Courthouse

Road Closures to Avoid This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

A number of road closures will play havoc with traffic in Arlington this weekend.

The Four Courts Four Miler kicks off at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Police will shut down Wilson Blvd from Courthouse Road to North Rhodes Street from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Wilson Blvd from North Rhodes Street to Route 110 in Rosslyn will be closed at 8:45 a.m. Northbound Route 110 from Rosslyn to Route 1 in Crystal City will be shut down from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Click here for a map.

Cars parked along the route will be ticketed and towed. Race participants are urged to use Metro. The Courthouse station is a short distance from the starting line.

Chain Bridge will be completely closed to traffic and pedestrians all weekend. That is, unless the predicted rain prevents reconstruction work on the bridge deck from taking place, which is a distinct possibility. If work goes on as scheduled, expect Chain Bridge to remain closed from Friday night to early Monday morning.

“Motorists are advised to use alternate routes and river crossings including the American Legion, Key, Roosevelt, Memorial and 14th Street Bridges,” VDOT said of the Chain Bridge closure, in a statement.

Finally, the ongoing Humpback Bridge replacement project will result in lane closures during the day on Saturday. One lane of the George Washington Parkway from Memorial Bridge to I-395 will be closed in each direction from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

President Obama Speaks in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

President Obama spoke at OPOWER, a small energy efficiency business based in Courthouse, just before noon today.

A helicopter hovered overhead as roads around Courthouse were shut down for the president’s motorcade.

The president spoke for ten minutes about clean energy jobs. He also addressed new unemployment figures that revealed the loss of an additional 36,000 jobs in February.

“Even though it’s better than expected, it’s more than we should tolerate,” Mister Obama said of the job losses.

The president also took a tour of the OPOWER offices, greeting employees and cracking jokes. From the White House Pool Report:

Obama took a tour of the smallish office, stopping by each row of 12 two-computer rows to talk to employees, asking what they did. He joked a lot about the youth of the workforce. “Is there anybody over 30 who works here?” Obama asked, prompting laughs.

Here’s some background on OPOWER, which the president praised as “a model of what we want to be seeing all across the country.” The information is provided by the company.

OPOWER is a 75-person Smart Grid and Energy Efficiency software company that partners with utilities to help people use less energy by giving them better information.

OPOWER delivers its services to two million households and works with six of the ten largest utilities in the country and twenty-five utilities overall.

OPOWER is projected to save existing customers more than $250 million over the next three years. If the OPOWER model were deployed nationwide, it would save enough energy to power 3 million homes.

OPOWER grew from 30-60 people in 2009, and expects to add 100 new people in 2010.

The Administration’s focus and commitment on the creation of a clean energy economy – including the Recovery Act – has directly and indirectly supported OPOWER’s growth.

OPOWER’s corporate headquarters is located at 1515 N. Courthouse Road.

A transcript of the president’s speech, after the jump.

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Snow Photos From Last Night

By ARLnow.com

There was a festive atmosphere among those hardy or crazy enough to brave the elements in Courthouse and Clarendon last night. There were people making snow angels in the middle of Wilson Boulevard, people sledding down N. 13th Street, a mother and her young son making a snowman outside an office building at 1:00 AM, and, of course, lots of random shouting and general revelry in the streets.

A number of the popular bars that stayed open, including Whitlow’s and Four Courts, were packed with people. Those leaving the bars seemed especially susceptible to the allure of starting snowball fights.

All of this partying was set against a stunningly beautiful backdrop. With snow largely undisturbed in the side streets, urban-dwellers got a rare chance to marvel at a winter wonderland uninterrupted by stretches of slushy asphalt.

The wet snow clung to tree branches to a degree that the powdery snow of December’s Snowpocalypse could not match. There seemed to be a museum-worthy photo around every corner. After the jump are some of those scenes from last night.

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