ghost

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Creek and trees near Rosslyn

Board Holds Pike Transit Station Meeting — Updated at 10:45 a.m. — More than three-and-a-half years after it was first revealed by ARLnow.com that a prototype bus stop on Columbia Pike cost more than $1 million, the discussion of less expensive bus stop alternatives continues. The County Board last night held a work session with staff to discuss the current status of Pike transit station planning, ultimately voting to approve the County Manager’s design recommendations. [Arlington County]

APS High School Boundary Refinements — The next step in what promises to be a contentious process of adjusting Arlington’s high school boundaries will take place tomorrow. A community meeting is planned at the Washington-Lee High School cafeteria starting at 7 p.m. Thursday. [Arlington Public Schools]

Cemetery Bike Ban Starts Today — Starting today, only loved ones visiting a grave or niche will be allowed to ride a bike in Arlington National Cemetery. That nixes a commuter route through the cemetery that some cyclists used to avoid busy roads elsewhere in the county. [ARLnow]

Clement Attacks Pay Raise Proposal — Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey’s pay raise suggestion is opening her up to attacks from challenger Audrey Clement. “The problem is [the] County Board doesn’t do much work, unless you consider rubber-stamping done deals ‘work,'” Clement told supporters via email. Clement also is criticizing a plan to add an extra high-occupancy lane to I-395 and, in response to local noise complaints, calling on NASA to develop quieter helicopters. [InsideNova, Audrey Clement]

Stalled Cab Company May Retain Permits — Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz is recommending the County Board give All Access Taxi, which specializes in providing wheelchair-accessible transportation, two more years to get its service off the ground. Currently, the company has only one cab — and 49 unused permits. [Washington Post]

Local Ghost Stories — ‘Our Man in Arlington’ columnist Charlie Clark has received recent reports of ghostly encounters from “reliable sources” at several local places: at Arlington Hall, along George Mason Drive; at the Overlee swim club and a nearby home; and at an 18th century home in McLean that was torn down last month. [Falls Church News-Press]

Pamplona May Open in December — Pamplona, a new Spanish restaurant in the former SoBe space in Clarendon, is hoping to open “by the end of the year.” James Martin, a 29-year-old rising culinary star, will be the restaurant’s executive chef. He hopes Pamplona will win the kind of critical acclaim that can “put Clarendon on the map.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Lyft Parks Ecto-1 at Clarendon Metro to Promo New ‘Ghostbusters’

By Tim Regan
1/3

A familiar red and white converted hearse/ambulance stopped at the Clarendon Metro station earlier this afternoon.

Ride-hailing service Lyft parked the Ghostbusters’ ride of choice, Ecto-1, outside the Metro station just after 12:30 p.m. today. The driver, clad in the drab Ghostbusters jumpsuit, posed for photos with passersby.

The vehicle was there to promote a partnership between Lyft and the new “Ghostbusters” film called “ghost mode,” a feature slated to run later this week where riders can hail an original Ecto-1 or a replica.

“We have one Ecto-1 on the road and we will have four other vehicles that will be replicated to look much like this,” said Lyft’s Morgan Gunter. “There will be some fun giveaways such as Twinkies and Hi-C. It’s a fun promotion around the opening of Ghostbusters.”

Riders can use “ghost mode” across the D.C. and Arlington area this Friday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Additional reporting and photos by Jackie Friedman

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Tax Deadline Today — The deadline for paying your Arlington real estate taxes is today, Friday, June 15. Payments not postmarked by that date will be considered late.

More on the Overlee Ghost — The Washington Post’s Dan Zak takes an in-depth look at ghost stories at the Overlee Community Association pool. ARLnow.com first reported in March that construction workers at the property had spotted what was thought to be the ghost of Margaret Febrey, a girl who lived on the property and died in 1913. [Washington Post]

George Allen Gets Endorsement in Arlington — Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen was endorsed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising GOP star, at Company Flowers (2107 N. Pollard Street) in Cherrydale yesterday morning. After a press conference, Allen and Rubio both purchased flowers at the store. [Patch]

Woman Killed on Trail Had Fled Nazis — The 80-year-old woman who died after being struck by a cyclist on the Four Mile Run Trail was out for a morning walk at the time of the incident. The woman, Ita Lapina, emigrated to the United States from Russia 15 years ago, family members said. As a child, her family had fled to Siberia to escape the Nazis during World War II. [Washington Post]

Lawnmower Racing Film To Be Shown at Artomatic — An 82-minute documentary on the sport of lawn mower racing will be shown at Artomatic this weekend. The film — On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW! — will be screened at Artomatic’s “Carl Cordell Film Theater” from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 17. The documentary also examines how lawn mower racing benefits the battle against Huntington’s Disease. Artomatic is taking place at 1851 S. Bell Street in Crystal City through June 23. [Artomatic]

Workers Report Ghost Sightings at Overlee

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Something eerie is going on at the Overlee property, and it has nothing to do with logistics of the pool renovation project. Workers report seeing an extra person lingering at the construction site — a ghost.

The news isn’t entirely surprising to those who know the history of Overlee. The Victorian clubhouse, which was recently torn down, had been built in the 1890s and came to be known as the Febrey-Kincheloe House. Ernest Febrey built the house and later it was inhabited by the Kincheloe family. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Kincheloe turned the house into Crestwood Sanitarium, a home for elderly Washington dignitaries.

But the ghost isn’t believed to be one of the sanitarium inhabitants. Mike Maleski, who is on the Overlee Board of Directors, said that for decades people have reported seeing a girl in Victorian clothing. Researchers think the girl is Margaret Febrey who died in January 1913, and was said to be 14 years old. A family member reported that the Febrey family stopped using the house after Margaret’s death.

Over the years, some managers for the property had lived in the upper levels of the house and encountered the ghost. Managers and contractors have reported seeing a girl in odd clothing near the stairs of the basement. In January, some crew members demolishing the house admitted to talking to a girl who fit the description, and they believe it was the Febrey ghost.

The Febrey ghost isn’t the only unusual activity that’s been reported on the property.

“There were other ghost stories as well,” Maleski said. “Music and strange noises and things. I don’t know if that’s been idenfitied as one person. Most people believe it’s from the time when it was a sanitarium.”

The Febrey ghost appears to be friendly and has chatted with numerous people on the property throughout the years, we’re told. She also has been known to enjoy playing with children at the Overlee pool.

Nobody has reported any additional sightings since January.