Author: ARLnow.com

Murder Case Has Arlington Connection — “A Prince George’s County, Maryland, man learned Wednesday he’ll serve nearly 50 years behind bars for murdering a transgender woman… Police arrested Price after he ran onto the tracks inside a Metrorail tunnel in Arlington, Virginia, the day after Ashton’s body was found inside her Suitland apartment. The gun that police said was used in the killing was also found inside the tunnel, which was near the Pentagon City station.” [WTOP]

Quincy Site Considered for Electric Buses — “Speaking at a Jan. 20 hearing on the parcel’s continued use for storing more than two dozen transit buses over the next year, Schwartz dropped a bombshell. The county government’s new operations facility in South Arlington will not be able to house all ART buses if the system converts to an electric fleet, he said. ‘We will have to be looking at other places in the county,’ Schwartz said. ‘This site [on North Quincy Street] could be a potential location.'” [Gazette Leader]

Route 50 Crash on Camera — From Dave Statter: “A crash just after 3 p.m. at Route 50 & Highland. Maybe I’m a gutless chicken, but in 40-plus years of living in Northern Virginia — half of it in Arlington — I don’t ever recall crossing six lanes of Route 50 to get to the street on the other side, unless it was an intersection with a traffic signal. No indication of serious injuries in this collision.” [Twitter]

Local Schools Notch Wrestling Wins — “All three Arlington teams had individual champions at the first Liberty District girls wrestling championships. For the Wakefield Warriors, Nicole Barahona won the title at 107 pounds. She won by pin in the title match of the event at McLean High School. For the Washington-Liberty Generals, Skyla Rene was the champion at the 132 weight class. She won by a major decision in the final. For the Yorktown Patriots, Charlotte Bowman defeated previously undefeated Cameron Millsapps of Wakefield in the 152 championship match by a 3-2 score.” [Gazette Leader]

Rosslyn Retail Space Reconsidered — “In local zoning, urban planners have their concepts in place – until the public has the final say. And apparently the public decided it didn’t want as much retail space at the massive Central Place development in Rosslyn as county officials had imposed. As a result, Arlington County Board members on Jan. 20 approved zoning changes to allow owners of the two-building complex to use spaces on the ground, first and second floors currently designated for retail use for a wider array of options.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 44, accompanied by light and variable wind, which will become southeast at 5 to 7 mph during the morning. On Tuesday night, there’s potential for rain and snow between 1am and 4am, followed by a possibility of rain after 4am. The night will be cloudy with a low around 36, and a southeast wind at approximately 6 mph. The chance of precipitation is 30%. [Weather.gov]

Significant APS Grade Policy Update — “Arlington Public Schools in Virginia is updating its grading policy, defining the criteria used to determine whether a student is eligible to retake or revise a major assignment, such as a test, project or essay. Starting Jan. 30, middle and high school students who score below an 80% “must be afforded the opportunity to retake or revise a summative assessment after remediation,” Superintendent Francisco Duran said in a letter to families.” [WTOP]

NYT Profiles Local Affordable Development — “Emma Budway, a 26-year- old autistic woman who is mostly nonverbal, had been living with her parents in Arlington, Va. She longed for her own place, but because she earned little income, she could not afford to move out. So when the opportunity came to move into a two-bedroom apartment in December 2019, she jumped at the chance. Now Ms. Budway lives at Gilliam Place, an affordable housing complex built on property that Arlington Presbyterian Church owns. ‘My world has gotten so much larger,’ she said.” [New York Times]

YHS Soccer Star Going Pro — “There came a point late in her standout high school career for the Yorktown Patriots that the possibility of someday playing professional soccer might become reality for Lauren Flynn. That indeed occurred in recent days when Flynn was drafted by the expansion Utah Royals of Salt Lake City of the National Women’s Soccer League.” [Gazette Leader]

Summer Camp Registration Starting — “Temps may be chilly, but the heat is on to register for summer camps. They fill up fast in this area, and some have already opened for registration. Trying to get a handle on the vast array of options in and around Arlington? Here are 25 day camps where kids from tots to teens and with all abilities can thrive.” [Arlington Magazine]

Va. Home Sales Down — “Nearly nine in 10 Virginia counties and cities across the commonwealth posted declines in home sales from 2022 to 2023 while prices continued to rise, and those in the industry have hopes that the inventory logjam is beginning to ease. A total of 98,464 properties changed hands across the Old Dominion in 2023… a drop of 24,780 homes, or 20 percent, from 2022.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Monday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high near 46 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 16 to 18 mph and gusts reaching up to 31 mph. As for Monday night, the skies will be partly cloudy with a low temperature of around 31 degrees, while the north wind continues to blow at 6 to 11 mph. [Weather.gov]

Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by coworking provider Industrious. ARLnow has been based in an Industrious office for several years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked with paper. Industrious has several Metro-accessible Arlington locations to choose from.