Monday, January 31, 2011

Crystal Couture this week

Crystal Couture has sewn together an outstanding collection of fashions for this week's show.  Forget about the rain, ice, and snow, Crystal Couture is hot, hot, hot.  The Crystal City food court at 1750 Crystal Dr. has been transformed into a smorgasbord of local fashion boutiques. Down a runway in the middle of this fashion feast you'll see gorgeous models giving you the look and walking the walk.  This is even better than the downtown Rosslyn street scene on a late Friday night.






 Crystal Couture runs from Tuesday to Saturday night, each night from 6pm to 10pm.  The event is free and open to the public.  The models will display fashions from Crystal Couture's prestigious t-shirt design competition on Tuesday night at 9:45pm.  The photos in this post are from Monday night's press preview.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

water-main break in Ft. Myer Heights Park

Update (Sunday, 5pm):  An Arlington County Public Works crew is here and preparing to make repairs to the broken water main.  Water in Westmoreland building 1322, and possibly other nearby buildings, is likely to be shut off within an hour.  The water will remain off until repairs are finished.  That may be about 10pm.

A water-main break near the top of Ft. Myer Heights Park is sending water both down the access road and across the park.  With temperatures predicted to be in the twenties overnight, expect heavy ice tomorrow morning at the lower exit of the Westmoreland Condos parking lot on Ft. Myer Drive.  If the freeze is sufficient to clog the drain on Ft. Myer Drive, ice is likely to spread out across the bottom of that road. 

The water main break was reported to Arlington officials Saturday afternoon.  A similar water main break occurred in this spot roughly five years ago.  The timeframe for repairs isn't clear.  This water main break doesn't create as immediate of a hazard as the recent water-main break near the Quarterdeck.  Given the huge amount of work the recent snowstorm created for Arlington's Department of Environmental Services, getting to this problem may take some time.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

many, huge bird tracks observed in Arlington Ridge snow

This morning on the downhill slope between the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon, many, huge bird tracks marked the snow around several trees. Some of the bird prints measured up to five inches long and four inches wide.  Many bird droppings also littered the area.


Take a walk and see these unusual marks for yourself.  But don't delay, because the snow is likely to melt soon.

Some have criticized the Ode Street Tribune for not doing enough to instill fear, distress, and worry in its readers.  We believe that you should watch birds keenly.  Look out for unusual signs and odd behavior.  Occasionally birds in the neighborhood bang into windows.  If such attacks increase in frequency and violence, be very concerned.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

snow and ice not cause for major concern


As of 8:45am this morning, motor vehicles were streaming smoothly into Rosslyn from both directions on Rt. 50. At least one cyclist was observed riding carefully on the Virginia-Rosslyn-Washington cycling thoroughfare. Much of the snow and ice will be melted by this afternoon. Of course some caution is warranted, but conditions could be much worse.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Crystal Couture selects Ode Street Tribune fashions for runway modeling

The prestigious Crystal Couture T-Shirt Design Competition has selected the Ode Street Tribune's fashions as finalists.  Professional models will walk in these fashionable outfits down the Crystal Couture runway in front of a roaring crowd of fashion aficionados.  Will the Washington Post have designs in this competition?  Will The Onion have designs in this competition?  TBD?  What about the rapidly growing Arlnow? The whole staff of the Ode Street Tribune joins together to congratulate ourselves on our outstanding performance among area news sources.

We interviewed an Ode Street Tribune staffer about this honor.  He reportedly said:
As a kid, I always wanted to be a journalist.  I dreamed of winning a Putzer Prize.  Last month when the Tribune won three Putzers, I thought, here I am, I'm living the dream.  But having fashion designs selected for Crystal Couture is even more dreamy.  Fashion models, not just in glossy magazines, but really live ... they're sooo beautiful... When I see one wearing my clothes, I'm gonna die.
Even if a gorgeous person won't be walking away in your clothes, you can still hope to die inside at Crystal Couture, opening this Tuesday night, Feb. 1, at 6pm at 1750 Crystal Dr. in Crystal City.  Crystal Couture will be happening through Sat., Feb. 5, with a full schedule of different runway shows every night.  The t-shirt-design runway showing will be on Tuesday at 9:45pm.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

watch out for Shady Brook Farms "all natural" turkey chops


In a recent shopping trip to Rosslyn's mysterious and intriguing underground Safeway, I bought some some Shady Brook Farms "farm fresh" "all natural" turkey chops.  Unfortunately I didn't notice some extremely small print on the very bottom right of the front of the package: "enhanced with up to 10% solution*".  Small text on the reverse side, below the highlighted nutrition box, explains: "solution ingredients: turkey broth, salt, sugar."  So this turkey contains up to 10% turkey broth, salt, and sugar.  Euuuck... 


In the carefully considered opinion of the Ode Street Tribune's editorial board, injecting a turkey with up to 10% of solution containing salt and sugar makes a product neither farm fresh nor all natural. The company behind the Shady Brook Farms brand is Cargill, a huge, highly diversified private corporation with revenues over $100 billion.  The Ode Street Tribune summons the full force of its editorial muscle to call on Cargill to repudiate its Shady Brook Farms brand and cease injecting turkey with salt and sugar.  Moreover, the Tribune calls on Cargill to apologize to all residents of Rosslyn and any other locations around the world where Shady Brook Farms "farm fresh" "all natural" turkey chops have been sold. 

Monday, January 24, 2011

Westmoreland 1336 building to have roof replaced

At the Westmoreland Condo Board meeting tonight, attendees heard that the Westmoreland building at 1336 N. Ode St. will have its roof replaced.  The previously received bid from Pioneer for the roof repair was was $73,334.  The project will be rebid in hopes of getting a lower price.

Facade work will also take place on one building starting this spring and extending for four to six months.  The cost of facade work for 1336 is estimated about $120,000, but the Board has not yet decided which building will receive facade work this year.  Past facade work has been done by Culbertson Co. of Virginia.

The roof replacement and facade work are associated with the planned 10% per year increases in condo fees.   That projected increases imply that in the year 2019, condo fees for a 1 BR apartment in Westmoreland will be about $660 per month.  The alternative to the condo fees increases is a large special assessment. 

Other notes from the meeting:
  • Board member Joe Ruland ran all the way from the Rosslyn metro to the Condo Management Office to provide the quorum of Board Members so that the meeting could go forward.  All Westmoreland residents should appreciate Joe's heroic effort and the month-to-month work of our volunteer Condo Board.
  • Westmoreland snow removal costs the snow/ice storm on Jan. 18 amounted to $754.
  • Residents noted that parking at Westmoreland in the evening has become quite tight since about November.  Condo management will review what cars are parking here.  Plans are being developed to re-issue parking permits this spring to better manage parking capacity.
  • Condo Board President Jose Calvo clarified that the regularly scheduled Condo Board meeting occurs on the last Monday of the month, not the fourth Monday of the month.
Board members Jose Calvo, Michelle Clifton, and Joe Ruland; residents Douglas, Gretchen, and Joy; and Property Manager Dennis Freeman (Zalco Realty) attended the meeting.  The next regularly scheduled Condo Board meeting is Feb. 28, 7pm, in the onsite Condo Office.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Crystal Couture: Exotic and Elegant to Everything Everyday

Moving beyond last year's high-profile protest, tremendous excitement is building for this year's Crystal Couture to be held from Tuesday, Feb. 1 to Sat., Feb. 5 in Crystal City.  The theme of this year's Crystal Couture is "Exotic and Elegant to Everything Everyday."  The event includes runway fashion shows, many local boutiques selling cutting-edge fashions, hair and makeup makeovers, henna body decoration, and DJ musical entertainment.  Check the schedule for specific events each night.

One special event is a t-shirt design competition.  The competition is open to area fashion designers of all skill levels.  Professional fashion models will present the top designs on the Crystal Couture runway on the opening night of Crystal Couture.  Audience voting will determine the winning design.

Given Rosslyn's well-established reputation for aesthetic distinction, expect to see Rosslyn fashion designers well represented among the top designs.  With a large share of Rosslyn's fashion community likely to attend Crystal Couture, at least that share of audience is certain to recognize true fashion leadership.

The Ode Street Tribune has been working feverishly on its t-shirt designs for the Crystal Couture contest.  For exotic and elegant, the Tribune has developed a design that takes the urban sensibility of bike messenger chic to a new level of elegance in a blood-red, felted-cotton, black-tape fashion masterpiece.  For everything everyday, what can say everyday fashion better than an Ode Street Tribune t-shirt, in formal white, with a matching cap? 


Given the depth of fashion designer talent in Rosslyn and other major fashion centers, the Ode Street Tribune holds no illusions about its chances of success in the Crystal Couture competition.  But participatory journalism is the Tribune's avant-garde fashion.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

you can still enjoy yourself


Joe Camel from local cycling team Lanterne Rouge and three friends did not let the arctic weather deter them from a 40 mile bicycle ride this morning.  The temperature when they set out was 14F (4F with wind chill). 

At least three persons were playing golf this afternoon on East Potomac Golf Course on Hains Point.

Several persons were observed running outside; one person was seen skateboarding.

Despite the difficult circumstances, these persons and others may have actually enjoyed what they did.  Consider the possibilities for yourself!

Friday, January 21, 2011

make human footprints, not carbon footprints

Walking rather than driving is good for you and good for the environment.  So if you're looking for new housing, don't just look inside a house or apartment.  Walk around the neighborhood and see what's nearby.  If you're not looking for new housing, you might seek out places within walking distance and think about how to make walking more attractive to you and your neighbors.

Arlington County's interesting Under One Roof blog offers a variety of ideas on affordable housing, green-building construction, neighborhoods, homelessness, and housing assistance.  A recent post emphasized the value of a walkable community.  That post helpfully linked to some serious analysis of energy use from Environmental Building News.  A key point:
Designers and builders expend significant effort to ensure that our buildings use as little energy as possible. This is a good thing—and very obvious to anyone who has been involved with green building for any length of time. What is not so obvious is that many buildings are responsible for much more energy use getting people to and from those buildings. That’s right—for an average office building in the United States, calculations done by Environmental Building News (EBN) show that commuting by office workers accounts for 30% more energy than the building itself uses. For an average new office building built to code, transportation accounts for more than twice as much energy use as building operation. 
Transportation issues are not just about good ways to get traffic from place A to place B.  Transportation issues also concern where A and B are.  Having A and B within walking distance in a pedestrian-friendly community is excellent transportation policy.

If you're looking for a number to measure walkability, you can check out Walk Score.  Walk Score summarizes the walkability of any address on a scale from 0 to 100.  Summarizing value in a number is the basic idea of prices, grades, and kids rating attractiveness.  This idea has been so successful that Whole Foods is now promoting ANDI , "Aggregate Nutrient Density Index," so that you can brag about the high rating of your vegetables.  Some news you can use:  if you want to understand the walkability of any particular address, you're better off going there and ... walking around.  And don't bother trying to figure out the actual significance of ANDI.  Just eat fewer cupcakes!

Consider some specific Walk Score examples.  In downtown Crystal City you can find Walk Scores of 82 (the address generated for "Crystal City, VA") and 95 (a particular address that generates a Crystal City Walk Score in the range of "Walker's Paradise").  The address generated for "Rosslyn Arlington VA" scores a walkability of 85 (that's the address of the Art Institute, where students dodge across Ft. Myer Dr. to get to the back Rosslyn Metro entrance).  On the other hand, Sante Fe Cafe, just a short distance away in Rosslyn across from the Safeway, scores a walkability of 80

Walk Score seems to me more useful for aggregate mapping than for individual queries.  The Under One Roof post includes an insightful walkability Google map of Arlington.  Walk Score depends on the distance of amenities in nine categories.  Northern Arlington has the worst walkability.  How about a new Trader Joe's and a coffee shop near the Madison Community Center?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

vote for Rosslyn on (motor) vehicle decal


Voting is now underway for the Arlington 2011-2012 (motor) vehicle decal design.  Two years ago, following an influential Ode Street Tribune endorsement, Rosslyn's Key Bridge won the coveted spot on the (motor) vehicle decal and added to Rosslyn's strong reputation.   This year the Ode Street Tribune enthusiastically endorses the design entitled "multi-faced Arlington."  Here's the designer's statement:
The hill in the picture represents Arlington’s hilly landscape. The bike and the bike path represent Arlington’s great bike paths. The tree in the picture represents Arlington’s many parks. The person reading represents Arlington’s nice libraries. The skyline is the skyline of Rosslyn. The last part is the sun, which represents Arlington’s beautiful sunsets. All six things represent the different greatnesses of Arlington.
You'll notice that this description applies a fortiori to Rosslyn itself.  Of course, forward-moving Rosslyn embraces the newer, video-oriented conception of a library.  The person on the decal appears to be actually watching a video on an iPad.

Do your democratic duty.  Vote for multi-faced Arlington/Rosslyn for the (motor) vehicle decal design!

Monday, January 17, 2011

art at Piola in Rosslyn calls for closer look


Piola in Rosslyn is showing Jennifer Droblyen's art exhibition, Wall + Wake, through Feb. 5, 2011.  To appreciate fully the exhibition, you should read the exhibition description:
In early 2010, artist Jennifer Droblyen discovered a concrete wall that at first glance appeared cold, vacant, and insignificant to many who passed by. Upon further examination, the wall revealed catacombs of human existence left behind: cigarette butts, newspapers, parking tickets, gum. Within each chamber the spaces revealed, amid aged detritus and debris, a beauty and life all its own. This exhibition is a celebration of what remained, in essence a “wake” to acknowledge the hidden life of the wall.[*]
The exhibit postcard declares {visit the wall: 39° 57' 17"N, 75° 10' 21"W}. One way to visit the wall is to type these latitude/longitude coordinates into Google Maps and take a look through Street View.  While Google's Street View is amazing, it just doesn't measure up to Droblyen's art.  You can see much more with Droblyen's art.

Droblyen's exhibition seems to me to urge viewers to look carefully for wonders in places that often are taken for granted.  The exhibit would go well with Piola's starter Ceviche Mancora (Tilapia, shrimp, red onion, cilantro and pepper, marinated in lemon-jalapeno sauce).  Look at all these individual pieces, tastefully mixed together. 

Other Piola art reviews:
- - - - -
[*] The quoted text is from the printed exhibition postcard. It differs only slightly from the webpage text.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Count Gore De Vol: from WDCA-TV 20 to the Internet

At Artisphere's screening of the documentary Every Other Day is Halloween, the subject himself, legendary Washington TV personality Dick Dyszel, made a guest appearance.   From 1972 to 1987, Dick Dyszel acted the characters Bozo the Clown, Captain 20, and Count Gore De Vol on WDCA-TV Channel 20.  Dyszel's television characters are still cherished memories for many persons who grew up in the Washington, DC, area.

Dyszel noted that Bozo the Clown character was standardized nationally.  Dyszel attended clown training school in Dallas with other Bozos.  The name of person who played Bozo in a particular city was kept secret.  The production idea: "There is only one Bozo."  That, of course, is ridiculous.  There were many Bozos.  And as most persons will agree, there are still many Bozos.

Captain 20 evolved as a character but retained constant duties of hosting on-air contests.  Beginning in 1969, Captain 20 was a astronaut figure who conducted on-air gerbil races.  With Dick Dyszel as the character, Captain 20 acquired pointy ears, purple hair, and greeted viewers with the Vulcan split-finger sign from Star Trek.  He conducted on-air monkey races.  In 1974, Captain 20 began hosting on-air races among Disney characters.  Perhaps distant memories of Captain 20's Disney-character races helped to prompt the creation of the Washington Nationals' fourth-inning Presidents Races.  In 1975, the Channel 20 Club Card was introduced.  Now Safeway, CVS, Giant, Best Buy, and millions of other stores have club cards.  The Channel 20 Club Card give holders the chance to win prizes from random drawings.  Expect stores to do this in the future.


Dyszel enjoyed most being Count Gore De Vol.  He played that character on the show Creature Feature, a horror show.  It aired Saturday nights at 11pm on WDCA-TV from March 1973 to May 1987.  Dyszel noted that fans probably most enjoyed the show if they were drunk or stoned.  When Creature Feature was yanked from the air in 1987, Dyszel did not forget about the Count.  He bought Gore De Vol back in 1998 as the horror host of an Internet-based Creature Feature.  The huge Count Gore De Vol website (550 shows and increasing) adds a new Creature Feature episode every week.  The episodes are produced in a studio in the basement of Dyszel's Herndon home.  Dyszel observed that with his basement studio and camcorders, he can produce a better quality show than he did in WDCA-TV's $6 million television studio.  Moreover, with new technology, Internet video can now be viewed on living-room television sets.  Count Gore De Vol has thus returned to television.

Dick Dyszel is a long-time horror host who hasn't been afraid to face the future.  Sure, in some ways the future is a bit frightening, but there's good entertainment even in horror.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Arlington's 42nd Annual Tribute to Martin Luther King this Sunday

Arlington's annual tribune to Martin Luther King is this Sunday, Jan. 16, from 7-9pm in the Thomas Jefferson Community Center Auditorium.  Walter E. Fauntroy, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, activist, friend to Dr. King, and retired pastor of fifty years at New Bethel Baptist Church in Washington, DC, will keynote the tribute.  Rev. Fauntroy helped to coordinate the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Marches. The tribute will also include performances by the award-winning Washington-Lee Jazz Big Band and poetry readings by winners of the 2011 Arlington Public Schools Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary and Visual Arts Contest.

In honor of MLK Day:

Friday, January 14, 2011

water main break at corner of Ft. Myer & 12th St. N.

About 9:30pm on Friday, water was gushing from a water main break in front of the Quarterdeck, right near the corner of Ft. Myer Dr. and 12 St.  A large amount of water flowed across the Fort Myer Market parking lot and across the Ode St. & Ft. Myer Dr. intersection.  Arlington County has called for truck to salt the road.  Nonetheless, watch out for new ice in this area.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

UrbanArias will get you singing to your computer


Judging from tonight's rehearsal, UrbanArias' performances this Friday night are going to be fantastic.  "Break a leg" is an expression for wishing actors an outstanding performance.  For opera singers, the corresponding expression might be "strain your back."   Expect outstanding performances.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Arlington Boulevard Urban Design study

Commenter Andrew has contributed a link to an Arlington Boulevard Urban Design & Public Art study that was completed in Oct. 2004.  This study focuses on the stretch of the Rt. 50 between 10'th St. and the Courthouse Rd. interchange.  Its ideas remain relevant as Arlington County moves forward with renovating the Courthouse Rd. interchange.  The study also probably is a good example of the sort of result that is likely to come out of the Meade St. Bridge Alternatives Study.

This earlier study observes that Rt. 50 is a historic highway that spans the U.S.  It includes a picture of the ugly fence on the Meade St. bridge (p. 23).  The study notes: "stainless steel mesh screening could be adapted, developed and modified for this site, creating a celebrated gateway into downtown Rosslyn."  Sounds like a good idea.

To download the study: right-click here and save to disk (opening directly seems to stall).  Alternatively, you can left-click here.  Andrew's comment was unfortunately impounded as spam, probably because of the links.  But I rescued it from the spam comment box.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Rosslyn moving forward with bikesharing

Arlington has secured funding for 16 new Capital Bikeshare stations to supplement the 14 that have already been installed in Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard.  Bikeshare planning recognized that Rosslyn is a hot location.  The new bikesharing stations will be installed in Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.  People-Powered Arlington reports that "an as-yet-unnamed company in Rosslyn is interested in joining the program and is willing to pay to get stations placed in their neighborhood first."  Without a doubt, folks are keen to ride bikes in Rosslyn.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Meade St. bridge alternatives under study

Despite Rosslyn's busy Monday night event schedule, civic-spirited residents gathered Monday night to hear about the Meade Street Bridge Alternatives Study and to provide observations, insights, and suggestions.


Dangerous intersections for vehicles and pedestrians and heavy bus traffic at the Meade St. bridge have long been neighborhood concerns.  Accident statistics document the reality of these concerns.  From the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2009, 18 reported vehicle collisions have occurred about the intersection of the Arlington Blvd. service road and N. Meade St.  Common accidents have been rear-end collisions heading onto east-bound Arlington Blvd and collisions between cars pulling out from the Arlington Blvd. service road and cars heading north on Meade St. into Rosslyn.

The Meade St. Bridge Alternatives Study is considering and evaluating alternatives to serve the following goals:
  • improve bicycle and pedestrian access and safety along the corridor
  • minimize vehicular and pedestrian conflict points
  • improve streetscape character of the corridor
  • improve bicycle, pedestrian, and motor vehicle wayfinding along the corridor
  • maintain acceptable level of service for all transportation modes
Improvements to pedestrian safety and vehicle flow about the Meade St. bridge have already been made.  Additional, more comprehensive concept designs for improving the bridge are being considered.

At the meeting on Monday night, residents noted considerable traffic, including bus traffic, exiting Rt. 50 eastbound and then turning left on Meade St.  Residents also expressed concern about the extent of the Rosslyn's proposed Corridor of Light public art.  While some residents enjoyed a previous light sculpture (CO2LED) installed on the traffic island at the north end of the bridge, others seem to still be pained by that experience.  Residents noted the need for more signs to help vehicles find the entrance to the Iwo Jima.  The high bridge sidewalk relative to the road surface and its narrowness make the bridge unfriendly to pedestrians.  In addition the ugly, rusted metal fence that lines both sides of the bridge is becoming increasingly incongruous with Rosslyn's growing reputation for fashion consciousness and exquisite artistic sensibility.

You have additional opportunities to contribute your observations, insights, and suggestions about the Meade St. bridge.   You can email them to Arlington County staffer David Goodman (email form here) or to Daniel Biggs (dbiggs@tooledesign.com), a Toole Design Group architect who is working on the project.  An additional stakeholder input meeting will be help in March.  A presentation of the preferred alternative will occur in April. The final plan is set to be finished by June.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

UrbanArias mini-operas at Artisphere this Friday

The Black Box Theater at Artisphere on Friday night, January 14, will present UrbanArias, a new, Arlington-based opera company that produces short, contemporary, accessible operas.  UrbanArias attracted standing-room-only crowds for both of its performances at Artisphere's 10-10-10 opening extravaganza.  This Friday's night performance will be an hour-long program of seven mini-operas.  The program features national-level singers, composers, and directors in mini-operas that encompass drama rather different from what you might have heard from your grandfather's beloved opera records.  Come to Artisphere for fun, fun, fun opera this Friday night.

The program is extraordinary.  The first mini-opera will be "Betty Box Office", an opera about an office employee of an arts organization.  She has "artistic aspirations."  The Ode Street Tribune's staff declares unanimously that such aspirations should be sung shamelessly and joyfully.  Reaching more vigorously for reality, the next mini-opera explores how I Love Lucy characters deal with domestic abuse.  The composer of this mini-opera is Jake Heggie, who composed the widely performed and critically acclaimed opera, Dead Man Walking.  The program also includes three mini-operas from Seymour Barab's new cycle of mini-operas, In Questionable Taste.  Robert Wood, UrbanArias Executive and Artistic Director, noted about these pieces:

They’re all jokes, expanded, staged, and set to music.  They’re very funny (although some of them are a little coarse for us; after all, we do hope to get NEA funding some day!) ... I have chosen three of the cleaner ones, although I won’t spoil them for you here; you’ll have to come on the 14th.  I will tell you, though, that the cast burst out laughing as they read through each of them.

The program also features mini-operas about a knife-throwing duo and a couple struggling to connect to each other through video phones, webcams, and Skype.  Needless to say, these mini-operas display a new world of opera.
UrbanArias is a great example of burgeoning art, fashion, and culture in Arlington.  UrbanArias' Executive and Artistic Director Robert Wood lives in Arlington's Courthouse neighborhood and walks back and forth to Artisphere in Rosslyn.  UrbanArias intends to commission short, new operas from composers across the U.S. and bring them to the stage right here in an Artisphere festival.  UrbanArias first festival of opera will be in April of this year.  Keep your ears open for information about that festival.  Artisphere in Rosslyn is going to be at the center of where the opera world's singing.

Event details: UrbanArias performances on Friday, Jan. 14, at Artisphere, starting at 7pm and 9pm.  Tickets are $15 general admission; $12 senior, military, and students, plus $2.60 online ticket ordering fee.  Purchase online tickets for 7pm performance or tickets for 9pm performance

Photo above courtesy of UrbanArias.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Verizon and Comcast respond to customers

Arlnow's post/poll on Comcast service generated a huge comment thread and responses from both Comcast and Verizon. Here's what Verizon wrote about its roll-out of Fios in Arlington:
We’ve reached out to every property we can and have successfully built out many at Verizon’s expense, but with others we have not yet, either because the owners have not yet granted permission, we haven’t been able to contact them, or in some cases we are still working on the fiber build to reach a few areas of Arlington.
Verizon has had permission to install Fios in Westmoreland Terrace Condos since mid-2008.  The Fios fiber in this neighborhood has occurred, and neighboring apartment buildings have Fios.  Yet, Fios installation in Westmoreland has been on indefinitely hold for unknown reasons.

If you're a Westmoreland resident and you want Fios, now might be a good time to contact Verizon and request it.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

be a Bold snow-removal hero


Last year, our neighbor Bold heroically built a snow shovel and used it to shovel the walk of his apartment complex. Arlington County is encouraging others to follow Bold's example:
The County applauds residents and proprietors who clear sidewalks to help neighbors and customers. Providing clear, safe pedestrian routes is essential to ensuring access to jobs, schools and services for all in a walkable community like Arlington. The County asks for everyone, as able, to lend a hand to neighbors and friends. Especially think about your elderly or disabled neighbors, who cannot clear their own sidewalks.
You can register online through Arlington Volunteer Connection to help neighbors who need snow-clearing assistance. Of course, the best help is warm weather and sunshine.  So far, quite good.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Chewy comes again!

After a stellar appearance in 2010, Chewy the Epiphany Camel will again journey to Church of the Covenant on Military Rd. in North Arlington.  Chew will appear there this Sunday, Jan. 9, from 10am to 11am.  Chewy is now a year older, and a year wiser.  Go and check out what gift his wisdom brings.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Westmoreland Condo Board meeeting notes

Update:  The notes below are based on second-hand reporting and contained some errors.  See corrections below.  The Ode Street Tribune normally provides first-hand reporting.  For those who cannot accept any possibility of error, show up to the Board meeting and listen carefully for yourself.  Actually, all residents and owners should do that in any case!

*  *  *  * *
Notes (based on those taken by Joe Ruland) from the Dec. 27 Westermoreland Terrace Condo Board meeting:
  • Condo Board President Jose Calvo received a letter from Aubinoe Residential Management Service offering its services to Westmoreland.  The Board approved a motion not to entertain a bid from Aubinoe.
  • Lancaster Landscaping has planted some perennials but the planned installation of plants is not yet complete has been completed, but a joint review of the work has not been completed.  The Board is discussing the matter with Lancaster.
  • Unauthorized persons have been observed entering the front doors of Westmoreland buildings.  The Board is pursuing means to address this problem  The security code to building front doors should only be used by authorized delivery and emergency personnel.  It is known and being used by other persons.  The security code will be changed.  Additional Ode Street Tribune public service note:  You can help foster building security by not letting authorized persons into the building, not blocking doors open, and reporting suspicious activity.
  • The Board is considering alarming the door to the roof of 1336 to prevent residents from exiting unto the roof for non-urgent/non-emergency reasons.  Persons walking on the roofs contributes to water leaks and costly repairs.  The Board is evaluating the costs and procedures associated with an alarmed door.
Attending the meeting were Board members Jose Calvo, Jennifer Feinleib, Joe Ruland, and Emil Tabakov, and four residents.  The next regularly scheduled Westmoreland Terrace Condo Board meeting is Jan. 31 at 7pm in the Condo Office.

Monday, January 3, 2011

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood


Thanks to the Radnor/Fort Myer Civic Association (RAFOM), particularly RAFOM Vice-President Patricia Darneille, for leading the design, neighborhood voting, and installation of these beautiful signs.