A cement truck flipped on its side on the ramp from northbound I-395 to S. Glebe Road.
No injuries have been reported and the occupants of the truck were able to get out before emergency responders arrived on scene, according to scanner traffic. The circumstances surrounding the crash, which happened shortly before 1:30 p.m., are unclear.
The ramp is blocked as the crash cleanup gets underway.
‘Mabel’s Restaurant’ Coming to Arlington Heights — The restaurant coming to the grounds of the Dominion Apartments, at the former Sherwin Williams paint store (3411 5th Street S.), is called “Mabel’s Restaurant.” An outdoor seating area is planned for the restaurant, according to permit filings. [Arlington Economic Development]
Northam Visits Amazon — “In June, we were excited to open our first temporary office space for our Arlington headquarters in Crystal City. Today, we welcomed @GovernorVA to tour our new work space and meet with Amazonians from the Commonwealth.” [Twitter]
Crystal City Conducting Survey — “The area encompassing Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard – Arlington is a dynamic mixed-use urban center and Virginia’s largest walkable downtown… we are embarking on a place branding effort to uncover our neighborhood story and create a striking visual identity.” [Crystal City BID]
History of Heidelberg Bakery — “Heidelberg Bakery is a local landmark in Arlington… In this oral history clip, Carla and Wolfgang Buchler, owners of the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, discuss the lack of diversity in breads that Wolfgang found in America when he first came to the U.S. in the 1970’s–and how tastes have changed, partly due to Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe’s delicious treats.” [Arlington Public Library]
Glebe Road Bridge Project — “The Virginia Department of Transportation on Tuesday, Aug. 13 will hold a community forum on its plans to rehabilitate the Route 120 (North Glebe Road) bridge over Pimmit Run to improve safety and extend the bridge’s overall lifespan. The event will be held on from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Williamsburg Middle School, 3600 North Harrison St. in Arlington.” [InsideNova]
‘Drunkard’ Ruling Won’t Be Appealed — “Virginia’s attorney general on Friday said he will not appeal a ruling that struck down a state law allowing police to arrest and jail people designated as ‘habitual drunkards.'” [Associated Press]
Oil in Sink Causes ‘Fatbergs’ — “If you pour used cooking grease down the kitchen sink, you’re not alone — according to a new survey, 44 percent of respondents in the D.C. region pour cooking oil, fat, or grease down the sink at least occasionally. In doing so — rather than dumping it in the trash–you may be contributing to the creation of something truly horrifying — a fatberg.” [DCist]
(Updated 11:20 a.m.) Bad traffic on Glebe Road is partially to blame for the success of a new donut shop.
The veteran-owned Good Company Doughnuts & Cafe (672 N. Glebe Road) is celebrating a better-than-expected first few months after opening in April.
“We beat our expectations for the first 90 days,” said Kate Murphy, one of the owners of Good Company. “We’re at about 20 percent higher sales than we’d expected.”
“We sell about 400 doughnuts a day and 600 on weekends,” Murphy elaborated. “So that’s about 3,000-4,000 per week, not including orders.”
Murphy said the eatery has also seen higher levels of catering and wholesale accounts than they had anticipated. Plus, Good Company is getting good reviews: ranking 4.5 stars out of 5 on Yelp with 66 reviews.
It all adds up to a promising start for the business, despite being across the street from a big food-centric mall on the less-trodden side of N. Glebe Road, where other restaurants have struggled.
Many of the store customers are neighbors. Restaurants that rely heavily on workers as the customer base can tend to see declines on weekends, but Murphy said having neighbors as a reliable source of customers has given them boosted weekend sales.
Murphy once ran a donut shop in New Hampshire before she moved to Arlington. She said Sunday was the store’s least busy day, but at Good Company it’s the busiest.
The embrace from the nearby residential communities is partially because Good Company is one of the few new, independent restaurants in the area on the western side of Glebe Road.
“The neighborhood is really anxious to have something on this side of Glebe Road so they don’t have to play frogger with traffic,” Murphy said.
There are other Ballston-area donut and pastry shops like Dunkin Donuts and the new Sidekick and District Doughnuts in Ballston Quarter. Murphy said her store has had to adapt and incorporate some unique flavors and offerings, but for the most part the shop is the kind of classic donut-and-coffee shop the clientele grew up visiting.
“We’re more traditional,” Murphy said. “People still come for the classics… We roll the dough out and hand-cut each of them.”
Honey Dip — fancy talk for “glazed” — is the restaurant’s most popular item, followed by chocolate frosted with sprinkles. The latter is a particular hit with children.
But Murphy isn’t a donut-luddite. Maple bacon donuts are now a staple of the store, and while Murphy said her old shop had maple donuts, they wouldn’t have thought to add bacon.
One of the biggest challenges the restaurant faced early on was building a quality staff, which Murphy attributed to the low unemployment rate in the area. But now, Murphy said she has assembled a team that lives up to the store’s name and is more comfortable handing the reins over to catch a break during the day — critical given that the baking starts at midnight or earlier for the following day.
The company is currently getting ready for some of its first community events, with plans to set up coffee and donut stands at the Arlington County Fair, the Marine Corp Marathon, and the Arlington Turkey Trot 5K.
Developer May Build Second Metro Entrance — “A plan submitted by developer JBG Smith to Arlington County could see the company put in charge of building the second Crystal City Metro station entrance, a long-sought-after project that would increase access to the station. If approved, the new entrance would be built along Crystal Drive near 18th Street.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Glebe Road Crash Yesterday Morning — “Police say the crash was caused by a driver attempting to merge onto southbound Glebe from 16th Street S. striking another vehicle heading southbound. No significant injuries were reported.” [Twitter]
Company Opens New HQ in Ballston — “Armor Express, a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-performance protective solutions for the Domestic and Federal Law Enforcement markets, Department of Defense and First Responders, today announced the grand opening of its new corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA.” [Globe Newswire]
Video: Olli on Fort Myer — New videos show the Olli autonomous shuttle driving around Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. [Twitter]
New Funding for 9/11 Victim Fund — “U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded the passage of a bill to continue providing financial support to those who suffered physical harm or families of those who were killed as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks or ensuing debris removal efforts.” [Press Release, NBC News]
Nearby: Boy Dies at McLean Construction Site — A boy died after a ditch collapsed at a large excavation site in McLean, near the Arlington border and Jamestown Elementary. The boy was reportedly working to build a sewage line at a new residential development. [Tysons Reporter, NBC 4]
Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler
A crash has closed lanes of busy S. Glebe Road during the morning rush hour.
At least two vehicles were involved in the crash. One lane in each direction was blocked at 2nd Street S. as of around 9 a.m., according to the Arlington County Fire Department.
Drivers should expect minor delays in the area while crews work to clean up the crash scene and tow away the vehicles.
(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) Arlington County Police will close the busy intersection of S. Glebe Road and Columbia Pike for two hours over the weekend as part of a crash investigation.
The closure is scheduled from about 6-8 a.m. Saturday, ACPD said in a statement today. Detectives will be conducting “follow-up investigation pertaining to a critical multiple vehicle crash,” which happened last Friday afternoon.
One person was seriously injured and trapped in their vehicle as a result of the crash, according to scanner traffic at the time.
“One victim was transported to an area hospital with critical, but non-life threatening injuries,” said ACPD spokeswoman Kirby Clark. “No other significant injuries were reported.”
More from ACPD:
The Arlington County Police Department’s Critical Accident Team will close the intersection of South Glebe Road and Columbia Pike on Saturday, June 22 in order to conduct a follow-up investigation pertaining to a critical multiple vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 3:14 p.m. on June 14.
The following road closures will be conducted in order to restrict access to the intersection from 6:00 a.m. until approximately 8:00 a.m.:
- South Glebe Road, northbound at South Monroe Street and southbound at 9th Street South
- Columbia Pike, eastbound at South Monroe Street and westbound at South Highland Street
Access to businesses within the area will not be impacted, but vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic in some areas will be restricted.
Motorists are advised to avoid the area during the specified time and seek alternate routes. To access points north and south, motorists may use South George Mason Drive and South Walter Reed Drive. To access points east and west, motorists may use Route 50 and South Four Mile Run Drive.
The investigation into the circumstances of this crash remain ongoing and anyone with additional information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective B. Ames at [email protected] or 703-228-7073. To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).
⚠️ TRAFFIC ALERT ⚠️ ACPD will close the intersection of S. Glebe Road and Columbia Pike from approx. 6-8 a.m. on Sat., June 22 to conduct a follow-up investigation regarding a critical crash that occurred on June 14
Details: https://t.co/9CnzomYNwa pic.twitter.com/7P8zEMstbH— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) June 20, 2019
The driver of a car ran off the side of N. Glebe Road, struck a tree, and then allegedly tried to drive off when police arrived.
The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. on the 3400 block of N. Glebe Road, near the Country Club Hills neighborhood. It’s unclear how the single-vehicle crash happened, nor is it clear whether the driver was heading northbound or southbound at the time of the crash, but it damaged a tree and bushes in the front yard of a home along Glebe Road.
The vehicle suffered front-end damage on the driver’s side, but the driver allegedly started to drive off when police arrived, according to scanner traffic. Muddy tire tracks could be seen in the roadway.
The driver stopped a short distance away and was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for unspecified injuries.
Police could be seen examining an open plastic bottle near the vehicle shortly after the ambulance departed the scene.
(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Police and firefighters are on scene of a major crash at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Glebe Road.
The westbound lanes of Columbia Pike and at least one northbound lane of Glebe are blocked by the crash and the emergency activity. Drivers should expect significant evening rush hour traffic impacts in the area.
Initial reports suggest three vehicles were involved and at least two people were injured, one of whom suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a local trauma center.
Photos (1, 2) courtesy @LAGATAF1NA/Twitter
Goldstein Fends Off Challenger — “Incumbent School Board Chair Reid Goldstein emerged as the victor Saturday night in the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s [School Board endorsement] caucus… Goldstein received 1,231 votes out of 1,999 ballots counted, or 61.6%… Challenger David Priddy received 763 votes.” [Arlington Democrats]
Car Runs Off Glebe Road Into Ditch — “At 1:54pm Sunday, units were called for a car off the road in 4500 blk of N Glebe Rd. Crews were able to walk 1 patient out with minor injuries. Patient was transported to local hospital while Hazmat team worked to contain leaking fluids. Please watch your speed on the wet roads.” [Twitter]
Del. Hope Not a PAC Man — Del. Patrick Hope (D) has joined a group of Democratic state Senators in announcing “their intention to introduce legislation in the 2020 General Assembly legislative session to limit excessive campaign contributions from influencing Virginia elections.” The proposed bill is in response to a PAC contributing nearly $1 million to the commonwealth’s attorney primaries in Arlington and Fairfax. [Blue Virginia]
New Additions to Amazon HQ2 Job Page — There are now 47 open jobs listed on Amazon’s HQ2 jobs page. Among the positions Amazon is hiring for in Arlington are hardware, system and software development engineers; recruiters; and numerous Alexa-related technical positions. [Amazon]
Middle School Project Running Behind — “It might be a little cramped for the first few months as students settle in at Arlington’s Dorothy Hamm Middle School… County school officials have known for months that the expansion of the school won’t be ready for occupancy when classes begin in September… On its website, the school system now pegs completion of the expansion at next March.” [InsideNova]
Wardian Places Third in Horse Race — “Mike Wardian, 45, of Arlington, Va. did not succeed at outrunning all the horses at the 40th anniversary of Whole Earth Man v. Horse Marathon in Wales yesterday, but he did pretty well nonetheless, placing third among the humans and finishing in 2:34:03.” [Trail Running]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
Arlington still is not fully recovered from yesterday’s severe thunderstorm, which packed winds near 70 miles an hour and left a trail of destruction in its wake.
N. Glebe Road remains closed between Route 50 and N. Quincy Street in Ballston, as crews continue to work to clear fallen trees, replace splintered utility poles and re-string power lines. It’s a similar story on N. Barton Street between 10th and 12th streets, in the Clarendon area, which is still closed nearly 18 hours after the storm despite.
In Arlington County, as of 9:15 a.m., about 6,400 Dominion customers were still without power — down from an outage peak of about 36,000 customers. The largest remaining outages are in and around the Rosslyn-Ballston and Lee Highway corridors.
Police say the county’s 911 call center received a total of 48 calls for trees down and 39 calls for wires down after the storm. The call center received 130 calls in the first half hour after the storm alone, according to the fire department.
Police and firefighters — as well as Dept. of Environmental Services, Dominion and other utility crews — all worked overnight to restore power and services, mark off and clear downed trees and wires, and direct traffic around closures and non-functioning traffic signals.
More via social media:
https://twitter.com/ArlingtonVaPD/status/1131895351693271042
The results are in, here are the call totals generated by today's severe storms:
Over 130 calls were received within 30 minutes! ⛈️⛈️
It was a huge team effort by @ReadyArlington 911 dispatchers, @ArlingtonVaFD and @ArlingtonVaPD to keep everyone safe. #teamwork #weather #WX pic.twitter.com/Z1GVJHyhJK— Arlington Fire (@ArlingtonVaFD) May 24, 2019
Update 9:10am: Traffic signals at Washington Boulevard and Kirkwood are back online as are most major intersections. Wilson Boulevard at North Larrimore lights are on flash. Know what to do. #Vatraffic https://t.co/C8sgtLQEL3 pic.twitter.com/RQh4zhpoSj
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) May 24, 2019
ICYMI: The view from above from yesterday's storm. This camera is currently offline in the aftermath. https://t.co/hWD9sjJDYC pic.twitter.com/YvozqaCRme
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) May 24, 2019
Due to yesterday's storm, some phones at the Department of Human Services are down: Emergency Services crisis line (703-228-5160); Child Protective Services hotline (703-228-1500); alternative Adult Protective Services hotline (571-481-7755). Will update when they're operating.
— ArlingtonVA (@ArlingtonVA) May 24, 2019
A Head Start program for the children of low-income families will have a new home in Arlington.
The County Board on Saturday unanimously approved a lease for Northern Virginia Family Service and its Head Start program, which serves more than 200 children. The program will now be based at 2920 S. Glebe Road, an office building purchased by the county and renovated for about $6.6 million.
The Head Start program is moving from 1800 N. George Mason Drive, which was owned by the county but acquired by Virginia Hospital Center in a land swap. It will continue paying about the same rent — around $274,000 per year with 5 percent annual increases.
More from an Arlington County press release:
The Arlington County Board today approved a lease agreement with Northern Virginia Family Service, Inc. (NVFS) to continue operations of the Head Start program at a new location on 2920 S. Glebe Road.
The County acquired the property in 2017 as a new home for the federal program. Head Start promotes school readiness for children ages five and under from low-income families, an important policy goal for the County.
“Ensuring Head Start’s long-term sustainability remains a key priority for the Board. Head Start has achieved remarkable results in readying children to thrive in school,” County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “This facility will provide an optimal learning environment for children and be conveniently located for most families who participate.”
The property was needed when the program’s home at 1800 N. George Mason Dr. was designated for a land swap between the County and Virginia Hospital Center, which plans to expand its north Arlington campus.
The County budgeted $6.6 million to prepare the South Glebe site for more than 200 children. The build-out is set for completion next month. The County’s lease with NVFS ends in January 2023 with four five-year extension options.
NVFS is to pay the County just under $274,000 a year in rent plus 5 percent annual escalations, essentially the same terms that existed for the prior location on George Mason Drive. The County will provide utilities and janitorial service at no additional charge.
The County Board voted unanimously as part of the consent agenda to approve the lease agreement.
Photo (1) via Arlington County, (2) via Google Maps
