Saturday, April 30, 2011

how old was the executed tree?


In Ft. Myer Heights Park sits the lifeless stump of a large, old tree executed on April 21, 2011.  How old was that tree when it was executed?  Because the Ode Street Tribune believes in participatory journalism, we ask you to investigate and report.  Please file your report in the comments below.  To help persons unable to travel to Ft. Myer Heights Park for an onsite investigation, we've posted an image of the stump above.  Click on the image to see a higher-resolution image.

Update:  Fifteen years after the tree was planted, its growth seems to have decreased sharply.   Can anyone explain this development? 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

massive crane at Gaslight Square construction site


A massive crane stretches across Clarendon Blvd. at the construction site for Gaslight Square.  The building being constructed is a five-story condo complex similar to the Wooster next door.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

avoid parking frustration


The guts of a parking meter, still flashing "time expired," were lying on a ledge near the corner of Fairfax Dr. and Meade St. Sunday afternoon.  A nearby parking meter apparently had been vandalized.


Vandalizing a parking meter is bad.  If you don't want to pay for parking, here are some solutions:
The Ode Street Tribune investigative team reported the broken parking meter to Arlington County Sunday afternoon. By Tuesday evening, the parking meter was repaired and once again happily collecting parking fees.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Jose Calvo re-elected to Westmoreland Board

At the Westmoreland Condo Board Annual Meeting, current Westmoreland Condo Board President José Calvo was elected to another three-year Board term by unanimous acclamation.  José has served on the Westmoreland Board since he purchased a home in Westmoreland in 1995.  The volunteer service of Board members is crucial to keeping Westmoreland a great place to live.  All resident should be grateful for José's sixteen years of volunteer service to Westmoreland.

Other notes from the Annual Meeting:
  • Facade work has begun on 1336.  Work should be complete in seventy-five days, weather permitting.  Residents of 1336 are advised to take precautions against dust and minor building vibrations.
  • Westmoreland will commission of study of the appropriate level of long-term reserves given the planned facade renovations and roof repairs.  Westmoreland has never had a special assessment and doesn't anticipate having a special assessment in the future.  The goal is to have regular, small increases in condo fees to cover operating expenses and to furnish reserves for capital expenses.
Attending the meeting were Board members José Calvo Jennifer Feinleib, and Joe Ruland, six residents, and Zalco Property Manager Dennis Freeman.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

St. Charles Church baptizes 11 new members


St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, which is located about a twenty-five-minute walk to the west from the center of Rosslyn, baptized eleven new members at its Easter Vigil on Saturday night.  The large crowd gathered for the service joyfully welcomed into the church Javian, Diego, Dayany, Matthew, Tyler, Kevin, Jenna, Michael, Francisco, Lori, Ella, Sally Jo, Jack, Nathaniel, Isabella, and Leo.

St. Charles has a large Spanish-speaking community.  It is currently offering classes for persons who want to learn to speak Spanish. For more information on the Spanish classes, contact Araceli Manoatl in the Parish Office at 703 527-5500.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Squadra Coppi gets new clothing

Local bike racing team Squadra Coppi has gotten new clothes.  The stylish outfit has mid-line split between white and powder blue, and matching dual-color leg bands.  Splashes of red on one shoulder and in the back white half pay tribute to Coppi sponsors Idea Engineering and Bikeman.  In these slick, muscle-accenting outfits, no one can doubt the manliness of the men and women of Squadra Coppi.

When you're driving in the area, you may come across some Squadra Coppi riders.  Stay focused, and pay attention to the position of the bikes and other traffic.  Don't roll down your window and try to get one of the riders numbers as you're driving by.  Instead, note the bike frame model and wheel brand of the rider that interests you.  Later, in less exciting and dangerous circumstances, contact Squadra Coppi President Mark Skubis to try to arrange a connection.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

trees executed in Ft. Myer Heights Park


Yesterday, two trees in Ft. Myer Heights Park were marked with white, spray-painted X's.  Today, those two trees were executed.  Fresh sawdust and limbs with green leaves slowly going limp litter the site of the execution.  Without a doubt, those trees were alive before they were executed.

The Ode Street Tribune has written in support of dead trees.   These trees were alive.  It's true that they had some health problems.  The smaller tree was rotten at its core.  Many organisms that are rotten at the core continue to exist for a long time.  The larger tree was old, and had some blotches and dysfunctional limbs.  But old age and feebleness doesn't make a tree less of a tree.  Like the other tree, it still spread some green leaves. 

Before these living trees were executed, we had no discussions, no meetings, no options documents, and no reports.  Action was simply taken.  It is finished.  We can only walk away demoralized and discouraged.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Rosslyn bikeshare puzzle ... resolved


This past weekend four Capital Bikeshare stations were installed in Rosslyn.  The bikeshare stations are located at Lynn & 19th St North (near Gateway Park), Wilson Blvd & Ft Myer Dr (diagonally across from the back of Rosslyn Metro), Clarendon Blvd & Pierce St (a short distance from the fire station), and N Rhodes & 16th St N (diagonally across from il Radicchio).  Here's the full Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) map.

Rosslyn is the spirtual anchor of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.  Hence it's not surprising that bikeshare stations were first installed in Rosslyn.   An Ode Street Tribune investigative reporter was startled, however, to find that all the bikes but one had left the Pierce St. station.  Are CaBi riders leaving the Rosslyn neighborhood? 

Riders in fact appear to be trying to get closer to the heart of Rosslyn. The bikeshare station on Ft. Myer Dr. had a much fuller array of bikes.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Spring Solos 2011 at Arlington Arts Center

While Artisphere in Rosslyn has become the center of the Arlington arts scene, some interesting art can still be found elsewhere in Arlington.  A good current instance is Spring Solos 2011, now at the Arlington Arts Center.  The finest pieces in the show are Jennifer Coster's collaborations with red ants. These works of dynamic gold filigree are a must-see.


Leigh Davis's installation, The Brothers, is worth contemplating.  It documents the expulsion of aged members of a religious order from the former military hospital where most had lived for more than 60 years.  The photo hung on the right wall parallel to the entrance is eternally poignant and grittily realistic.  While the situations aren't exactly analogous, this work filled me with foreboding for the future of Artisphere.

Participate in local art, or it will be expelled.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Westmoreland annual meeting on Apr. 25

The Annual Meeting for the Westmoreland Terrace Condominiums will be held at the Condominium Office on Apr. 25, 2011.  An election will be held for one position on the Board of Directors.

Westmoreland unit owners should have received by mail a copy of the adopted budget for June 1, 2011 to May 31,2012.  The adopted budget includes a 7.5% increase in the monthly assessment. Total operating expenses are budgeted about $367,000 for the year. Contracted services (janitorial, landscaping, trash disposal, etc) and utilities (water & sewer, gas, and electricity) account for about half of operating expenses.



The amount budgeted for electricity increased from $14,400 to $17,000. Whether this increase reflects increased electric rates or increased consumption isn't clear. Conserving electricity will help lower our expenses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Arlington County offers a variety of tips on saving energy and reducing emissions.

We continue to spend about $7,000 per year on our doorbell system. With new wireless technology, we should be able to get a doorbell system for a small capital cost and very little ongoing operating expense. Anyone with specific ideas for alternate systems should bring them to a condo board meeting.

Some items in our budget are rather vague. The "management & administrative" category includes line items "administrative expense", $2,700; "office supplies", $1,500; "postage", $1,000; and "printing & duplicating", $1,000. The postage item should be relatively easy to audit. Since Westmoreland has about 147 units, if 5 mailings were made this year to all units, total postage would be about $324. How we managed to spend $1,000 on postage isn't clear. The budget includes "audit fee", $3,125. Given the nature of Westmoreland financial records, that audit fee seems rather large.

Overall, the most economically significant items for Westmoreland are in its capital budget. Westmoreland is in the midst of a ten-year program of facade repair and roof repair. This year the facade and roof of 1336 N. Ode Street will be repaired. The budgeted amount for these repairs totals about $226,000. Hence our capital improvement spending amounts to 62% of our operating expenses. Getting good quality, cost-effective capital repairs is the most important issue for Westmoreland.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Ft. Myer Heights Park recovering from Deep Soil Rosslyn Water Spill


Ft. Myers Heights Park, which is next to the majestic Westmoreland Terrace Condominiums in lovely Rosslyn, is slowly recovering from this past winter's tragic Deep Soil Rosslyn Water Spill.  About two weeks ago a county work crew spread hay over the damaged ground.  Some grass is now starting to poke up through the covering hay.

In the high winds yesterday, large branches from a birch sycamore tree broke off and fell into the park.  Damage to the ground appears to be minimal.

Chronology of the Deep Soil Rosslyn Water Spill:

Saturday, April 16, 2011

enjoy the spring


As promised back in February, the gardens in front of Rosslyn's Netherlands Carillon are now ablaze in colors.  The Ode Street Tribune delivers on its promises.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

our tax collector's principles of public service

As Arlington County's Treasurer, Frank O'Leary collects taxes for Arlington.  Tax collectors have been maligned for at least two thousand years. But at the March RAFOM meeting, Frank O'Leary set out his impressive mottoes for his office's public service.  Those mottoes are:
  1. The people who work in this office do their best to serve the public in a courteous and efficient manner.
  2. When your phone rings, it is not someone interrupting your busy workday.  It is the reason you are here.
  3. Rats in the alley!
To learn what "Rats in the alley!" means, listen to Frank O'Leary's story in the video below.


Arlington County is a great place to pay taxes.  Tax collecting keeps the government running.  Keep these happy thoughts in mind as you pay your taxes.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Artisphere needs more signs


Artisphere's large revenue and visitor shortfall may be due in large part to lack of public awareness. Persons traveling through the busy intersection of Wilson Blvd. and Lynn St. could easily be unaware that they are less than 100 yards from the DC-area's most inviting arts venue

Artisphere signage should be added to Central Space to Central Place.  JBG Company, like Monday Properties, surely should recognize that Rosslyn is more attractive when it's attractive Monday through Sunday, days, evenings, and nights.  A few banners for Artisphere in Central Place could help push that idea along.  Even better would be to erect in Central Place a large, multi-colored globe with a weather vane on top pointing toward Artisphere.  At least stick atop the Neighborhood Rosslyn info board something funky and weird indicating Artisphere!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

truckers beware turning from Rt. 110 onto Marshall Dr.

Yesterday morning approximately 8:30am a truck got stuck attempting to turn from Rt. 110 onto N. Marshall Dr.  Video coverage below.


This turn is narrow and sharp.  Let's hope that area truckers read the Ode Street Tribune and avoid similar problems in the future.

better trail to Rosslyn along Arlington Blvd

The RAFOM meeting Monday night featured Bill Gearhart, Chairman of the Arlington County Transportation Commission and Ritch Viola, Arlington County Transportation Planning Section Supervisor.  Some notable items from their presentations:
  1. The Arlington Blvd / Courthouse Rd / 10th Street Interchange Project will begin by the end of April and continue for about 30 months.  Some traffic delays and detours around the Arlington Blvd / Courthouse intersection are to be expected.  The project will create a safer, better flowing intersection for inhuman-powered vehicles.  In addition, a trail for pedestrians and human-powered transit will be constructed on the south side of Arlington Blvd., connecting Rolfe St. to Pershing Dr.  The trail will allow persons living east of Rosslyn to travel to Rosslyn more safely and more enjoyably.
  2. The Rosslyn Multimodal Transportation Study is considering possibilities for reducing the number of one-way streets in Rosslyn.  Changing Lynn St. and Ft. Myer Dr. to two-way streets are being considered.
  3. The Skanska construction at 1776 Wilson Blvd will include a new, two-way connecting segment of Quinn St.
  4. A by-right residential apartment building construction at Rolfe St. and 12th St. is currently in plan review.
  5. A proposal has been seen for a new building near Wakefield Manor at the corner of Courthouse Rd. and Fairfax Dr.  A site plan is being developed.
 Here's a video segment from Viola's presentation:


Other items from the meeting:
  1. RAFOM will sponsor applications for trees to the Tree Canopy Fund.  The Fund will supply and install trees for properties that will provide caring homes for the trees.  Contact RAFOM Board Member Steve Campbell for details on applying for trees.
  2. The recent Meade St. Bridge meeting raised issues of immediate interest to the RAFOM neighborhood.  The next meeting will occur in early May.
  3. The Rosslyn Sector Plan update is being prepared and will be presented to the County Board in the next couple of months.
The next RAFOM meeting is on June 15.  That meeting is the annual meeting.  It will occur at the Top of the Town and will feature Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan.

Monday, April 11, 2011

SUV set up on cinder blocks and tires stolen

A GMC Yukon SUV that was parked in the parking lot at the corner of 14th St. and Nash St. was propped up on cinder blocks and its tires stolen sometime between this past Sunday evening and Monday morning.  The car is easily visible from 14'th St. halfway up the hill from the Iwo Jima Memorial.  If you saw any suspicious activity in this area, contact Arlington County Police

A similar tire theft occurred near the intersection of N. Wayne St. and 9'th St. (east side of Myer Henderson Hall base) in July, 2008.  Caring, alert neighbors can help protect against such thefts.  Do your part.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Rosslyn all week long

The Ode Street Tribune's favorite magazine is Rosslyn magazine.  The back cover of recent issues of this informative and entertaining traditional print publication has featured a nearly full page advertisement for Monday Properties.  The ad describes Monday Properties as "Rosslyn's largest and most committed commercial landlord."  Monday Properties owns and operates some magnificent buildings in Rosslyn.  Moreover, Monday Properties is currently constructing the landmark 1812 N. Moore St. building.  That building will be the tallest office building in the Metro DC area.

Unfortunately, the Monday Properties' advertisement in Rosslyn magazine suggests that Monday Properties doesn't fully appreciate Rosslyn.  The top of the advertisement, in bold, capital letters, declares, "IF YOU'RE IN ROSSLYN, IT MUST BE MONDAY."

Although the Ode Street Tribune is a small, struggling organization, it fearlessly pursues truth, justice, and the Arlington Way.  The Ode Street Tribune has bravely stood up to the massive Cargill Corporation and called on it to label truthfully and fairly its turkey chops that are sold in Rosslyn's Safeway. Today, the Tribune calls on Monday Properties to proclaim the greatness of Rosslyn all week long.  Monday Properties should change the text in its advertisement to emphasize that Rosslyn is a great place to be not just for the start of the work week, but Monday through Sunday, days, evenings, and nights.

Urbane, highly intelligent, and public-spirited readers, please offer suggestions for better text for the Monday Properties headline in the comments below.   Here's are some ideas that the managing editor has beat out of our reporters' poverty-stunted brains:
  • If you come to Rosslyn for Monday, you'll want to stay through Sunday.
  • Monday Properties makes Rosslyn's Monday evenings as fun as Friday evenings.
  • With Monday Properties, your work week will be better because your whole week is better.
Contribute to proclaiming the great value of being in Rosslyn all week long!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

dangerous intersection at corner of Hillside Park


The intersection of 16th Rd N. and N. Pierce St. at the corner of Rosslyn's Hillside Park is dangerous for pedestrians.  Vehicles traveling up the N. Pierce St. hill cannot see pedestrians entering the intersection from the Hillside Park corner or the opposite corner, and pedestrians can't see vehicles near on the hill. 


Possible remedial actions:
  1. Pedestrians could avoid the intersection by using the sidewalk on the other side of the street.  That would require an unintuitive detour for pedestrians entering and leaving Hillside Park via Pierce St.  The lack of a sidewalk on the Hillside Park side of Pierce St. doesn't deter some pedestrians from walking along the road on that side.  Poor sight lines at the intersection create a bigger risk than the lack of a sidewalk.
  2.  Stripes for a crosswalk could be painted across the intersection.  That might just contribute to pedestrians' false sense of security.
  3.  A pedestrian alert sign could be placed on the Pierce St. hill before the intersection.  While an alert sign probably wouldn't change many drivers' behavior, it wouldn't hurt.  The relevant issue would be the cost of installing such a sign versus the expected magnitude of the safety benefit (probably small).
  4.  A stop sign could be installed on the uphill side of Pierce St.  This would greatly improve pedestrian safety, but would inconvenience drivers.
  5.  The intersection could be remodeled to push the sidewalk intersection entry pads out further into Pierce St.  That would narrow Pierce St. slightly, which would tend to reduce vehicle speed.  More importantly, with minor reshaping of landscape at the Hillside Park corner, such a reconfiguration of the sidewalk entry pads would establish clear sight lines between pedestrians and vehicles.
Given that $500,000 was spent on a Hillside Park renovation (the Ode Street Tribune's view on this renovation is well-known and unwavering), the existence of this dangerous intersection next to the Hillside Park entrance is particularly regrettable.  The Ode Street Tribune endorses remodeling the sidewalk intersection entry pads.  Pending that improvement, the Tribune suggests avoiding the intersection.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Calvin will return to Rosslyn Metro

After a hard day's work, nothing is better than the cathartic weeping of blues guitar.  Yesterday Calvin was freely pouring out music for commuters rushing through the Courthouse Metro.  Calvin has played the Rosslyn Metro before, and he promises to play it again.

The Rosslyn Metro is the home of legendary sax musician John Coltrane.  Coltrane, however, is threatening to move in a bitter dispute over blasting hours.  Everyone who cares about Rosslyn needs to reach out to attract and support talented, hard-working musicians.

If you know of opportunities for Calvin, you can contact him at 202 717-5885.

[video included above]

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

main thoroughfare ready for repaving

A major thoroughfare for commuters traveling by bicycle between Virginia, Rosslyn, and DC includes the Arlington Blvd access road, the Rhodes St. bridge, and 14 St. N. (which becomes 15 St. N.) in the direction of Courthouse.  Potholes on this crucial artery have recently been repaired.  But 14'th St. N. between Rhodes St. and Scott St. remains a rough road. Some of the work on the road suggests that repaving may be imminent.
A large pothole currently exists on 12'th St, between Ft. Myer Dr. and Oak St.  Repairing this pothole might appropriately be given lower priority, since this road gets less traffic and persons living in this area are not easily rattled.  I've reported the pothole on Arlington County's convenient online pothole reporting form.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Rosslyn is part of our nation's capital


On a beautiful spring day, visitors to the National Mall enjoyed views of Rosslyn.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

meet with friends for drinks at Artisphere

Tired of noisy, crowded, boring bars and restaurants?  Artisphere is the perfect place to spend some quality time with friends. It's a casual, comfortable atmosphere with a variety of interesting exhibits and displays to browse with your friends. Starting April 5, Artisphere's cafe and bar Here will be serving a good selection of beers, wines, margarittas, and Mojitos.  So you can have a drink and a conversation without needing to yell to communicate with the person right next to you.

You can also have some food.  According to Here's co-owner Karen Barroso, big hits at the April 1 Here launch party were the mushroom burger (vegetarian mushroom patties / lettuce / tomato / onion / salsa verde), the Here Burger (local dry aged beef / serrano ham / machego cheese/ avocado/ ancho chili aioli), and meatballs (served with hominy polenta/ chipotle salsa).  Local foodie Queen Cuisine favored the three meats sandwich:
Hands down my favorite item was the three meats sandwich. I thought the blending of the salty meats topped with the tart red wine vinegar all bundled on some fresh french bread was just the right combination of flavors.
While Here offers some different tastes, don't expect a small morsel of high-priced food with an exotic name.  Barroso believes in providing good value.  So you can go to Here at Artisphere just when you get a craving for a different bite to eat.

Artisphere, unfortunately, is experiencing major shortfalls in revenue and visitors.  Part of the problem seems to be that persons who don't read the Ode Street Tribune and other fine news sources aren't even aware of Artisphere's existence.  Artisphere is crucial for making downtown Rosslyn more than just an office park.  Artisphere supports deep, imaginative personal interactions.  Go to Artisphere, or they will fade away!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

going down in Rosslyn


Blasting in a hole near the Rosslyn metro is now occurring nightly from 1am to 5am.  The hole will contain high-speed elevators being installed as part of the Rosslyn Metro Station Access Improvements Project.  Once the blasting gets deeper, it will also occur during the day.  Strobe light signals (for night blasting) and horns (for day blasting) will warn persons in the area when a blast will occur.  Here are details on the blasting signals.

Measures have been taken to lessen vibrations and noise.  Particularly notable is a blasting mat woven from old rubber car tires.  That's an excellent example of recycling.  Bicycle inner tubes that no longer hold air also can still be useful.  Notwithstanding an expected backlash from the duct tape community, old bicycle inner tubes are increasingly being recognized as more useful than duct tape.

You can find many ways to re-use formerly wasted material.   Be creative!