parks department

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Fair Starts Today — The Arlington County Fair will get off to a soggy start today. The gates will open from 5:00 to 10:00 tonight for outdoor activities. The indoor festivities (vendors and such) will get underway tomorrow night.

Hillside Park Still A Work in Progress — TBD takes a look at Rosslyn’s Hillside Park, which is being revamped courtesy of a local developer. The work is behind schedule, but is expected to be completed in the fall.

Conte’s Group Rides Still Attracting Crowds — With only a couple of police-escorted group bike rides to go for the year, more than 100 cyclists gathered in Ballston last night for the weekly Conte’s-sponsored event. More from the Ode Street Tribune.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Would-Be Restaurant Will Be Torn Down, Turned Into a Park

By ARLnow.com

The strange case of Haze Restaurant, Bar and Lounge is coming to a close.

Essentially an old house gussied up in goth black paint and gaudy decorations, Haze looks severely out of place between the Arlington Arts Center and a soon-to-be yoga studio (formerly Curves). It was apparently meant to be a lounge-y kind of a place, which could have brought some nightlife to the relatively dead section of Wilson Boulevard near the Virginia Square Metro, but it was brought down by some very poor planning.

We’re told that the owner undertook renovations on the building before any county permits were issued (or even requested), a big no-no. County staff then tried to work with the owner to get the building into compliance, but he decided instead to shutter the place. That was last year.

Then, on Friday, the Arlington County Parks Department informed the Ashton Heights Civic Association that the county had purchased the quarter-acre property. It will be used to connect Maury Park and Herselle Milliken Park, two tiny swaths of recreational space located on the same block between North Monroe Street and North Lincoln Street.

“The acquisition is consistent with the Public Spaces Master Plan, the Virginia Square Sector Plan and your neighborhood plan,” Park Development Division Chief Lisa Grandle told the AHCA.

Once the building is “deconstructed” — taken apart in a way that allows for more building materials to be recycled — the entire property will be converted to a park. Even the prime real estate next to Wilson Boulevard.

“The entire parcel will be used as park space in the near term, although the immediate frontage on Wilson Boulevard may be reconsidered in the long term if the remaining retail/commercial parcels on the block are consolidated and redeveloped,” Grandle wrote in an email to ARLnow.com.

New Sprayground Hours in Effect

By ARLnow.com

The county has revised its sprayground park hours after receiving complaints from parents.

This year, budget cuts force the parks department to reduce Monday through Thursday summer hours from 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. Now, the hours have been revised to make sure parents have the option of using the parks in the morning, before the heat of the day reaches its peak.

Now, park hours will alternate between 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Each park will still be closed one day per week.

The new park hours took effect July 17.

The county has three sprayground parks: Drew Park, Hayes Park, and Lyon Village Park.

Budget Cuts Keep Water Park Closed on Scorching Day

By ARLnow.com

With temperatures hitting 102 degrees in Arlington this afternoon, it would be a perfect day for kids to cool down at the spray park in Shirlington’s Drew Park. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts that took effect last week, the park is now closed on Tuesdays.

Tomorrow, as temperatures again climb toward the triple digit mark, the water will be shut off at Hayes Park, on North Lincoln Street near Clarendon. On Thursday, the county’s third spray park — Lyon Village Park — will go dry.

“Our FY2011 budget cuts included closing each spray park one day a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” Parks Department spokesperson Susan Kalish said in an email. “The good news is that there are at least two spraygrounds open in the County on any given day.”

In addition to cutting three days from the spray park schedule, the budget also included a reduction in hours. Formerly, each park was open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. during the summer. Now, the parks are open from noon to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 8:00 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Some people question the wisdom of cutting morning hours.

“Now parents who wanted to take their kids at 10:00 a.m. before the heat of the day will be forced to take their kids during the hottest parts of the day,” one parent told us.

The cuts will collectively save the county $20,000 in water costs per year.

Arlington County photo.

Volunteer Opp: Finance Gurus Needed for Teen Money Workshop

By ARLnow.com

The teen program office of the Arlington parks department is looking for finance gurus who can explain to middle school-aged teens the importance of being smart with money.

Volunteers would make a presentation during a half day, teen-focused money workshop on July 15.

If you have a finance background and you’re interested in helping out, contact Mary McMullen at 703-228-4711.

Parks Dept. Repairing Courts at Virginia Highlands Park

By ARLnow.com

Completing today’s Pentagon City news trifecta, the county is fixing “major cracks” on the basketball and tennis courts at Virginia Highlands Park.

The cracks, which developed over the winter, were causing safety concerns on three of the six tennis courts and on the basketball courts. The work is expected to wrap up by the end of the month, a Parks Department spokesperson says.

Afternoon Notes: Armed Robbery Arrest, Animal Cruelty Bill

By ARLnow.com

Armed Robbery Suspect Arrested — A man who’s suspected in three armed robberies in Arlington, and at least 15 throughout Northern Virginia, has been apprehended. Eugene Athony Thomas, 24, was arrested in Fairfax County on Monday after a joint investigation by Fairfax and Arlington County police. More from the Falls Church News-Press.

Parks Dept. Creating “Arlingtonopoly” Game — The county’s parks and recreation department is creating a “Monopoly” knock-off called “Arlingtonopoly.” Local landmarks and businesses (who fork over several hundred dollars) will substitute for Boardwalk, Park Place and rest of the original board game’s familiar properties. More from the Sun Gazette.

FBR Reports Lower-Than-Expected Loss — Rosslyn-based investment bank FBR Capital Markets reported a loss of $8.3 million, or 13 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2010. Analysts expected a 28 cent loss, according to Reuters.

Moran Co-Sponsors Animal Cruelty Bill Following SCOTUS Ruling — Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) introduced a bill today to bar the sale of videos which graphically depict the abuse and killing of animals. The quick action follows yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that deemed a previous law too broad. “I refuse to stand by while people profit from the mutilation and torture of helpless puppies, kittens and other animals,” Moran said in a statement.

Arlington Native Named VT Undergrad Rep — Arlington native Shane McCarty has been named the undergraduate student representative to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. He’ll hold the prestigious position for the 2010-2011 academic year. McCarty, a junior majoring in marketing, is also vice president of the university’s Student Government Association.

Arlington Prevails in First HOT Lanes Ruling — Arlington has scored a small victory in its lawsuit against the federal government and the Commonwealth of Virginia over the HOT lanes project. A federal judge denied VDOT’s motion to dismiss the case.

Save the Planetarium Rally Tomorrow — Supporters of the David M. Brown Planetarium plan to hold a rally at tomorrow night’s school board meeting, a week before the board’s planned vote on its FY2011 budget. The Save the Planetarium group has amassed more than 3,150 fans on Facebook and has collected more than 880 signatures for a petition.

Forget the Tidal Basin, Arlington Has Cherry Trees Aplenty

By ARLnow.com

The Tidal Basin may get all the attention during the National Cherry Blossom Festival, but why wade through a sea of tourists to see a bunch of cherry trees when there are literally thousands right here in Arlington?

There are 1,050 ornamental cherry trees lining county streets, according to Arlington urban forester Richard Miller. And that number doesn’t include cherry trees that are planted in parking lots, in parks or on private property.

The trees planted in Arlington include the Yoshino, Okame and Kwanzan varieties. The Yoshino Cherry is the dominant variety around the Tidal Basin, where the National Park Service has just announced that blossoms have reached full bloom.

Miller says the county parks department plants about 20 ornamental cherry trees per year, primarily in places where vertical space is limited, such as under power lines. The trees have a life span of about 50 years.

“The trees do really well in this area,” says Chris Harlan of Arlington Tree Care. “The shame about it is [the blossoms] only last for a short time.”

Harlan says harsh weather, such as the recent cold temperatures and strong winds, will reduce to length of the bloom.

“It’s unfortunate, you wait all year and the blossoms come out, but we’re always in such a transition with the weather that it affects the blossoms,” said Harlan, who cites the weeping cherry trees on North Edison Street near Yorktown High School as his personal favorite this time of year.

Believe It Or Not, It’s Trout Fishing Season in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Holy mackerel, you say, there’s trout fishing in Arlington? You bet your bass there is.

On Saturday morning more than 100 anglers showed up at Bon Air Park, not far from the high-rises of Ballston, for the beginning of Arlington County’s trout season. From 9:00 a.m. to noon, the kids 15 and under has free reign of the prime fishing spots along Four Mile Run, without adult competition.

Arlington’s trout season lasts about six weeks, effectively ending when all the trout have been caught. Trout cannot naturally survive in Four Mile Run due to the lack of cool, shady spots during the summer, so the county parks and recreation department contracts with a fish hatchery in West Virginia to stock the stream from Barcroft Park to Bon Air Park every third weekend in March. An annual Four Mile Run stream clean-up, every second weekend in March, is timed to coincide with the beginning of trout fishing season.

The trout program has been around for nearly 20 years, but was nearly canceled this year due to the county’s budget problems. The go-ahead for this season came in at the last minute, which caused a drop in attendance on Saturday due to the lack of advance notice, according to veteran park ranger Lynda Kersey. About 600 anglers from all over the area will take advantage of the trout fishing by the end of the season, Kersey said.

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