Police say the man lifted one woman’s skirt and touched her inappropriately. Then, the woman punched him, and two men chased him off.

More details on the suspect from this week’s Arlington County crime report:

SEXUAL BATTERY 09/05/10, 4200 block of N. Pershing Drive. On September 5 at 2 am, two women were walking on the sidewalk when an unknown man approached them. He lifted one woman’s skirt and touched her under the skirt. She punched him, and two men chased the suspect off. The suspect was a white Hispanic male in his early 30’s, 6’ and 180 lbs. He was wearing a blue and white plaid shirt with black jeans and black shoes.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

ASSAULT ON POLICE-ARREST 09/04/10, 1000 block of S. Rolfe Street. On September 4 at 3 am, an intoxicated subject assaulted a police officer during his arrest. Michael Houston, 23, of Arlington, was charged with Assault on Law Enforcement, Resisting Arrest and Drunk in Public. He was held on a $3,000 bond.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY-ARREST 09/04/10, 3400 block of Wilson Boulevard. On September 4 at 2:20 am, an intoxicated man punched another subject. Sean Enright, 23, of Turnersville, NJ, was charged with Assault and Battery and Drunk in Public. He was released from jail when sober.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY-ARREST 09/05/10, 3100 block of Clarendon Boulevard. On September 5 at 1 am, a man assaulted a bouncer. Matthew Nieman, 27, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery. He was held on a $3,000 bond.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY 09/05/10, 900 block of S. Buchanan Street. On September 5 at 11:40 am, a man assaulted his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.

PEEPING TOM 09/06/10, 1700 block of N. Barton Street. On September 6 at 1:35 am, a man was seen looking into an apartment window. The suspect was a white Hispanic male wearing a black shirt.

BURGLARY 09/02/10, 2100 block of Key Boulevard. Between 9:30 am on September 1, and 2:30 pm on September 2, a subject forced entry through the front door of the victim’s apartment, and stole personal and electronic items.

BURGLARY 09/01/10, 6600 block of Little Falls Road. Between 9 pm on August 31, and 6 am on September 1, an unknown subject entered a school and stole several guitars. There is no suspect description.

BURGLARY 09/02/10, 4700 block of N. 25th Street. On September 2 between 7:55 am and 5:30 pm, an unknown subject forced entry through a window and entered a house. Several items of jewelry were stolen. There are no known suspects.

BURGLARY 09/03/10, 3600 block of S. 14th Street. Between 10:30 am on September 2, and 8:30 pm on September 3, an unknown suspect entered a house by removing a window air conditioning unit. Several dollars and some jewelry items were stolen. There is no suspect description.

BURGLARY-ARREST 09/07/10, 600 block of N. Vermont Street. On September 7 at 1:30 pm, police responded to a possible burglary in progress. Two subjects were located, and one was arrested. Darryl Nicholas, 23, of Upper Marlboro, MD, was charged with Burglary. He was held on a $2,500 bond.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY 09/02/10. 3800 block of Fairfax Drive. Between 9 pm on September 1, and 8 am on September 2, an unknown subject forced entry through a reception door of an office suite. Several computers were stolen. There are no known suspects.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY 09/04/10, 1200 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 8 pm on September 3, and 9:20 am on September 4, a subject entered the business and stole U.S. currency. The suspect is unknown.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY 09/06/10, 5100 block of Lee Highway. Between 11:15 pm on September 5, and 11:45 pm on September 6, an unknown suspect entered a business through a bathroom window. Money was stolen and there are no known suspects.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY 09/07/10, 1000 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 5 pm on September 2, and 7 am on September 7, an unknown subject entered and office suite and stole lap top computers. There are no known suspects.

ATTEMPT BURGLARY 09/07/10, 1800 block of N. Quinn Street. On September 7 at 10:40 pm, an unknown subject removed the screen from an apartment window. When the resident saw a person outside the window and yelled, the suspect fled. There is no description.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (SERIES) 09/07/10, 3100 block of N. 20th Street. Between 9 pm on September 6, and 7 am on September 7, an unknown subject broke into at least two cars in the same parking lot. There are no known suspects.

DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (SERIES) 09/01/10, 1200 block of N. Stuart Street. On September 1 between midnight and 10 am, an unknown subject vandalized at least six vehicles. There is no suspect information.

STOLEN AUTO 9/02/10 VA XLP 8879 1998 Chevy Prism, green 4200 block of N. Carlin Springs Road

Fifteen demonstrators, including two George Mason University students and eight elementary and middle school students, held homemade signs calling for Uncle Julio’s to stop serving frog legs.

“Uncle Julio: Stop driving frogs to extinction,” one young girl’s sign read.

The protest was organized by Save the Frogs, a California-based group dedicated to saving “the world’s remaining amphibian species.” This was the second time this year the organization held a protest outside the Ballston Uncle Julio’s. The non-profit has also demonstrated outside Uncle Julio’s restaurants in Maryland and Texas.

“America is on track to overtake France and Belgium to become the number one frog-eating country on the planet,” Save the Frogs founder and Manassas native Dr. Kerry Kriger said in a statement. “The frog leg trade is responsible for the spread of infectious diseases, the depletion of wild frog populations, and the spread of harmful invasive species”.

The CEO of Uncle Julio’s has previously denied that the chain’s frog legs come from an endangered species or are raised in an unhealthy environment.

Photos courtesy Save the Frogs

One emergency responder who was trying to get by the traffic called it “a faster version of a parking lot.”

Elsewhere along I-66, an accident on the ramp from I-66 to Route 110 between a dump truck and a passenger vehicle is reported to be causing some slowdowns. Firefighters have just been dispatched to the scene to help clean up fluid spilled as a result of the accident.

Miriam Gennari, the Green Party candidate for school board, made her case for why she should replace incumbent Sally Baird last night. To Gennari, the biggest challenges facing Arlington Public Schools come down to sustainability and environmental stewardship.

“The questions that we’re going to face have more to do with our environment than anything else,” Gennari said. “As we continue to plan our community to become more dense… we have to determine how we can best make those transitions while not having a negative affect on our children.”

Gennari touted her fight against styrofoam in school cafeterias two years ago. She also questioned the nearly $100 million spent on a Washington-Lee High School that opened in 2008 and is already overcrowded.

Baird, meanwhile, emphasized student achievement, saying she wants to continue her efforts to boost the graduation rate.

“First and foremost, we’re about helping kids achieve,” she said.

Baird recounted that when she ran four years ago, the student population was declining and someone asked if she “would have the courage to close a school.”

“There are generational trends going on here, so we have to be very careful about how we manage it… understand that in some places where the population is growing it’s not going to keep growing,” Baird said.

Both candidates were asked about the planetarium, which was set for closure under the superintendent’s latest school budget. The 40-year-old facility was saved by the efforts of the Friends of the Planetarium, a coalition of concerned citizens who agreed to raise funds for renovations.

“God save our planetarium,” said Gennari, adding that she would restore full funding to the program. “We need opportunities for our children to do more than just take tests.”

“I’m a friend of the planetarium as well,” Baird said, before qualifying her answer. She suggested that she supports the school system funding instructional time at the planetarium, while allowing a non-profit (like the Friends) to support public shows or private events on nights and weekends.

“I think this is an exciting dialog we’re having in the community,” Baird said. She didn’t say who should pay for the renovations.

It’s the first Sunday of the fall. It’s the first Sunday after World Car-Free Day. And it’s a great way to discover a neighborhood’s hidden parks and historic landmarks.

To that end, County Board Chairman Jay Fisette will be leading a “Walkabout” around the Yorktown neighborhood from 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. on the 26th. The walk will depart from Greenbrier Park (5201 28th Street North) and will take walkers past schools, shopping centers and other local sights. (See a route map here.)

The Walkabout is organized by the county-run WalkArlington organization.

The race, which was started by two Arlington police officers in 2002, will be held Saturday in Pentagon City. Thousands of runners are expected to participate.

Team and online registration is closed, but anyone interested in participating can register in person today at Pacers Running Store in Clarendon (3100 Clarendon Blvd) between noon and 8:00 p.m.

On Thursday, in person registration will take place at the Pacers store in Pentagon City (1101 South Joyce Street) from noon to 9:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday it will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel in Pentagon City (300 Army Navy Drive). The cost of registration is $30 now, $35 on race day.

The race will kick off from the DoubleTree at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Fifteen minutes before the race, Del. Bob Brink (D-Arlington) will dedicate part of Washington Boulevard as “9/11 Heroes Memorial Highway.”

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Next week Dunkin’ Donuts will hold an information session in Tysons Corner to discuss franchise opportunities with interested local entrepreneurs. Among the localities where the company wants to expand are Arlington, Fairfax, Charles and Prince George’s counties.

Arlington is home to four Dunkin’ Donuts stores, excluding location in National Airport. Current locations include Crystal City, Pentagon City, Columbia Pike and Lee Highway — so far, none in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.

In a statement, Dunkin’ Donuts said it is looking to drive local expansion by recruiting quality franchise owners.

“Dunkin’ Donuts is looking for qualified candidates with foodservice, operations and real estate experience to join our team to help expand the brand’s footprint in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas,” a company executive said.

The nine-time gold medalist will meet W-L students and tell them about the volunteer program, which encourages students to build one-on-one friendships with intellectually and developmentally-disabled individuals.

Lewis’ appearance will take place in W-L’s auxiliary gym at 1:00 p.m.

Best Buddies chapters are already in place at Wakefield and Yorktown high schools, and at the H-B Woodlawn and Stratford secondary programs. In Virginia, Best Buddies International operates 25 chapters which count more than 10,000 participants in total.

That’s the question one man really, really wanted to ask of the three 8th District congressional candidates at a Civic Federation-sponsored debate Tuesday night. The moderator tried to move on to the next question before the candidates could answer, at which point the man began yelling.

Eventually, the candidates answered the question to get the guy to stop screaming. It’s not clear whether he actually expected anyone to answer “no.”

We have audio of the exchange, below.

“Congress… is full of career politicians who are addicted to spending your taxpayer dollars and who will say and do anything to get re-elected,” Murray said in his opening remarks. “At the heart of that, ladies and gentleman, is my opponent, Mr. Moran.”

“For 20 years, he has spent taxpayer dollars… and what has it gotten us?” Murray asked. “We’ve got deficits as far as the eye can see. We’ve got unemployment that continues to go up. We’ve got $13 trillion of debt.”

Moran readily admitted that he has used his seniority on the House Appropriations Committee to steer money to the 8th District. But he said the money has made life better here — primarily by producing jobs.

“I earmark a lot of money through the appropriations process,” Moran said. “I do support federal spending, and I support the federal government… I’m doing everything I can to keep federal facilities here.”

Moran noted that Arlington has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and has recently been named a one of the most “livable” communities in the nation.

Later, Murray took a shot at a television appearance in which Moran said the economy had recovered.

“Jim just doesn’t get it. The other day on Hardball with Chris Matthews, he [said] ‘I don’t know why everyone is so upset… the economy is recovered,’” Murray said to cackling laughter among his supporters. “On what planet has it recovered?”

During a question and answer session with Civic Federation delegates, Moran was asked about a glossy, 16-page newsletter his congressional office mailed out over the summer at taxpayer expense.

Moran said the mailing cost between $100,000 and $200,000 and helped to explain two important legislative issues: health care reform and financial regulatory reform.

“It seems to me when you spend money on educating your constituents as best you can, it’s not an inappropriate way to spend money,” he said.

Murray pounced on the mailer issue, joking that when he received in the mail it he thought it was “a quarterly stock report from Goldman Sachs.”

Murray, a retired Army colonel and Iraq war veteran, was later asked about his lack of involvement in local civic activism.

“I’ve been a little busy serving my country all over the world,” he replied. “Listen, I’m not a politician, I’m running because I love this country.”

Moran, the former mayor of Alexandria, said experience matters.

“I don’t believe the U.S. Congress is an entry-level position,” Moran quipped, to derisive laughter from Murray supporters. “I would have never run for Congress until I had proven myself on a local level.”

(This, one of several outbursts of laughter and loudly-whispered comments, prompted the moderator to step in and demand the audience be respectful of the candidates.)

Murray seemed more poised, polished and comfortable compared to his prior debate performances. The one time he appeared uncomfortable during Tuesday night’s debate was while answering a question about the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

“I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about ‘pro this’ or ‘pro that,’” said Murray, who previously stated he’s pro-choice but then shied away from the position during the primary. “This is not a key critical issue.”

Ultimately, Murray said the abortion question should be decided on the state level.

Moran said he’s unabashedly pro-choice and said that abortions should be not only legal but affordable. Both Moran and Murray did say, however, that the number of abortions performed in the U.S. should be kept to a minimum.

Tuesday’s congressional debate also featured a third participant, Independent Green candidate Ron Fisher.

Fisher blasted the war in Afghanistan as “illegal” and “foolish,” said he supports abortion rights, and called the current Congress a “pretend government.”