contest

Voting Underway for 2015-2016 Vehicle Decal Competition

By ARLnow.com
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Voting began this morning in the contest that will determine the design of Arlington’s 2015-2016 vehicle decal.

The winning decal will appear on more than 160,000 windshields next year.

The decals were designed by Arlington high school students. The four finalists above — entitled “Hats of Our Heroes,” “A Nod to History,” “Barcroft Community House” and “A Day at the Farmers’ Market” — were chosen from 113 student entries.

The student behind the winning entry will receive $750 from John Marshall Bank. The other three finalists will receive $500.

Arlington residents can vote for their favorite on the county website. Voting closes at midnight on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015.

Police Swear In ‘Chief-for-the-Day’ Contest Winner

By Morgan Fecto
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A 9-year-old boy wearing an Arlington County Police Department t-shirt may not seem like a symbol of authority. But for today, he is.

This morning Police Chief M. Douglas Scott swore in Patrick Omberg, the winner of the inaugural “Chief-for-the-Day” essay competition.

“Today is National Night Out, so Patrick you’re going to work until about 10:00 or 11:00 tonight,” Scott joked during his speech at the ceremony.

Outside the police department in Courthouse, 9-year-old Patrick Omberg took an honorary police oath, read an excerpt of his winning essay and received a commemorative plaque before standing for pictures with police and his parents.

On July 8, the Arlington County Police Department announced the contest, which they plan to hold every year from now on. ACPD asked for essay submissions from children, ages 8 to 12, that answered the question: “What does it mean to be a police officer?”

“Based on his essay, it was a pretty easy selection for us,” ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said. “Even at 9 years old, he seemed to have a good understanding of the police and for our role in the community.”

Omberg said that he wrote about how “the police keep people safe” in his essay, and although he doesn’t know if he wants to be a police officer, he was having fun as an honorary chief. He didn’t have to wrangle drunken pub-crawlers or chase down criminals, but Omberg did get a glimpse at the inner workings of the police department.

“We wanted to show him what life in the Arlington County Police Department could be like,” Sternbeck said. “We want to build positive relationships in the community. It’s been a great experience for us just as much as [it has been] for him.”

Before the ceremony, police picked up Omberg from his house in a patrol car and guided him on a tour of the police station, where they took his fingerprints and introduced him to their K-9 unit.

“My favorite part was seeing the dogs,” Omberg said.

“Do you remember what his name was?” Omberg’s father, Peter, asked his son.

“Drogo,” Omberg said, although the rising fourth-grader didn’t seem to get the “Game Of Thrones” reference in the name.

To cap off his day, Omberg would look at the station’s booking department with the sheriffs and have lunch with Scott, Sternbeck said.

“I can use all the help I can get,” Scott said at the ceremony. “So having someone like you help me [for today], is very much appreciated.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

50 gun salute ready at Arlington National Cemetery (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Tips for Staying Cool — The temperature today and tomorrow (Tuesday) is expected to reach the mid-to-upper 90s. To help beat the heat, Arlington County has a list of “hot weather tips for staying cool,” including tips and resources for people and pets. [Arlington County]

Arlington Man Found Dead in D.C. — Arlington resident Michael Hrizuk, 57, was found dead on the ground near Wisconsin Avenue NW in the Glover Park neighborhood last month. The Metropolitan Police Department has not yet determined the manner and cause of Hrizuk’s death and is continuing to investigate the incident. [WUSA 9]

Arlington Hailed as ‘Suburb of the Future’ — Arlington has been transformed from a “sleepy suburb” into a “mid-size city” but has managed to reduce the volume of traffic on main streets, according to an article entitled “The Suburb of the Future is Here.” Says Brookings Institution fellow Christopher Leinberger: “Arlington is the most important suburban place in the country… If you don’t understand Arlington, you don’t understand the future of the country.” [Salon]

O.A.R. to Play Clarendon Ballroom — Rock band O.A.R., which hails from Rockville but has enjoyed national success, will play a private acoustic show at the Clarendon Ballroom on July 17. Tickets to the performance are only available via an ongoing, on-air contest on radio stations 94.7 Fresh FM and 106.7 The Fan. The band recently released its eighth studio album, The Rockville LP. [94.7 Fresh FM]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Police Sponsoring HS, MS T-Shirt Design Contest

By Ethan Rothstein

2014 ACPD T-shirt Design Contest flyerThe Arlington Police Beneficiary Association is asking Arlington middle- and high-schoolers to design a T-shirt for Police Week in May.

Students are asked to submit designs for the theme “Honoring the Fallen By Remembering Their Sacrifice,” by Friday, April 4 at 3:00 p.m. Designs are asked to be drawn in marker — with no more than four colors — on a sheet of letter paper. The winning designs will be printed for shirts during Police Week, May 11-17.

The grand prize for the contest is $100 gift card, a press release with the winner’s name and school in it and a free T-shirt with the winning design. Each school’s School Resource Officer will be collecting the submissions, which will be printed on the back of black and/or blue shirts.

Moran Launches Student App-Building Competition

By Ethan Rothstein

An iPhoneA new congressional initiative will allow Arlington high school students to build apps and enter them in a national competition.

Rep. Jim Moran’s (D-Va.) district, which covers Arlington, Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County, is eligible to compete in the first House Student App Challenge. The contest was created to allow high school students to engage in Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and innovation by creating a software application for any platform.

The competition is open to the districts whose Representatives decide to participate, and Moran says the 8th District of Virginia is suited to excel.

“Northern Virginia parents, teachers, and administrators have made enormous investments in challenging and reinforcing the STEM abilities of our students,” said the congressman. “Because of this tremendous exposure, our children are uniquely qualified for this competition.”

Students 13 and older must register and submit a YouTube or Vimeo video demonstration of their app by April 30. The winner will have the video displayed on House.gov and will receive a certificate of excellence.

Apps will be judged on the quality of the idea, programming skill and implementation. Individuals or teams of up to four students can compete. Moran’s website has a list of developer tools and resources for students and teachers interested in competing.

“The U.S. is facing a shortage of 1 million STEM graduates in the next 10 years, a decade that is estimated to create 8.5 million STEM job opportunities,” Moran’s office wrote in a press release. “The House Student App Challenge seeks to address this challenge by encouraging students to create their own app and pursue an education in STEM fields.”

‘Crystal Fountain’ Is Arlington’s New Vehicle Decal

By ARLnow.com

"Crystal Fountain" decal finalistArlington County has selected its 2014-2015 vehicle decal.

“Crystal Fountain” was the top vote-getter in the annual decal contest, which is decided by votes from residents — 1,409 votes this year, to be precise. The decal was designed by Wakefield High School senior Mobin Fateh. It depicts a scene in the Crystal City Water Park on Crystal Drive.

The decal will grace the windshields of about 160,000 vehicles in Arlington starting this summer.

“I took this picture of Arlington because I like the colors reflected in the fountain,” Fateh said. “The different colors also represent the diversity in Arlington. I’m grateful to be living in such a beautiful and diverse community as Arlington.”

Five finalists were chosen for the contest this year, from a pool of 50 entries. A panel of Arlington residents helped narrow them down. The four decal finalists who didn’t make the final cut were:

  • Mark Love, 9th Grader at Yorktown High School, with his design “Education is a Virtue”
  • Isabel George, 12th Grader at Wakefield High School, with her design “Arlington’s Namesake”
  • Lena Mobin, a 12th Grader at Wakefield High School, with her design “Arlington’s Bright Lights”
  • Gabrielle Young, an 11th Grader at Washington-Lee HS, with her design “Netherlands Carillon”

“This was quite a task for our Citizens’ Panel,” said Chief Deputy Treasurer Carla de la Pava. “There were so many great entries that we ended up with five finalists instead of four.”

Decal Contest Finalists Announced

By Katie Pyzyk
1/5

The finalists have been chosen for Arlington’s annual Decal Design Competition and residents will have the chance to choose a favorite later this week.

The contest is open to all Arlington high school students and a citizens’ panel typically narrows down the entries to four finalists. This year, however, five finalists were named because the voting resulted in a tie.

The winning 2014-2015 decal will be announced at a County Board meeting early next year and will be affixed to about 160,000 car windshields beginning next summer.

Each student included a description of his or her design. Excerpts from each are below:

  • Education is a Virtue — “I think my photograph of the Arlington Education Center and the Planetarium represent Arlington’s important focus on students and education.”
  • Netherlands Carrillon — “To me, Arlington represents community and pride. I wanted to depict something in my photo that brings both to mind for me.”
  • Arlington’s Namesake — “The Arlington House and Arlington National Cemetary together help to show the abudance of history that Arlington County has.”
  • Crystal Fountain — “The different colors also represent the diversity in Arlington. I’m grateful to be living in such beautiful and diverse community as Arlington.”
  • Arlington Landmark — “To me, it’s light symbolizes Arlington’s dreams and opportunities. My years in Arlington have showed me that I can grow into whoever I want to be.”

The Arlington County Treasurer’s Office is still updating its website with the decals and the unedited descriptions each student wrote. Residents will be able to vote for their favorite starting on Thursday and running through January 19.

New ART Bus Design Unveiled

By Katie Pyzyk

Winning design of ARTists for PAL contest Annemarie Dougherty wins ARTists for PAL contest

An ART bus will be more colorful for the next year, thanks to the winner of the ARTists for PAL Bus Design Contest.

County Board Chair Walter Tejada and County Manager Barbara Donnellan joined in a ceremony on Thursday for the unveiling of the winning bus wrap. They recognized Annemarie Dougherty, who will be an 8th grader at St. Agnes Catholic School in the fall, for her winning design.

Dougherty offered the following description of her design:

“My picture on the bus incorporates the ‘Be a PAL’ theme because the cars, bikes and people are sharing the space and are aware of the street signs. This shows that it is equally important for pedestrians, bikers and drivers to watch out for each other and their surroundings. In addition the street is green reminding people to walk or bike more.”

The contest asked middle and high school students to submit designs in line with the theme “Share Our Streets — Be a PAL.” The 26 entries were narrowed down to three finalists and Arlington residents were able to vote online for their favorite.

The newly wrapped bus will be on display at the Arlington County Fair this weekend. After that, it will take to the streets and will remain decorated for about one year.

All of the other contest entries are on display inside the bus.

Residents to Vote on ART Bus Design

By ARLnow.com

Arlington residents are being asked to pick the winner of a student design contest.

The “ARTists for PAL Bus Design Contest” challenged Arlington middle and high school students to create a design to be wrapped around an ART bus later this year. The theme of the design is based around Arlington’s “Share Our Streets — Be a PAL” pedestrian and driving safety initiative.

Three finalists (below) were chosen from the 26 entries received by the county. Residents can vote for their favorite online. Voting ends on July 4 and the winner will be announced later this summer.

The winning design will adorn one ART bus for “about a year.”

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Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

McDonald's morning light (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Gourmet Deli Coming to Ballston — Taylor Gourmet, a Philadelphia-inspired hoagie shop, will be opening its first Arlington location. The self-proclaimed “gourmet deli” will be the first business to move in at the Liberty Center South development (4000 Wilson Blvd). Taylor Gourmet has eight other locations in the metro area. [Washington Business Journal]

Fisette Takes Water Bottle Crusade to Civic Association — County Board member Jay Fisette continued his personal crusade to discourage water bottle use during a presentation at the Arlington County Civic Federation meeting. His new goal is to get 10,000 people, or about five percent of the county’s population, to join him in backing the cause. So far, only about 250 people have signed the online pledge to use tap water instead of bottled water. [Sun Gazette]

Arlingtonian Wins Caption Contest — An Arlington resident won this week’s popular The New Yorker Cartoon Caption contest. The magazine staff narrows down the contest entries and readers vote for their favorite. David Karlsruher won the honor of having his witty line seen by readers around the world. [The New Yorker]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Roosevelt Island by J.D. Moore

Wardian Wins Endurance Races — Prolific ultra-marathoner and Arlington resident Michael Wardian won the North Face Endurance Challenge D.C. 50 mile race on Saturday, with a time of 6:45:36. Wardian then woke up on Sunday and placed second in the 10K endurance challenge and won the 5K endurance challenge. [North Face]

Arlingtonian Wins Post Hunt — Arlington resident Sean Memon, 35, won the sixth annual Post Hunt over the weekend. Whereas teams of “hunters” usually compete in the life-sized puzzle game, Memon, an attorney, “was the first individual to win a hunt, either in Washington or in South Florida, where the event originated.” [Washington Post]

Anti-Gang Soccer Tourney in Arlington — The Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force will hold its 5th annual regional soccer tournament at Washington-Lee high school on June 22. The tournament is open to 100 at-risk youth between the ages of 12 and 16. [Arlington County]

How to Get a Job in Healthcare — A panel presentation at Arlington Central Library on Wednesday will discuss “opportunities, needs and challenges in the health and medical career fields with a special focus on Northern Virginia.” The event is targeted to job seekers. “While we like to think that ALL Library events are memorable, this one probably could change a few lives, judging from the job markets,” said library spokesman Peter Golkin. [Arlington Public Library]

Flickr pool photo by J.D. Moore

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