H-B Woodlawn

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Lifts Ban on A-Frame Signs — Following through on a New Years promise from Arlington County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman, the Board voted on Saturday to allow businesses in the county to use temporary sidewalk signs, also known as A-frame signs. The Board also approved the use of branded sidewalk cafe umbrellas. [Arlington County]

New Soccer Fields Discussed — The County Board is pondering where future soccer fields should be built in Arlington. New fields are necessary, the Board has been told, due to expected growth of youth soccer programs. The 6,000 player strong Arlington Soccer Association is expected to add another 1,000 players in coming years as Arlington experiences growth in its youth population. [Sun Gazette]

WaPo Readers Complain About ‘Hippie High’ Nickname — A pair of Washington Post readers wrote letters to the editor to complain about an article that once again dubbed the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program “Hippie High.” [Washington Post]

Arlington Expecting Another Tough Year in Richmond — Arlington’s legislative delegation is anticipating another difficult year in Richmond. They say the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly has repeatedly passed legislation that goes against the county’s interests, despite the fact that Arlington is a significant source of state tax dollars. [Washington Times]

Flickr pool photo by Damiec

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Worries Over Proposed Constitutional Amendment — A proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution, intended to strengthen protections against local government usage of eminent domain authority, could complicate plans for the Columbia Pike streetcar project. County officials also worry that the amendment could force the county to pay businesses restitution for lost business due to street repairs, snow plowing or even police activity. [Sun Gazette]

H-B Woodlawn Students Protest Parent Plan — H-B Woodlawn secondary program students, who famously create their own courses and spend much of their school time unsupervised, are up in arms over a plan to allow their parents to monitor their academic achievements (or failings) more carefully. [Washington Post]

New Arrival at Central Library: ‘Mein Kampf’ — Arlington Central Library just acquired a brand new version of the Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf.’ A library spokesman says an older version of the book had to be taken out of circulation due to wear and tear. [Sun Gazette]

Flickr pool photo by wfyurasko

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Construction to Begin on Rosslyn Office Project — The long-stalled Central Place office project may finally be moving forward. Developer JBG says construction on a new 390-foot office tower, adjacent to the Rosslyn Metro station, will likely begin in the second quarter of 2012. The project will be competing with the nearby 1812 N. Moore Street project for the title of tallest skyscraper in the D.C. area. [Washington Post]

Taxi Fee Increase in the Works — The Arlington County Board is expected to advertise public hearings for a possible increase in two fees charged by taxi cabs. County staff is recommending the initial base taxi fare (the “drop fee”) be raised from $2.75 to $3.00, while also recommending the extra-passenger charge be hiked from $1.00 to $1.50. All fees charged by Arlington-based taxis are set by the county. [Sun Gazette]

Is Arlington Blocking I-66 Widening? — Why isn’t VDOT rushing to widen additional sections of I-66 inside the Beltway? Bob Chase, of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance blames obstructionism from Arlington. But County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman says a lack of money is behind the lack of action — and that Arlington “by itself doesn’t have the power to get in the way of more lanes.” [Washington Examiner]

H-B Woodlawn, a.k.a. Hippie High — H-B Woodlawn Secondary School — the educational experiment once known as ‘Hippie High’ — turned 40 this year. According to the Post: “Hippie High enters middle age far more conventional than it once was, with many of its students loading up on AP courses and obsessing about their SAT scores and grade-point averages just like their peers at ordinary high schools.” [Washington Post]

New Remy Music Video — Arlington Rap Guy Remy Munasifi has released a new, politically-charged music video. The video takes on the recent Occupy Wall Street protests. [Clarendon Culture]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

APS Names New Williamsburg Principal — The Arlington School Board has appointed Dr. Ann McCarty as the new principal of Williamsburg Middle School. McCarty, who has been a middle school principal in Falls Church, replaces Kathleen Francis, who was shown the door in February after sending a lengthy resignation letter to parents. The letter was harshly critical of Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy. [Arlington Public Schools]

Remembering Desegregation in Arlington — A town hall was held earlier this week to discuss the legacy of desegregation in Arlington. Stratford Junior High — now H-B Woodlawn — became the first school to integrate in Virginia in 1959. [WAMU]

William J. O’Donnell Obituary — Arlington resident William J. O’Donnell, NASA’s chief spokesman during the Gemini and Apollo programs, died last month at the age of 86. O’Donnell was a World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, one of the costliest battles of the war for the U.S. [Washington Post]

Flickr pool by Mark C. White

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

H-B Woodlawn Student Wins Arlington Idol — We have a new Arlington Idol. H-B Woodlawn junior Mary Shields (above) placed first at the annual singing competition Thursday night. Watch her winning performance here. Shields will now perform at a July 8 summer concert at Washington-Lee High School. [Arlington Public Schools]

Discussion of Pike/Glebe Development Tonight — Arlington’s site plan review commission will discuss early plans for a mixed used development at the Rosenthal auto dealership site at Columbia Pike and South Glebe Road tonight. The development plan calls for ground floor retail space, 259 residential units and 44 town homes. The meeting is open to the public. [Pike Wire]

Donations for Employee Injured in Brawl — The Hyatt Regency Crystal City hotel is accepting donations for an employee who was seriously injured during a brawl at the 2011 DMV Music Awards. Antonio Illanes was hit with a bottle and lost sight in his left eye. He has had to endure several operations since the March 6 incident. [TBD]

Dogs on Display at AWLA — The Animal Welfare League of Arlington has set up a small animal viewing area in its lobby to encourage the adoption of animals that have had a hard time finding a home. [Sun Gazette]

Screen capture via YouTube

H-B Woodlawn Senior Struan Shields Prepares for Music Career

By ARLnow.com

Reporting and photos by Charlotte Gorman.

Dressed in a vest and jeans, Arlington native Struan Shields, 18, steps out to join his four-man backup band while an enthusiastic audience jumps up and down. Singing to an crowd of primarily teenage girls, Struan repeatedly thanks his fans and holds out the microphone to allow them a turn to sing along. They already know all the words, even though this concert is meant to to celebrate the release of his debut EP.

Shields, who will graduate from H-B Woodlawn on Wednesday, isn’t your typical high school singer-songwriter. While others may have their popularity peak with a win at the school talent show, Shields has seen his debut EP hit the top singer/songwriter spot on iTunes.  He recently claimed the number one song download on PureVolume, a website for rising artists. And he has already amassed more than 3,000 Facebook fans.

On the eve of his EP release show at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Shields seems calm and remarkably humble for a teenager who has won over legions of adoring fans.

“I would never consider myself famous… Fame is such a difficult thing to measure. I have enjoyed the fact that more people are hearing about my music. It is a very cool feeling when people take the time to learn to play my songs, or when an audience knows all the lyrics. That in and of itself is something I still haven’t gotten used to,” Shields said.

Shields writes and records his own music at home, without the help of a record label. In an ambitious attempt at grassroots marketing, he even offered a personal phone call to anyone who pre-ordered his EP.

(more…)

Arlington High Schools Get Top Marks from Newsweek

By ARLnow.com

H-B Woodlawn received the highest ranking of all Washington-area high schools on Newsweek’s latest list of the top high schools in the country.

H-B Woodlawn placed 27th on the annual list, which ranks high schools by dividing the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests taken by students by the number of graduating seniors.

Washington-Lee and Yorktown both cracked the top 100, ranking 62nd and 82nd in the nation respectively. Wakefield High School ranked number 375. Wakefield is in the process of having its current facility replaced with a new, $105 million building.

“We have improved dramatically over the years and we are continuing our work to find other ways to improve and enhance the instructional program for students,” said Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy in a statement.

See the Newsweek list here.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Science Teacher Wins Presidential Award  — A beloved H-B Woodlawn High School biology teacher has won a prestigious honor from the White House. Dat Le is among the 103 recipients of the 2010 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Teachers from Huntingtown, Md. and Bristow, Va. are also among the recipients, although Le is the only inside-the-Beltway award-winner. He will receive a $10,000 prize from the National Science Foundation and a seat of honor at an awards ceremony later this year.

Republicans Voters to Choose Congressional Nominee Today — Voters in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District are heading to the polls to choose which GOP nominee will face incumbent Rep. Jim Moran (D) in the fall. The Associated Press wins the award for the most concise, cynical take on the race:

In the 8th District, little-known candidates Matthew Berry of Arlington and Alexandria’s Patrick Murray, vie for the right to challenge 10-term Democratic Rep. Jim Moran in the heavily Democratic inner suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. today. Click here for a list of polling place.

Maggie Moo’s Closes in Shirlington, Yogiberry Moving In — Via Shirlington Village Blog, we learn that the Maggie Moo’s ice cream shop in Shirlington has closed. A Yogiberry frozen yogurt store will be moving in. Sign of the times?