Author: ARLnow.com

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.

Daily Debrief for Nov 16, 2022

By ARLnow.com

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Today we published 6 articles that were read a total of 16314 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Nov 16, 2022.

  1. Rhodeside Grill and Il Radicchio buildings could be razed for new apartments
  2. Police: Man fired gun in Rosslyn apartment building, caused flooding
  3. Friends remember Braylon Meade’s hustle on and off the basketball court

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

🌤 Thursday’s forecast

Clear throughout the day. High of 47 and low of 30. Sunrise at 6:55 am and sunset at 4:55 pm. See more from Weather.gov.

👂 Audio summary

Get caught up on all of our reporting today with this brief audio summary.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Police: Man fired gun in Rosslyn apartment building, caused flooding

By ARLnow.com
Police on scene of incident at the Cortland Rosslyn apartments (photo courtesy anonymous)

A 40-year-old Arlington man is in jail after police say he fired a gun in an apartment and caused extensive flooding.

The incident happened Tuesday afternoon at the recently-built Cortland Rosslyn apartment building, at 1788 N. Pierce Street. Initial reports suggest that a large police response was sent to the building after a man who was set to be evicted was believed to be armed and causing damage inside his apartment.

The man eventually surrendered to officers and was taken into custody without further incident. Damage from gunfire and from flooding was found inside, police said, though it’s unclear whether the gunfire caused the flooding.

Arlington County police released the following statement in response to an inquiry from ARLnow.

WEAPONS VIOLATION, 2022-11150151, 1700 block of N. Pierce Street. At approximately 1:51 p.m. on November 15, police were dispatched to the report of a man screaming inside a residential building. As officers were responding, the Emergency Communications Center received an additional call for service regarding shots heard at the same location. Arriving officers made contact with the suspect, gave him commands which he complied with and took him into custody in the hallway without incident. The investigation indicates the suspect allegedly discharged a firearm inside the residence, causing damage. A search of the residence revealed additional property damage and flooding inside the unit which impacted other residential units in the building. A firearm was recovered on scene. Officers canvassed the building and no injuries were reported. [The suspect], 40, of Arlington, VA was arrested and charged with Reckless Handling of a Firearm, Destruction of Property and Discharging a Weapon within an Occupied Dwelling. He was held without bond.

In an email to residents last night, shared with ARLnow by a tipster, apartment management noted that there will be additional security at building entrances “for the time being.”

Dear Residents,

As you may be aware that there was a significant local authority presence in our community earlier this afternoon. We know that any authority presence can be alarming, and we wanted to let you know that today’s activity was in response to an isolated issue regarding a resident against whom we took legal action due to various lease violations, including antisocial behavior and discharging a firearm. We are extremely grateful no one was injured, and the person was arrested without further incident.

Out of an abundance of caution, we will have security present at all entrances to the community for the time being. If you forget your fob, you will not be allowed in without calling our office through the callbox.

As always, your safety is our primary focus. There are no additional details to report at this time, and we will continue to support the police as they wrap up their investigation.

The tipster said that he overheard that as many of 30 apartments might have had water damage from the flooding. He claimed that prior to the email, residents were kept in the dark for hours as to exactly why police were on scene.

“I’d like answers,” he said. “Safety is a concern here.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Workers on the golf course in the morning mist at Washington Golf and Country Club (staff photo)

Rosslyn-Based Tech News Site Closing — “Protocol, the upstart technology news website launched by former Politico owner and publisher Robert Allbritton in early 2020, will shutter later this week and lay off dozens of staffers, people familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.” Protocol just published this article on Arlington and HQ2. [CNN]

Clarendon Project Nearing Approvals — “One of several of major redevelopments that would densify Clarendon is advancing to the final stages of Arlington County’s formal approval process. Reston-based Orr Partners LLC’s designs to demolish and redevelop the old, single-story Joyce Motors auto repair shop… have been winding their way through the county’s planning pipeline since 2019. Project planning is nearing the finish line, anticipated to go before the Planning Commission and then Board of Supervisors in January.” [Washington Business Journal]

Western Pike Construction Wraps Up — “Construction has concluded on the west end of Columbia Pike to provide a safer pedestrian and transit experience with the completion of Segment H & I of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Street Improvements project. County officials, local community leaders, representatives from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) and artist Donald Lipski gathered at the base of Lipski’s sculpture, The Pike, to celebrate the completion of road improvements from this segment on Monday.” [Arlington County]

Road Closures This Weekend — “The Arlington County Police Department will conduct road closures to accommodate two upcoming events taking place [this weekend]. The 8th annual Jennifer Bush-Lawson Memorial 5k & Family Fun Day will take place in the Yorktown neighborhood on Saturday, November 19, beginning at 9:00 a.m… The 2022 Girls on the Run 5k Race will take place in the Ballston-Virginia Square neighborhood on Sunday, November 20, and will begin at 8:30 a.m.” [ACPD]

Metro Safety Group Probing Smoke Incidents — “The WMSC is also examining Metrorail’s response to reports of smoke at Court House Station on November 7 and at Shaw-Howard U Station on November 10.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Silver Line to Dulles Now Open — “It’s official: after years of rising costs and an ever-lengthening construction timeline, the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line has opened to the public. A train pulled out of the new Dulles International Airport station for the first time shortly after noon following a celebration this morning, where local, state and regional leaders gathered to mark the opening of the 11.4-mile extension of the rail line into Loudoun County.” [FFXnow, WMATA]

It’s Wednesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 51 and low of 37. Sunrise at 6:54 am and sunset at 4:55 pm. [Weather.gov]

Daily Debrief for Nov 15, 2022

By ARLnow.com

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Today we published 6 articles that were read a total of 10696 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Nov 15, 2022.

  1. County may be sued over pickleball courts, civic association says
  2. NEW: ‘Sun glare’ contributed to woman being fatally struck in crosswalk, police say
  3. Morning Notes

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☔ Wednesday’s forecast

Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 52 and low of 33. Sunrise at 6:54 am and sunset at 4:55 pm. See more from Weather.gov.

👂 Audio summary

Get caught up on all of our reporting today with this brief audio summary.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

NEW: ‘Sun glare’ contributed to woman being fatally struck in crosswalk, police say

By ARLnow.com
1/4

The man who struck and killed an elderly woman who was crossing Little Falls Road in a crosswalk has received a traffic ticket.

Arlington County police announced the charge Tuesday afternoon, after a month-long investigation, noting that “sun glare” may have prevented the driver of the striking SUV from clearly seeing the victim.

The fatal collision happened the morning of Saturday, Oct. 8 at the intersection of Little Falls Road and John Marshall Drive in the Williamsburg neighborhood.

“Following a comprehensive investigation, which included the review of crime scene evidence and witness interviews, sun glare was determined to be a contributing factor in the fatal crash while other factors, such as speed and alcohol, were ruled out,” police said today. “The driver of the striking vehicle, Kyle Pasternak, 59, of Arlington, VA, has been charged with Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian in a Crosswalk and released on a summons.”

The original ACPD press release about the crash is below.

The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a fatal pedestrian crash that occurred in the Williamsburg neighborhood on the morning of Saturday, October 8.

At approximately 9:01 a.m., police were dispatched to the report of a crash with injuries involving a pedestrian in the 5800 block of Little Falls Road. Upon arrival, officers located the pedestrian in the roadway suffering from serious injuries. She was transported by medics to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased. She has been identified as Gwendolyn Hayes, 85, of Arlington, VA.

The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the striking vehicle turned left from John Marshall Drive onto Little Falls Road and struck the pedestrian as she was crossing the roadway in the crosswalk. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Detective D. Galiatsos at [email protected] or 703-228-4163. Information may also be reported anonymously to Arlington County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.

Morning Poll: Would you be disappointed by a lack of snow this winter?

By ARLnow.com
A pedestrian with an umbrella crosses N. Lexington St. in Westover amid a wet snowfall (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

NBC 4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer revealed his annual winter forecast last night — and it was disappointing if you like snow.

Doug is calling for a measly 1-6 inches of snow during the entire winter in Arlington and D.C. He believes it will be an unusually warm and wetter than average winter, making for plenty of cold rain but very little snow.

It follows a trend: five of the six most recent winters in the D.C. area have seen below average snowfall, Kammerer said.

Long-range forecasting is far from an exact science and there are other predictions that call for more snow. The meteorologists at WUSA 9 and Fox 5 are both calling for average to above average snowfall. The Farmer’s Almanac, meanwhile, while decidedly not a scientific authority, is predicting above average snowfall and below average temperatures for the region.

Should Kammerer’s prediction come to pass and we see six or fewer inches of snow this winter, how would you feel about it?

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Cranes and clouds (Flickr pool photo by Jeff Vincent)

‘Click It or Ticket’ Starts Tomorrow — “To help keep travelers safe, the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the national Click It or Ticket campaign. Law enforcement agencies across the country will increase enforcement efforts from November 16 – 30, 2022, to work towards reducing the number of fatalities that occur when motorists fail to buckle up.” [ACPD]

Clarendon Marijuana Dispensary Update — “The company expects its fifth store, at 2701 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, to open within the next four to six weeks, with a sixth and final site at an undisclosed location in Woodbridge set to go live by the end of March, Woloveck said. Beyond Hello’s Virginia dispensaries range between 3,500 and 8,500 square feet.” [Washington Business Journal]

DJO Runner Is a 2x State Champ — “A season that began with strong second- and third-place finishes in big races has only gotten better for Bishop O’Connell High School cross country runner Molly Weithman. The junior has now won two state championships to her credit this fall in a short two-week stretch.” [Sun Gazette]

State Housing Conference in Arlington — The 2022 Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference is taking place at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City from Nov. 16-18. The conference is billed as “Virginia’s largest housing event.” Meanwhile, the group Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions plans to rally outside the conference to “push the [Younkin] administration to stay in [Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative] to continue to reduce the energy burden on low income Virginians.”

Amazon Plans Job Cuts — “Amazon is planning to lay off approximately 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles beginning this week, according to a report from The New York Times. Separately, The Wall Street Journal also cited a source saying the company plans to lay off thousands of employees.” [CNBC]

Va. Flu Level ‘Very High’ — “The CDC categorized Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia as having ‘very high’ levels of flu activity. Flu activity levels have not been this high this early since the 2009 swine flu pandemic.” [Axios]

Carjacking Near Arlington Border — “City of Falls Church Police are looking for a suspect described as a black male wearing a light blue or grey shirt. Before 7 p.m. in the 6700 block of Wilson Boulevard, the suspected attempted one carjacking, then carjacked a second vehicle, described as a dark blue 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.” [City of Falls Church]

It’s Tuesday — Rain starting in the afternoon. High of 47 and low of 34. Sunrise at 6:53 am and sunset at 4:56 pm. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photo by Jeff Vincent

Daily Debrief for Nov 14, 2022

By ARLnow.com

Good Monday evening, Arlington. Today we published 7 articles that were read a total of 10047 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Nov 14, 2022.

  1. Rosslyn to host “cuffing season” event with tips for pairing up
  2. Another year of Comcast ahead for Arlington residents
  3. Morning Notes

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

☔ Tuesday’s forecast

Rain starting in the afternoon. High of 49 and low of 40. Sunrise at 6:53 am and sunset at 4:56 pm. See more from Weather.gov.

👂 Audio summary

Get caught up on all of our reporting today with this brief audio summary.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

UPDATED: I-395 chase ends with crash before bridge, four arrests

By ARLnow.com
1/2

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) All but one lane of northbound I-395 was blocked just before the 14th Street Bridge after a police chase ended in a big crash.

The crash happened around 3 p.m., and followed scanner reports that Virginia State Police were pursuing a vehicle northbound on I-395. According to initial reports, the suspect vehicle rear-ended another driver just before the bridge.

Debris and police activity had most of the highway blocked.

Four people from the suspect vehicle were taken into custody. Medics responded to evaluate them, the driver who was rear-ended, and a state trooper for possible injuries.

It was not immediately clear what led to the chase. Virginia State Police will often give chase when a driver tries to flee, even if only for traffic charges, while local police departments including Arlington’s typically require more serious charges in order to authorize a pursuit.

A number of chases originating in Fairfax County have sped through Arlington on I-395 in recent weeks.

The end of the chase was captured on video by Pentagon City-based public safety watchdog Dave Statter.

Later Monday, a Virginia State Police spokesperson released the following statement on the chase and the arrests.

At 2:54 p.m. this afternoon on northbound I-395 near the Duke St. exit, Virginia State Police initiated a traffic stop for reckless driving on a 2020 Dodge Charger.

After the Trooper initiated the traffic stop, the Charger accelerated at a high rate of speed and a pursuit ensued. After reaching speeds in excess of 110 miles-per-hour, the pursuit ended near the exit for Boundary Channel Dr. where the Charger collided with another vehicle and then struck the guardrail.

Virginia State Police detained four individuals and recovered three firearms, including a “ghost gun,” as well as suspected narcotics. All firearms were loaded and had ammunition in the chamber.

The driver of the second vehicle was treated at the scene for minor injuries suffered in the crash.

Charges are pending… The pursuit and crash remain under investigation.

ACPD nabs alleged airbag thieves

By ARLnow.com
Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

Airbag theft has been an ongoing problem this year in Arlington, but police just put two alleged thieves behind bars.

The arrests happened early Sunday, after three vehicles were damaged and two had airbags stolen along the 2100 block of Columbia Pike, two blocks east of Bob & Edith’s Diner.

Police say they were able to locate the suspects in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood based on a description of their vehicle given by someone who called to report the thefts. The suspects, ages 25 and 43, are now facing a variety of charges.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (Series), 2022-11130036, 2100 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 3:03 a.m. on November 13, police were dispatched to the report of larcenies from auto just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined unknown suspect(s) had allegedly smashed the windows of three vehicles, stole airbags from two of the vehicles and fled the scene in a white sedan. A lookout was broadcast based on information from the reporting party and officers located the suspect vehicle at 28th Street S. and 26th Street S. Officers conducted a traffic stop and the two vehicle occupants were taken into custody without incident. Upon a search of Suspect One incident to arrest, a glass breaking tool was located. Upon a search of the suspect vehicle, burglarious tools, a radar detector and air bags were recovered. [A suspect], 25, of Manassas, Va. was arrested and charged with Destruction of Property (x3), Tampering with Auto (x3), Grand Larceny (x2), Possession of Burglarious Tools, Possession of Stolen Items with the Intent to Sell, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny (x2), Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Possession of Radar Detector. [A suspect], 43, of Manassas, Va, was arrested and charged with Destruction of Property (x3), Tampering with Auto (x3), Grand Larceny (x2), Possession of Burglarious Tools, Possession of Stolen Items with the Intent to Sell and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny (x2).

Get your Arlington Gondoliers football gear here

By ARLnow.com
Arlington Gondoliers sweatshirt

Arlington (Virginia) does not have its own XFL football team, no matter what The Rock tweeted.

It is, in fact, the Arlington in Texas that will have a team, along with D.C. and six other cities.

Given the enticing prospect of an Arlington, Va. team, however, we asked our Twitter followers what a hypothetical pro football squad should be called.

One name stood out.

https://twitter.com/sharrowsDC/status/1587091196190416896

https://twitter.com/HundredACR/status/1587096651998658567

So we did the only sensible thing: design a logo for this hypothetical team.

Whether you want to envision the Gondoliers as part of The Rock’s league or the new name of a certain for-sale pro team after it’s bought by a certain billionaire with a big stake in Arlington, you can now show your team pride with some exclusive merch.

In the meantime, the original way to show your gondola support has made Washingtonian’s list of 9 DC-Themed Gifts Only a Washingtonian Would Appreciate. Get the OG Gondola Now shirt here.

Note: There are dozens of websites and shady merchants that steal the designs from other sellers and offer their own counterfeit shirts. The items we sell, which help to support our reporting, are only available on Amazon with “ARLnow” listed as the seller.

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