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Sun Gazette: Arlington Is Full of Nuts

By ARLnow.com

If you’ve noticed more acorns on the ground than usual this fall, you’re not crazy. In fact, 2010 is “a bumper year” for acorns, according to a naturalist quoted by the Sun Gazette.

After an arduous nut famine in 2008, Arlington’s four species of squirrels are enjoying the feast, writes Scott McCaffrey. And the excess acorn production isn’t just good news for squirrels — it’s also good news for trees. The plethora of nuts may eventually result in new trees sprouting up around the county.

The DC area isn’t the only part of the country seeing an abundance of squirrel food. Ohio is “looking at its best [acorn] crop since 2005,” according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Why are the acorns so bountiful?

The meteorologists over at ABC 7 say that a lack of a major spring frost and a summer drought helped to spur acorn growth.

Tree Trimmer Rescued After Branch Hits Power Line

By ARLnow.com

A tree trimmer had to be rescued by the fire department after a falling branch made contact with electrical lines. The incident happened around 12:30 this afternoon, near the intersection of 24th Road and Shirlington Road in Nauck.

The man was about 25 feet up in the tree when the branch made contact. Dispatchers were told that he was receiving electrical shocks every time he tried to move.

An Arlington County Fire Department ladder truck, rescue squad and medic unit were on scene as Dominion shut off power to the wires and the surrounding neighborhood. The ladder was then directed toward the man, and he was hoisted into the basket by two firefighters. Back down on the ground, the man handed his chainsaw off to firefighters and walked into the back of the ambulance, apparently in good health.

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County Board Meeting Roundup

By ARLnow.com

In case you wanted to enjoy Saturday morning outside rather than spend it inside watching the first county board meeting following the summer break, here’s a summary of what happened.

  • The board responded to public criticism of reduced library hours. Chairman Jay Fisette said “difficult choices had to be made.” The Sun Gazette has more.
  • The board approved an amendment that authorizes the Arlington Mill Community Center project to move forward without an originally-approved residential component. A developer initially wanted to build a mixed use and a residential building on the site, but ran into financial difficulties. Instead of a five-story building that would consist of apartments and a 39,000 square foot public community center space, Arlington Mill will now be a five-story, 64,500 square foot stand-alone community center. The ground breaking is scheduled for the spring of 2011, and the community center is expected to open in the spring of 2013.
  • The board approved a sign plan for the TD Bank at 5510 Lee Highway that included two lighted wall signs frowned upon by county staff. In his presentation to the board, a TD Bank representative spoke of the company’s frustration with the county’s stringent sign plan process. It took nearly two and a half years from when the initial design for the bank was approved to Saturday’s approval of the sign plan. That’s despite the fact that the signs were present in the bank’s initial design and received no objections from the local civic associations.
  • A landlord withdrew its request to convert retail space in Crystal City Shops into office space.
  • The board voted to protect six “specimen trees” at the request of four Arlington residents.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

It’s September — Start mourning the end of summer now — and get to the pool while you still can.

Man Goes Bananas in the Vegetable Aisle — Police are trying to find a man who walked into the Virginia Square Giant, spit on the vegetable display, sprayed hand lotion on a candy display, and assaulted a cashier. He’s described as a six-foot tall, 30-year-old white male with a ponytail. More from TBD.

A “Tree Tragedy” in Ballston — This is an older item that was just brought to our attention. Last month workers at Ballston Common Mall went overboard while pruning trees along the sidewalk, resulting in an incident our tipster referred to as the “Ballston Tree Massacre.” A member of a local group called the Tree Stewards apparently tried to intervene, but was ignored by the crew. The end result of the overzealous pruning: ugliness and death.

Photos from Capital Bikeshare Station Installation — The first of the 114 planned Capital Bikeshare stations was installed near the Crystal City Metro station yesterday morning. The Commuter Page Blog has photos of the installation.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

County Employee Injured By Falling Branch

By ARLnow.com

An employee with the county’s Water, Sewer and Streets Bureau was struck in the head by a falling branch this afternoon while working at Washington Boulevard and North Nicholas Street, in the Highland Park neighborhood near Westover Village.

The accident happened around 1:00 p.m. when a backhoe struck part of a tree, causing the branch to fall about seven feet onto the employee’s head, according to Arlington County Chief Fire Marshal Benjamin Barksdale.

Although the accident initially sounded serious, Barksdale says the employee was taken to Virginia Hospital Center with only a minor head wound.

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.