Wednesday, August 31, 2011

bumpy bottom of N. Ft. Myer Dr.

Some potholes have opened at the bottom of N. Ft. Myer Dr., about 10 yards before its intersection with Arlington Blvd.  You may be more worried about hurricanes, earthquakes, and infernos.  But don't forget the small, quiet details of everyday life.  These potholes could shake up a car or take down a bicyclist. I've reported them on Arlington County's handy pothole reporting form.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Swansen Apartments condemned

About three weeks ago, a wall collapsed at the construction excavation for the Sedona and Slate Apartments on Clarendon Blvd in Rosslyn.  The cave-in prompted evacuation of the adjacent Swansen Apartments.  Whatever the condition of the building at that time, the subsequent earthquake and hurricane surely added additional stress.  The good news is that the construction site now looks like it can withstand any cataclysm.  That bad news is that the Swansen Apartments have been condemned.  A resident removing belongings today had moved into his apartment one day before the wall collapsed.

If you've had some bad experiences over the past month, consider yourself relatively lucky.

Note: Click on the photo to get a better view of the new steel ribbing on the Swansen building.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Quinn and Zoe lost

This weekend's storm knocked down a few trees and caused half of Westmoreland Terrace Condos to lose hot water for just under two days and a smaller share to lose power.  A resilient resident lacking power was observed barbequing a steak in the Westmoreland parking lot.  We will prevail.

But what about two dogs wandering around lost in the storm? They are probably terribly frightened and upset.  If you see Quinn or Zoe, contact their human friends immediately at the numbers listed on the signs below.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sunday's video



(if you don't see the above video in your email reader, click here to see it on the Ode Street Tribune site)

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Rosslyn chickens out

Rosslyn's mysterious and intriguing underground Safeway was filled with anxious customers this Friday evening.  The chicken shelf was nearly stripped bare, but plenty of beef remained.  If Arlington welcomed roosters, this wouldn't happen.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Arlington needs more than hens


The Arlington Egg Project is seeking a change in Arlington ordinances so that residents can keep backyard hens. Hens make nice pets. They also can provide healthy, organic, home-grown eggs for food. Despite these attractions, the Ode Street Tribune does not support Arlington Egg Project's proposal as it is currently formulated.

The Arlington Egg Project's home page declares:
The ultimate objective of the Arlington Egg Project is the modification of Arlington County ordinances so residents can keep a limited number of backyard hens, while prohibiting roosters, and ensuring secure, proper, and humane enclosures for hens. [emphasis in the original]
While roosters differ in important ways from hens, roosters are also attractive and valuable animals.  Roosters provide natural alarm clocks that automatically adjust for changes in daylight hours.  Having roosters thus helps to decrease the use of electric lights and fosters energy conservation.  Many hens, moreover, enjoy associating at least occasionally with a rooster.  Long experience has also proved that having both roosters and hens prompts storks to put baby chickens inside eggs.  Hence, if they keep roosters as well as hens, residents will enjoy not only a home-grown supply of eggs, but also a home-grown supply of chickens.

Princess and Rosé, two hens from Bluemont, Virginia, were at this year's excellent Arlington County Fair.  In an exclusive interview with an Ode Street Tribune reporter, Princess and Rosé clucked that they would relish an occasional tryst with a rooster.

The Rosslyn neighborhood is home to many fine horses in the Fort Myer stables, early morning and late evening bugle playing, as well as the occasional bagpiper, and has an extraordinarily rich traditional of males serving their neighbors and their country.  Roosters are quieter than planes passing overhead, and roosters make more charming noise. Hens and roosters would make Rosslyn's diverse urban-rural neighborhood even better.

Allowing only hens in Arlington would be discriminatory, exclusionary, and cruel.  Arlington County should change its ordinances to allow hens and roosters.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

conceptual design for Fort Myer Heights playground

Arlington County park architect Aaron Wohler has developed an excellent proposed design for the new Fort Myer Heights Playground. The new playground will be installed in the lower area of the park along Ft. Myer Dr.  Under the proposed design, the playground will emphasize naturalism with nature-themed playground apparatuses. The design will attempt to avoid silver-metallic fences, using brown-metal instead if available. On the side of the playground opposite Ft. Myer Dr. is planned two picnic tables and a barbecue.  Enclosing the park will be a wheelchair-accessible, permeable-tile path.  Within the park will be a naturally looking, artificial-turf, permeable surface.  At the playground point nearest to the Arlington Blvd. & Ft. Myer Dr. corner will be a sand play area with a non-potable water pump.  Alongside the playground is  proposed a new-style, "leaf" bike rack that will nicely add to Rosslyn's array of styling bike racks.

No changes will be made to the picnic area and basketball court in the 14th St. right-of-way.  A major sewer line passes under 14th St., making any work in this area prohibitively expensive.  The existing children's park above the basketball court, and the picnic table in the space above the park will be removed.  Both those spaces will be converted into green space.

Open green space will be preserved on the north end of the park and will connect to the existing green space on western side of the lower park.  On the western side, the possibility of connecting the lower green space to the new upper green space will be explored.

The proposed design will be formally presented to the neighborhood at the upcoming RAFOM meeting on September 20, 7pm, in the Prospect House Meeting Room (1200 N. Oak St.). The new playground will be complete next August, at the earliest.  Whether the upper picnic tables and basketball court will remain open during the renovation remains to be negotiated with the construction company.

Glebe Radio & Appliances offers enduring values

Dabney Wharton's father opened Glebe Radio & Appliances in 1946.  Today, more than sixty years later, if you want a knowledgeable recommendations, friendly, prompt service, and a fair deal on appliances, go visit Dabney at Glebe Radio & Appliances.


Dabney has some important connections to the Radnor/Ft. Meyer Heights neighborhood in Rosslyn.  As a young man, Dabney was a regular at the neighborhood's Quarterdeck Restaurant, which thankfully remains open.  Dabney remembers occasions when he met there Redskins fullback John Riggins and track superstar Carl Lewis. More importantly, Dabney played on trophy-winning Quarterdeck softball teams.  He was, in short, a local athletic legend.

The Ode Street Tribune's corporate headquarters recently purchased a new refrigerator from Glebe Radio & Appliances.  The refrigerator was on sale for a good price, and it was delivered and installed promptly and professionally.  This new refrigerator will help to keep the Tribune's vegetables fresh so that its reporters can deliver you crisp reporting.

*  *  *  *  *
Glebe Radio & Appliances is at 5060 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 2220; tel. 703 538-4400.  Hours 9am - 6pm, Monday - Friday; 9am to 3pm, Saturday.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Rosslyn tree struggles to stay upright

Besieged by English ivy, a tree near the Arlington Blvd. access road near the N. Rolfe St. intersection is leaning over the sidewalk and the road.  Be careful here in a heavy storm.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

election this Tuesday

This Tuesday, August 23, is the Democratic Primary for our neighborhood's State Senator (31st Senate Distict) and the Commonwealth's Attorney (basically, the head Arlington County prosecutor).  Winners in these elections will almost surely be elected to office in this November's general election.

Democratic candidates for State Senator (with links to each candidate's website):
Democratic candidates for Commonwealth's Attorney (with links to each candidate's website):
Do your civic duty.  Vote!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

pipe work under Rt. 50

Last weekend's storms produced some serious flooding on the Arlington Blvd access road just before Rolfe St.  Work crews have cleared a nearby drain.  Apparently a drainage pipe under Rt. 50 was not functioning properly.  Pipe repairs on Rt. 50 are underway and may cause some minor nighttime traffic delays heading out of Rosslyn.  This road work is just another good reason not to leave Rosslyn.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

fire alarm on Ft. Myer Dr.

Approximately 10:32pm last night, the Arlington County Fire Department responded to a call at 1215 N. Fort Myer Dr.  Rosslyn's own Fire Station 10 was first on the scene with its hook-and-ladder Engine 110.  Station 1 on Glebe Rd. came in with hook-and-ladder Engine 101.  Station 9 from the Nauck neighborhood contributed Rescue 109.  This vehicle handles the human side of an apartment fire disaster.  The largest vehicle was the Hazardous Material Response Team's truck-and-trailer, also coming out of the Glebe Rd. station.  Overall, it was a spectacular display of fire trucks.

Given that Arlington contains the Pentagon and the historically important Westmoreland Terrace Condominiums (just across from this fire call), the Arlington Fire Department needs top-notch fire-fighting capabilities.  While not everyone can have a life-sized fire truck, you can contribute to fire security by making sure that you have a working smoke detector.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Rosslyn nightlife quickening


Whether it's Tuesday night salsa dancing, Wednesday night art movies, Thursday evening jazz happy hours, or Saturday night blowout dance parties, Rosslyn is coming alive with nightlife at Artisphere.   If you're used to a slower life, do whatever you have to do to get moving at this new speed.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Bardohmm at Artisphere

Mantra Samplers by Maribeth Egan is now at display Artisphere's Mezz Gallery.  Egan is the artist who painted the fantastic murals at the rockin' Bardo Rodeo bar that used to be just a short walk from downtown Rosslyn.  Compared to that earlier work, Mantra Samplers is more fragmented, abstracted, and introspective.

Mantra Samplers consist of largely grey-tone, digitally altered ink-jet prints with overheard phrases stitched into the prints.  White-cord stitching connects the frames of the individual phrases and provides a unifying thread for the exhibition.  Look at the phrase, and meditate on what it meant to another, and what it means to you.


Mantra Samples is on display through Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011.  Admission to this exhibit, and many other wonders at Artisphere, is free.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

see Ray's huge pumpkin at Arlington County Fair

The Arlington County Fair, which started this past Thursday night, will remain a center of the Eastern Seaboard's cultural and entertainment scene through its closing this Sunday night at 10pm (inside exhibits close at 5pm).  Admission is free.

This year's fair includes some notable additions.  Kids can get inside a bubble and race each other around a water course.  They'll get soaked, but have a lot of fun.  The Harlem Wizards, who played against the Arlington Elite this spring, have been giving shows.  Their last show is scheduled for 5:30pm on Saturday (why is the Fair guide made so difficult to find?). 

This year, the fiercely contested food and produce exhibits include the first names of the competitors.  That's an improvement over previous years.  The Ode Street Tribune is in awe of Ray's huge pumpkin.


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Hollywood can't compete

The abandoned Hollywood Video store between Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards, just west of Rhodes St and downtown Rosslyn, has been demolished.  Hollywood Video rental outlets have not been able to compete with new, high-quality online video channels such as OST-TV.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Galbi triumphant with Fourme D'Ambert

An Ode Street Tribune foreign correspondent in Oregon (that's about 2800 miles west of Rosslyn) reports that in the prestigious Clark County Fair cheese competition, Joan Galbi won a Blue Ribbon First Place and a Judge's Choice Award for her Fourme D'Ambert cheese.  The Fourme D'Ambert is a French blue (mold) cheese.  It's one of the oldest French cheeses and dates back to the Roman period.  The Romans didn't have modern refrigerators. So it's not surprising that they developed moldy cheese.

While Fourme D'Ambert is usually made with cow's milk, Galbi, in a gutsy gambit, used raw goat's milk.  She then aged the cheese for 60 days.  A French visitor to the après-competition tasting was enraptured with the cheese and declared, "That's a cheese that has something to say!"  The cheese joined Galbi's parsley-pesto goat cheese and her Camembert to make Galbi a three-time Blue Ribbon Winner.  As his neighbors can attest, the Ode Street Tribune's publisher would relish cutting this potent cheese.

The Arlington County Fair opens Wednesday, August 10, at 5pm at the Thomas Jefferson County Center.  The Fair runs through Sunday, August 14.  The competitive exhibits cover a wide range of foods and crafts, including hotly-contested vegetable competitions.  Sadly, however, the competitive exhibits don't include cheese.

Monday, August 8, 2011

world trying to drag Rosslyn down


A retaining wall at the excavation site for the JBG Companies' Sedona and Slate apartment complex, just north of Hillside Park, collapsed Sunday night.  Dirt pouring down into the excavation damaged the adjacent Swansen Apartments' parking lot and threatened the building.  The Swansen Apartments are located at 1625 N. Ode Street, an address on the middle section of Rosslyn's melodious Ode Streets.  Ode Street, Clarendon Boulevard, and other streets in the area have been closed.  Delays for inhuman-powered vehicles are likely to continue to exist Tuesday morning.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sunday's video



(if you don't see the above video in your email reader, click here to see it on the Ode Street Tribune site)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

journalist wanted

The Ode Street Tribune has an opening for a top-notch journalist.  Candidates for this exceptional opportunity must be highly skilled in interviewing, note-taking, investigative research, writing, editing, photography, video, and headline writing.  Candidates should be proficient in HTML, CSS, Javascript, web analytics, and major open-source CMS, including Joomla!, Drupal, and Wordpress.  Fluency in quantitative analysis and statistics is expected.  Candidates must be ready to work 24/7, be capable of handling a large number of diverse assignments, and have their own transportation and office.

Salary is non-negotiable at zero, with great opportunities for growth. No pension, no healthcare, and no vacations will be provided.  An Ode Street Tribune journalist who, in the judgment of the editorial staff, produces sub-standard work will be summarily fired.  Apply to the Ode Street Tribune today to develop further your career as a journalist!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

huge crowd gathers in Rosslyn


A huge crowd gathered in Rosslyn on the 4th.  Persons well-informed about Rosslyn's many attractions come to Rosslyn even more frequently than monthly.  Expect another large crowd next month. 

Editor's note: Our quality assurance sub-editors have raised questions about this post.  Despite our regular schedule of floggings to motivate and discipline our weary beat reporters, one may have fallen down on the job.  If our editors' investigations uncover sub-standard work, feet will get beat.

sacred space in Rosslyn's temple

You can find twelve early Gothic cathedrals in Rosslyn's spiritual temple above the gas station.  Jim Coates, a photographer, and Sally Avignon, an artist who works in stained glass, toured these historic churches that ring Paris.  They then recreated their sacred sense within two rooms of the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church in downtown Rosslyn.  If you open your eyes to see, you can travel to medieval Paris without leaving Rosslyn.


The Arlington Temple is open every weekday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.  All who are tired, wearied, or burdened are welcomed to enter and find rest.

(if you don't see the above video in your email reader, click here to see it on the Ode Street Tribune site)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Peyton Palmore, local handyman

Peyton Palmore started his own handyman business at age 64.  Two decades later, he is still helping local residents with repairs and installations.  His many loyal clients are a tribute to his trustworthiness, reliability, and professionalism.  His motto: "No job too small; every job done with pride."

If you have nagging home repairs that need to get done, get to know Peyton. Even if you don't have home repair that needs to get done, get to know Peyton.  You might be able to find someone else to do repairs, but you surely can't find any other handyman like Peyton.


Peyton Palmore, local handyman, offers licensed, insured, guaranteed work.  Call him at 703 527-5828.

(if you don't see the above video in your email reader, click here to see it on the Ode Street Tribune site)

Monday, August 1, 2011

expect loud aircraft noise tonight

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will be conducting training flights between 11:30pm tonight (Monday) to 5:30am tomorrow (Tuesday) to support the defense of the Washington, DC area.  Air Force F-16s and a U.S. Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter that will participate in the training exercise.  They are likely to create some extra aircraft noise.  If thunderstorms inhibit the planned training, it will be moved forward to Tuesday.

Aircraft noise has been a problem in Rosslyn. Aircraft noise late tonight or early tomorrow morning will be part of the solution to defending our nation's capital.  Rosslyn has fine tradition of defending our nation's capital.