We’re continuing our countdown to 2022 with our most-read stories of 2021.
Up next, in the top 10, we have more coverage from the summer tornado and the storming of the U.S. Capitol, as well as an update on a now two-year-old murder in Ballston.
The penultimate list of stories in our countdown is below.
10. NEW: Baltimore Ravens player arrested in Arlington (March 17 | 34,771 views)
Defensive lineman Broderick Washington, a second-year player on the Baltimore Ravens, allegedly damaged five vehicles with a metal object, plus damaged an apartment door and window, at the Dolley Madison Towers apartment complex. In June, he pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor property destruction and the other six charges were dropped, the Baltimore Sun reported. The judge barred him from contacting the victims and visiting the apartment complex.
9. BREAKING: Convoy of emergency vehicles seen heading towards D.C., Va. National Guard to deploy (Jan. 6 | 35,048 views)
This story contained several updates as we received them on Jan. 6, the day supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Arlington ambulances were told to avoid transporting patients to hospitals in the District while Arlington police officers, the Virginia National Guard and state troopers were dispatched to help D.C. and Capitol police.
8. BREAKING: Widespread damage after tornado warning issued for Arlington (July 1 | 41,872 views)
The fire department was swamped with service calls after a (relatively) small tornado tore through parts of the county. The calls included one for a man who was trapped after a tree fell on his house. The National Weather Service later confirmed it was a category EF1 tornado, the second-weakest on the Enhanced Fujita Scale scale.
7. BREAKING: Police release surveillance video of ‘person of interest’ in Ballston murder (Jan. 15 | 48,309 views)
Arlington police released video footage of a “person of interest” in the January 2020 murder of 24-year-old Scott Ratigan. ACPD described this person as a White male between 5’6″ and 5’8″ tall with a pigeon-toed gait. In October, the Ratigans increased their reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in their son’s murder to $50,000. The case remains unsolved.
6. Healthy Paws: Boy dog bumps — the mysterious bulbus glandis (March 8, 2018 | 52,566 views)
For reasons only known to the gods of Google, a 2018 sponsored article explaining the function of a little-known part of male dog anatomy that can cause pup parents alarm continues to grace our top stories for another year.