East Falls Church

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View across the Key Bridge into D.C.

It’s the First Day of Spring — At 7:02 this morning, astronomical winter ended and spring officially began. Spring also means longer days. Currently, we’re gaining about two and a half minutes of daylight per day. [Capital Weather Gang]

EFC Has Fullest Metro Parking Lot — East Falls Church has the fullest parking lot in the Metro system, with a 120 percent usage rate. Demand for the lot is only expected to increase when the Silver Line opens. [Washington Examiner]

Playground Coming to Long Bridge Park — The Arlington County Board yesterday approved $186,000 in funding for a new playground at Long Bridge Park, near Crystal City. [Sun Gazette]

La Tagliatella to Open in Shirlington — La Tagliatella, which is starting to wrap up work on its new restaurant in Clarendon, will be opening a second Arlington restaurant in the former Extra Virgin space in Shirlington. La Tagliatella is a global, European-based Italian restaurant chain. The Arlington restaurants will be the company’s third and fourth locations in the U.S. [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Board Approves Neighborhood Projects — As expected, the County Board yesterday approved $2.5 million in funding for five Neighborhood Conservation projects. The funds will come from bonds approved by Arlington voters. [Arlington County]

New Cafe Coming to East Falls Church

By ARLnow.com

2121 N. Westmoreland StreetA new cafe is coming to the East Falls Church neighborhood.

Little City Gourmet, described as a “cafe and store,” plans to open at 2121 N. Westmoreland Street on April 15. The cafe plans to have about 16 seats inside and four outdoor seats, according to interior design sketches. It’s also applying for a license to serve beer and wine.

Located on the ground floor of an apartment building, Little City Gourmet is within walking distance of the East Falls Church Metro station and the W&OD Trail, on the same block as One More Page Books.

The cafe is helmed by Rachelle Slotnick, the owner and executive chef of Northwest Fresh Catering in Falls Church. Attempts to reach Slotnick for comment were unsuccessful.

Photo via Google Maps

Police: Man Rams Garage Door in Theft Attempt

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police car (file photo)A Reston man’s plan to steal a car from a repair shop was foiled by the shop’s garage door, according to Arlington County Police.

Police say Kyle David Stefanye, 20, was attempting to steal a car from a repair shop — likely the Don Pool Mercedes-Benz repair shop — on the 6900 block of Lee Highway in East Falls Church. He allegedly managed to turn the car on, but his escape plan hit a snag: he tried, unsuccessfully, to ram the garage door, according to police.

Police later arrived and arrested Stefanye inside the shop. From the crime report:

BURGLARY, 02/07/13, 6900 block of N. Lee Highway. At 1:42 am on February 7, police responded to a report of a burglary in progress. The subject was inside the garage of a repair shop and was attempting to steal a car. After turning the car on, the subject attempted to drive through the bay door by ramming it. When police entered the building, they were able to take the suspect into custody. Kyle David Stefanye, 20, of Reston, VA was arrested and charged with burglary and attempted grand larceny of an auto. He is currently being held without bond.

Board Expected to Approve Tuckahoe Park Contract

By Katie Pyzyk

Plans for Tuckahoe Park

At its meeting on Saturday (January 26), the County Board is expected to approve the award of a contract for the reconstruction of a playground at Tuckahoe Park (2400 N. Sycamore Street).

County staff recommends awarding the $666,650 contract to Jeffrey Stack, Inc. There would also be more than $66,000 approved for change orders, for a total contract authorization of more than $733,000.

The county received only two bids for the work but both came in above what had been budgeted for the project. County staff negotiated with the lowest bidder, Jeffrey Stack, Inc., to reduce the total cost.

The East Falls Church park was last renovated in 1994, and the Arlington East Falls Church Civic Association has been working with the county since late 2010 on revitalization plans.

Improvements include an accessible entrance, new play equipment, accessible paths, site furnishings, synthetic turf safety surfacing, site drainage, bio-retention gardens and plantings.

Power Outage in NW Arlington County

By ARLnow.com

Update at 10:00 a.m. — According to Dominion, the number of customers without power in Arlington is down to 258.

A power outage is affecting the northwestern section of Arlington County this morning.

Dominion is reporting that 1,673 customers in Arlington are currently without power. The company’s power outage map says the outage is a result of a circuit problem, and estimates that power will be restored between 10:00 a.m. and noon.

Impacted neighborhoods reportedly include Dominion Hills, Madison Manor and East Falls Church. Among the intersections where traffic lights are dark are Wilson Boulevard and Patrick Henry Drive, and Wilson Boulevard and N. McKinley Road.

Men Accused of Assaulting Party Bus Driver

By ARLnow.com

Update on 4/2/13 — Charges against the suspects have been dropped, court records show.

Police arrested two Arlington men on Saturday and charged them with assaulting the driver of a party bus.

According to police, the incident happened around 9:20 p.m. after the party bus — also called a “keg bus” — had returned to the East Falls Church Metro station from the West Virginia University/James Madison University football game at FedEx Field in Maryland. The bus had been “trashed,” according to police, and the driver demanded extra payment for cleaning and for the extra hour and a half the bus had been in use over the original scheduled time.

At that point, police say, three intoxicated suspects on the bus started punching and kicking the driver. The suspects then fled the scene, leaving the individual who used his credit card to pay for the bus behind, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The bus driver suffered a busted lip, swollen eye and bruises, Sternbeck said, but did not require hospitalization.

Eventually, police caught up with two of the suspects. Matthew —- and Cory —-, both 23-year-old Arlington residents, were arrested and charged with assault by mob. Both were held without bond. So far, police have not been able to locate the third suspect.

Sternbeck did not know whether the bus passengers were WVU or JMU fans.

Tri360 Opening Soon in East Falls Church

By ARLnow.com

A new store specializing in outfitting those who compete in triathlons is expected to open soon in East Falls Church.

Tri360 is located at 2121 N. Westmoreland Street, just off of the W&OD Trail. The store is built, stocked and ready for customers, but it’s awaiting its Certificate of Occupancy from Arlington County before it can open, according to the Tri360 Facebook page.

Tri360 will sell athletic apparel, accessories and shoes, and will also feature a “full-service” bike store — everything a triathlete needs to swim, cycle and run.

The store’s owners are hoping to be open by the end of the month.

Photo via Facebook

UPDATED: D.C. Shooting Suspect’s Car Might Be in EFC Parking Lot

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:00 p.m.) The suspect in a shooting at the Family Research Council in D.C. might have parked at the East Falls Church Metro station, ARLnow.com has learned.

FBI agents and Metro Police officers blocked off part of the parking lot at the East Falls Church Metro station with crime tape this afternoon. When we photographed the scene, investigators were still in the process of obtaining a warrant to search a car in the parking lot that they believe belongs to the shooting suspect, according to FBI Washington Field Office spokeswoman Rebecca Callahan. Later, news footage showed a silver Dodge Neon being searched and photographed.

The shooting happened around 10:45 this morning at the Family Research Council building at 801 G Street NW, in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood. A guard was shot in the arm while confronting a gunman in the building’s lobby, according to various news reports. The gunman was arrested, placed in FBI custody, and charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

In a statement, the FBI has identified the suspect as Floyd Lee Corkins II, 28, of Herndon, Va.

The Family Research Council is a conservative Christian lobbying organization that opposes gay rights, abortion, pornography and stem cell research.

Photos by Katie Pyzyk

 

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

More on Possible Shirlington Walmart — Three months after ARLnow.com reported exclusively that Walmart was eying a site for a possible store in Shirlington, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman is acknowledging that the county is aware of Walmart’s interest in Shirlington. This weekend the County Board is expected to discuss changing the zoning ordinance in order to prevent “big box” stores like Walmart from being constructed without Board approval. When the ordinance change was first advertised, the word “Walmart” was never mentioned. [WTOP]

Fire Station Open Houses This Weekend — Arlington’s 10 fire stations will each be conducting an open house between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The kid-friendly event is organized as part of Fire Prevention Week 2011. [Arlington County]

Turnaround at AWLA — There’s a turnaround underway at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, which had been criticized for its relatively high euthanasia rate for dogs and cats. The shelter’s euthanasia rate during fiscal year 2011 was down 60 percent compared to the year before. The “positive outcome” rate for sheltered dogs rose to 91 percent from 80 percent one year prior. [Sun Gazette]

F.C., Arlington Police Investigate Burglaries — Arlington and Falls Church police are investigating a series of ten residential burglaries since the beginning of fall. The burglaries have occurred in the City of Falls Church and in Arlington’s East Falls Church neighborhood. Stolen items include laptops, iPods, guns, passports, bank checks and jewelry. [Falls Church News-Press]

Deer Struck on I-66 Ramp Left Dead in EFC Yard

By ARLnow.com

This morning, just before 8:30, a small deer was struck by a vehicle on a ramp from Sycamore Street to I-66, in East Falls Church. The gravely injured deer apparently stumbled down to the corner of Sycamore Street and 19th Street, where it collapsed and died in a grassy yard next to the southbound Sycamore Street sidewalk.

Three and a half hours later, the deer is still there and visible to passersby.

Arlington Police, called to the scene after the deer was struck, left shortly after confirming the deer was dead and placing a call to the county’s animal control contractor. But we hear that the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, which performs animal control and sheltering services to the county under a contract worth more than $1.2 million as of FY 2010, has told police that it may take a while to pick up the deer since there’s only one animal control officer working today.

ARLnow.com has been told in the past that animal control is often short-staffed in Arlington. A message on the League’s answering machine said its main offices were closed today.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

HOT Lanes Lawsuit Bill Reaches $2 Million — The county emerged victorious in February when VDOT abandoned its plan to build High Occupancy Toll lanes on I-395. But the legal battle has proven costly. The lawsuit Arlington filed against the project has cost county taxpayers nearly $2 million. [Sun Gazette]

East Falls Church Dissent Goes Both Ways — Sometimes it can be hard to please everybody in Arlington. Charlie Clark reports that there were three different camps at Saturday’s County Board meeting with respect to the board’s vote on the East Falls Church development plan. One group wanted more development than was called for, another vocal group wanted less development, and the people who drafted the plan thought it struck a good balance. [Falls Church News-Press]

Spout Run Bald Eagle Killed –Remember the nesting bald eagles we reported on two months ago? Some jerk shot and ultimately killed the mother eagle with an arrow, according to Patch. (Scroll to the end of the article)

Editor’s Note: Patch has retracted part of the above article. (See comments)

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