contest

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Cycling Through Arlington National Cemetery — The one-month closure of the Wright gate to Fort Myer will affect some cyclists who travel through Arlington National Cemetery. One blogger argues that the closure should be used as an opportunity to expand cycling privileges in the cemetery. [Greater Greater Washington]

Yorktown High Students Advance to National History Bowl — Not one but two Yorktown High School teams are advancing to the National History Bowl Championship after finishing third and fourth in the Virginia competition. A total of eight Yorktown students will compete at the championship in the District next month. [Arlington Public Schools]

Car-Free Diet Skeptics Found — Arlington County found five individuals who were skeptical about ditching their car for 30 days, but who were willing to try it anyhow. In the end, only two Skeptics will be chosen; the public will be able to vote for their favorite through the end of the month. Disclosure: Arlington County Commuter Services is an advertiser. [Car-Free Diet Skeptics]

Flickr pool photo by Rukasu1

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Businesses Compete for Green Games — More than 120 property owners and office tenants have signed up for Arlington County’s inaugural Green Games competition. The Games challenge local businesses to cut energy and water consumption over the course of a year for a shot at awards and recognition. [Arlington Green Games]

Lyon Hall Beer Dinner Reviewed — Lyon Hall in Clarendon held its first beer dinner last week. The French-inspired brasserie paired Belgian-style brews with artfully-prepared small plates for a group of lucky beer enthusiasts. Another beer dinner is planned for April 8. [We Love DC]

Spa Replaces Book Store in Shirlington — A spa is coming to the space formerly occupied by Books-A-Million in Shirlington Village. [Shirlington Village Blog]

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Winner of County Vehicle Decal Contest Announced

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has a winner in its 2011-2012 vehicle decal contest.

Out of the four design finalists, Wakefield High School student Maya Giacobbe was named the winner for her design, “Hume, Sweet Hume.”

Giacobbe said she chose to design a decal featuring Arlington’s Hume School — the present-day home of the Arlington Historical Society — because “it was one of the first schools in Arlington.”

“I see it every day,” she added.

Nearly 2,700 votes were cast online and by mail between Jan. 12 and Feb. 13. Giacobbe’s design received 906 votes, a plurality.

The tradition of choosing the design via contest open to Arlington high school students began in 2005. Arlington has required some form of a vehicle license or decal since 1949.

The winning design was announced at this afternoon’s county board meeting. Each finalist will receive a $500 savings bond from Wachovia. The winning design, meanwhile, will appear on more than 155,000 vehicles.

“Vincent van Gogh, in his lifetime, did not achieve such an honor,” noted Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Water Woes Continue in Ft. Myer Heights — Some Ft. Myer Heights residents were without water last night as crews worked to repair a persistent water main leak. Workers installed some temporary piping as they worked deep below the surface to repair the leak. [Ode Street Tribune]

Libraries Will Offer Self-Checkout — As part of a host of changes set to take place next week, Arlington Public Libraries will now be offering self-checkout at its Aurora Hills, Cherrydale, Columbia Pike and Glencarlyn branches. [Library Blog]

Artisphere Restaurant Name Contest Begins — Do you have a creative idea for the name of the new restaurant in Artisphere? If so, submit it online for a chance to win prizes. The arts center is letting the public decide the name of the restaurant, which is tentatively expected to open next month. [Artisphere / Washington Post]

Artisphere Appears on TLC Reality Show — The task of creating large, elaborate balloon sculptures (WARNING: link contains NSFW material) for the opening of Artisphere in October was the subject of an episode of the TLC reality series ‘The Unpoppables,’ which aired Monday night. [TLC]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Artisphere to Be Named in Contest — Artisphere is holding a contest to name its new restaurant. Anybody with a creative idea will be able to submit it through an online form next week. The winner will receive a private dinner for eight and VIP entrance to an Artisphere event. [TBD]

Columbia Pike Electronics Store May Be Forced to Move — The long-time owner of a small electronics store is trying to decide what to do if he gets the boot from his landlord. Venus Stereos & TV occupies a prime storefront at the corner of the Pike and Walter Reed Drive, next to Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse. Should the store move, many residents are hoping that a cafe takes its place. [Pike Wire]

Scholarships Offered to Aspiring Teachers — Graduating high school seniors planning a career in education can apply for $2,000 scholarships from the Arlington County Scholarship Fund for Teachers. The organization has been awarding scholarships since 1955.

Announcing the Winner of Our Alternative Vehicle Decal Contest

By ARLnow.com

After a week of voting, we’re proud to announce a winner in our first annual Alternative Vehicle Decal Contest.

The winner, with just over a 33 percent of the vote, is the “Parking Ticket Instructions” decal by “Planet Moron.” The “Brown Flip Flops” design is our runner-up, with 28 percent of the vote.

More than 750 people voted in the contest, which pitted five user-submitted parking decal designs against one another. The winner will now receive the high honor and distinction of being known as Arlington’s finest alternative parking decal designer.

(Reminder: This contest was not sanctioned by Arlington County or any other governmental body.)

Vote: Alternative Decal Contest

By ARLnow.com

Last week we announced our first annual Alternative Vehicle Decal contest, to compete with the actual Arlington County vehicle decal contest. We’ve completed the difficult task of narrowing the excellent submissions down to five finalists, and now it’s time to vote.

We’ll keep voting open for a week, and will announce the winner shortly thereafter. The grand prize is the satisfaction of knowing that Arlington picked you as its best alternative vehicle decal designer.

Good luck to all the finalists!



(Just to be clear, this contest is not sanctioned by Arlington County or any other governmental body.)

ARLnow.com Alternative Vehicle Decal Contest

By ARLnow.com

Every year, Arlington holds a competition for high school students to design the next county vehicle decal. Voting is currently underway for the 2011-2012 decal contest, with four perfectly adequate designs to choose from.

But what it you’re not a high school student? Why can’t you be in the running for the contest?

Well, that’s where we come in. Today we’re launching our first annual Alternative Vehicle Decal Contest.

So fire up Photoshop and design the most breathtaking or humorous decal you can come up with. Next week we’ll pick a few of our favorites and let everybody vote on them. The winner will receive the high honor of being named the best alternative decal designer in Arlington.

Use the blank decal here as a template, then use our new image upload feature in the comments to display your masterpiece for all to see. Good luck!

(Just to be clear, this contest is not sanctioned by Arlington County or any other governmental body.)

Voting Begins for Vehicle Decal Design Contest

By ARLnow.com

It’s that time of year, again.

Voting has just begun for the county’s 2011-2012 vehicle decal design competition.

Arlington residents will be able to vote for one of four designs selected for the competition. Each design was created by an Arlington high school student.

Voting will take place online between now and Feb. 13. The winner will be announced at February’s county board meeting.

Last year’s winning design showcased a snow-covered bridge over the W&OD Trail. This year, the design finalists include another snowy photo, a photo of the historic Hume School, a photo of the large clock near Courthouse Plaza, and an illustration featuring a bike path and the Rosslyn skyline.

Reminder: Taco Eating Contest Tonight at District Taco

By ARLnow.com

District Taco (5723 Lee Highway) will be holding a taco eating contest starting at 6:00 tonight.

Ten contestants will compete to see who can eat the most tacos, without vomiting, in 15 minutes. They will have to consume four different varieties of tacos, in the following rotating order: breakfast taco, pollo asado, carnitas, carne asada.

According to District Taco’s contest web page, the winner of the contest will receive a number of prizes and honors, including free tacos and apparel.

Their picture will be taken and placed on the Wall of Fame with much fanfare and celebration. The champion and runner-ups will also receive District Taco awards such as t-shirts, hats, stickers and best of all–free tacos.

History will shine upon the grand taco-eating champions of District Taco!

Editor’s Note: If any photographers are going to be in attendance, we would love to use a couple of your photos tomorrow (with credit, of course). Send them to arlingtonnews [at] gmail.com as soon as possible.

Congratulations to Our Arlington Holiday Poem Contest Winner

By ARLnow.com

It was hard to pick just one winner for our Arlington holiday poem contest, but in the end we went with an entry that tackled one of the most controversial issues in Arlington in 2010: towing.

Our winner, Rich, came up with a humorous and topical take on a towing story we reported on earlier this month, setting it to the tune of a classic Christmas song.

Sung to Oh Holy Night

Oh towing guy!
I found the perfect spot,
It is the night I need to drop off a package!
Though I may sin and error by parking here
I’ll only be a minute.
A thrill to know that I only blocked a few cars
For yonder breaks to beat the towin’.

I fall on my knees
Oh to see you lay the hook
Oh why are you towing my car
Oh night 3 days before Christ was born
Oh bye my car
Oh ATM here I come

Rich wins a two tickets to Synetic Theater’s performance of The Nutcracker in Crystal City.

Thank you to all the wordsmiths and songwriters who entertained us with their contest entries. Happy holidays!

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