Joyful Spirit Gifts in Cherrydale Joyful Spirit Gifts in Cherrydale

A new “Catholic gift store” is getting ready to move into Cherrydale next month.

Joyful Spirit Gifts is a new business owned by Meg Miller Rydzewski, a parishioner at Saint Agnes Catholic Church, and it says on its website that it plans to open its brick-and-mortar and online store Sept. 1. The shop is located at 3315 Lee Highway, in the Lee Centre strip mall.

On its Facebook page, it describes itself as a “religious book store and gift shop.” Its slogan, posted on the Facebook page and in its window, is “Faith, Home, Sacraments, Holidays.” The store posted an ad on Craigslist seeking part-time employees to staff the shop, and this morning construction workers could be seen entering and exiting the storefront.

Rydzewski is a published novelist who says on her website she has been a stay-at-home mom in Arlington after a career as a “Wall Street equity analyst and portfolio manager.”


Temporary detour sign in Rosslyn

Pentagon Row Concert Series Starts Tonight — The summer concert series at Pentagon Row starts tonight with Philadelphia-based cover band Kristen and the Noise. The concerts are held every Thursday night from 7:00-9:00 p.m., through Aug. 21. [Pentagon Row]

District Taco Coming to Bethesda — Local, Arlington-based Mexican restaurant chain District Taco plans to open a location in Bethesda in 2016. The Bethesda location is expected to be District Taco’s first in Maryland. [Bethesda Now]

New Homes Coming to Cherrydale — Four new high-end homes are coming to the 4100 block of 18th Street N. in the Cherrydale neighborhood. The list price of the houses, built by Tradition Homes, is around $1.8 million. They’re expected to be ready for move-in by the spring of 2015. [Patch]


Morning Stroll (Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick)

Flood Watch for D.C. Area — Arlington and the D.C. area is under a flood watch from noon today through later tonight. Another round of showers and thunderstorm with areas of heavy rain is expected today. [National Weather Service]

Bishop Attends School’s Last Mass — Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde attended the final school mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church last week. He “spoke to the palpable presence of both sadness and hope.” The school is closing due to low enrollment. The church’s pastor, meanwhile, is being transferred to another church against his will. [Arlington Catholic Herald]

Micah Edmond Profiled — Micah Edmond, the Republican candidate for congress who will be facing off against Democrat Don Beyer in November, says there is a “realistic way” for him to win the race. Edmond, who is African-American, Jewish, a small business owner and a Marine Corps veteran, says he’ll be “reaching out to communities that are often ignored and listening to their cares and concerns and offering solutions.” [InsideNova*]

Arlington Resident Faces Another Murder Trial — Christopher Deedy, a State Department Special Agent from Arlington who’s accused of murder in the 2011 shooting death of a man in Hawaii, is about to face trial again. Deedy’s trial last year ended in a mistrial. [Associated Press]

Discover Cherrydale Photos — Cherrydale residents came out for an inaugural community event called Discover Cherrydale. Photos have been posted from the event, which was held May 31. [Comcast.net]

* Editor’s Note: This website employs popup ads and, during our visit today, autoplay video ads with audio turned on by default and no option for turning it off. For a better user experience, we have linked to a site that displays the article as plain text.

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick


Discover Cherrydale logo(Updated at 7:10 p.m.) Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood — along Lee Highway from I-66 to N. Quincy Street — is throwing a celebration this weekend to celebrate its businesses and the undergrounding of the utility lines in the area.

This Saturday, from noon to 5:00 p.m., businesses along the corridor will open their doors for “Discover Cherrydale,” featuring — among other things — scavenger hunts, talks and readings with local authors and there will be tours of Cherrydale Fire Station. There will also be an unveiling of a Capital Bikeshare station, a fencing demonstration from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. and live music throughout.

The empty storefront at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Lincoln Street will be open to the public to observe displays from local artists — it’s also where the book talks will be held — and there will be a community Zumba class from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Cherrydale (photo via Google Maps)The whole day will be kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the heart of Cherrydale to celebrate the undergrounding of utility lines.

“This is the 14-year project to underground utilities along Lee Highway in Cherrydale,” Cherrydale Civic Association President Maureen Ross told ARLnow.com in an email. “It was a constant construction mess. Now it’s done.”

Among the artists performing will be early/traditional musician Tina Chancey, a violinist and guitar duo from the Maywood neighborhood named Kitchen Gorilla and Cherrydale resident Ken Sick. The event will be going on rain or shine, and free and open to the public

Photo (top) courtesy Discover Cherrydale. Photo (bottom) via Google Maps


Arlington County’s ambulance bus — typically used for mass casualty situations — was utilized this afternoon to transport a patient who reportedly weighed more than 600 pounds.

The ambulance bus and two additional ambulance crews were dispatched to the Cherrydale Health & Rehabilitation Center (3710 Lee Highway) to help take the man to the hospital around 3:15 p.m.

The man was suffering from an elevated temperature and a chronic infection, according to fire department radio traffic.


A dryer fire early this morning has caused Cherrydale eateries Billy’s Cheesesteaks and Pasha Cafe to close indefinitely.

The fire was called in to dispatch at 2:18 a.m., according to Arlington County Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani, who said she couldn’t specify how long it took the firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The fire originated from a dryer in the back of Billy’s Cheesesteaks (3907 Lee Highway), according to Marchegiani, and fire marshals estimate it did approximately $10,000 worth of damage to the restaurant. Pasha Cafe, which is just next door and has the same owner, suffered some smoke damage. The buildings were unoccupied and no one was injured in the fire.

A manager at Pasha told ARLnow.com that Pasha should reopen “very soon,” but admitted he didn’t know how long it would Billy’s Cheesesteaks to reopen. Billy’s had been cleared of most of the debris but soot still covers the walls and many surfaces.


A boat fell off its trailer on Lee Highway in Cherrydale Saturday evening, requiring a 40-ton crane and several hours to remove it from the roadway.

The boat belongs to Tom McNulty, a Yorktown resident who took his 16-foot Bayliner power boat out on the Potomac to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather on Saturday. Driving back on Lee Highway, McNulty said he hit a big bump in front of the Dunkin Donuts at 3520 Lee Highway.

“We weren’t going fast, maybe 27 or 30 mph,” McNulty told ARLnow.com today. “We hit the bump and the trailer doesn’t have any suspension. We felt it slide, slowed down, and that’s when it drifted into the right lane and hit a street light.”

McNulty said multiple safety chains and other securing mechanisms snapped, allowing the boat to come completely off the trailer. Once it hit the pavement, it slid down the road “about 100 feet,” McNulty said, leaving fiberglass residue all over the pavement.

The incident happened around 4:45 p.m. McNulty said it took about three hours for the crane — which was called in after a flatbed tow truck operator took one look at the boat and realized he could not tow it — to finally lift it and take it to a yard, where it now sits awaiting an insurance claims adjuster.

“My brother was the one who called it in, and the 911 dispatcher thought we said a bird in a road,” McNulty said. “I’m sure dispatch thought some idiot called in a bird in the road, so when they sent a squad car they realized what was actually happening.”

McNulty said there’s only superficial damage to the boat, but said this isn’t the first time he’s had problems keeping his boat out of harm’s way.

“A tree fell on my first boat,” he said. “During the derecho storm last year. This massive tree just came right down on it. I’m getting my pilot’s license next year so I hope I have better luck with planes.”


Power lines on Lee Highway near N. Quincy StreetAll 12 of the civic associations along Lee Highway in Arlington are forming a partnership to try to shape the future development along the corridor.

With the stated goal of “a more economically vibrant, walkable, attractive Lee Highway corridor — one that benefits neighborhoods and the business community,” representatives from the civic associations have already met with the Arlington County Planning Commission for guidance, according to representatives of the Waverly Hills Civic Association.

Along with Waverly Hills, East Falls Church, John M. Langston, Glebewood, Yorktown, Leeway Overlee, Old Dominion, Donaldson Run, Cherrydale, Maywood, and Lyon Village have also joined what the group is calling the “Lee Highway Grassroots Re-visioning.”

Waverly Hills Civic Association President Ginger Brown says the group hasn’t discussed specifics on what the future Lee Highway should look like, calling these first months since the group formed in February “the educational phase,” which includes meetings with the county’s planning staff.

Among the issues the group will be examining and presenting to staff and, they hope, the County Board, will be land use planning and zoning, housing, transportation and parking, demographic trends, tax increment financing and transferable development rights.

“It is anticipated that the new vision will be sent — in early 2015 — to the Arlington County Manager’s office with a request that the County Board appoint and fund a Task Force,” Brown wrote in an email. “Its purpose would be to formally develop a Lee Highway Sector Plan that guides future rezoning and development applications.”


Restoration Anglican Church in Cherrydale began demolition on its 150-seat church this morning, clearing the way for a new church building in the same spot.

Rubble already covers the church’s grounds at 1815 N. Quincy Street, as construction crews quickly tore down the small, brick building. Temporary church services will now be held at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays at Little Falls Presbyterian Church at 6025 N. Little Falls Road.

When Restoration Anglican Church congregation formed in January 2009, with less than 100 members of its congregation, it rented space for services from Trinity Baptist Church at the Quincy Street location. When Trinity disbanded in 2010, Restoration bought the building and has called it home ever since.

The building permit for Restoration’s new church was issued Aug. 12, and construction crews wasted no time in getting started. The congregation raised more than $2.4 million toward the design and construction of the building, according to Restoration’s website.

The new building will house a 375-person sanctuary, classrooms and will have a front porch for post-service gatherings. Whereas the old church was “quaint” and centered on the property with grass surrounding it, Parish Administrator Kat Vinson said the new one will be almost to the limits of the property.

“It was exciting to watch [the demolition begin] this morning,” Vinson said.

The construction of the new church is projected to take 8-12 months, Vinson said. Restoration hopes this building will last its congregation, which is about 500 strong, for years to come.


Break-in at Dunkin' Donuts in Courthouse Break-in at Dunkin' Donuts in Courthouse

Two Arlington Dunkin’ Donuts stores were broken into overnight.

The Courthouse and Cherrydale Dunkin’ Donuts locations, on the 2200 block of Wilson Blvd and the 3500 block of Lee Highway, were closed this morning while police investigated the crime.

According to Arlington County Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, two suspects forced entry to the restaurants via the front door, then broke into the cash register and took cash. The store safe was tampered with, but was not opened, Sternbeck said.

Police are currently reviewing surveillance footage as part of the investigation.

Hat tip to Bill Everingham


An SUV overturned as a result of a collision at the intersection of N. Randolph and 21st Streets Wednesday morning.

Neither the driver of the SUV nor the driver of the white sedan with which it collided were injured in the crash, which occurred around 9:00 a.m. The SUV ended up on its roof on N. Randolph Street, but traffic on the small, residential street was able to drive around the damaged cars.

The driver of the SUV — which was heading uphill at the time of the wreck — said he didn’t see the stop sign at the intersection, which is partly obscured by a power line pole.

“The next thing I knew it was airborne,” he told ARLnow.com. “I have no idea how it flipped.”

The driver was able to exit the overturned vehicle via the passenger-side door.

Residents of the Cherrydale neighborhood came to the scene after the wreck, and one witness who saw the crash said she had sent complaints to the county about the stop sign before. A similar accident happened in the same place nine months ago, the woman, who asked not to be identified, said.

“They’ve got to fix the stop sign,” she said. “This is not a safe corner.”


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