More than 15,000 cars are towed from private lots in Arlington each year. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The second installment in an ongoing investigative series on towing in Arlington. On Tuesday, we looked at whether the landscape of towing in the county has changed over the past five years.

It can sometimes feel like everyone in Arlington has had a car towed at some point or another. How close is that to reality?

Well, in a given year, it's actually closer to one in 10 people. Arlington County Police estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 private property tows occur in the county each year. The county's population is estimated at a little over 200,000.

So how many of those tows are bogus? Officially, not very many. The number of towing complaints filed with the county (91 in 2009 and 2010 to date, combined) pales in comparison to the total number of cars towed per year. Arlington County Police determined that a towing company violated the county's towing ordinance in only 14 of those 91 cases.

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With high winds and plenty of rain in the forecast, basement dwellers are on high alert, and you know what that means: The D.C. Department of Public Works is offering District residents free sandbags.

Residents may pick up up to four sandbags (per household) at DPW's New Jersey Avenue and K Street SE location between 8 p.m. and midnight tonight, and then again from 7 a.m. to noon on Wednesday. Just like always, you have to load the bags into your vehicle yourself, and each sandbag weighs between 40 and 50 lbs., so bring a friend to help. 

DPW will have employees and signage directing residents to the site entrance.

There's currently a flash flood watch in effect for the entire metro area.

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If you've got something to say about proposed improvements to Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda, you better make it quick — the Montgomery County Department of Transportation will stop accepting feedback after Dec. 8.

Bradley Boulevard between Wilson Lane and Goldsboro Road [map] lacks sidewalks, and all three proposals on the table include installing sidewalks and bike lanes. The three options up for consideration are: install a sidewalk on the north side of the road with bike lanes; install sidwalks on both sides of the road with bike lanes; or build an 8-foot wide walking and biking path on the north side of the road, and on the south side install a sidewalk and bike lanes.

The issue has pitted residents concerned with the widening of the road or wasting taxpayer money against local walking and biking advocates

MCDOT will take community feedback into consideration as it decides upon a final proposal to send to the Montgomery County Planning Board for approval. Residents can post comments directly to MCDOT's website. See just some of the comments that residents on both sides of the issue have posted after the jump:

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JBG demolished the previous garden apartments on this site last year, but its Rosslyn Commons project has been stalled since then. Work is expected to begin in December. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Work could begin on the two-tower Rosslyn Commons residential complex sometime in December, and developer JBG is planning a groundbreaking event for sometime in January, development manager Bryan Moll tells TBD.

The project includes 474 units, including 55 affordable apartments. The two towers will be completed simultaneously, while the town houses also included in JBG's site plan will be completed in a later phase, either by the developer or by a partner.

Construction is expected to take between 24 and 27 months, meaning the first tenants could be moving in in late 2012 or early 2013. The site plan was originally approved by Arlington County in 2008.

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The Ballston location of Sweetgreen will officially open Thursday, Dec. 2, says a rep for the store. The fast-casual restaurant, located at 4075 Wilson Boulevard, will be serving up its own brand of house-made salads and frozen yogurt in Arlington for the first time.

Opening day (with hours from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.) will also bring one of the D.C.-based chain's giveaways: the first 200 customers to order one of their signature salads will receive a free salad blaster bowl, a reusable bowl that helps the store cut down on waste and gets you a free salad topping every time you use it. Head over early Thursday if you're a fan of free stuff.

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Pickle dog at ChiDogO's: for pickle lovers only. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Snapshots of the wild, weird, and wonderful things you can buy in the D.C. area.

Product: Pickle Dog

Available at: ChiDogO's, 1934 14th St. NW

Cost: $2.59

Why you might want it: You don't particularly like the taste of most veggie dogs. You loooooooove pickles.

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No decision will be made today on lifting outdoor noise limits in parts of downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring and relaxing the limits at Strathmore Hall.

The Montgomery County Council was supposed to vote on the measure today, but it doesn't seem the Strathmore Hall part of the bill was the problem — the councilmembers postponed the vote because they needed more time to think about the urban district issues, writes council attorney Michael Faden in an e-mail to TBD.

The bill, which can be seen after the jump, would lift decibel limits altogether in the urban districts (Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Wheaton) at specific spots designated by the County Executive. Keeping loud noise in check would then be the responsibility of the urban district advisory committees, and anyone wanting to put on performances would have to submit a report to the committees laying out the types of events and targeted audiences.

Faden wasn't sure when the issue would come back up again.

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Say goodbye to the worst of Ethan Allen Avenue's potholes: the City of Takoma Park will start repaving the worst sections of the road this winter.

Takoma Park Patch alerts us to a Monday night vote taken by the Takoma Park City Council to spend $30,000 to $50,000 on repaving about 30 percent of the road.

The road, also called Route 410, may have to be repaved again. The problem: the city is trying to get the State of Maryland to pay for those repairs and no deal is in sight.

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All D.C. Public Library locations will be closed Friday, Dec. 3 for a staff development training day, library officials announced Tuesday.

If you happen to have books, CDs, or DVDs due back to the library on Dec. 3, they may be returned on Dec. 4 without getting stuck with late fees.

Regular library hours will resume on Saturday, Dec. 4.

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Arlington Transit's annual Stuff-a-Bus gift donation event is underway, and drivers will be collecting gift items for needy children today, Wednesday, Dec. 1 and Thursday, Dec. 2. Recommended gifts include stuffed animals, toys, books and clothing.

The gifts should be new and unwrapped, and can be for children of all ages. Bus riders can drop off donations in wrapped boxes located at the front of buses on the ART 41, 42, 45, 51, 52, 53, 74, 75, 77, 84 and 87 lines.

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A tow truck pulls a car out of a retail lot in front of the DMV in South Arlington. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Talk to someone from Arlington, and chances are they have a towing story. Cars towed, often within minutes of parking, while their owners are at the DMV, in the gym, out to dinner, or even at home.

An average of 500 cars per week were towed from private property in October, according to Arlington County Police Department records. Numbers like those raise the question: What has the county done about predatory towing? Over the next few days, TBD Neighborhoods will explore that issue in a series of posts on this blog.

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Don't get too comfortable with this design -- changes could be in store. (Image: Courtesy of Lukmire Partnership, Inc.)

At long last the Silver Spring Library's final design will be revealed.

The project as originally designed is $3 million over budget, so officials have been quite busy over the past few months figuring out ways to reduce costs while keeping community concerns in mind. Tonight they will present their final design at a community meeting.

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If this weekend's unbearably cold temperatures weren't enough proof that fall is long gone, we now have another sign of winter's arrival: water main breaks.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is reporting eight water main breaks of varying sizes throughout Montgomery County today, a big jump from months of just a few or none at all. But spokeswoman Lyn Riggins writes in an e-mail to TBD that so many breaks during this time of year is not that unusual.

"The river temperature has dropped which means the water flowing through
the pipes is colder than it has been. Combine that with the fact that
more than a quarter of our 5,500 miles of water mains are more than 50
years old and you will certainly see an increasing number of water main
breaks in the late fall and winter," she writes.

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They're still working on the sidewalk itself, but the fence is down in front of the long awaited Bromptons condo on Lee Highway. (Photo: TBD Staff)

It still needs a little work, but the sidewalk in front of the under construction Bromptons at Cherrydale condominium is open for pedestrians, after a fence that has surrounded the property for several years has come down.

Work has progressed rapidly on the 22-unit condominium building since last year, when the county took action against developer Ed Peete Companies for insufficient work on the project. The balconies on the front of the building have now been installed, and the fence is now blocking only a small portion of the sidewalk near a utility pole.

Work is supposed to be complete by January, according to a settlement agreement, and residents could be moving in shortly after that.

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Seek revenge on the go with this voodoo doll keychain. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Snapshots of the wild, weird, and wonderful things you can buy in the D.C. area.

Product: Voodoo doll key chain.

Available at: Party Mania, 4910 Cordell Ave., Bethesda.

Cost: $3, plus tax.

Why you might want it: Sure, you've got plenty of revenge to take, but in this day and age, who has the time for such things? Enter the voodoo doll on a key chain. It goes with you everywhere, including while you sit in traffic (perhaps a safer way to exercise those road rage tendencies, no?). And if you're not into all of that evil plotting, the doll is kind of adorable.

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Plaza del Sol will occupy a vacant storefront along St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda. (Photo: TBD Staff)

A new Tex-Mex and Latin American restaurant in Bethesda could breathe some life into a stretch of St. Elmo Avenue plagued with numerous vacant storefronts.

Owners of Plaza del Sol say they want to open the small restaurant at 4932 St. Elmo Ave. in January. They will go before the Montgomery County Board of License Commissioners on Thursday to get approval to sell beer, wine, and liquor [PDF] at a full service bar.

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Construction will last about a year. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Renovations to Takoma Park-Piney Branch Park begin today. Finally!

Construction was originally supposed to start in late October or early November. Today, equipment will be coming to the site and parking on the Grant Avenue cul-de-sac near the entrance to Ed Wilhelm Field.

The City of Takoma Park is advising drivers to avoid Grant Avenue south of Holly Avenue unless they are visiting the home of someone who lives along the road.

Among the things the year-long $2.3 million park overhaul will include: two playgrounds, a full-sized basketball court, an improved volleyball court, picnic shelters, and a brand new skate spot, which hasn't been designed yet.

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The parking lot of the Reed School and Westover branch library. (Photo: Jay Westcott)

Arlington doesn't hurt for farmers markets — you can go to an outdoor market selling products from local farms several days of the week during the summer months — and now the Westover neighborhood is looking to get in on the action.

John Reeder, the Arlington Green Party president and farmers market advocate, has been floating the idea of a Westover farmers market in the parking lot of the Reed School and Westover branch library with nearby civic associations. Now he and other supporters will make the case for the market at a meeting Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Westover branch library.

View Possible Westover farmers market in a larger map

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A perfect follow-up to Thursday's glutton-extravaganza. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Snapshots of the wild, weird, and wonderful things you can buy in the D.C. area.

Product: Ultimate Detox & Cleanse by Michael's Naturopathic Programs.

Tagline: "Great way to start your diet!"

Available at: Ecology Health Food, 904 Bonifant St., Silver Spring.

Cost: $26.98, plus tax.

Why you might want it: Um, Thanksgiving was yesterday. It's time to clean everything out!

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The park at 11th and Monroe streets (Photo: D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation)

The city this week filed a civil complaint against the contractor that renovated 3511 13th St. NW, saying it violated multiple city codes, including rules about lead paint.

The city recently cleaned up lead-contaminated soil at the adjacent community park at 11th and Monroe streets, and the complaint from the Office of the Attorney General alleges the contractor violated the city's lead-hazard prevention law. The contractor is named as 3511 13th Street Residences, LLC.

The company's president, Carlos Saenz, said he hadn't been complying with the law because he didn't know about it, according to the complaint. But he took a lead paint certification course shortly after the city ordered him to stop renovating the building.

The city says the company is liable for at least the $40,000 worth of clean-up it did in the wake of the mess the contractor left. And the company's code violation fines could add up to $150,000 a day, which the city says it committed on as many as 177 days. 

The park was closed in August, around the time the District Department of the Environment ordered the contractor to stop working, which it said was largely ignored. The contractor started renovations in March.

See the complaint after the jump.

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