Thursday, November 22, 2012
Ernie Maas, 61, has been homeless in Arlington County for at least the past two years.
A 61-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who has survived on the streets of Arlington for at least the past two years has a lot to be thankful for today. With the help of the Arlington Street People's Assistance Network and others, Ernie Maas now has a home. "It's great to know there are so many good people in the world," Maas said in his new bedroom Wednesday. "Since I served my country, I feel good about that — I was serving for good people." Volunteers and staff with A-SPAN and others had just finished moving in donated furniture and other items, along with a few bags of clothes and personal effects Maas had managed to collect and keep with him over the years — an old high school yearbook and boot camp book among them, he said. Maas said he'd …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Most county government services are closed Thanksgiving Day and Friday.
Arlington County released the following information on closures of county services for Thanksgiving Day and Friday unless otherwise indicated: Courts Close at noon on Wednesday DMV select Closed Human services Closed Libraries Closed Parks, community centers and nature centers Public Schools Closed Swimming Pools See Pool Schedule Transportation and Parking Trash pickup and recycling
Arlington's Turkey Trot 5K expected to draw 3,000 people.
Arlington’s Turkey Trot race will bring about several road closures on Thanksgiving morning. The event is expected to draw 3,000 people. North Pershing Drive between North Filmore Street and North Glebe Road will be closed from approximately 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., the Arlington County Police Department announced. Neighborhood roads north and south of North Pershing Drive will be affected briefly as the runners move through the course. Additionally, the following areas will be designated as “no parking zones” along the route between midnight through 10 a.m. Thursday, the county announced:
Try traveling early in the morning to avoid traffic on Thanksgiving Day.
About 43.6 million people are planning to travel 50 miles or more for their Thanksgiving meal this year, according to AAA—and 90 percent of those people are traveling by car. While Northern Virginia is traffic-heavy throughout the holiday period, the day before Thanksgiving is the heaviest travel day. To help you plan your travel, the Virginia Department of Transportation created this set of maps showing Thanksgiving traffic congestion from Wednesday, Nov. 23 through Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Unlike last year, the Beltway Express Lanes will be open for Thanksgiving, which may alleviate some of the Thanksgiving travel congestion on Wednesday. The 2011 maps show the heaviest travel in Northern Virginia last year, particularly around the Beltway…
Several mobile apps and websites can help you fuel up for less before you hit the road this Thanksgiving.
Gas prices are on the decline in the greater Alexandria area, from $3.79 in October to $3.52 last week, according to AAA. If you’re looking for less expensive gas as you hit the road for Thanksgiving, there are several mobile apps and websites that may help. When you're on the road: Gas Prices May Keep Falling Although experts have not yet fully analyzed the effects of Hurricane Sandy, AAA’s National Thanksgiving Travel Forecast estimates the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline will drop to $3.25 and $3.40 by Thanksgiving. Last year, the Thanksgiving average was $3.32 nationwide. "Despite the historically high prices paid by motorists this year, the national average has declined by nearly 40 cents a gallon …
Nationally, firefighters respond to some 155,000 cooking fires each year.
Frying a turkey may result in a juicier bird, but firefighters remind cooks not to let safety fly away in favor of taste. More than 2,000 Thanksgiving Day fires are reported each year, causing an average of $21 million in property damage and five deaths, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Thankfully, no fryer-turkey related accidents have occurred in Arlington in the last two years or so, according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Gregg Karl. If you are planning on frying a turkey, here are some things to keep in mind:
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Where to help this Thanksgiving in Arlington.
Looking to do some good on Thanksgiving Day in Arlington? View some volunteer opportunities below: Thanksgiving Turkey Thanksgiving Day Friendly Visitors Arlington Turkey Trot Know of other organizations looking for volunteers on Thanksgiving? Add them to the comments below or to our events page.
What is in store on the Metro for the Thanksgiving holiday?
Taking the Metro on Turkey Day? WMATA has announced its holiday schedule: On Friday, Metro will operate on a normal weekday schedule. No track work is scheduled until Sunday evening on the Red and Blue lines.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Some Thanksgiving to go options in Clarendon.
Deadlines are approaching fast if you want to outsource your Thanksgiving meal. Some of these Clarendon eateries require that orders be placed by today: Whole Foods Order from Clarendon Whole Foods online until midnight on Monday, with meals for anywhere from 2 to 12 people. Northside Social Northside Social is offering ten flavors of pies in three different sizes. All orders have to be put in by the end of the day on Tuesday to be ready in time for Thanksgiving Day. Call 703-465-0145 to order with a baker or email bakersdozen@northsidesocialarlington.com. Their flavors: Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Pecan Pie, Old Fashioned Fudge Pie, Pear Cherry Sour Cream Pie, Rosemary Pine Nut Tart, Chocolate Pear Tart, Cranberry Orange Almond Tart, …
Taking a moment to thank those who make Arlington a better place for cycling
I'm not much of a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving, but I do think it's good to stop and appreciate what we've got from time to time. A recent outside view of what makes Arlington good for cycling reminded me that we've got a lot to be thankful for here. I wrote a bit last year about some of the people making Arlington a great place to ride, and now's a good time to update that. A lot has happened in the past year. Capital Bikeshare's long-anticipated expansion really took off, with stations now saturating the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Arlington also developed a very smart analysis and plan for Capital Bikeshare's future. There was also progress on infrastructure. Some of it was standard bike lane striping, completing gaps in …
Peter
2:18 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
We are trying to have the County Public Works Dept. repaint the crosswalk stripes at the W O & D bike trail crossing at Walter Reed Drive, ASAP. Please help. The crossing stripes have completely worn off the pavement. This is a busy and dangerous crosswalk. Thanks in advance more ›