Washington Capitals

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Happy Trails to Barry Trotz — Arlington resident and Stanley Cup winning coach Barry Trotz is stepping down as head coach of the Washington Capitals. (A number of Caps coaches and players call Arlington home, given that the team’s home base is the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston.) [Washington Post, WJLA]

Crash Closes Departures Roadway at DCA — A vehicle crash and the subsequent cleanup effort closed the departure level roadway for an extended period of time yesterday. “A car with three occupants accidentally ended up on a jersey wall and rode along it for approximately 100 yards before coming back down,” an Arlington County Fire Department spokesman told ARLnow.com. “One occupant had minor injuries, but none were transported.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Neighborhood Battles to Save Tree — “Another development-preservation battle is gearing up in Arlington, this one focused on the fate of a dawn redwood on Ohio Street… A petition was recently initiated by Todd Murdock who lives several houses away from the tree. In a day the petition had 500 signatures and by June 10 the number of signatures had grown to more than 700.” [Arlington Connection]

Kaine on Housing Affordability, Amazon — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) swung by Clarendon on Monday to speak at a forum on housing affordability. He believes localities like Arlington that are dealing with skyrocketing rents need help from the federal government, but he lamented that the Trump administration’s policies could be actively making the problem worse. Afterwards, he told a reporter that rush hour traffic may be a significant detriment to Northern Virginia’s bid for Amazon’s HQ2. [Twitter, Washington Business Journal]

Nearby: Wawa Coming to Georgetown — Rosslyn residents and workers may be able to walk — or take a gondola? — to the next D.C. Wawa. The convenience store chain plans to open in the former Restoration Hardware space on Wisconsin Avenue NW. [Washington Business Journal]

Photo courtesy @NineTiger

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Alex Koma

A heat wave is just around the corner, just in time for the weekend (and Father’s Day).

The forecast is set to be gorgeous for the next two days, before things get especially steamy Sunday.

It’s the perfect weather to, say, stop by a beer garden and crawfish boil, or check out the new Rosslyn observation deck. There are plenty of other events on tap this weekend too if you’re looking for something to do with the dads in your life.

In the meantime, check out some of our most popular stories of the last week:

  1. Caps Stop in Clarendon, With Stanley Cup in Tow
  2. Washington-Lee High School to be Renamed
  3. Man Jumps in Front of Train at East Falls Church Metro
  4. Video: Crystal City Metro Station Gets Unexpected Visitor
  5. Overhaul of Tricky ‘Clarendon Circle’ Intersection Could Start This Fall

Speaking of the Caps stopping in Clarendon with the Stanley Cup last Friday, there was more Capitals excitement in Arlington today. Alexander Ovechkin and Caps owner Ted Leonsis brought the Cup to the Arlington County Police Department for a quick photo opportunity.

Head down to the comment to discuss these stories, the Caps, your Father’s Day plans or anything else local. Have a great weekend!

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Free Admission at New Observation Deck — The new observation deck in Rosslyn is holding “Arlington County residents day” this weekend. Arlington County residents with valid ID can present it at the Observation Deck at CEB Tower box office for free admission from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. [Observation Deck at CEB Tower]

Stanley Cup to Visit ACPD Today — The Arlington County Police Department is set for a visit from the Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and the Stanley Cup today. [WUSA 9]

Pike May Get New ‘Showplace’ Library — “The current two-story community library in the corridor is tucked away on the Arlington Career Center campus, which is slated for a massive, if currently undefined, redevelopment effort in coming years. A library space is expected to be part of the redevelopment package, but county officials are looking at other options, including a full-frontal signature space facing Columbia Pike itself.” [InsideNova]

Road Closures for 5K Race — Several roads will be closed in and around Pentagon City Saturday morning for the 2018 ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk/Dash for Dads 5K Race. [Arlington County, ZERO]

Flickr pool photo by GM and MB

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Construction Kicks Off at The Berkeley — Work is underway on The Berkeley, and “obsolete” apartment building at 2900-2910 S. Glebe Road that is doing a significant redevelopment. The $100 million project will turn the 137 units currently on the site into 256 apartments. [Multi-Housing News]

Remains May Be Linked to Missing Person Case — Remains found in Stafford County are reportedly those of a woman who went missing in Arlington in 1989. The missing woman’s husband — Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, who’s currently in jail for another woman’s murder — told police at the time that his wife left and was living in the Miami area. Later D.C. police learned that it was his second wife’s sister, who had assumed the identity of Rodriguez-Cruz’s first wife. [Fox 5]

Vida Fitness Eyeing Rosslyn Location — “[Vida Fitness] has a letter of intent for space in western Rosslyn, owner David von Storch told the Business Journal… The location — which will include SweatBox, a boutique studio within a gym that offers high-intensity interval training in a fast-paced, heart-monitored workout — would open in the fourth quarter of 2020. Von Storch already has a deal to open a Vida in Ballston.” [Washington Business Journal]

ACPD Motor Squad Escorts the Caps — Members of the Arlington County Police Department’s motorcycle squad helped escort the Washington Capitals and the Stanley Cup in yesterday’s victory parade in D.C. Other regional police agencies, including Montgomery County Police, also participated. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

BREAKING: Caps Stop in Clarendon, With Stanley Cup in Tow

By Alex Koma

(Updated at 12:10 a.m.) Dozens — if not hundreds — of adoring fans flocked to Clarendon tonight (June 8) to welcome home the Washington Capitals as they brought home the Stanley Cup.

The team gathered for a private celebration at Don Tito along Wilson Blvd, and fans congregated on both sides of N. Hudson Street to cheer and offer their thanks. Players arriving at the restaurant early on included T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson and Philipp Grubauer.

Wilson even got the chance to hoist the Cup and show it off to the assembled crowd.

The Caps returned from Las Vegas earlier this afternoon, after besting the Golden Knights in five games to win D.C. its first major sports title since 1992.

ARLnow broadcast the staggered arrivals of players and the Stanley Cup on Facebook Live. The Cup can be seen in the beginning of the video.

Caps star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner and one-time Arlington resident Alexander Ovechkin arrived after our live feed ended. Later Ovi brought the Cup down from the party to show screaming, smartphone-wielding bar-goers, as seen in the video below.

Despite a brief summer thunderstorm rolling through — and Thursday’s excitement putting a slight damper on Clarendon’s Friday nightlife — the line to get into Don Tito’s remained relatively long as of 11 p.m.

More social media posts from the celebration, after the jump.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Rocks the Red — It was lit in Arlington during last night’s Stanley Cup Finals — literally. In Rosslyn, a swath of red and the words “ALL CAPS” was projected onto a prominent office building. In Ballston, the lights atop another office building were switched to red. [Twitter, Twitter]

Young Caps Fan Provides All the Luck — Parker Matthews, a 7-year-old Arlington resident, kept finding four leaf clovers on the ground during the Washington Capitals’ playoff and championship run. She would display the lucky keepsakes in front of the TV during games. [NBC Washington]

Celebrations Around Arlington — The scene last night after the Caps won the Stanley Cup in Game 5 was one of jubilation throughout Arlington. In some parts of the county, homemade fireworks were going off. In Clarendon, fans cheered in the streets while a fire truck used its horn to lead the crowd in a chant of “let’s go Caps.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Where to Buy Caps Stanley Cup Gear — The team store at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston could have Stanley Cup championship merchandise as soon as Saturday, though the exact timing is unclear. [Twitter]

In Less Exciting News — “Rising interest rates already are impacting the amount Arlington County taxpayers will have to shell out for bond-approved capital projects in coming years. But county-government officials hailed the recent 2.99-percent interest rate received on sale of $153 million in municipal debt as a testament to the government’s rock-solid credit rating.” [InsideNova, Arlington County]

UPDATED: New Caps Banner Above Columbia Pike Prompts Community Consternation

By Alex Koma
1/2

Update on June 7 at 10:30 a.m. — Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization officials say they’ve struck a deal with the Capitals to resolve this dispute.

Each group will now post a banner above Columbia Pike, one facing east and one facing west. They believe a contractor for the Caps inadvertently disposed of the old CPRO banner, and the team plans to replace it, at no cost to CPRO.

“We are happy that CPRO and the Washington Capitals were able to come together and make things work for both organizations,” John Snyder, president of the CPRO board, wrote in a statement. “The Pike community loves the Caps. We invite the Caps family and fans to join us at the Blues Festival on June 16th — and hope they bring along the Cup!”

Earlier: A new banner stretching over Columbia Pike proclaiming that “Arlington is All Caps” might not seem out of place, given the D.C. region’s hockey obsession these days — but the arrival of the pennant has ruffled a few feathers, all the same.

As recently as this past weekend, a banner hung from the same streetlight poles in front of the Audi dealership at 3200 Columbia Pike advertising the Columbia Pike Blues Festival, set for next Saturday (June 16). The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, known as CPRO, puts on the event and arranged to have that banner placed in such a prominent spot.

CPRO leaders say they were quite confused to see their pennant disappear in favor of the Washington Capitals-themed decoration, as they believed they had a permit from Arlington officials to leave the banner up a bit longer. But the Capitals themselves also believe they have the county’s permission to post the pennant, leaving CPRO at a loss.

“It could’ve been a snafu, we don’t know,” Cecilia Cassidy, CPRO’s executive director, told ARLnow. “It could’ve just been Stanley Cup fever.”

Megan Eichenberg, the Caps’ manager of communications and publicity, insists that the team has a county permit to post the banner. She declined to answer questions about when the Caps applied for and received that authorization, or what became of the banner, deferring comment to the county.

A spokeswoman for the county’s zoning office didn’t immediately have answers on the matter, saying only that staffers are looking into it. Cassidy added that CPRO has been in contact with the county about the issue, but has yet to hear more details.

Michael Garcia, an insurance agent with an office on the Pike and a CPRO board member, says the group’s chief concern isn’t in seeing the Caps banner come down, especially with the team on the cusp of its first-ever Stanley Cup. He is, however, interested in learning what became of the $1,800 banner.

“Has it been trashed? Or will it be returned to CPRO?” Garcia wrote in an email to ARLnow. “Who will reimburse CPRO for the $1,800 banner and cost of re-installation? And who authorized this without notifying CPRO in the first place?”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Work Begins to Replace Collapsed Pipe — A collapsed 18-inch stormwater pipe is being replaced on Arlington Ridge. The work is necessitating a detour for Arlington Ridge Road traffic between 23rd Street and S. Glebe Road. The stretch has been the site of numerous water main issues over the past few years. [Twitter]

Big Turnout for Caps Sendoff — Thousands of fans reportedly flocked to the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston on Saturday to give the Caps a Stanley Cup sendoff as they traveled to Las Vegas for Game 1 of the finals. [WUSA 9]

Manager Warns Against Additional Debt — “[Don’t] do it. That’s Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz’s advice to County Board members, urging them to resist any temptation to disregard the government’s self-imposed, and for the most part sacrosanct, debt guidelines. The guidelines, long in place to help the county government retain AAA bond ratings, call for the cost of servicing municipal debt to remain less than 10 percent of the total overall county-government budget in any given year.” [InsideNova]

ACFD Lends a Hand in Ellicott City — Arlington County Fire Department units are helping out the flood recovery efforts in Ellicott City, Md. The catastrophic flooding in Ellicott City over the weekend prompted a regional disaster aid response. [Twitter]

DJO Wins State Softball Crown — The Bishop O’Connell Knights girls high school softball team won the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I tournament last week, capturing the state championship title for the seventh year in a row. [InsideNova]

Photo courtesy @thelastfc

Caps to Host Stanley Cup Sendoff in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

The Washington Capitals are encouraging fans to flock to Ballston on Saturday to help send the team off to the Stanley Cup finals.

The event will be held around noon at Kettler Capitals Iceplex (627 N. Glebe Road).

More from a media advisory:

Practice is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., with players beginning to exit the building in front of fans on their way to Las Vegas at approximately noon.

The 8th floor parking deck will be closed. Fans are encouraged to take the metro (Ballston-MU station) and access the facility from the elevators and stairwell located on Glebe and Randolph.

The Caps will face off against the Las Vegas Golden Knights at 8 p.m. eastern on Monday.

File photo

Rosslyn to Host Outdoor Capitals Watch Party Friday

By Anna Merod

Hockey fans will have a chance to catch the Washington Capitals’ first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in two decades outside in Rosslyn.

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District and Arlington County are teaming up to host an outdoor watch party for the Caps’ first game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, fans can gather at Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway) for the 8 p.m. game. The event will also feature appearances from the “Red Rockers” dance team and the team’s mascot, Slapshot.

The game will be aired on a 40-foot projection screen.

The event is weather permitting. Follow the Capitals Twitter account for weather updates.

File photo

Photos: Rosslyn Nando’s Opens Monday

By Bridget Reed Morawski
1/5

South African spicy chicken restaurant Nando’s is opening its newest location at Rosslyn’s Central Place on Monday (March 12), the company announced today.

A press release noted that players with a Washington sports team will make an appearance for a grand opening charity event to benefit “local underserved youth,” but a Nando’s representative declined to be more specific. A Ballston Nando’s opening in 2016 featured several Washington Capitals players flipping chickens.

The location is the newest of the chain’s now 41 U.S. restaurants. Decorations inside the new location include a portrait by South African artist Nqabutho Phakathi, colorful lighting and an undulating ceiling.

Beginning Monday, the restaurant at 1800 N. Lynn Street, with an entrance on N. Moore Street, will operate from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. on weekdays, from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Sundays.

Photos courtesy of Nando’s

View More Stories