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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Musical Moves to New Theater — The Arlington Players are moving next month’s production of Nine to the Kenmore Middle School auditorium. Earthquake damage was discovered earlier this month at the musical’s original venue, the Thomas Jefferson Community Theater. [Sun Gazette]

Roosevelt Island Access From D.C.? — Greater Greater Washington argues that ferry service or bridge should be established/built from the Georgetown waterfront to Roosevelt Island. Why? “Roosevelt Island is in the District of Columbia, yet DC residents have to travel through Virginia via or along a highway to get to this fantastic and wild resource.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Metro Cell Phone Upgrades Behind Schedule — Metro is well behind schedule in providing cell phone service to all 47 of its underground rail stations. The agency had promised to add service to the 27 stations currently without cell phone infrastructure by last fall, but now says it’s not sure when the cell phone companies will complete the work necessary to provide the service. [Washington Examiner]

Steeple Cell Phone Antennas Recommended for Approval

By ARLnow.com

County staff is recommending that the County Board approve AT&T’s request to put new cell phone antennas in a pair of North Arlington church steeples.

Last month the company went before the board to request permission to replace older antennas and equipment at 15 existing cell sites around the county. The equipment will allow AT&T to offer high speed ‘Long Term Evolution’ (LTE) data service to cell phone customers in Arlington. The board approved the replacement at 13 of the sites, but withdrew two for further consideration after a number of neighbors voiced opposition.

The two sites in question are both churches: the Westover Baptist Church (1125 Patrick Henry Drive) and Walker Chapel United Methodist Church (4102 N. Old Glebe Road). AT&T already has cell phone antennas in the steeples of both churches, but neighbors objected to what they saw as the possible health risks of the new antennas. Those opposing antennas at Walker Chapel also cited the historic nature of the 140-year-old church, even though the building itself is just over 50 years old.

Ultimately, county staff sided with AT&T, which argued that the new antennas will not be substantially heavier than the existing antennas — thus posing no anticipated structural problems — and will remain compliant with FCC regulations regarding radio frequency exposure.

“AT&T will contribute less than five percent of the maximum permissible exposure allowed,” staff wrote in the board report. The company agreed to annual, independent electromagnetic emission tests at all 15 sites to ensure compliance.

Last week’s revelation that the World Health Organization now considers cell phone use to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” however, will likely only serve to increase the resolve of antenna opponents. Even if the County Board wanted to decide the matter on the basis of health concerns, however, it is legally prohibited from doing so. According to the board report, federal law “prohibits localities from basing decisions on the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions if the facility complies with FCC regulations.”

The board is scheduled to consider the cell antenna requests on Saturday.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Trail Parking — This car chose an interesting place to park — on a stretch of trail between the county’s new Dept. of Human Services building and Washington Boulevard.

Snakehead Fish Invade Four Mile Run — Predatory snakehead fish have invaded the waters of Four Mile Run, between Arlington and Alexandria. There’s concern that the so-called “frankenfish” could kill off native fish in the stream, as it has decimated native populations of bass and shad in the Potomac. [WJLA]

Marymount Names New President — Arlington’s Marymount University has named a successor for retiring president James Bundschuh. Matthew Shank, dean of the business school at the University of Dayton, will take over as president in July. [Washington Post]

Cell Phones to Get Emergency Alerts — Soon, cell phones in the D.C. area will be capable of receiving emergency alerts via text message. [New York Times]

Gaslight Square Condos Selling Quickly — McWilliams|Ballard and Abdo Development have sold nearly $12 million worth of luxury condos at the still-under-construction Gaslight Square project between Rosslyn and Courthouse. [Marketwire]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Airport Body Scanner Company Is Based in Crystal City — One of the companies behind the controversial “naked” body scan machines in U.S. airports is located right here in Arlington. Recently, writer Annie Lowrey visited the company’s Crystal City offices to see how they were handling the controversy. More from Slate.

AT&T Rolls Out Pentagon City Store — AT&T’s new wireless store in the Pentagon City mall opened its doors yesterday, just in time for the holiday shopping rush. The store features “a state-of-the-art, hands-on design to engage customers and provide a ‘try before buy’ service experience,” according to a press release.

Verizon Activates New Cell Site — “In a continuing effort to provide the best wireless service for local residents in the Arlington County, Va., Verizon Wireless has expanded its network with a new cell site,” a company press release says. “The new cell site provides increased wireless voice and 3G data coverage in the neighborhood near 22nd Street North.” Verizon did not elaborate on the site’s exact location.

Crystal City ArtJamz Reviewed — The ladies from the DC on Heels blog created their own personal masterpieces at ArtJamz in Crystal City last week. What exactly is ArtJamz, you ask? The explanation, with plenty of photos, from DC on Heels. (Disclosure: ArtJamz is an ARLnow.com advertiser.)

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Happy World Car Free Day — As mentioned earlier, it’s Car Free Day, the day in which car commuters are encouraged to consider alternatives to driving solo to work. Thousands of people in the DC area have signed a pledge to keep their car at home today, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. If leaving the car at home doesn’t sound fun enough on its own merits, there will be a Car Free Day party from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Capital Bikeshare station at Crystal Drive and 23rd Street in Crystal City.

Arlington Issues Hundreds of Texting Citations — According to the Washington Examiner, Arlington County police issued 131 citations for texting while driving during the first half of the year. Texting while driving is illegal in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.

McCain Talks Tea Party At Murray Fundraiser — Sen. John McCain headlined a fundraiser for local Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray on Monday. While speaking to Murray donors, McCain opined about the Tea Party movement, saying the “anger and frustration” of Tea Party members “justified.” McCain said Murray is someone who would listen to the Tea Party. More from Examiner.com.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Metro Introduces ‘Next Train’ Real-Time Arrival Info Via Phone

By ARLnow.com

You can now place a call and find out exactly when the next Metrorail train is expected to arrive. Today Metro is rolling out its ‘Next Train’ phone service, to complement the existing internet and mobile web-based services.

To access the real-time system, riders call Metro’s customer service line at 202-637-7000, say “Next Train,” then say the station name after the prompt. The automated system utilizes voice recognition technology.

“Up-to-the-minute information is key to the convenience of transit; the easier it is to know when your train is coming, the easier it is to manage your schedule,” said Arlington County board member Chris Zimmerman, who also sits on the Metro Board of Directors.

After the jump: Metro released a video demonstrating how the system works.

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Crime Report: Cell Phone Thefts on the Rise?

By ARLnow.com

It may not be a sustained trend, but there were at least three instances of people having their cell phones forcibly taken from them this week. That follows an incident last week in which a woman who was talking on a cell phone was pushed to the ground and robbed of her phone.

ROBBERY 05/25/10, 1800 block of N. Moore Street. On May 25 at 9:45 pm, an unknown woman and man approached a man waiting at a bus stop. The male suspect asked the victim if he had a cell phone. When the victim pulled it out, the suspects stole it and fled on foot. Both suspect were African American and in their early 20’s. The male suspect was 5’6″ and wearing a black jacket, black jeans and a black head covering. The female was 5’5″ with a heavy build, and was wearing blue jean, a blue jacket and carried a purse.

ROBBERY 05/26/10, 4300 block of N. 4th Street. On May 26 at 12:30 am, a man was talking on his cell phone outside an apartment building when a group of men approached him. They surrounded him and stole money and his cell phone. The six suspects were African American males.

ROBBERY 05/26/10, 200 block of N. Piedmont Street. On May 26 at midnight, a man was carrying a case of water and was approached by a group of six unknown subjects in their early 20’s. Two men assaulted him and stole money and a cell phone from his pocket. The suspects then fled. The first suspect is described as an African American male, 5’6″ with a large stomach wearing only pants. The second suspect is a female with a dark complexion, 5’5″, with dark spiky hair, partially dyed green. The third suspect is described as a “short and fat” African American female wearing dark clothing. The fourth suspect was a “tall and skinny” African American female wearing a white t-shirt. The other suspect descriptions are unknown.

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

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