cherry blossoms

Metro Suspends Track Work During Cherry Blossom Season, Some Single Tracking at Night

By Airey

Metro will be suspending all daytime track work during the region’s Cherry Blossom season, however night work is still scheduled to impact Arlington.

Some track work will continue after 10 p.m., as the agency continues scheduled maintenance and capital improvement projects. Crews will be installing radio cables on the Yellow and Blue lines during Cherry Blossom season this year, causing single tracking in Arlington during the following times:

  • March 22-24 on the Yellow Line between Pentagon City and L’Enfant Plaza, and on the Blue Line between Pentagon City and Arlington Cemetery
  • March 25-29 on the Yellow Line between L’Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City
  • April 1-5 on the Yellow Line between L’Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City
  • April 7 on the Yellow Line between L’Enfant and Pentagon City

The transit agency says it will beef up service during the festival. Between Saturday, March 23 to Sunday, April 14, Metro lines will operate on the following schedule according to the announcement:

  • Trains will arrive at downtown D.C. stations every 4-7 minutes
  • Red Line trains could run every 6 minutes until 9:30 p.m.
  • All other Saturday trains running every 12 minutes
  • All other Sunday trains every 15 minutes

The Cherry Blossom Festival attracted 1.5 million visitors to the greater Washington region last year and netted $160 million in local revenue, reported the Washington Business Journal.

Visitors flocking to Cherry Blossom blooms are add trips aiding Metro’s flagging ridership which is now the lowest it’s been in 19 years. Historically, the petal-peepers provide some of Metro’s busiest days with little-used stations like Arlington Cemetery seeing 60-percent trip increases, according to the Metro’s now-defunct planning blog.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Amazon Could Change Conversation — If Amazon were to establish its second headquarters in the D.C. area, it could have wide-ranging effects, including tightening the commercial real estate market and easing antitrust pressures on the company. Writes the Economist: “Having 50,000 employees going to the same country clubs and putting children in the same schools as government officials is a shrewd strategy if Amazon wants to fend off government attacks.” [Washington Business Journal, The Economist]

One Hospitalized During Hazmat Incident — An employee at a catering business was hospitalized after a reported chemical spill at a warehouse along Four Mile Run Drive. [Twitter]

Principal on Leave at Nottingham — Nottingham Elementary School Principal Mary Beth Pelosky is “currently on leave” and former Arlington Public Schools administrator Connie Skelton is taking over as acting principal, according to an email to parents from APS Superintendent Patrick Murphy. No explanation was given for Pelosky’s sudden departure.

No More Early Cherry Blossom Bloom — Initially expected to happen later this week, the peak cherry blossom bloom is, due to cold weather, now expected to occur at the end of March and possibly the beginning of April. [Capital Weather Gang, WTOP]

APS May Take Advantage of Recess Law Change — “The chairman of Arlington’s School Board appears optimistic about a change in state law that will permit school districts to squeeze more recess into the existing school day.” [InsideNova]

Photo via @thelastfc

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Golf Course Tax Bill Passes — A bill that would provide a massive tax break to two Arlington country clubs has passed the Virginia General Assembly. The bill, if signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), would cost Arlington $1.5 million or more in tax revenue. [Washington Post]

Military Couple Fights Wife’s Deportation — The wife of a retired Army special forces veteran was to face deportation in an Arlington-based immigration court next week, but the Dept. of Homeland Security is now offering to drop the proceedings. Prior to the reversal, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) called said via social media: “Military families should not be targeted like this. It’s unconscionable.” [Military Times, Twitter]

Cherry Blossom Bloom Prediction — The National Park Service expects peak bloom for the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms to take place March 17-20. [PoPville]

Beyer’s GOP Challenger — “The Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D) used a Feb. 28 meeting of the Arlington County Republican Committee to introduce himself to the county’s GOP rank-and-file. ‘I look forward to the campaign,’ said Thomas Oh… an Army veteran and currently a contractor in Falls Church.” [InsideNova]

Marymount Joins New Conference — Marymount University in Arlington and five other schools have formed the new Atlantic East Conference within NCAA Division III. [Marymount University, Twitter]

County Seeking Budget Feedback — Arlington County is seeking feedback on its proposed budget. The online survey asks residents to weigh in on various priorities, including county employee raises, economic development, Metro funding, school funding, infrastructure investment and affordable housing. [SurveyMonkey]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rainbow over Wakefield High School (Photo via @WLHSIBProgram)

New Traffic Pattern on Route 1 — There’s a new traffic pattern for the lefthand turn from southbound Route 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) to 23rd Street S. in Crystal City. The change was necessitated by operations of the new Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway. [Facebook]

Aurora Hills Library Eyed As School Site — The current Aurora Hills library and senior center is being looked at by Arlington Public Schools as a possible site for a new elementary school. Meanwhile, even though nearby Oakridge Elementary is over capacity, Superintendent Patrick Murphy says there’s actually a more pressing need for additional elementary capacity in north Arlington due to population growth around the Rosslyn-Ballston and Lee Highway corridors. [InsideNova]

Australian Company Says G’Day to Ballston — The Australian investment firm QIC has taken a 49 percent stake in Ballston Quarter, the soon-to-be-renovated shopping center currently known as Ballston Common Mall. The majority of the mall is still owned by Cleveland-based Forest City. [Washington Business Journal, Crain’s Cleveland Business]

Local Named New Jersey Cherry Blossom Princess — The 2016 New Jersey Cherry Blossom Princess is a 24-year-old Hoboken native who now lives in the D.C. area and works at Rosslyn-based CEB. [Hudson Reporter]

CEB Acquires Portland Firm — Rosslyn-based CEB is getting bigger. The company is acquiring Portland, Oregon-based Evanta Ventures for $275 million. CEB will be moving into a new namesake CEB Tower in Rosslyn after construction wraps up in 2018. [StreetInsider]

Arlington’s Top Bond Rating Affirmed — Arlington County has once again earned the highest bond rating from the three major rating agencies. “The County works hard to maintain these AAA ratings to finance critical County infrastructure projects with bonds that carry the lowest interest rates available,” said County Manager Mark Schwartz. [Arlington County]

Photo via @WLHSIBProgram

Morning Poll: Fighting Crowds to See Cherry Blossoms?

By ARLnow.com

Cherry blossoms in Arlington 2015 (Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber)

Peak cherry blossom season begins soon, bringing hordes of admirers to the Tidal Basin.

Are you planning on fighting the crowds to see the District’s most famous grouping of trees, are you happy to see fewer trees elsewhere?

Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A woman and her dog at last week's Pups and Pilsners event in Crystal City (Flickr pool photo by Rob Cannon)

Cherry Trees Planted at Library — As part of its Neighborhood Tree Planting Program, the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Japan-America Society of Washington planted three cherry trees in front of Arlington Central Library yesterday. The program “is an effort to celebrate and share the gift of cherry blossom trees throughout the DC-metro region… and helps create new National Cherry Blossom Festival traditions beyond the Tidal Basin,” festival organizers said in a statement. [Facebook]

Whole Foods Deli, Chicken Counter Stay Closed — The main grocery store and much of the prepared foods sections at the Clarendon Whole Foods (2700 Wilson Blvd) are open following Tuesday’s fire, but county officials say the market deli and chicken counter will stay closed until the health inspector approves its reopening.

County to Consider Privatizing Volunteer Agency — Changes may be coming to Volunteer Arlington, the county’s volunteer agency. Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan is establishing a new advisory task force “to look into whether Arlington’s volunteer office is the right business model to meet community needs.” The task force will consider whether outsourcing Volunteer Arlington “would enhance volunteer activity in the community.” [Arlington County]

Restaurant Exceeds Kickstarter Goal — SER, the winner of Ballston’s Restaurant Challenge, has exceeded its $15,000 Kickstarter goal. The Spanish comfort food restaurant, coming to 1110 N. Glebe Road in Ballston, has so far raised $17,145. It also received a $245,000 interest-free loan as the prize for winning the Restaurant Challenge. [Kickstarter]

Arlington GOP Blasts Olympic Bid — Arlington Republicans do not share Democratic officials’ enthusiasm for the regional bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. “It’s not a great idea,” said local GOP chairman Matt Wavro, citing costs and security concerns. [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by Rob Cannon

Arlington’s Cherry Blossoms Beginning to Bloom

By Ethan Rothstein
1/6

(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) It’s cherry blossom season in the D.C. area, and the more than 1,000 trees that call Arlington home are beginning to bloom.

The most famous of the local cherry trees, those along the Tidal Basin in D.C., will be in peak bloom next week, from April 8-12, according to the National Park Service. Although spring officially began on March 20, the cherry blossoms blooming in places like Clarendon and Pentagon City are one of nature’s better indicators that warm weather is here to stay.

Arlington plants between 25 and 35 flowering cherry blossom trees each year, county Landscape and Forestry Supervisor Jamie Bartalon told ARLnow.com. The trees planted in Arlington include the Yoshino, Okame and Kwanzan varieties. The Yoshino cherry blossom is the primary species in the Tidal Basin in D.C. that attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Bartalon said most of the recent tree plantings are Okame trees, which are the pink flowering trees pictured above. The Yoshino trees are the plants with white flowers.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Dedicated cyclists riding in the snow (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Walter Reed Drive Water Main Break — Drivers should expect traffic impacts and slippery conditions when driving on Walter Reed Drive in the area of S. Pollard Street, between S. Glebe Road and Four Mile Run Drive. The water from a 16-inch water main break has frozen and the southbound lanes of Walter Reed Drive are reportedly blocked. [Twitter]

School Board Candidates Critical of Budget Proposal — The three candidates running for the Democratic endorsement in the Arlington School Board race have qualms with Superintendent Patrick Murphy’s proposed $539.4 million budget. Specifically, the candidates were concerned about Murphy’s proposed cuts to diploma programs for students over the age of 22. [Sun Gazette]

Opower Prepares for IPO — Courthouse-based energy efficiency tech firm Opower is preparing for a $100 million Initial Public Offering. The company, which has been losing millions every year as it focuses on growth, will go public under the New York Stock Exchange OPWR. [InTheCapital]

Registration Open for Phoenix Derby — Registration is now open for the inaugural Phoenix Derby. The urban cyclocross bicycle race will be held on May 17 in a Crystal City parking garage. The event will benefit local bike education nonprofit Phoenix Bikes, which is in the process of raising funds for construction of a new headquarters along the W&OD Trail. [Crystal City]

Peak Bloom Date Predicted — The National Park Service revealed its cherry blossom peak bloom prediction yesterday. The famous blossoms are expected to be at their peak from April 8-12. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Arlington Restaurants to Offer Cherry-Themed Menu Items

By ARLnow.com

Cherry Picks dish (photo via RAMW)A number of Arlington restaurants will be offering special menus in honor of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which starts today and runs through April 14.

From now until the end of the festival, five participating Arlington restaurants will “serve creative spring and Festival-inspired entrées, appetizers, desserts, cocktails, or multi-course menus.” Last year, no Arlington restaurants participated.

The special offerings are part of the festival’s Cherry Picks program, now in its 11th year.

The participating restaurants are:

  • American Tap Room Clarendon (3101 Wilson Blvd)
  • Amuse at Le Meridien (1121 19th Street N)
  • Epic Smokehouse (1330 S Fair St)
  • Morton’s The Steakhouse – Arlington (1750 Crystal Drive)
  • Sushi Rock (1900 Clarendon Blvd)

Photo via National Cherry Blossom Festival