Ballston Quarter

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Ballston Sweetgreen Opens Today — Ballston’s new froyo and salad destination is expected to open its doors today. Sweetgreen, located at 4075 Wilson Blvd, will give away free reusable salad bowls to the first 200 people who order a salad. More from We Love DC.

Arlington Couple Pledges $1 Million to Army Museum — An Arlington couple has become the first individual million dollar donors to the planned National Museum of the United States Army. Preston and Jeanne Caruthers say they’re proud to support the Army and honor its commitment to our country. More from the Sun Gazette.

You Better Watch Out, Ballston — “The enormous Christmas tree is now erect in the food court of the Ballston Common Mall,” reports Patch.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Black Friday Is a Bust at Ballston Common Mall — While other suburban shopping malls were inundated with shoppers on Friday, traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for retailers in terms of foot traffic, Ballston Common Mall was about as crowded as it normally is on a Friday afternoon (not very). “The best thing here is Rock Bottom,” one shopper explained to Ballston Patch.

Farmers Market For Westover? — A community meeting will be held at the Westover library next month to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market this spring. More from the Sun Gazette.

Arlington Has Region’s Lowest Unemployment — Once again Arlington is leading the D.C. area jobs-wise. Arlington’s unemployment rate currently stands at a remarkably low 3.9 percent. Alexandria and Loudoun County share the title for second-lowest unemployment in the region, with 4.5 percent. More from WTOP.

Another Froyo Place Coming to Arlington — The R-B corridor will have an abundance of frozen yogurt options next year. A D.C.-based, self-serve yogurt shop called FroZenYo is planning to open stores in Rosslyn and Ballston in 2011. It’s also planning on opening a store in Crystal City. More from TBD.

Flickr pool photo by Team Rank

Morning Poll: Black Friday Shopping

By ARLnow.com

Contrary to popular belief, the Friday after Thanksgiving is not the busiest shopping day of the year. Americans actually buy more in the days leading up to Christmas.

But Black Friday is one of the biggest “traffic” days of the year at shopping centers, as consumers, unburdened by work or the need to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner, head out to the mall just for the sake of getting out and doing something. And of course there are those doorbuster specials, too.

The good news if you are heading out on Friday is that we know more people will be out of town this year. But it’s not clear whether that will have any noticeable effect on the normally horrendous mall parking lot traffic.

Are you planning on joining the crowd?

Renovations Coming to Ballston Common Mall

By ARLnow.com

The owner of Ballston Common Mall is “in the planning stages” of major renovations to the 24-year-old facility. The existence of the renovation plan was revealed at a real estate conference in Rosslyn this morning.

The plan may also involve the building of office space above or in place of the current Macy’s department store.

No timeline was given for the renovations. Ohio-based Forest City Enterprises owns the 580,000 square foot mall, which attracts 1,000,000 visitors per year.

Flickr pool photo by Tim Kelley.

BREAKING NEWS — Five People Taken to Hospital After Pepper Spray Incident at Ballston Common Mall

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) Customers fled Ballston Common Mall just after noon today after a shoplifter sprayed pepper spray while making a getaway.

The woman swiped merchandise from the Payless shoe store on the second level of the mall, according to police spokesperson Det. Crystal Nosal. As she was running to the escalator, she sprayed pepper spray at a manager who was chasing after her.

The substance caused numerous people in the mall to develop symptoms that included difficulty breathing and burning eyes.

Firefighters set up a triage area outside the mall. A dozen people were treated and five people were brought to the hospital, including the store manager, Nosal said. They’re expected to be fine.

Witnesses described a foul odor in the mall shortly after the incident.

“There was a smell, a funny smell, and people were coming through [the hall] coughing and gagging,” said Danielle Davis, who works in the mall building. “Once I saw that… I turned around.”

The woman got away and is still at large. Police will be reviewing surveillance footage in an attempt to identify her.

A fire department spokesperson initially said the mall was evacuated during the incident. Nosal said everyone who left the mall did so on their own volition.

Update at 3:25 p.m. — Police describe the suspect as “an African American female, medium height, mid-length dark hair, red shiny puffy jacket, tight light colored pants, and white shoes.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

It’s September — Start mourning the end of summer now — and get to the pool while you still can.

Man Goes Bananas in the Vegetable Aisle — Police are trying to find a man who walked into the Virginia Square Giant, spit on the vegetable display, sprayed hand lotion on a candy display, and assaulted a cashier. He’s described as a six-foot tall, 30-year-old white male with a ponytail. More from TBD.

A “Tree Tragedy” in Ballston — This is an older item that was just brought to our attention. Last month workers at Ballston Common Mall went overboard while pruning trees along the sidewalk, resulting in an incident our tipster referred to as the “Ballston Tree Massacre.” A member of a local group called the Tree Stewards apparently tried to intervene, but was ignored by the crew. The end result of the overzealous pruning: ugliness and death.

Photos from Capital Bikeshare Station Installation — The first of the 114 planned Capital Bikeshare stations was installed near the Crystal City Metro station yesterday morning. The Commuter Page Blog has photos of the installation.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Woman Dies After Fall From Ballston Parking Garage

By ARLnow.com

A woman fell several stories from the Ballston Public Parking Garage Thursday night, landing in front of a car that was about to exit the garage onto Glebe Road. The woman was alive when she was taken to the hospital but later succumbed to her injuries, police said.

The fall happened around 8:30 p.m. A police spokesperson was unaware of any witnesses other than the driver of the car.

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the fall. Suicide is the most likely scenario that investigators are examining, we’re told.

The County-owned garage is located on North Glebe Road next to Ballston Common Mall.

Ballston, Pentagon City Mall Food Courts Cited For Pests

By ARLnow.com

The Ballston and Pentagon City mall food courts are great places to eat, if you’re a rat or a cockroach.

A review of health violations by the Washington Examiner revealed that every food court vendor in each mall has been cited for one or more “critical health violations.”

Signs of roach or rodent infestation were found in sixteen food court vendors, the Examiner reports. Subway and Texas BBQ Factory get the dubious distinction of being cited for infestation in both Ballston and Pentagon City.

To see the health violations for yourself, click here then search for “4238 Wilson Blvd” (Ballston Common Mall) or “1100 S Hayes St” (Pentagon City mall). The search box is in the upper left-hand corner.

Flickr photo by Daquella Manera.

Free Family Movie Mornings in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

With the kids out of school, parents have to occasionally do something to keep them entertained and out of trouble. Going to the movies is a good, albeit pricey option. Now, the Regal Cinema at Ballston Common Mall is removing the pricey part with the introduction of a “Free Family Film Festival,” which will run through the end of August.

Starting this week, the theater will offer free admission to a G or PG movie every Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Doors open at 9:15 a.m. and the movie starts at 10:00 a.m. Seating is first come, first serve.

The Regal Cinema chain has hosted free family movie screenings every summer since 1991.

This year’s movie schedule includes Monsters vs. Aliens, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Charlotte’s Web. The full schedule, after the jump.

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Road Closure on Wilson Blvd as Dominion Fixes Transformer

By ARLnow.com

Dominion has brought in a crane to fix a transformer at Wilson Boulevard and North Randolph Street, across the street from Ballston Common Mall.

During the repairs, one lane of westbound Wilson Boulevard will be closed. The work is expected to wrap up between 5:00 and 5:30 tonight.

Meanwhile, the blown transformer has knocked out power to a building in the area.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

It’s Pride Week In Arlington — June 7-13 is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Week in Arlington. County Board Chairman Jay Fisette, Virginia’s first openly gay elected official, signed the proclamation on Wednesday. Arlington’s pride week is timed to coincide with the larger Capital Pride Week. An Arlington “Pride Social” will be held at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant (555 South 23rd Street) from 6:00 to 9:00 Friday night.

AGLA Board: “Decline to Sign” — The Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance is urging supporters to “decline to sign” the hotly-debated change-of-government petition. The AGLA and other petition critics say a change in the county’s form of government would, as a result of the Dillon Rule, eliminate Arlington’s ability to stop discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Chick-Fil-A Debuts Spicy Chicken Sandwich — Today the Chick-fil-A at Ballston Common Mall is debuting the chain’s new spicy chicken sandwich. A store rep says more than 900 mall-goers attended “VIP Premiere Tastings” for the new sandwich last week.  On a related note, there’s still word on when the new Crystal City Chick-fil-A will be opening.

Carpoolers Peeved by HOT Lanes — Some Prince William County carpoolers are objecting to the idea of motorists being able to pay for access to the high-occupancy lanes along I-395, saying it would slow down their commute, according to Uriah Kiser of InsideNoVA. Arlington County has filed suit against the I-395 HOT lanes plan, which would convert the existing two HOV lanes into three High Occupancy Toll lanes.

Flickr pool photo by Todor Kamenov.