the heat, the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network is opening its main office at 2708-B S. Nelson Street early, at 9:30 this morning. Homeless individuals will be able to go inside the office to get cool.

A-SPAN is requesting donations of bottled water to distribute to those remaining on the street. The organization is also requesting assistance in locating any street person who may be suffering from a heat-related medical condition. A-SPAN can be reached at 703-820-4357.

“It’s very important that we get people indoors today,” A-SPAN Executive Director Kathleen Sibert said in a statement. “The extreme heat is just as deadly as the extreme cold of winter and that’s why we’re opening up so much earlier today. If possible, when you go out today, bring an extra bottle of water with you and share it with someone on the street.”

Photo courtesy A-SPAN

Help A-SPAN Win a New Van

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network is asking Arlingtonians to help them win a new van.

A-SPAN is one of 500 finalists in the Toyota 100 Cars for Good contest, which is awarding a new vehicle to 100 charitable organizations over the course of 100 days. Each day, the public can vote for one of five nonprofits via Toyota’s Facebook page.

Today, A-SPAN is up against organizations like a Florida arts center, an Illinois animal shelter, a Connecticut HIV/AID clinic and the large, nationwide service organization City Year.

“We are very excited to participate in this contest and have the chance to win a new van for outreach. We are placing more people into housing than ever before, but the first step for each of these formerly homeless people was an A-SPAN outreach staff person finding and building a connection with them,” A-SPAN Executive Director Kathleen Sibert said in a statement. “A new van will help us with this, please encourage all of your friends to vote too!”

A-SPAN has also released a video (after the jump) explaining how a van would help the organization. Vote for them here.

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With Shelter Closed, Arlington’s Homeless Look for New Places to Sleep

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County’s emergency winter shelter is now closed, and the dozens of homeless individuals who stay there will be looking for a new place to sleep tonight.

About 50 percent of the shelter’s clients will stay in Arlington County over the summer, according to shelter director Olivia Payton. Most others will go to Fairfax, Bailey’s Crossroads, Alexandria and the District, where shelters remain open year-round.

Those who do stay in Arlington will sleep in parks, under bridges, and in wooded encampments. John Rotalsky, who slept at the shelter last night, said he will likely sleep in an encampment near Gateway Park and the Mt. Vernon Trail in Rosslyn tonight.

“We can go to the national parkland, stay there at night, and pack out in the daytime,” he said. “They let us do that.”

Rotalsky, whose religious convictions are documented in a recent online video, said the service provided to the homeless in Arlington “is a huge blessing.”

“Arlington County is just light years better than anything else in this area,” Rotalsky said. “I have not been threatened in the three and a half months that I have been living there. No one has tried to shake me down or rob me, and that’s normal stuff in D.C. shelters.”

The county mandates that the shelter only remain open from Nov. 1 to March 31. The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN), which runs the shelter, has been pushing for a year-round shelter in Arlington for some time now. Such a shelter is needed, especially during spring cold snaps and summer heatwaves, they say. The County Board formally set the goal of establishing a new, year-round shelter last month. First, however, a location for the new shelter must be found.

While A-SPAN does not operate a shelter in the warmer weather months, it still provides services via volunteers who travel the county bringing food and supplies to homeless individuals and through its Opportunity Place headquarters in Shirlington. A-SPAN also tries to place homeless individuals into permanent housing, but those resources are limited.

Rotalsky says he looks forward to the day when the county is able to open a year-round shelter.

“It’s a real treat staying here at the A-SPAN shelter,” he said. “I don’t want to leave.”

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Arlington Young Dems Prep for Charity Date Auction

By ARLnow.com



The Arlington Young Democrats are preparing for their biggest night of the year, not counting election night.

The Young Dems will be holding their 10th annual charity date auction Wednesday from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland Street). More than 100 people have RSVPed for the event, which will feature “over twenty of Arlington’s sexiest bachelors and bachelorettes,” as well as celebrity auctionees Rep. Jim Moran, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former Rep. Tom Perriello and former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe.

AYD has released YouTube videos featuring two of its non-celebrity auctionees. Kat, above, is a personal trainer who says she can squat 175 pounds, enough to (probably) lift her date. Be forewarned, gents: you don’t want to pay for her meal with a Groupon. Chris, seen here, will take a lucky lady on a Potomac River sailboat ride with wine and cheese. He expects to fetch at least $10 to $15 at auction.

The auction will benefit the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network. Attendees are encouraged to bring a new pair of men’s boxer shorts — in large, XL or XXL sizes — to donate at the door for a raffle ticket.

A-SPAN Holding Christmas Eve Dinner for Local Homeless

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network is holding a Christmas Eve dinner for homeless individuals at the county’s Emergency Winter Shelter in Courthouse.

The non-profit issued the following press release about the event.

A-SPAN staff, local volunteers and community religious and business organizations have joined forces to serve a festive dinner at Arlington’s Emergency Winter Shelter (EWS), on Christmas Eve. A stuffed turkey has been donated by Temple Rodef Shalom and an assortment of pies and cookie plates for dessert has been donated by Harris Teeter. Dinner set up will begin at 5:30 pm and served to clients from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. The EWS is located at 2049 N. 15th Street, across from the Arlington Courthouse.

Early frigid temperatures have filled the EWS to an average capacity of 60 clients with over 3,000 bed nights so far this season, which began on November 1st and runs through March 31st, 2011. When temperatures reach 32 degrees, the shelter remains open for clients 24 hours. Regular EWS hours are 4:00 pm to 9:00 am, with dinner, showers, social services and breakfast provided.

A-SPAN provides life-sustaining services for Arlington’s homeless, which include daily street outreach, drop-in services such as showers, laundry, and food, and a bagged meal program serving up to 80 individuals 365 days a year. In addition, from November 1- March 31, A-SPAN operates the Arlington County Emergency Winter Shelter. The current economic and unemployment crisis has driven client numbers from 940 to 1740 this year. A-SPAN offers a wide variety of case management services through the Permanent Supportive Housing Program and the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which is funded by the Federal Stimulus.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A-SPAN Holds Holiday Gala — The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network held its 5th annual Help the Homeless Holiday Gala last night at Artisphere in Rosslyn. Party-goers were treated to food from Lebanese Taverna, Santa Fe Cafe and Sushi Rock, music from BMT and a performance by BalletNova. An auction held to benefit A-SPAN proved that deep down, there is something people care about more than politics in Washington. Tickets to a Capitals / Tampa Bay Lightning game fetched a higher price than a private lunch for four with Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va).

VSP Busy During Snowstorm — Virginia State Police responded to a total of 555 calls for service during yesterday’s snowstorm. Of those calls, 109 were for crashes and 135 were for disabled vehicles.

PenPlace Planning Hearing Postponed — Due to the snow, a scheduled planning meeting about the proposed PenPlace development in Pentagon City has been postponed. The current proposal is to build a five-building office and hotel complex located on a large swatch of undeveloped land between Eads and Fern Streets, adjacent to Army Navy Drive.  If approved, concessions from developers (including land owner Vornado) would help to fund the construction of nearby Long Bridge Park. More from TBD.

Steal This Cocktail Recipe — It’s For a Good Cause

By ARLnow.com

To help mark its upcoming 20th anniversary, Rosslyn Renaissance held an invite-only cocktail contest at the Hotel Palomar last night.

The neighborhood booster group pitted mixologists from three Rosslyn hotel bars against one another. Their goal: to concoct a drink worthy of being dubbed Rosslyn’s “Skyline cocktail.”

Guests sampled their spirits — multiple times, in some cases, to be thorough — and then voted for their favorite by placing dollar bills in each mixologist’s jar. The winner was the home team: with nearly 300 votes cast (and donated to A-SPAN) Hotel Palomar’s tropical, fruity cocktail beat out cocktails from the Marriott and the Hyatt.

With due respect to the Hotel Palomar, the Hyatt’s Michael Bryan was robbed. His cocktail, “At Ease,” was the a work of boozy art. Good news: if you weren’t there, you can either go to the Rosslyn Hyatt and order the drink, or make it yourself using the recipe below. Cheers!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 oz. Pernod
  • 3/4 oz. Cognac (Bryan uses Courvoisier VS or Hennessey VS)
  • 1/4 oz. Benedictine
  • 3-4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
  • 1/4 oz. Simple Syrup

Pour Pernod into an old fashioned glass. Add ice and let sit until Pernod turns opaque (this technique is called ‘louching’). Swirl Pernod so that it coast the inside of the glass and then dispose of excess mixture.

In a mixing glass, add the rest of the ingredients. Add ice. Strain mixing glass into Pernod-coated old fashioned glass.

Add a few cubes of ice, zest the rim of the glass with an orange peel, then drop the orange peel on top of the drink.

Photos courtesy of Monique O’Grady/Rosslyn BID

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A Look Inside the County’s Emergency Winter Shelter

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s emergency winter shelter in Courthouse is now open and serving dozens of homeless individuals. On Saturday, reporters got a tour of the facility.

The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, which runs the shelter, gave the tour in advance of the group’s Community Walk for Homelessness. The group highlighted the shelter’s housing case management, nursing services and mental health services.

Also emphasized during the tour was A-SPAN’s big push for the funding and resources needed to operate the shelter year-round.

“Homelessness is not a five month issue, it’s a 12 month issue,” said Kathy Sibert, A-SPAN’s executive director. Newly re-elected congressman Jim Moran, who stopped by to offer words of encouragement, agreed.

“I would like for [the shelter] to be all year round,” he said. “We have people in the community who ought not suffer when we have the resources we do.”

The shelter can only stay open from Nov. 1 to March 31 due to insufficient funding and building code issues, Sibert said. If the shelter is to operate year-round, a new facility and additional funding must be obtained. A-SPAN is working with county staff and the county board to figure out a way to turn its vision of a year-round shelter into reality.

The current shelter facility is remarkably clean and well-kept — Sibert places an emphasis on cleanliness — but there’s no hiding the fact that it’s in an aging building that’s probably just a few years away from being torn down to make way for new development.

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