Fort Myer

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Building in Ballston by Airpolonia

Another Military Daycare Worker Accused of Abuse — Another Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall daycare worker has been accused of abuse, just three months after another daycare abuse scandal broke at the base. This time, a daycare worker is accused of hitting a three-year-old child with a seat cushion. [WJLA]

Crystal City Plan Wins National Award — The Crystal City Sector Plan has won the American Planning Association’s 2013 National Planning Achievement Award for Innovation in Economic Planning and Development. “This ambitious, creative plan is already beginning to make Crystal City an even better place to live, work and play, and to help Arlington meet the serious challenges posed by BRAC,” said Arlington County Board Chair Walter Tejada, in a statement. [Arlington County]

Wine Walk This Weekend — Crystal City will host its annual “1K Wine Walk” this weekend. All but one “heat” on Saturday is sold out, but tickets are still available for most time slots on Sunday. The “1K Beer Walk” will take place two weekends from now. Disclosure: Event organizer Washington Wine Academy is an ARLnow.com advertiser. [Washington Wine Academy]

Seeking ‘Women of Vision’ Nominees — Arlington County’s Commission on the Status of Women is seeking nominations for the 2013 Women of Vision Awards. “The awards are given to individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to women’s issues, and have, over time, developed and communicated their vision for women and engaged community members and other leaders in order to realize this vision,” the county said on its website. [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Airpolonia

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

"Wonderland" by Damiec

Ft. Myer Daycare Investigation Widens — What started as allegations of assault against two workers at a daycare center on Ft. Myer has widened into a worldwide probe of military child care hiring practices. At least 31 daycare staffers at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall have been suspended after investigators found “disqualifying factors in their records, including history of drug use and past allegations of assault.” One official called it “a severe lapse in the background checks system.” [Washington Post]

DoD Relaxes Security Standards for Some Buildings — A loosening of the Department of Defense’s security standards for commercial office buildings may make it easier for the DoD to lease office space in Arlington (and elsewhere). Earlier this month, the Pentagon reversed a policy put in place in response to 9/11 that required that leased office space meet stringent anti-terrorism security standards, even for administrative offices within the DoD. [Washington Business Journal]

Marymount Seeking to Redevelop Ballston Property — Marymount University is pushing ahead with a plan to redevelop its 50-year-old “Blue Goose” building at the corner of N. Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive in Ballston. The university has proposed replacing the aging building with an office building and an apartment building. [Sun Gazette]

Science Focus Teacher Wins Recognition — “Arlington Science Focus School Principal Mary Begley was named Administrator of the Year by the Greater Washington Reading Council at its annual conference in Fairfax” on Wednesday, says a school press release. [Arlington Public Schools]

Flickr pool photo by Damiec

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

November is Here — Today is the first day of November. Thanksgiving is three weeks away and Christmas is just under eight weeks away.

Daycare Workers At Fort Myer Accused of Abuse — Three childcare workers at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall have been charged with assault after Army investigators, using surveillance cameras, observed them hitting, pushing and pinching young children, according to court documents. [WJLA]

Dems Set Fundraising Record — The Arlington County Democratic Committee has set a new fundraising record. ACDC raised more than $38,000 through its “Dollars for Democrats” campaign, compared to last year’s record haul of $21,258. [Sun Gazette]

Absentee Voting May Set Record — Arlington election officials are predicting a record number of absentee ballots cast in advance of the Nov. 6 general election. [Arlington Connection]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Mental Evaluation for Fire Bomb Suspect — Lawyers for Leon Traille, Jr., the man accused of trying to fire bomb the Ballston Common Mall food court last week, have asked the federal judge in the case to grant a mental health evaluation. Traille is charged with arson and faces 5 to 20 years in prison if convicted. [Washington Post]

Disturbance at Arlington Screening of ‘Hating Breitbart’ — A liberal activist is accused of disrupting the Friday night showing of the documentary Hating Breitbart at the Regal theater at Ballston Common Mall. Moviegoers say the activist, Ryan Clayton, shouted at the screen and laughed loudly at inappropriate times during the film about the late conservative media icon. [The Hollywood Reporter]

D.C. Sniper’s Ex-Wife Talks at Ft. Myer — Mildred T. Muhammad, the ex-wife of executed D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad, spoke earlier this month at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Muhammad, who was abused by her ex-husband, was the guest speaker at the base’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month observance. [U.S. Army]

New ‘Car Free Diet’ Video — Arlington County Commuter Services has commissioned a new series of videos for its ‘Car Free Diet’ campaign. The theme of the videos is “What’s Your One?” — and they make the case for walking, biking or taking public transit instead of driving. The videos will play on Arlington TV, the county’s cable channel, and prior to movie previews a the Regal Ballston Common and the AMC Loews Shirlington theaters. Disclosure: ACCS is an ARLnow.com advertiser. [YouTube]

Flickr pool photo by ddimick

Expect to Hear ‘Big Voice’ During Earthquake Drill Tomorrow

By ARLnow.com

Expect to hear some strange sounds coming from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall tomorrow (Thursday).

The base will be participating in the Great SouthEast ShakeOut, a regional earthquake drill that’s to take place at 10:18 a.m. In addition to asking those on the base to “drop, cover and hold on,” JBM-HH will be testing its “Big Voice” public address system, which may be heard outside the base.

From a press release:

The ShakeOut is a regional earthquake drill in which participants simultaneously practice the recommended action during an earthquake. This action is known as “Drop, Cover, and Hold On”, which means to:

  • DROP to the ground
  • Take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table
  • HOLD-ON to it until the shaking stops

In support of the great shakeout earthquake operation JBM-HH will conduct a test of the giant voice public address system. The test will be conducted on both the Fort McNair and Fort Myer/Henderson Hall portion of JBM-HH at 11 a.m. Residents on and immediately outside the installation can expect to hear the test.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Colonial Invasion Comes to Ft. Myer — The annual spirit night for George Washington University basketball is coming to Ft. Myer’s Conmy Hall tonight. The event, which is usually held on the GW campus, will start at 8:00 p.m. It’s being held at Ft. Myer as a tribute to the military, and to celebrate GW’s basketball history — the team played at Conmy Hall from 1956 to 1975. GW students will be bused to the event from the school’s Foggy Bottom campus. [Colonial Hoops]

Late Night Shuttle Service Eyes Arlington — The DC Hopper, a nightlife shuttle service for bar-goers, is thinking about coming to Arlington. The service just launched in Bethesda, taking passengers from Bethesda to Georgetown to Dupont Circle and back in 30-passenger minibuses outfitted with TVs and free Red Bull energy drinks. Rides cost between $24 and $10. The owners say they would eventually like to expand the service to include Arlington, U Street NW, and H Street NE. [BethesdaNow]

Convert Quincy Park to Central Park? — Greater Greater Washington contributor Peter Harnik, director of the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land, has an idea for Arlington’s Quincy Park. He said the park, located adjacent to Arlington Central Library, should be converted to “a great central park” with trees, a pond, a bridge, landscaping, curving baths and “not a single chain-link fence.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Flickr pool photo by Alex

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Civic Federation Endorses All Bonds — The Arlington County Civic Federation has voted to endorse all four bonds on the Nov. 6 ballot. The Civic Federation voted by a narrow 26-22 margin to support the $50.5 million parks and recreation bond, which includes more than $40 million for a new aquatics center at Long Brige Park. [Sun Gazette]

Boxing Match Coming to Ft. Myer — A boxing match will be held at the Smith Gymnasium on Joint Base Myer/Henderson Hall on Saturday. The match will feature a number of local boxers, including heavyweight Duane Mobley and lightweight Terron “The Kid” Grant. Tickets are $30 and doors open at 6:00 p.m. [Boxing Along the Beltway, JBMHH]

Library Sets New Summer Reading Record — Arlington Public Library’s summer reading program set another participation record this year. According to the library, 7,415 kids registered for the program and some 30,000 books throughout the course of the summer.

Confederate ‘Gray Ghost’ Lived in Arlington — In a bit of local Civil War lore, columnist Charlie Clark and Arlington historian Kathryn Holt Springston recount how the legendary Confederate raider John S. Mosby lived in Arlington later in life. [Falls Church News-Press]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Police, Military Performing Training Exercises

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) A couple of training exercises will be taking place in Arlington today and tomorrow.

An Arlington County Police Department training exercise has been ongoing since 6:00 a.m. in the 3900 block of N. 26th Street. Explosive Ordnance Disposal units will join the SWAT team for the joint training exercise. It will continue until about 3:00 p.m. today and isn’t expected to cause much disruption to residents.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), neighbors around Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBM-HH) might hear some noise during a “force protection” exercise from 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. There will be real and simulated training responses for personnel there, including lockdowns and gate closures. There may also be sirens, blank cannon fire and simulated emergency announcements on the outdoor speaker system.

A number of first responder units, including police and firefighters, will be on base for the training. Residents should not be alarmed at seeing this large emergency presence, or any of the personnel who may be wearing makeup to simulate wounds.

More information will be provided as necessary on the JBM-HH Facebook page and Twitter site.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Krupicka Wins Dem Caucus — Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka has won the Democratic caucus for the 45th District House of Delegrates seat, which represents some parts of South Arlington. Krupicka defeated opponent Karen Gautney by a caucus vote of 1,540 to 891. He will now face Republican Tim McGhee in the Nov. 6 general election. [Patch]

County Gets New Coach Bus for Seniors — The Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation has invested in a new 41-seat coach-style bus. The bus will be used for the department’s travel programs for adults 55 and over. [Sun Gazette]

History of the Twilight Tattoo — There are just 4 Twilight Tattoo performances left this summer at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. An article about the history of the military tradition notes that its origins date back more than 300 years. The next Twilight Tattoo will take place Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. [U.S. Army]

Photo via @Rosy1280

Expect to Hear Booms from 50-Gun Salute on July 4

By ARLnow.com

The Army will be ringing in the nation’s Independence Day with a 50-gun salute from Fort Myer.

Public affairs personnel from the military base are advising Arlington residents who live in the area that they might hear cannon fire around noon tomorrow (July 4) as a result of the annual ceremony.

Please be advised that there will be a 50-gun salute to the nation at the stroke of 12 noon, Wednesday, July 4 at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Whipple Field by Soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Presidential Salute Battery.

According to Army regulation, “in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence, a salute to the Union (50 guns) will be fired at 1200 hours on Independence Day at all Army installations provided with the necessary equipment for firing salutes.” In 1810, the “National Salute” was defined by the War Department as equal to the number of states in the Union. Today the Presidential Salute Battery fires 50 rounds at noon on Independence Day to celebrate the nation’s history. This 4th of July, the Presidential Salute Battery will fire the 75mm blank ceremonial shell with 1.5 pounds of powder. The salute takes about four minutes total, so arrive early to view this celebration of America.

The platoon is equipped with 10 M5, 75mm antitank cannons mounted on M6 howitzer carriages. Each gun weighs 5,775 pounds

Portions of several roads on the base — including Marshall Drive, Grant Avenue, and Washington Avenue — will be blocked off during the salute.

Twilight Tattoo Performance Relocated Due to Rain

By ARLnow.com

Due to the chance of rain showers and thunderstorms this evening, tonight’s Twilight Tattoo performance at Ft. Myer has been moved to an indoor venue.

From the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall public affairs office:

Due to impending inclement weather tonight’s Twilight Tattoo will no longer take place on Summerall Field. It is now scheduled to be inside Conmy Hall on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Unfortunately Conmy Hall only seats approximately 1,000 patrons and admission will be granted on a first-requested, first-seated basis. The U.S. Army Military District of Washington Public Affairs Office will contact groups that have requested admission to inform them of their status. We apologize for the inconvenience.

For more information call 202-685-2888.

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