Metro station

Another Anti-Obama Ad at Clarendon Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Earlier this year, an anti-Obama advertisement in the Clarendon Metro station containing the words “Go to hell, Barack” sparked controversy. Now, the same group behind that ad has another incendiary advertisement in the station.

“Obama: Socialist or Fascist?” the ad reads. “Just listen to the dead before you vote.”

The ad is from the maker of a DVD documentary called “Sick and Sicker: When the Government Becomes Your Doctor,” which — as we reported in February — sharply criticizes President Obama’s health care reform law and compares it to publicly-funded health care in Canada.

In a statement previously issued to ARLnow.com, a Metro spokesman said the agency cannot legally refuse ads based on political content.

WMATA advertising has been ruled by the courts as a public forum protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we may not decline ads based on their political content. WMATA does not endorse the advertising on our system, and ads do not reflect the position of the Authority.

Photo courtesy Frank G.

Small Fire Under Ballston Metro Station Escalator

By ARLnow.com

 

A small fire broke out underneath an escalator at the Ballston Metro station this afternoon as a result of welding work.

“An escalator contractor was welding at the time on the unit, and that a spark from the welding work was the likely cause” of the fire, WMATA spokesman Dan Stessel told ARLnow.com. There were no injuries, smoke has been fully ventilated from the station, and “all protective systems worked as intended,” Stessel said.

Workers managed to extinguish the flames before firefighters arrived, according to ACFD spokesman Capt. Gregg Karl.

The escalator, one of three between the station and an upper bank of escalators, remains out of service.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Pentagon City Elevator Contract Approved — The Arlington County Board has approved a contract to design a second elevator for the busy Pentagon City Metro station. The estimated $5.1 million elevator construction project has already received $4.5 million in federal funding. [Arlington County]

Arlington’s Roads Rate ‘Poor’ — More than one third of Arlington County’s 974 mile street network is in “poor” condition, based on the county’s own assessment. The reason for the poor road conditions may lie with spending. The county has been spending significantly less on paving than the amount recommended by its top streets official. [Patch]

Board Considers Solar at Supermarkets — County Board members say they’ll consider a Green Party proposal to either force or encourage supermarkets to install solar power arrays on their roof. The solar power could help refrigerate food during power outages. [Sun Gazette]

Maywood Neighborhood Profiled — The historic Maywood neighborhood of Arlington is “endearing and peaceful” and “extremely friendly,” according to a radio profile. [WAMU]

Renovations Revealed at Crystal City Hotel — Last week the 343-room Crystal City Marriott officially unveiled its $7 million redesign, which included new common areas like a new bar/restaurant and a new fitness center. [Marriott]

Flickr pool photo by Lifeinthedistrict

Planning to Begin for New Pentagon City Metro Elevator

By ARLnow.com

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board is expected to approve a contract to begin preliminary engineering for a new elevator at the Pentagon City Metro station.

With about 36,000 combined entries and exits per weekday, the Pentagon City station is the second busiest station in Northern Virginia — second only to Rosslyn — and the 10th busiest in the entire Metro system.

A study conducted by WMATA in 2010, at the request of Arlington County, concluded that a new elevator should be built on the west side of S. Hayes Street, near the Pentagon City mall, and across from an existing elevator on the east side of Hayes.

In a report, county staff says a second elevator will help improve access to the station for those with disabilities and for those with strollers and luggage, by eliminating the need to cross S. Hayes Street in order to use an elevator.

“Additionally, it will provide redundancy, in accordance with current WMATA design criteria, when one of the elevators is out of service for any reason,” staff added.

The contract for the initial engineering is worth $358,359, and is scheduled to be voted upon by the Board on Saturday. Once the preliminary engineering is completed, the county plans to proceed with a design-build construction process in order to save time and money.

The budget for the entire project includes $4.5 million in federal funds, $400,000 in state funds and $200,000 county bond funds.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn Outdoor Movies Start Tonight — The season of weekly, political-themed outdoor movies in Rosslyn starts tonight with the 1999 Matthew Broderick/Reese Witherspoon flick “Election.” The movie is scheduled to start at dusk.

Anti-Harassment Ads at Metro Stations — WMATA has placed anti-sexual harassment public service announcements in 28 Metro stations. In Arlington, the ads can be found in the Ballston and Clarendon Metro stations. [Stop Street Harassment]

Opening of Refurbished Affordable Apartments — Community members, local elected officials and affordable housing advocates gathered Wednesday to celebrate the preservation and renovation of Buckingham Village 3 — now renamed “Buckingham Gardens” — as committed affordable rental housing. Ninety-two apartments have been renovated and a new community center has been built as part of the project. [Arlington Mercury]

Margot MacDonald to Play Encore –– Arlington’s own singer/songwriter Margot MacDonald will be performing at Encore Stage, a local youth-oriented theater. The performance will take place this Saturday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre (125 S. Old Glebe Road). “Join us for an evening of Margot’s own eclectic rock and favorite covers,” Encore says on its website. “Recommended for ages 10 and up.” [Encore Stage & Studio]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Court Rules Against Doggie Daycare Mural — A federal appeals court has determined that Arlington County did not violate a business owner’s free speech by forcing her to cover up a mural that county code interpreted as a commercial sign. Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton had argued — unsuccessfully — that the mural was artwork and the county’s action violated her First Amendment rights. [Associated Press]

‘Leek American Bistro’ Coming to Ballston — A new American-style bistro is coming to Ballston. “Leek American Bistro” will feature “upscale” dishes in a casual atmosphere. Chef/owner Nathan Spittal says the new eatery, located in the former Thai Terrace space at 801 N. Quincy Street, will focus on locally-sourced ingredients and locally-sourced beer and wine. Spittal is the former owner of the BBQ Banditos food truck. [Washington Business Journal]

Board Approved Clarendon Metro Improvements — The Arlington County Board last night approved a $765,000 contract to transform the small park area around the Clarendon Metro station into a “more active, accessible, multi-use plaza.” Planned improvements include landscaping, paving, covered bike parking, seating walls and movable tables and chairs. [Arlington County]

Arlington Business Hall of Fame Inductees — Three men were inducted into the Arlington Business Hall of Fame during a ceremony yesterday morning, May 22. The ceremony also included the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s annual ABBIEs business award presentation. [Sun Gazette, Arlington Mercury]

Flickr pool photo by Divaknevil

Rosslyn Metro Improvement Plan Irks Some Neighbors

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) The county’s plans for renovating the Rosslyn Metro station are getting some flak from a nearby neighborhood association.

The North Rosslyn Civic Association (NRCA) opposes the decision to replace the existing escalators to the plaza level with a granite staircase. The county says the change is necessary to accommodate a Commuter Store that will be built on the ticketing level. The store essentially will be built under the current escalator area, which will not provide adequate access for performing maintenance on the escalators.

According to Lisa Maher, Development Plan Review Supervisor in the county’s Department of Environmental Services, staff pored over the plans for months trying to find a different place to put the store, but couldn’t locate an area that had the necessary amount of space.

In a letter to the county, NRCA said the two escalators — one up and one down — are “the only assistance provided to residents in negotiating the tremendous change in elevation between the center of Rosslyn and the adjacent community to the West.” The escalators are especially useful for Metro riders who have already made the excruciating climb up from the underground station and need a bit of a breather, residents said.

Maher says there’s been an ongoing conversation with residents in the area and attempts have been made to address concerns. However, the Commuter Store is still slated to go in, and the escalators are still slated be removed.

“The community said, let’s put it somewhere else in neighborhood,” Maher said. “But there’s just nowhere else to put it, and it’s most valuable when near the station.”

The Commuter Store is just one of the improvements that will be coming to the Rosslyn station. Since 2007, the county has been working with the developer constructing an office building adjacent to the Metro. As part of the permit approval, the developer agreed to provide renovations to the Metro entrance.

Some of the other improvements include providing an ADA accessible entrance on Ft. Myer Drive, adding more lighting to the station mezzanine, installing new tile flooring and renovating the existing skybridge.

On Saturday, portions of the agreement will come up for approval at the County Board meeting. The Board is expected to approve the measures, allowing the county manager to alter the number of public improvements the developer must provide.

Staff also recommends the Board approve the provision permitting the county to pay for a portion of the improvements if the cost exceeds the developer’s budget. The cost would be determined after the list of improvements is negotiated and finalized.

Crime Report: Really Bad Day Edition

By ARLnow.com

A woman had a double whammy of a bad day this past Friday night/early Saturday morning. Not only was her bike stolen from outside the Ballston Metro station, but a man tried to rob her at knifepoint while she was walking home after finding out that her bike was stolen.

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, 04/14/12, 1400 block of N. Glebe Road. On April 14 at 12:20 am, after returning to Arlington from DC to find her bike stolen from the Ballston Metro stop, a female walking home alone was approached by an unknown subject with a knife. The suspect demanded the victims purse, causing the victim to begin screaming for help. The suspect fled the scene on foot without the purse and is described as a white male, early-mid thirties in age, approximately 5’6″ to 5’8″ tall, with a semi-muscular build and a chipped or missing front tooth. He was wearing a Phillies jersey and jeans at the time of the attempted robbery.

The rest of this week’s Arlington County crime report, after the jump.

(more…)

County Board Considers Regulating Metro Ads

By ARLnow.com

Is the Arlington County Board trying to give itself the power to remove inflammatory political ads from Metro stations? It sure sounds like that may be the case.

Two weeks after the brouhaha over an ad in the Clarendon Metro station that told President Obama to “go to hell,” the County Board went into its closed executive session with a curious objective: to discuss “the county’s authority to regulate the content of advertising on Metro property.”

All we know about the discussion is that quote, read by County Board Chair Mary Hynes before adjourning the Board’s Tuesday afternoon meeting. The executive session is legally considered private and, reached for comment, a county spokesperson said they’ve been advised by the County Attorney to not discuss any details.

Even if the county can find the authority to regulate ads in Arlington Metro stations, though, there remains the question of whether removing political ads would be Constitutional. In explaining why it allowed the inflammatory “go to hell” ad, Metro issued the following statement: “WMATA advertising has been ruled by the courts as a public forum protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we may not decline ads based on their political content.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Anti-Obama Metro Ad to Stay — A controversial advertisement in the Clarendon Metro station that tells President Obama to “go to hell” will not be taken down early. Metro General Manager Richard Sarles says he’s offended by the ad, but Metro cannot legally remove the ad due to its content. The ad is scheduled to be taken down on Sunday, March 11 following the end of a one month run. [NBC Washington]

Rosslyn as San Francisco — Civic boosters once tried to brand Rosslyn as “Manhattan on the Potomac.” But Arlington’s new planning director has another comparison in mind. He says Rosslyn reminds him of San Francisco. [Ode Street Tribune]

Couric Honored By State — The late John Couric, who died last year, has been honored by the Virginia General Assembly. Couric, an Arlington resident, was recognized in a memorial resolution sponsored by state Sen. Barbara Favola. In addition to being a Navy veteran, journalist and public relations executive, Couric is also well known for being the father of broadcaster Katie Couric. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Man Busted for Illegal Cigs — A 25-year-old Arlington man has been arrested in Delaware and accused of trying to transport 574 cartons of untaxed cigarettes from Virginia to New York City, where he intended to sell them. [WGMD]

Ad In Clarendon Metro Station: ‘Go To Hell Barack’

By ARLnow.com

A Democratic lawmaker is speaking out against an inflammatory ad in the Clarendon Metro station that tells President Obama to “go to hell.”

The lighted ad, located near the end of one of platforms, promotes a DVD documentary called “Sick and Sicker: When the Government Becomes Your Doctor,” which sharply criticizes President Obama’s health care reform law and compares it to publicly-funded health care in Canada.

“Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America’s entire medical system,” the ad reads. “Go to hell Barack.”

The Democratic blog Blue Virginia first reported the ad this morning. It’s been in place at the Clarendon Metro station since at least last week, based on a search of Twitter posts.

Now, local Virginia congressman Jim Moran (D) is calling for the “offensive advertisement” to be taken down.

“This advertisement is inappropriate, disrespectful of the President, and should be removed immediately,” Moran said in a letter to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. “The families with children and thousands of tourists who take Metro everyday should not be subjected to such garbage. I understand WMATA vets these advertisements before allowing them to go up, but it seems someone wasn’t doing their job when this ad was approved.”

Though barely visible, at least one Metro rider tried to respond to the ad by writing on it in pen. “That’s President Obama to you!!” the anonymous scribbler wrote.

It’s unclear if the ad has been placed in any other Metro stations.

Update at 4:25 p.m. — Metro has issued a statement about the ad:

WMATA advertising has been ruled by the courts as a public forum protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we may not decline ads based on their political content.  WMATA does not endorse the advertising on our system, and ads do not reflect the position of the Authority.

Update at 5:15 p.m. — Rep. Moran has issued a statement in response to Metro’s statement.

I am disappointed by WMATA’s defense of this inappropriate advertisement. If their current advertising guidelines do not prohibit profane advertisements on taxpayer-funded property, then WMATA should take the initiative and update them. Profanity has no place in the public forum.

The specific language in the WMATA-approved ad that should be removed is not political, it’s profane. It defames the President of the United States in a way that coarsens the public discourse. All Americans have the right to make their voice heard under the First Amendment. But when we are talking about an advertisement on tax-payer funded facilities, as is the case with Metro, it should meet the minimum standards of propriety. I repeat my call on WMATA to exercise appropriate judgment and remove this offensive ad.

 

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