Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.
The least expensive condo, single-family home or townhouse sale over the past seven days was $225,000 while the most expensive was $2,650,000.
Over the past month, meanwhile, a total of 7 townhouses were sold. Let’s take a look at some of the most and least expensive townhouses sold over the past month.
Ramp from Glebe to I-395 blocked by police activity (photo courtesy Thornton Thomas)
Ramp from Glebe to I-395 blocked by police activity
Police responding to incident on S. Glebe Road
Ramp from Glebe to I-395 blocked by police activity (photo courtesy Thornton Thomas)
(Updated on 2/17/23) A ramp from S. Glebe Road to I-395 was blocked Thursday afternoon due to a report of a man with a gun.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m., a 911 caller told police that another driver was pointing a long gun at them after a crash. Numerous Arlington County police units rushed to the scene, detained those involved and are now sorting out what exactly happened.
No injuries have been reported. The ramp reopened around 4:30 p.m.
ACPD provided more information about the incident in a crime report on Friday.
BRANDISHING, 2023-02160183, I-395 at S. Glebe Road. At approximately 3:21 p.m. on February 16, police were dispatched to the report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the suspect and took him into custody without incident. The investigation determined the victim and suspect had been involved in a traffic collision, during which the suspect exited the vehicle and allegedly displayed a firearm on his waistband. No injuries were reported. During a search of his person incident to arrest, a firearm was recovered. [The suspect], 45, of Alexandria, Va., was arrested and charged with Brandishing.
An incoming jet to DCA passes by construction in Rosslyn at 1900 Ft. Myer Drive (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
APS Sub’s Class Activity Questioned — “An Arlington Public Schools 8th grade student and his mother are demanding answers after they tell 7News a long-term substitute teacher forced him to pick up cotton with his face for a game… ‘Other students participated. The activity featured a player from each team taking turns. Using only their nose, the players were challenged to move the cotton balls one at a time from one end of the table to a bowl at the other end of the table. The object was [to] see who could move the most cotton balls,’ said district spokesperson Frank Bellavia.” [WJLA]
Rental Scooter Charging Ban Reminder — From the Arlington County Fire Department: “Recent changes to the statewide fire prevention code makes it ILLEGAL to charge commercial electronic transportation devices within multi-family residential buildings!! Personal devices are still OK but are capped at 1 device per 200 Sq Feet of living space.” [Twitter]
YHS Girls Take Swim Title — “The Yorktown Patriots on the girls side and the Langley Saxons on the boys won 6D North Region swim and dive championships the weekend of Feb. 10 and 11 at Oak Marr RECenter in Oakton. For the Yorktown girls, the title was its second straight.” [Gazette Leader, Gazette Leader]
It’s Thursday — Light rain starting in the afternoon. High of 68 and low of 50. Sunrise at 7:00 am and sunset at 5:48 pm. [Weather.gov]
Arlington and its neighbors are getting an early start on an annual tap water change.
The Washington Aqueduct, which serves Arlington, D.C. and part of Fairfax County, is preparing for a reservoir rehabilitation project. As a result, the yearly “spring cleaning” practice of switching water disinfectants is kicking off a month early.
Starting this coming Monday, Feb. 20, locals may notice a slight chlorine taste and smell from their tap water. It’s perfectly safe, the county says, and will last through May 15.
More, below, from a county press release.
Arlington County, along with the District of Columbia and northeastern Fairfax County, will modify the water treatment process beginning Feb. 20, 2023, in an annual practice lasting through May 15. The safeguard involves the industry-standard practice of temporarily swapping the system disinfectant from chloramine, used most of the year, to chlorine. This practice ensures that the water mains remain clean and clear.
Although traditionally begun in March, this year’s early start will allow the Washington Aqueduct to complete a reservoir rehabilitation project. The Aqueduct, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supplies the three jurisdictions with drinking water and initiates the cleaning process for pipes down the line. The Arlington network is made up of some 500 miles of pipes linked to homes, businesses and schools.
Purification systems and constant monitoring by Arlington staff ensures the County’s water is safe and essentially unchanged, although users may notice a slight difference in smell and taste. The switchover will not involve any interruption in service to customers.
Concurrent with the disinfection switch, Arlington will conduct a system-wide flushing to enhance year-round water quality. Residents may see some of the County’s 3,700 fire hydrants flowing at the curb as part of the procedure.
What to expect Feb. 20 through May 15:
Customers who experience a chlorine smell or taste from the tap can run the cold-water line for about two minutes before using water from the tap; employ a filter system; or let the water sit in a container for an hour or two as the chlorine smell and taste dissipate.
Customers who take special precautions to remove chloramine from tap water during the rest of the year should continue such methods during the temporary switch to chlorine. As always, those with special concerns should consult their health care provider.
Arlington’s drinking water continues to meet or exceed all safety standards established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Virginia Department of Health.
The County uses approximately 8 billion gallons of tap water each year, around 1 trillion 8-ounce glasses of water, all originating from the Potomac River.
Graffiti on a train car near Long Bridge Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Civic Associations Want Say in VHC Plan — “Plans by VHC Health (Virginia Hospital Center) and the Arlington County government for a new [mental health] facility on South Carlin Springs Road have drawn concern from the leaders of two adjacent civic associations. ‘We are disappointed that no effort was made for meaningful engagement with us prior to the finalization of the letter of intent,’ wrote Julie Lee, president of the Glencarlyn Civic Association, and Brian Glosh, president of the Forest Glen Civic Association, in a letter to County Board members and hospital officials” [Gazette Leader]
Protest in Rosslyn Yesterday — “There’s a small anti-war protest currently underway in Rosslyn, in front of Raytheon HQ at 1100 Wilson Blvd. It’s organized by the group Code Pink and scheduled to go until 12:30.” [Twitter]
Arlington Woman Completes Feat — “An Arlington woman, Jill Jamieson, has completed the adventure of a lifetime after running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. She raised funds for the Alzheimer’s Association. Jamieson completed the World Marathon Challenge on Monday after starting in Antarctica. Runners completed the standard 42.2 km marathon distance in Antarctica, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and North America within 168 hours, or seven days.” [WJLA, Today]
New CVS Opens — The new CVS store in the Virginia Square area — the one with the somewhat controversial brick wall — has reportedly opened, several people tell ARLnow.
Free Food for Fillmores, Fords — “‘Presidents’ eat free at WOB Bar & Kitchen Arlington this Presidents Day! On Monday, February 20, 2023, to celebrate the holiday, anyone with the last name of any U.S. President will receive a free BYO (build your own) Burger.” [Press Release]
HQ2 Is Huge — “The first phase of Amazon’s HQ2 in Arlington, known as Metropolitan Park, is scheduled to open in the coming months, making it the biggest office project scheduled for completion in the United States in 2023 outside of New York City. The top five office projects scheduled for completion in 2023 are in New York City, according to a new report from CommercialCafe.” [Patch]
F.C. Has Priciest Homes — “It doesn’t happen often, but the District of Columbia in January was displaced as the priciest local real-estate market on a per-square-foot sales-price basis in January. The itty-bitty city of Falls Church rose to the top, with homes selling for a median $504 per square foot… Falls Church leapfrogged both D.C. and traditional second-place finisher Arlington to land the top spot with a 29.9-percent increase in median per-square-foot costs.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Wednesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 64 and low of 45. Sunrise at 7:01 am and sunset at 5:47 pm. [Weather.gov]
A man was shot and seriously injured in Courthouse early this morning.
Initial reports suggest a man was shot in the lower torso in the parking garage of the Hilton Garden Inn on N. Courthouse Road, a block from Arlington County police headquarters, potentially as a result of a robbery.
The victim was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Police are working to sort out the exact circumstances surrounding the shooting.
“The investigation into the events that preceded the shooting is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact ACPD’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected],” police said via social media.
UPDATE: The victim sustained serious, non life-threatening injuries. The investigation into the events that preceded the shooting is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact ACPD’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]
ARLnow is now offering the publication of obituaries as a free public service.
Obituaries are published on the site on Saturday mornings and may be submitted for anyone with a connection to Arlington.
There are currently two ways to submit an obituary:
Via this form. Note that for verification purposes, you must submit a link to a memorial service or other published obituary.
Clients of Murphy Funeral Home may request that the obituary be submitted to ARLnow.
Publication of obituaries is offered free of charge, though submitters may also opt for extra promotion for an additional fee.
Other local funeral homes that wish to publish obituaries on behalf of clients can contact us for additional information (publication is free for both individuals and approved organizations.)
A woman contemplating whether to go out or stay in on Valentine’s Day (image generated by DALL-E 2)
When we last asked, in 2017, just under 20% of you said you planned to go out for Valentine’s Day that year.
That includes both singles (28.5% of overall respondents) and those in a relationship (71.5% of respondents). Those in a relationship were only slightly more likely to be planning to head out: 20% of those in a relationship said they were going out to 17% for singles.
On this Valentine’s Day, we’re asking a slightly different question: do you prefer going out or staying in on Valentine’s Day?
Surely, some people going to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner would rather be home with a pizza, while some staying in would rather be out somewhere. Let’s see if these results differ from the previous poll.
Clarendon twilight (Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler)
Advocates See ‘Missing Middle’ Support — “The DC metro region needs to produce 32,000 units a year for the foreseeable future to meet demand, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. And there’s still a need for more housing and ownership opportunities; missing middle may not initially move the needle much in either case, say proponents, but every bit helps, and aids in addressing equity concerns. Part of the reason the pro-housing voices have been so loud during this debate is because there’s a much larger constituency for more housing, said Maribojoc, a result of a growing number of apartments along the Metro corridor.” [Commercial Observer]
Home Ownership Program in F.C. — “The City of Falls Church has launched its Affordable Homeownership Program (CFCAHP), which will make $3.8 million available to support affordable homeownership. The City has received $3.4 million from Virginia Housing’s Resources Enabling Affordable Community Housing (REACH) program and has provided a $400,000 match.” [City of Falls Church]
Dangerous Driving Prompts Traffic Stop — From Dave Statter: “Where’s a cop when you need one? You’ll want to see where this @VSPPIO trooper was last night when a driver tried to dash across 4 lanes of I-395S to reach Exit 8C (Rt 1).” [Twitter]
Va. Ranked Choice Bills Fail — “All bills in the Virginia General Assembly to allow ranked choice voting (RCV) for town council, school board and constitutional officer elections, plus presidential primaries, were passed by indefinitely Feb. 7 by House and Senate committees, essentially being killed for this legislative session. Even in the Democrat Senate, the RCV bill was killed unanimously.” [Bacon’s Rebellion]
It’s Tuesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 54 and low of 35. Sunrise at 7:02 am and sunset at 5:46 pm. [Weather.gov]
