Yorktown

Lee Highway Studio ‘Art House 7’ Looks to Expand, Double in Size

By Alex Koma

An art studio for kids along Lee Highway is looking to double in size as part of its new expansion plans.

Art House 7, located at 5537 Lee Highway in Yorktown, is looking for the County Board’s permission to earn the necessary zoning changes to make the move. The studio has offered classes and summer camps on everything from painting to pottery-making since it opened in the space in 2015.

Art House 7 is currently based in a condo complex near the Lee Harrison shopping center, with classes offered on both floors of the small home. But its owners recently purchased an adjacent condo as well, located at 5535 Lee Highway, and wants to expand its operations there as well, according to a report prepared by county staff.

That would allow the studio to double the number of students allowed in the space at any given time, from 12 kids up to 24.

Staff wrote that they haven’t found any reason to deny that request, and noted that both the Yorktown and Leeway Overlee civic associations support the permit changes.

The matter is slated to go before the Board Saturday (March 16), as part of its consent agenda. That is generally reserved for noncontroversial items passed without debate.

So long as the Board signs off on this change, it would be up for review in one year’s time.

Photo via Arlington County

Driver Flips Car in Yorktown Neighborhood, Lands in Front of Home

By Alex Koma
1/5

A driver ran off the road in a Yorktown neighborhood last night (Thursday), flipped the car over and landed directly in front of someone’s home.

The crash happened around 9:30 p.m. along the 2600 block of N. Harrison Street, according to county police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

She says the driver “left the roadway, struck a telephone pole, rolled over and struck a parked vehicle.” It ultimately settled in the front yard of a small home on N. Harrison Street.

One neighbor also told ARLnow that the crash brought down some nearby power lines.

Savage says the driver was “transported to an area hospital with reportedly minor non-life threatening injuries.”

Police are still investigating the incident, she added.

JUST IN: Uber Driver Runs Off Lee Highway, Knocking Down Street Signs and Light Pole

By Alex Koma
1/7

Police are now investigating after an Uber driver ran off the road near the Lee Harrison Shopping Center, crashing into some street signs and knocking down a light pole.

The crash happened this morning on Lee Highway in Yorktown, near its intersection on N. Harrison Street.

It appears as if the driver of a hatchback, complete with an Uber sticker, lost control of the vehicle and drove down the sidewalk near the shopping center. The driver managed to knock down several street signs and a light pole, which fell into the street, before colliding with another utility pole.

Arlington Police and firefighters are currently on the scene evaluating the driver for injuries and administering a field sobriety test.

They’ve closed the westbound lane of Lee Highway as the investigation continues.

Yorktown Residents Vexed By Water Constantly Flowing Onto Street, Making For An Icy Mess

By Alex Koma

Some Yorktown residents say their neighborhood has become an icy mess at times over the last few weeks — and they believe a newly installed speed bump is to blame.

County officials still aren’t sure of the exact problem on the road, but they aren’t willing to blame the speed bump quite yet. Regardless of the exact source of the issue, people living along 26th Street N. as it runs between N. George Mason Drive and N. Glebe Road, say they’re desperate for a solution.

“We have had to have the county send salt trucks twice since [last] Friday to specifically address the road downhill from the speed bump,” David Miller, who lives along the 4900 block of 26th Street N., told ARLnow via email. “We expect this will be worse as we have more days below 32 degrees. We have not seen any accidents yet as a result of the ice/water, but have had our own cars slide while coming out of our driveway, so we fully expect it is only a matter of time.”

Miller says the road first started getting soaked with water about six months ago, the day after the county removed a speed bump from the area. Accordingly, neighbors can’t help but draw a connection between the two events.

However, he says the issue wasn’t serious until about six weeks ago, when the county installed a new speed bump and temperatures started to dip, leading residents to inform county officials about the problem. Everyone living in the area is convinced this is due to a leak of some kind, Miller said, but the county hasn’t come to a definitive conclusion just yet.

Katie O’Brien, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Environmental Services, says workers are indeed “actively investigating” what’s going on in the neighborhood. She says county staff “have been unable to identify a leak” thus far, making it possible that there are other factors at play in the area.

“Due to the record amount of rain we have received this year, there are a number of locations throughout the county that are supersaturated and the standing ground water may give off the appearance of a water main leak,” O’Brien wrote in an email. “We are also monitoring these locations as a precaution.”

Miller does give the county credit for its responsiveness to the issue, but remains frustrated that the problem is still unsolved all these weeks later. With temperatures continuing to plummet, he fears what will happen if the county still can’t find a fix in the coming months.

“Everyone on the street is concerned for the danger that the ice is creating,” he said.

Photo courtesy of David Miller

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Big Tree Fall on Car — A large tree fell across 8th Street S. late last week, crushing a parked car and causing a widespread power outage. [Twitter]

Local NAACP Reflects on Progress — “The Arlington NAACP’s 71st-anniversary Freedom Fund Banquet was a chance to look back on progress, but also to press for vigilance so it doesn’t slip away… The banquet on Oct. 13 drew a large crowd to the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel.” [InsideNova]

Rosslyn LED Art Unveiled — “Cliff Garten Studio is pleased to announce, ‘Gravity and Grace,’ a site-specific large-scale LED public artwork integrated into the architecture of JBG SMITH’s Central Place Plaza in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington.” [LiveDesign]

Yorktown Tied for First — “With an important homecoming victory over the visiting Langley Saxons in Oct. 12 football action, the Yorktown Patriots (4-3, 2-0) upped their winning streak to three to remain tied for first place in the Liberty District.” [InsideNova]

ACPD Again Holding Take-Back Day — “On Saturday, October 27, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Arlington County Police Department, Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its 16th opportunity in seven years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.” [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Lee Highway Taco Bell Shuts Down Ahead of Full Renovation

By Alex Koma
1/2

The Taco Bell on Lee Highway will be out of commission for the next few months, as its owners tear down the existing store and replace it with a new one.

The fast food restaurant, located at 4923 Lee Highway near Yorktown, shut down last week and construction tape now blocks off its drive-through lane. The eatery will remain closed for the next three to four months, general contractor Steve Taylor told ARLnow.

Taylor said the exact timeline for the project will depend on the weather in the coming weeks, but current plans call for the old restaurant to be demolished and completely replaced.

County records show its owner, the Ionedes Family Corporation, received the necessary permit approvals for much of the project in April.

The records also show that the current restaurant was built back in 1993.

Chill Zone Applies To Sell Beer, Wine

By Anna Merod

Chill Zone, a Yorktown cafe, might be serving alcohol soon.

The shop recently applied for a license to sell beer and wine at its location at 2442 N. Harrison St., said Chill Zone’s manager Daniel Bui.

Pending license approval, Chill Zone will serve red and white wine, and local beer, according to Bui. Initially the coffee shop plans to serve alcohol only on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chill Zone, which just celebrated its first anniversary, currently serves bubble tea, Vietnamese coffee and its signature “volcano mango frap,” in addition to food options like wings and sandwiches.

File photo

Crime Report: Man With Gun Holds Up Three Near Yorktown HS

By ARLnow.com

A young man with a gun held up three male victims in the area of Yorktown High School this past Friday night, according to this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.

Nothing was reported stolen during the hold up, which happened around 7:45 p.m.

More from the crime report:

BRANDISHING, 2017-12220221, 5200 block of Yorktown Boulevard. At approximately 7:41 p.m. on December 22, police were dispatched to the report of a suspect holding an individual at gunpoint. Upon arrival, it was determined that three victims were walking in a park when a male suspect jumped out from the bushes and brandished a firearm. The suspect forced the victims onto their knees and threatened them, before dismissing two of the victims. The suspect instructed the third victim to empty his pockets before dismissing him from the scene. None of the victims were injured and nothing was stolen from the contents of the third victim’s pockets. Units canvased the area with negative results. The suspect is described as a young, white male, in his late teens or early twenties, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a black mask.

The rest of this past week’s crime report highlights, including some that we’ve already reported, after the jump.

(more…)

Couple Searches For Answers After Dog Disappears in Arlington Under Mysterious Circumstances

By Chris Teale
1/3

A Falls Church couple is searching frantically for their missing dog, which disappeared last week in Arlington under some strange circumstances.

Solange and Craig Bone said they left their dog Sookie with a dog-sitter on N. Frederick Street in Waycroft-Woodlawn while they went out of town. They returned around 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 17, only to be greeted by the news that Sookie had disappeared earlier that day at around noon.

Solange Bone said they began putting fliers up immediately, and received phone calls from people nearby who said they had seen Sookie going along N. George Mason Drive, near Virginia Hospital Center.

Three days later, Bone said they received a call from a woman who said Sookie crossed Lee Highway on August 17 and walked to the area of N. Dickerson Street, where she was cornered by two good Samaritans.

But then, Bone said, when someone went inside to grab a leash for the dog, a man appeared and began to hold the dog. He then allegedly got into his car and drove away with her.

The man is described as being Hispanic and in his late 50s or early 60s, wearing thick black-rimmed glasses. He had a medium build and was driving a brown Toyota Camry or Corolla.

Bone said they have tried everything to get Sookie back, from putting up fliers to alerting local animal shelters, sending out automated calls and hiring a dog tracker to try and follow her scent. Bone said it is complicated by the fact that her collar has been removed.

“Literally, we haven’t slept,” Bone said. “We’ve been looking for her non-stop since we found out.”

Bone added that the Arlington County Police Department took a report on the case, but were unlikely to do more as the department typically does not search for missing pets. ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed Bone’s account of events, but had no further information.

There have not been additional sightings since the one in the Yorktown neighborhood, Bone said. The couple is offering a $1,500 reward to anyone who has any information on Sookie’s whereabouts.

Bone said that she is most concerned with getting her dog back, and is not as interested in punishing anyone who might have taken her, accidentally or otherwise.

“I don’t want to couch it as she’s been stolen or anything like that,” Bone said. “I just want her safe return. I just want whoever it is to just, no questions asked, we just want her back.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call 949-606-2598.

Photo No. 3 via Google Maps.

Police: Man Tried to Lure Boy into Car

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are looking for a man who tried to lure a boy into his car in the Yorktown neighborhood.

The incident happened around 8 a.m. this past Thursday, on the 3000 block of N. Harrison Street, not far from Yorktown High School. Police say a middle-aged man in a silver car asked the boy where he was going and whether he wanted a ride.

More from an ACPD crime report:

ENTICEMENT(Late), 2017-05250276, 3000 block of N. Harrison Street. At approximately 9:15 p.m. on May 25, police were dispatched to the report of an enticement. The investigation revealed that at approximately 8:00 a.m. on May 25, a juvenile male was walking in the area when an adult male subject in a silver four-door sedan pulled alongside him. The subject asked the juvenile where he was going and if he wanted a ride. When the juvenile responded no, the subject drove off in an unknown direction. The subject is described as a white male between 40-60 years old with gray hair. The investigation is ongoing.

Photo via Google Maps

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Pilots in the cockpit at DCA (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Metro Station Manager Arrested — A Metro station manager at the Pentagon has been arrested and charged with assaulting a fellow employee. The fight happened Wednesday afternoon inside the station manager’s kiosk, police say. [Washington Post]

Yorktown Grad’s Music Video Goes Viral — Budding hip-hop artist Hovey Benjamin has tallied nearly 1.5 million YouTube views of his new, NSFW music video. Benjamin lived in Arlington and attended Yorktown High School and Virginia Commonwealth University before moving to Los Angeles and signing a record deal. [Real House Life of Arlington, Uproxx]

New Condo and Townhouse Sales Center — Sponsored — Learn about all of the newest and most well-appointed properties in Arlington and DC without the hassle of finding all the information for yourself. Stop by the Sales Center this Sunday from 2-4 p.m. to learn about amenities, features, floor plans, fees, available units, and everything else you could ever want to know about all the condo buildings in the area. Located at 1600 Wilson Blvd. [Keri Shull Team]

Dozens of Arlington Runners Competing in Boston — Seventy-six Arlington runners will be shipping up to Boston next month for the Boston Marathon, one of the sport’s most prestigious races. The field includes local running superstar Michael Wardian, who is also competing in this weekend’s Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. Marathon. [InsideNova]

CERT Training Still Open — A few spaces are still available in Arlington’s Community Emergency Response Team spring training class. The eight-session, 26-hour course begins next week. [Arlington CERT]

Library Exhibit on Baltic WW2 Refugees — Arlington Public Library is hosting an exhibit through April 17 on Baltic refugees from World War II. “‘No Home To Go To’ is the story of people living in refugee camps and finding a home in a new land, as told through their memories, documents, photographs, and memorabilia,” according to the library website. [Arlington Public Library]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

View More Stories