A new restaurant called “Wilson Tavern” is coming to 2403 Wilson Boulevard in Courthouse, according to a state liquor license application filed earlier this week.

That’s news to Danny McFadden, owner of Kitty O’Shea’s, which is the current occupant of 2403 Wilson Boulevard.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” a befuddled McFadden said when reached by phone this afternoon. McFadden said his lease is up in 2015 and he has no plans to leave. The pub was named D.C.’s Best Irish Bar last year by the Washington City Paper.

The application for Wilson Tavern was filed by a company called 2403 Wilson Blvd LLC. According to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the registered agent for the company is Raymond Schupp, the building’s landlord. Schupp’s development company lists the building in its list of commercial properties.

So far, Schupp has not responded to requests for comment. McFadden says he’s worried that Kitty O’Shea’s may be getting the boot.

“I’ve gone through crap [with the landlord] for three years,” he said. “He’s got a track record of rolling over small guys.”

“I’ve got to call my attorney,” McFadden said, before ending the brief conversation.


Another witness has come forward with additional details about the accident involving the Patrick Murray for Congress campaign bus in Old Town Alexandria. At the same time, however, the woman whose Jeep was sideswiped by the bus says she’s ready to move on.

Barbara Reeder, the Jeep’s owner, says she’s very happy with the way the Murray campaign handled the incident in the hours after our story was published.

“Patrick Murray’s office was just delightful to work with,” the New Jersey resident said, in an unsolicited phone call to ARLnow.com. “I thought they were very responsive.”

“I would hate to see this be a political issue,” she said.

Meanwhile, another witness has shed more light on what happened immediately after the accident, which Alexandria Police say they’re investigating as a possible hit and run.

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(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) The back of Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray’s campaign bus swiped a Jeep in Old Town Alexandria last night and drove off without leaving a note, a witness and the Jeep’s owner tell ARLnow.com.

The Murray campaign says the driver left a note. Alexandria Police say they’re investigating the accident as a hit and run, but also say that someone on the bus left a note.

The alleged incident happened while the bus was trying to turn from King Street onto Union Street around 7:00 last night, witness Jennifer Watkins said in a phone interview this morning. Watkins said the back of the bus loudly scraped against the side of the Jeep, briefly lifting it in the air.

Watkins estimated that about 30 people were within earshot of the accident. The bus was adorned with campaign signs, she said, and a Murray for Congress SUV preceded the bus down King Street with a megaphone blaring.

Watkins said the SUV later doubled back to inspect the damage, but left without anyone getting out of the vehicle. Afterward, Watkins and another witness left notes on the car to tell the owner what happened.

“To blatantly drive away with all these witnesses watching… we were in disbelief,” Watkins said. “We tried to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe they didn’t know that they did that, but when the guy came back around we were like… this is ridiculous.”

The Jeep’s owner, Barbara Reeder, says the campaign has not contacted her yet. She’s hoping to get the bus’s insurance information so she can get her car repaired.

“This is not a political issue,” Reeder said. “The only thing that concerns me is that it was a hit and run… I just want to make sure my car gets fixed.”

The incident is being investigated as a property damage hit and run, says Alexandria Police spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt. She said that someone on the bus left a note. She was unable to say whether a traffic citation was or will be issued to the bus driver.

“We’ll handle it the same way” as any other accident involving a bus, Hildebrandt said.

In response to an ARLnow.com inquiry, a Murray campaign spokesperson disputes witness accounts that the bus driver did not leave a note on the Jeep. The campaign issued the following statement:

Tuesday night there may have been contact between the campaign bus we have contracted and a vehicle in Old Town Alexandria.

My preliminary information is the bus driver stopped, looked for damage and in the dark, apparently found none. Nonetheless, he left a message on the windshield of the impacted car.

Very late last night I was contacted by the Alexandria police investigating the incident. As the campaign was not the leasing agent, I had no information and informed the police we would inform the driver today that the police would like to talk to him today. We expect the situation will be fully resolved today.

There were no injuries and no hit and run. The bus is fully insured and any damages will be covered by the bus owner.

With just six days to go until the election, the accident is an unwelcome distraction for the Murray campaign. Murray was just beginning to enjoy some media traction thanks to controversial comments made by his Democratic opponent, Rep. Jim Moran.


(Updated on 9/30) Citing “serious” violations of occupational safety laws, Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry has slapped Massachusetts-based College Pro Painters with a $14,875 fine for a near-fatal electrical accident in Ashton Heights on June 16.

A painter in his mid-20’s nearly died after the ladder he was using touched 19,900 volt power lines at a home on North Highland Street. The employee was burned and knocked back nearly 9 feet by the electrical shock. He was without a pulse when paramedics arrived on the scene, but was resuscitated and eventually transported to the MedStar burn unit in DC.

At the time, College Pro Painters president Rodney Larmand told ARLnow.com that the company was “deeply concerned” and was “investigating the circumstances” that led to the accident.

According to a citation obtained by ARLnow.com under the Freedom of Information Act, state safety inspectors determined that the company “failed to ensure employees did not perform any work” that would cause ladders or other equipment “to be placed within 10 feet of any overhead high voltage line.”

The company also failed to work with the power company to make temporary safety arrangements before the work was performed, and “did not ensure first aid supplies were easily accessible,” according to state inspectors.

The company has the right to contest the citation, which was issued earlier this month. Larmand declined to comment on the fine, citing a scheduled meeting with state occupational safety officials on Wednesday.

He did, however, point out that College Pro Painters has a safety record that is “significantly better than industry standard.

“Our safety program is excellent and we plan to continue our current program with improvements and updates for 2011 that will take into consideration our learning from this unfortunate incident,” Larmand said.


An employee with Metro’s Track and Structures/Systems Maintenance Department was arrested by Metro Transit Police at the Pentagon City Metro station Thursday night, a Metro spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.com this morning.

“MTPD officers on patrol at the station observed a man who appeared to be unsteady on his feet around 5:15 p.m,” Metro spokesperson Ron Holzer said in an statement. “The man began to run as the officers approached. He then struggled with the officers when they apprehended him… He was charged with being drunk in public and impeding an officer with force (assault).”

The employee was off-duty at the time of his arrest, according to Holzer. He was in his uniform but “his shift had ended many hours before his arrest.”

The man was pepper sprayed during the struggle with police. At that point Arlington paramedics were called to evaluate him. After he was evaluated, officers could be seen pulling an empty glass bottle from the employee’s back pocket.

The man, who has not been identified, has been working for Metro since December 2006, Holzer said.

He could be overheard yelling as police officers surrounded him on a public sidewalk near the Pentagon Centre shopping center.

“I’ve been arrested so many times it’s hilarious,” he said at one point.


The Committee for a Better Arlington is firing back at a memo released by the County Attorney’s office yesterday. The memo concluded that the change-of-government plan promoted by the committee would be “a step backwards for the County.”

The committee just issued a strongly-worded statement (below) and pointed us to a memo from Ron Carlee, the previous county manager, which talks about the limitations of the County Manager Plan of government currently in place in Arlington.

Here’s the full statement:

It is disappointing that taxpayer dollars spent on the County Attorney’s salary were used for the overtly political memo disguised as a legal opinion on this ballot initiative.

The Committee for a Better Arlington was established in order to improve the current form of government in Arlington County so that it is more accountable and responsive to its citizens. It was established to improve the transparency between elected officials and Arlingtonians. More importantly, it was established to curtail the power an unelected bureaucrat has over the services and citizens of Arlington.

Prior to embarking on this initiative, the Committee for a Better Arlington deliberately reviewed the various forms of government provided for in the Virginia Code. The Committee felt the County Board form of government was the least disruptive yet responsive form of government that would remedy the faults in the current system – mainly communication and transparency with the County Board.

To date, thousands of Arlington registered voters have signed the petition expressing the same desire to improve Arlington County. This is not simply a matter pushed by Arlington’s police and fire unions to increase their pay.

If the County Attorney believes those who are pushing this change are naive then he believes the thousands of Arlington voters we meet each weekend at grocery stores, metro stops and farmers’ markets are also naive. Perhaps these voters will be equally naive come November and vote to improve the current system – one that places political expediency over better government practices.