The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

June 13: Assault/Indecent Exposure, 900 block of N. Irving St. At 3:30a.m. a woman was walking when an unknown man grabbed her behind. When the victim turned around, the suspect then exposed his buttocks to her before fleeing the area. The suspect is described as an African-American male in his early 20s, 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was wearing a light colored t-shirt and dark pants.

June 20: Attempted Sexual Assault, 900 block of N. Taylor St. At 3:45a.m., a woman was walking when an unknown male approached her. He forced her into some bushes and attempted to remove her clothing. She fought him and yelled “Fire.” Witnesses ran to the area and the suspect fled. He is described as a white Hispanic male, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a button down shirt, dress pants, dress shoes, and a dress belt.

June 30: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At 11:45a.m., a woman attacked an adult and three juveniles while on a bus. The suspect was located by police. Angela Orji, 26, of Arlington, was charged with four counts of Assault and Battery. She was held on a $4,000 bond.

June 30: Disorderly Conduct (Arrest), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. On June 30 at 11:45a.m., a man interfered with the investigation of the above assault and refused to leave the area. Santos Cabrera Gonzalez, 44, of Arlington, was charged with Disorderly Conduct. He was held on a $1,000 bond.

June 19 (From a press release): The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a critical pedestrian accident that occurred on Wilson Blvd.on Friday evening.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009, a pedestrian was struck by a white Ford F-150 truck. The accident occurred at the intersection of North 10th Street and Wilson Blvd. A pedestrian was crossing North 10th Street when he was struck by the vehicle. The driver of the striking vehicle stayed on scene and was interviewed by police. The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

Mark Planisek, 49, of Washington, died on on Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

The Arlington Police Department asks that any witnesses to the accident contact Det. Richard Conigliaro at 703-228-4159. Det. Conigliaro can also be reached via email at Rconig@arlingtonva.us.

Click the icons and lines for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure/vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here for a larger map

Labels: arlington forest, ashton heights, Buckingham, Crime, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:49 AM 0 comments

A group of neighbors in Arlington Forest want the Arlington Forest Shopping Center to feel like a destination, a place neighbors could go to sit, talk and meet. None of the stores or restaurants has that drop-in and hang around feel that a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, or even a small, upscale market might have.

Now might just be the time to make the destination happen, since the space that was Mrs. McGregor’s Garden Shop has been vacant for months, and the Country Curtain is moving to Fairfax in August.

“Right now, we’re wanting to know if the landlord is even interested,” said Michele Cato, an organizer of a group of Foresters looking into the business idea.

The answer is: probably not.

The problems are quite a few, and the neighbors know this, Ms. Cato said.

Van Woodley, the leasing agent for the space, said he has been contacted by people in Arlington Forest.

“We’re not encouraging a coffee thing for that location, without ventilation, limited air conditioning,” he said. He works for A.J. Dwoskin and Associates, of Fairfax. He said they haven’t had a lot of luck with coffee shops, but one might work if it could be on the main level near the Brick’s Pizza and Chrystal Thai, but of course, there is no space open there.

Yet there’s trouble beyond the ventilation. The rent for the small space in the basement of the shopping center, on the side of the shopping center that faces houses, will be about $4,000 a month plus utilities, and they want a five-year lease. Mr. Woodley said someone has to guarantee the roughly quarter-million dollars over five years that the lease will require. Without a financial backer, any idea would be tough to pull off.

“Being tucked under like that has some drawbacks,” he said. The fact that it faces homes, and therefore is restricted in what it can be, is a big issue for the leasing agent. His company is looking toward a small, professional service such as a tax accountant.

Drainage issues and a wet basement are drawbacks that Ms. Cato said she sees. Parking is a concern for both sides.

Ms. Cato thinks her group might come up with an idea that would use both the Country Curtain and McGregor's spaces together. That's an idea that Mr. Woodley said his firm has been pursuing with other companies interested in the property. They have a "wide range" of different retail companies interested in the space, he said, but he would not elaborate.

The Arlington Forest group is looking at creating a co-operative of some sort, possibly, or of finding a financial backer. Ms. Cato said her group knows that anything is a long shot, but they are thinking of an upscale market that would serve coffee, ice cream and pastries, but would also sell food and baked goods.

She said there is some historical precedence for this, too, as the original plans for the center called for some sort of market.

“We want something community based,” she said. “There’s an amazing amount of interest in the community.”

She knows that parking would be an issue for anything, and she believes the community would not support a regular grocery store or convenience store. Her group, which met last week for the first time, divvied-up the jobs, doling out roles to match the people’s strengths. One is calling the landlord, another is looking into the co-op option. The group is strong in the time they can dedicate and in skills, she said.

She admitted that it would be OK if they’re group did not put together a winning proposal, so long the space got something that the community could use to congregate. If the Brick’s Pizza just had nice seating, that would work, she said, adding later that she wanted it to feel more like the Westover Shopping Center on Washington Blvd., with its ice cream and coffee shops, a hardware store, nice restaurants and other places for the community to gather.

“We’ll work with all the neighborhood groups,” Mr. Woodley said.

Labels: arlington forest, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:58 AM 1 comments

The man who accosted several Swanson Middle School students at a bus stop in Buckingham yesterday afternoon has been held under a mental detention order, but has not been charged with a crime.

He is known to police and has a history of mental disorder, said Arlington County Police Detective Crystal Nosal, the public information officer for ACPD. The incident occurred on the 4100 block of N. 3rd St., according to an email sent from Arlington Public Schools.

Police do not believe that the person was attempting abduction, as was first feared, but he may have tugged on the shirt of a boy, which is “scary for a 14-year-old,” Det. Nosal said.

He might be charged with assault and battery for the shirt-tugging, but police are waiting for a health evaluation before proceeding, the detective said. They are not releasing his name at this time since he has not been arrested and because police do not want to run afoul of the Health Information Privacy Act.

The email from the school thanked police for quick action and commended the students for following some basic safety tips such as walking in groups and telling adults quickly so that appropriate action could be taken.

May 4: Robbery, 4200 block of Wilson Blvd. At 4:45p.m., a man was walking when two unknown men approached him from behind. The suspect pushed the victim into a wall and demanded money. They then ran from the area. Both suspects were tall, muscular, African American males in their late teens. They were wearing sweatshirts with scarves covering their faces.

May 1 (delayed reporting to police): Robbery, 4300 block of N. Henderson Road. At 11p.m., a man was standing in front of a building talking on a cell phone. Two unknown men approached him, assaulted him and took his cell phone. The suspects were both African-American men in their early 20s. They were wearing dark clothing.

May 1 (delayed reporting to police): Attempted Robbery, 4300 block of N. 4th St. At 8:30p.m., a man was leaving a laundry room and two unknown men attempted to rob him. The suspects were unsuccessful and fled the area. Both suspects were African-American males in their 20s wearing dark clothing. The victim did not report the incident for six days.

May 9: Destruction of Property, Drunk in Public (Arrest), 900 block of N. Kenmore St. At midnight, a person witnessed a man damaging windshield wipers on several vehicles. Police apprehended the suspect. Kevin Chan was charged with Drunk in Public and held until sober.

May 10: Assault and Battery, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At 9:45p.m., a man entered a store and assaulted an employee. He attempted to get the employee to leave the store to fight with him in the parking lot and left. The employee called the police. The suspect is a bald African-American male in his 40s, 6 feet tall with a heavy build. He was wearing dark jeans and a checkered patterned long sleeve shirt.

May 19: Filing a False Police Report (Arrest), 3800 block of N. 7th St. At 4:30p.m., a woman reported that her ex-boyfriend abducted and assaulted her. During the investigation officers found the event was fabricated. Leyla S. Kampman, 19, of Arlington, was charged with Filing a False Police Report. She was held on a $1,000 bond.

Click the icons for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure/vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here to view larger map.

Labels: arlington forest, ashton heights, Buckingham, Crime, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:36 AM 0 comments

Oct. 24: Robbery, 4300 block N. Wilson Blvd. At 3 p.m. a man was leaving a garage on his scooter when an unknown subject jumped in front of him. The suspect assaulted the victim and pushed him off the scooter. The suspect also stole property from the victim. The suspect was an African American male, 25 years old. He was last seen wearing jeans, a long dark jacket, and a pullover.

Oct. 26: Robbery, 4200 block of N. 2nd Rd. At 11:30 p.m., a man was walking home when two unknown men knocked him down and assaulted him. The suspects fled on foot with the victim’s wallet. The suspects are described as tall, thin, African American males wearing black hooded sweatshirts.

Oct. 27: Stolen Auto, 800 block of N. Randolph St. License tag #NY DNA8075. The SUV is a 2006 black Ford Escape.

Oct. 28: Death Investigation, 800 block of N. Greenbrier St. At 3 p.m., a man was working inside a dirt trench at a residential construction site. The trench collapsed, trapping him inside. Pablo Gonzalez, 59, of Falls Church, was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.


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Labels: arlington forest, ashton heights, Buckingham, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:19 AM 0 comments

Well, I am back to teaching, and I must say this working stuff stinks. I much prefer sabbatical, but what is one to do?

The other, rather unexpected, twist to this hiatus was that I am, no longer, a Buckinghamster.

I am now an Arlington Forester. This is my fourth home in Arlington since moving here in 1995, and moving into this house close to the Lubber Run Amphitheatre was the greatest distance I have moved: six blocks. Actually, the apartment that my wife and I first rented is about halfway in between here and the house we just left. We love this area, and now we have a garage. Honestly, we would have stayed in Buckingham, but there are just not that many single-family homes that become available, so we had to change neighborhoods.

People who know of the move have asked if I am changing this site, and I have said no. I have covered many issues of interest both to Buckinghamsters and Foresters, so I will continue along that vein. Now it is just a little longer walk to get to some of the best parts of Buckingham.

I am changing my main posting day from Wednesdays to Fridays, or maybe Saturdays. And I still have a lot of work to make up at my day job—not the least of which is a report on my sabbatical project (also known as The Buckingham HeraldTrib). I am tempted to email a link of the site to the muckitymucks and call it a day, but I might find myself on permanent sabbatical after that.

Despite being in our new house, we still have not sold our other house, and boy do we want to!

So, for the first time in the more-than-two-year history of the Buckingham HeraldTrib, I am running an ad, my own:

--Advertisement--
Three-level, three bedroom, two-full-bath townhouse in north Arlington. A nice walk to the Ballston Metro, on many bus routes, and a scant five minute drive to the Washington Monument (you can actually see the July 4 fireworks from the bridge over Arlington Boulevard a half block from the house). Walkable to everything you need: post office, salons, dry cleaning, groceries, pharmacy, restaurants, shops! Our community center has an exercise room and a party/meeting room.

TONS OF STORAGE SPACE, washer/dryer and deep freezer included.

The fenced-in, private, back patio, shaded by mature oaks, opens onto a one-third-acre back courtyard (these open grassy spaces are what make Buckingham, Buckingham). We taught our kids to ride their bikes on the sidewalk that encircles that courtyard, and have played many games of croquet and bocce out there, too.

Renovations: both bathrooms were renovated recently and have very new fixtures and modern looks. The dining and living room sport newly refinished hardwood flooring (the original parquet from the 1930s!). The stairs to the top floor and all three bedrooms have brand new carpeting. The kitchen floor is also new. New paint just about everywhere.

THIS PLACE IS MOVE-IN READY.

Arlington Oaks Condominium Association. $482,500. The $449 monthly association fees (one of the lowest in Arlington) covers, water, heat, outside maintenance and repairs as well as many inside repairs and needs.

For the full listing and to contact my agent, click here.
--Advertisement over--

Between house sales and moves, and a report that must be written, I am not exactly sure how regularly I will be posting to the site over the next month or two. After that, about the time of the holidays, I expect to be a little more operational (next summer, I am hoping to have interns!).

For now, I have but one piece to set your blood to boiling:

As always, you can scroll down to see all the recent stories, or simply click the links below (if the link doesn't work, scroll down to find the story, and email to tell me what's busted: heraldtrib@gmail.com --Steve Thurston).

Today's Headlines:

Who Needs More Mavericks?

Labels: arlington forest, arlington oaks, Buckingham, realty, sales, townhouse

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:32 AM 0 comments