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Car Plows Into Columbia Pike CVS, Again

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) A car has plowed into the CVS Pharmacy at 5017 Columbia Pike for the second time in as many years.

The incident happened around 11:00. The car, a Mitsubishi sedan, hopped a curb smashed through a low wall and several large windows next to the entrance to the store, coming to rest on the sidewalk. Nobody was injured. Initial reports suggest the driver was trying to back out of the parking spot, but instead hit the gas while the car was in drive.

The fire department ordered the store temporarily closed as a safety precaution, pending a building inspection. A manager, who was assessing the damage, said the mid-day closure was costing the store “thousands” of dollars, not to mention the cost of repairing the damage.

In May 2011, a car hopped the curb and smashed into the store just feet from where today’s accident occurred. The scars from that accident are still visible in the repaired section of wall.

The manager said the store will likely look into planters or other ways to prevent additional accidents.

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Photos: 2012 Arlington County Fair

By ARLnow.com

The 2012 Arlington County Fair enters its second day today.

The fair — at the grounds of the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 2nd Street S.) — will continue outdoor festivities from 5:00 to 10:00 tonight (Thursday). On Friday, the fair’s indoor exhibits start. (A schedule is available here.)

Last night, we snapped some photos of families, kids and couples out enjoying the rides, food, games and entertainment at the fair.

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Photos: Civil War Reenactors at Arlington Church

By ARLnow.com

On Sunday a group of Civil War reenactors set up camp outside the Mount Olivet United Methodist Church at 1500 N. Glebe Road, part of a “living history” event intended to draw attention to the church’s role as a field hospital during the war.

The event included a display of medical tools and practices from the Civil War era, talks by actor portraying historic figures, and the opportunity to mix and mingle with the reenactors, who discussed the ins and outs and camp life.

Among the reenactors was Seth Black, a Thomas Jefferson Middle School student and avid Civil War buff who portrayed a wounded Union drummer boy, according to the Sun Gazette.

Photos courtesy Fred Dunn

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Photos: WPGC Softball Game in Nauck

By ARLnow.com

Members of the Nauck community gathered last night (Wednesday) for a softball game featuring radio personalities from WPGC (95.5 FM).

The game — between the WPGC “Naturals” softball team and a team of local residents — was part of the radio station’s “Knocking Violence Out the Park” campaign. The Naturals have previously faced off against teams of police officers and residents in various parts of D.C. and Maryland as part of the campaign.

There was a police presence at last night’s game, which was held at Drew Model Elementary School; a member of the Arlington County Police Department’s gang unit played on the Nauck community team.

Former candidate for County Board Terron Sims, who helped WPGC organize the event, said the game was all about bringing the community together in a fun way.

“This has been great,” he told ARLnow.com. “Everyone came together, we were able to get the permits we needed at the last minute for the field, the station came out, we were able to get the vendors to come out, the community’s out here… having a good time. ”

“The message is… about unifying the community in all our actions, whether it’s taking care of our kids, or crime prevention, or anything of that nature,” Sims continued. “It takes the community as a whole to move forward in a positive manner.”

In addition to the game itself, the event featured food vendors, kids activities, and a voter registration drive.

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Photos: July 4 in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

From neighborhood parades to backyard grilling to fireworks viewings, yesterday’s July 4 celebrations in Arlington largely went off without a hitch, despite continued power outages and the threat of evening storms.

The following are some of the scenes captured by photographers in our Flickr pool.

Photos courtesy Ddimick, Christaki, Ameschen, Maryva2, BrianMKA, Vawhelans

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Photos: Columbia Pike Blues Festival

By ARLnow.com

Organizers say attendance was up significantly at this year’s Columbia Pike Blue Festival.

The annual street festival was held on Saturday, along S. Walter Reed Drive. Some 7,000 people attended this year, according to Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization Executive Director Takis Karantonis. That’s up from about 5,000 people last year.

The festival’s food, drink and craft vendors were happy with the increased attendance, said Karantonis. The beer and wine vendors were especially pleased — they sold about 20 percent more than last year, according to Karantonis.

“All vendors sold significantly more,” he said. “They were all very satisfied with the Blues Fest.”

Karantonis said the Blues Festival is increasingly drawing more of a regional crowd, including attendees from all around Arlington — not just the Columbia Pike area. That should allow improvements to the festival next year, including healthier food options and a new “food court” made up exclusively of booths from local Columbia Pike restaurants.

Disclosure: CPRO is an ARLnow.com advertiser.

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Summer Photo Contest Results

ARLnow.com readers have spoken, and the photo above — “Morning Coffee at Iwo Jima” by Kevin Wolf — has been chosen as the best of the best in our pre-Memorial Day Summer Photo Contest.

The winning photo received 226 votes. “Fourth of July Fireworks from the Netherlands Carillon” by Clint Farrell was a close second with 210 votes, while our third place winner, “Douglas Park Fire Station” by Mary Troyan, received 183 votes.

Kevin, Clint and Mary will receive $100, $50 and $25 gift cards, respectively, to Fire Works Pizza in Courthouse (2350 Clarendon Blvd). Kevin will also receive a ARLnow.com tote bag. Thank you to Fire Works for sponsoring our contest and helping to give us give us some summer scenes to look forward to as we counted down the hours to Memorial Day weekend.

Here’s wishing you and yours a great holiday weekend, Arlington.

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Vote: Summer Photo Contest

It was tough work but we’ve narrowed down the dozens of entries to our Summer Photo Contest to ten finalists who successfully captured a unique, visually-appealing summer scene in Arlington.

Fire Works Pizza in Courthouse (2350 Clarendon Blvd) is sponsoring the contest in celebration of their new outdoor canopy, which will help keep patio diners cooler when the sun’s beating down, warmer on cool evenings, and dry during summer downpours.

You can vote below for up to three of your favorite entries.

Voting will take place through 2:30 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, May 24). The finalist who receives the most votes will receive a $100 gift card to Fire Works Pizza along with an ARLnow.com tote bag. Second and third place will receive a $50 and $25 Fire Works gift card respectively.

Call For Entries: Summer Photo Contest

Memorial Day is just around the corner. That means it’s time to break out the swimsuits, sandals, sunscreen — and the cameras.

In celebration of their new outdoor canopy — which will help keep patio diners cooler when the sun’s beating down, warmer (thanks to built-in heaters) on cool evenings, and dry during summer downpours — Fire Works Pizza in Courthouse (2350 Clarendon Blvd) is sponsoring a summer-themed photo conest.

We’re looking for your best summer snap from around Arlington. Maybe it’s your friends celebrating a patriotic holiday, neighbors out at a street festival, lightning from a summer thunderstorm, your pet trying to keep cool during the dog days of summer — anything that just screams “summer in Arlington.” (Since it’s not officially summer yet, it’s okay if the photo was taken in previous years.)

Email one photo in JPG format to [email protected] by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23. Please include your name (which may be published) along with the best email address at which to contact you (which will not be published). ARLnow.com will pick 10 finalists and will let readers vote on their favorites this coming Thursday, May 24.

The finalist that receives the most votes will receive a $100 gift card to Fire Works along with an ARLnow.com tote bag. Second and third place will receive a $50 and $25 Fire Works gift card respectively.

The contest is open to U.S. residents 18 years of age and older. By submitting a photo to the contest you affirm that you took the photo, own the rights to the photo, and agree that ARLnow.com can use the photo for any and all contest-related purposes. Limit one entry per person.

Good luck!

Festival-Goers Consume 110 Pounds of Testicles

By ARLnow.com

The Montana State Society’s Testicle Festival in Virginia Square was a rousing success this year.

Festival-goers consumed 110 pounds of bull and bison testicles, 84 liters of Crown Royal and 1,500 cans of beer this year, according to event organizer and Society president Jed Link. All three were records for the event, now in its eighth year.

Organizers estimate that nearly 600 people attended the Testicle Festival, which was held at the American Legion post at 3445 Washington Boulevard. Even though the event didn’t start until 6:00 on Saturday evening, Link said a line started to form at 4:30 p.m.

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Taste of Arlington May Expand Next Year

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) The 25th annual Taste of Arlington was held on Sunday afternoon.

Thousands came out to enjoy the nice weather and to sample a wide variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts from local restaurants. There was also beer and wine for the over-21 set.

Of the 35+ restaurants that participated in this year’s event, three captured top marks, as determined by a contingent of roaming judges. P.F. Chang’s (901 N. Glebe Road) won for Best Appetizer, brgr:shack (4215 Fairfax Drive) won for Best Entree, and Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Road) won for Best Dessert.

As before, the event was held in front of the Ballston Common Mall along Wilson Boulevard. Even though the footprint of the event was expanded up N. Stuart Street and into Welburn Square this year, it was still difficult at times to get around, especially in places where long lines had formed. New Ballston Business Improvement District Executive Director Tina Leone says organizers are working to fix that.

“We have some pretty big plans for next year,” she told ARLnow.com. “We would like to further expand the footprint of the event. Of course we want more people to come every year, but we need to accommodate them. We really want to make next year’s event even easier for people to get there, get tickets, get around, and just enjoy themselves.”

Other plans in the works for next year include more entertainment — perhaps an additional stage — along with an expanded “kid zone” and a new “dog zone” for those who bring their pups to the event.

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