<sh>Rosslyn Bike Kiosk Opens
<bt>Arlington officials helped open a bike rental store in Rosslyn last week, which will serve as a pilot for a potential kiosk program in the Metro corridor.
Through mid-November residents can rent bikes at the store, which is located at 1906 N. Moore Street, just one block from the Rosslyn Metro station and two blocks from the Custis/Mount Vernon trail.
The kiosk serves as an environmentally conscious public art display. Alabama folk artist Butch Anthony has wrapped the store with a host of material, including street signs and bike parts.
Arlington County, the Rosslyn Business Improvement District and several private companies fund the project. It is the first in a series new efforts designed to help the county’s small businesses thrive.
"Having retail kiosks in major pedestrian neighborhoods — like those you see in so many European cities — creates great opportunities for small businesses," said Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette in a statement. "The concept is an excellent fit for Arlington, since each of our ‘urban villages’ has a bustling street life throughout the day and well into the evening."
For more info visit www.bikeoasis.com.
<sh>Arlington Student Missing in Vermont
<bt>A 21-year-old Arlington student attending the University of Vermont has gone missing from campus, Burlington, Vt., police said.
Michelle Gardner-Quinn was last seen in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 7 in downtown Burlington. Police said in a statement that they consider Gardner-Quinn’s disappearance "to be highly suspicious."
According to the Associated Press, Gardner-Quinn’s parents were in town for a family weekend and contacted the police after their daughter failed to show for dinner Saturday evening.
Burlington police said they are seeking information on a white, "Subaru-type" hatchback that "may or may not be a vehicle of interest" in the case. The operator of this vehicle, described as a white male in his 20s and 6-feet-tall asked another female to get into his vehicle at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday in downtown Burlington.
<sh>Blue Mass Set for Friday
<bt>Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde will be leading the third annual Blue Mass to remember law enforcement and public safety officers who have fallen in the line of duty.
The mass will take place on Friday Oct. 13 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, 3901 Cathedral Lane.
The Blue Mass began in Baltimore in 1934 to honor the men and women who protect the nation’s cities and counties. The mass has become an annual tradition for many dioceses throughout the country. Visit www.arlingtondiocese.org for more information.
<sh>CD Store Thief Pleads Guilty
<bt>David Eugenio Florian-Mendoza pled guilty last week to robbing the CD Megastore in Arlington in October 2005 and threatening the clerk with a handgun.
Florian-Mendoza, 40, faces a minimum of 32 years in jail in connection with a series of crimes in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland, United States attorneys for the Eastern District of Virginia said.
In the Arlington heist Florian-Mendoza made off with more than $9,000, and stole approximately $104,000 during his recent spate of robberies, officials said