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.

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.

Another year of Comcast ahead for Arlington residents

By ARLnow.com
Comcast logo (courtesy Comcast)

Arlington County is extending its agreement with Comcast for a year.

Comcast has held the county’s main cable franchise since 1998, when it was awarded to a cable operator it later acquired. The Philadelphia-based media and telecom conglomerate last had its local franchise agreement renewed for a standard five-year term in 2016.

The franchise agreement is what allows Comcast to serve customers in Arlington, to the exclusion of other traditional cable providers. Verizon’s FiOS fiber optic TV and internet service has its own franchise agreement in Arlington. Such agreements are made at the state or locality level and mandated by Congress.

The government-granted monopoly lets cable operators make the significant investment required to string cable and connect homes while local governments get fees and/or other benefits in return. Without such agreements and regulation, utility poles might be full of competing cable infrastructure and companies might opt to only serve the more profitable parts of town.

The Arlington County Board voted over the weekend to extend the agreement for a year while it continues to negotiate with Comcast, a process that was disrupted by the pandemic, according to a staff report. It also took three years of extensions before the last long-term agreement was signed.

The current agreement will now run through next December. Comcast has indicated that it wants to renew the long-term agreement and keep serving Arlington.

More from the staff report:

The County Board has issued Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity to three entities for the provision of cable television service: Comcast, Verizon, and RCN Corporation. The Comcast franchise was previously extended by one year and now expires on December 9, 2022. To continue the Comcast renewal process, the County must extend the existing Certificate.

[…]

By letter dated March 6, 2019, Comcast sent to the County a notice of its desire to renew the Certificate, as provided for by 47 U.S.C. § 546. The COVID pandemic significantly impacted the County’s ability to commence good-faith face-to-face negotiations. Accordingly, the proposed Resolution extends the period available for negotiation beyond the expected duration of the pandemic from December 9, 2022 to December 9, 2023.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Looking east down Route 50 at Glebe Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Vigil for Teen Killed in Crash — “Students gathered for a candlelight vigil outside of Washington-Liberty High School tonight for Braylon Meade, the teen killed by an alleged DUI driver early Friday morning. Amid tears, Meade, a W-L basketball player, was remembered as a well-liked, hard-working and caring young man. His father also spoke at the vigil, which was attended by hundreds of people.” [Instagram]

Notable Mansion for Sale — “Mansion on a hill for sale. With a storied history. The old M.T. Broyhill Place, looming at 2561 N. Vermont overlooking the Washington Golf and Country Club, is empty and on the market for $3.6 million. When owner Helena Metzger died this February at 88, her beneficiary–the Catholic Prelature of Opus Dei –wasted no time seeking a residential buyer for a private home that for decades doubled as a meeting place for religious retreats and cotillion dances.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Rep. Beyer Joins Mastodon — “I have a new social media account, if you are joining Mastodon and want to stay in touch there! Follow me here.” [Twitter]

Local ER Remains Busy — From Dr. Mike Silverman of Virginia Hospital Center: “ER volumes remain really high. We closed out last week with another record week when it comes to volume. That was back to back weeks of the highest volumes we’ve seen in a 7 day period. These are not records we want to set. With that said, we’re doing a ton of COVID testing since so many patients are presenting with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and other flu-like (or COVID-like) symptoms. Fortunately, our COVID numbers have not increased and our percent positive rate has also been steady.” [Facebook]

AWLA Shelter is Full — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “We’ve got a Full House! From today until Nov 18, you can ‘Name Your Price’* for all of our adoptable small companion animals! We have so many wonderful pets waiting to meet you, so visit the shelter today or check them out online.” [Twitter]

Questioning HQ2 — “Today the rumble of construction trucks and the din of jackhammers are the soundtrack of life in Crystal City, the neighborhood where, theoretically, thousands of Amazon workers will report to new offices a year from now. The project is envisioned as a white-collar 21st-century paradise, complete with interlacing parks, child care centers, and even a facial spa. It sounds so utopian, so ideal, so… 2019.” [Protocol]

Freeze Warning Overnight — “WHAT…Sub-freezing temperatures around 28 to 32 degrees expected. WHERE…Portions of central, northeast, northern and southern Maryland, The District of Columbia and northern Virginia. WHEN…From midnight tonight to 9 AM EST Monday.” [Weather.gov]

It’s Monday — Clear and cool throughout the day. High of 48 and low of 33. Sunrise at 6:52 am and sunset at 4:57 pm. [Weather.gov]

Daily Debrief for Nov 11, 2022

By ARLnow.com

Good Friday evening, Arlington. Today we published 3 articles that were read a total of 20483 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Nov 11, 2022.

  1. BREAKING: Teen charged with DUI after Rock Spring crash that killed another teen
  2. Morning Notes
  3. Worker reported injured in electrical incident that sparked house fire

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read Arlington articles of the week, below.

  1. BREAKING: Teen charged with DUI after Rock Spring crash that killed another teen (20885 views)
  2. UPDATED: Someone blew up a Little Free Library in Arlington Forest (9735 views)
  3. What the election results mean for Missing Middle and minority politics in deep blue Arlington (6552 views)
  4. Pentagon police officer accused of dealing cocaine had previous arrest in Arlington (6540 views)
  5. DEVELOPING: Polls now closed in Arlington, vote tally underway (6385 views)
  6. Poop-based power and pickleball are on the bond referenda (6370 views)
  7. FBI, ATF helping with Little Free Library explosion investigation (4590 views)
  8. St. Charles Church in Clarendon asks for county feedback on initial designs (3828 views)
  9. Marymount University proposes new athletic facilities on county land (3481 views)
  10. Voting is underway in Arlington County, with housing issues unofficially on the ballot (2567 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

And here are the events planned for Sunday:

☔ Saturday’s forecast

Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 71 and low of 41. Sunrise at 6:49 am and sunset at 4:59 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

We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

Multi-vehicle wreck reported on southbound GW Parkway near Key Bridge

By ARLnow.com
Location of crash on the GW Parkway (via Google Maps)

A crash involving three vehicles, one of which ran into the woods, has been reported in the southbound lanes of the GW Parkway.

The crash happened around 3 p.m., south of Key Bridge. So far, no serious injuries have been reported, but at one car was said to have gone well off the road and into a wooded area.

Southbound traffic on the Parkway is currently backed up past Spout Run

This afternoon’s wreck did not happen in the “usual spot” for rainy day crashes, on the northbound GW Parkway north of Key Bridge, but it did happen at a bend in the road amid rainy weather.

Map via Google Maps

Arlington home hunt highlights for Nov 11, 2022

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Happy Friday Arlington!

Currently, there are 548 homes for sale. Of those homes for sale, 328 are condos, 185 are detached homes and 35 are townhomes according to Homesnap. In the last 4 weeks there have been 164 new listings and 197 sales.

Here’s a look at some of the open houses taking place this weekend:

  • 3206 N. Kensington Street
    7 BR, 7.5 BA single-family detached
    Noteworthy: 10,000 sq. ft. lot, ventless gas fireplace, two car garage
    Listed: $2,599,000
    Open: Sunday, 2-4 p.m. (Tom Francis – Keller Williams Realty)
  • 2607 S. June Street
    6 BR, 4 BA single-family detached
    Noteworthy: Fireplace, attic, private backyard
    Listed: $1,369,900
    Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Tonya Finlay – KW Metro Center)
  • 5920 35th Street N.
    3 BR, 2 BA single-family detached
    Noteworthy: Finished basement, two gas fireplaces, updated bathrooms
    Listed: $1,100,000
    Open: Sunday, 2-4 p.m. (Liz Kirby – Iron Valley Real Estate of Northern Virginia)
  • 2614 John Marshall Drive
    3 BR, 3 BA single-family detached
    Noteworthy: All brick, patio, wood burning fireplace
    Listed: $925,000
    Open: Sunday, 2-4 p.m. (Sarah Rayl – Keller Williams Realty)
  • 6258 15th Place N.
    4 BR, 3.5 BA townhome
    Noteworthy: Hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace
    Listed: $825,000
    Open: Saturday, 1-3 p.m. (Susan Mertz – Keller Williams Capital Properties)

See all Arlington open house listings here.

Here are some other options to consider if you’re in the market to rent or buy:

  • 1300 S. Arlington Ridge Road, Unit 202*
    2 BR, 1 BA condo
    Noteworthy: All utilities included. 2 free parking spaces. 1 mile from Pentagon city mall and restaurants.
    Listed: $2,200/mo
    (Helen Bekele, 202-549-9404)
  • 1411 Key Boulevard #308
    1 BR, 1 BA condo
    Noteworthy: Bath with double vanities, quartz countertops, washer/dryer in unit
    Listed: $3,000/mo
    Open: Saturday, 1-3 p.m. (Patty Couto – Compass)
  • 2502 D Arlington Boulevard
    2 BR, 2.5 BA townhome
    Noteworthy: New hardwoods, wood burning fireplace, private patio
    Listed: $2,995/mo
    (Erin Jones – KW Metro Center)
  • 1300 Army Navy Drive #104
    1 BR, 1 BA condo
    Noteworthy: Balcony, updated kitchen, one assigned parking space
    Listed: $344,000
    Open: Saturday, 2-4 p.m. (April Hessenius Myers – RLAH Properties)

Want your listing to appear here or as the Listing of the Day? You can now submit sponsored listings.

* Denotes sponsored listing

2614 John Marshall Drive image via Google Maps

Worker reported injured in electrical incident that sparked house fire

By ARLnow.com
1/4

A house fire in the Old Glebe neighborhood last night sent one person to the hospital.

The fire happened on N. Upland Street between N. Glebe Road and 38th Street N. around 5:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest that a plumber accidentally sliced an electrical line, injuring them and sparking a fire.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, brought the injured worker to a nearby hospital via ambulance, and worked to clear out some of the smoke from the home.

Several vans from a local plumbing company could be seen parked in front of the residence.

A fire department spokesman said the injured person had non-life-threatening injuries, but was unable to confirm the exact circumstances.

“The Arlington County Fire Department was dispatched around 5:35pm for a reported structure fire in the 3800 block of N. Upland Street,” Capt. Nate Hiner told ARLnow. “Crews arrived quickly and found a small fire that was swiftly extinguished. The origin and cause remain under investigation by our Fire Prevention Office. [One] civilian was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”

BREAKING: Teen charged with DUI after Rock Spring crash that killed another teen

By ARLnow.com
Firefighters extinguishing vehicle fire after serious crash (screenshot via @STATter911/Twitter)

(Updated at 11:15 p.m.) The intersection of Williamsburg Blvd and Old Dominion Drive was closed for nearly five hours overnight after a fiery crash that killed a teenager.

Two vehicles collided at the intersection, in the Rock Spring neighborhood, around 12:30 a.m. The engine compartment of one of the vehicles caught fire.

The flames were quickly extinguished after firefighters arrived on scene. The intersection was closed overnight while police investigated the crash.

Initial reports suggested that several people were injured and one person was found unresponsive.

Police confirmed early Friday afternoon that one person, a teen boy, was killed. The driver of the other car — an SUV, which caught fire after the crash — was also a teen. He has been charged with DUI/Involuntary Manslaughter, according to ACPD.

The press release is below.

The Arlington County Police Department has charged a juvenile male in his teens with DUI/Involuntary Manslaughter following a fatal vehicle crash in the Rock Spring neighborhood. He remains held in a juvenile detention facility.

At approximately 12:29 a.m. on November 11, police were dispatched to Old Dominion Drive at Williamsburg Boulevard for the report of a two-vehicle crash with injuries. Upon arrival, first responders located an unoccupied SUV on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished by the Arlington County Fire Department. The driver of the second involved vehicle, a sedan, was located unresponsive inside the vehicle and pronounced deceased on scene.

The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the sedan was attempting to make a U-turn on Old Dominion Drive when he was struck at a high rate of speed by the SUV. The driver of the SUV was taken into custody on scene. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.

The deceased is a juvenile male in his teens. His identification is being withheld in accordance with Virginia Code § 19.2-11.2 which limits Virginia law enforcement agencies from directly or indirectly identifying deceased juvenile victims of a crime.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Detective S. Whalin at [email protected] or 703-228-4159. Information may also be reported anonymously to Arlington County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.

The victim has been publicly identified as Braylon Meade, a Washington-Liberty High School basketball player. The school’s principal says counselors will be available for students who need extra support next week.

Signs at tonight’s W-L football game mourned Meade, who wore #22 on the court.

Screenshot via @STATter911/Twitter

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Rainy day in traffic along I-395, with the Air Force Memorial and the Arlington Nat’l Cemetery expansion project in the background (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Celebration for Completed Road Work — “The public and media are invited to join Arlington County in celebrating the completion of Segments H & I (from the Arlington County line to Four Mile Run Drive) of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Improvements Project. The ceremony will take place at The Pike sculpture located on the corner of Columbia Pike and South Jefferson Street. The event represents the culmination of two years of construction to improve the pedestrian, transit, and driver safety of the westernmost end of Columbia Pike.” [Arlington County]

CivFed Draft Resolution Blasts County — “A proposed resolution to be considered by the Arlington County Civic Federation makes it clear: Some people are really, really upset with the way the county’s leaders appear to be marginalizing voices that either don’t support their policies, or simply want to add input. ‘It appears to many residents that the current community-engagement methods are unevenly applied or have fundamentally changed and no longer consistently include critical engagement principles and features,’ the draft resolution noted.” [Sun Gazette]

Some Ballot Dropbox May Be Dropped — “In its efforts to maintain all current 24-hour voting dropboxes sprinkled across the community, the Arlington County Democratic Committee may be going down, but it won’t be going down without a fight. Party leaders on Nov. 2 said that, once the Nov. 8 election was over, they planned a ‘call to action’ in support of maintaining the nine dropboxes that have been in use across the county during recent years.” [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Missed Connection — “I was walking toward Sushi Rock in Court House just after 6 pm on Saturday, 11/5. I was on Clarendon Blvd near N Courthouse Rd (across from the all the construction with the closed sidewalk) when I locked eyes with an attractive man. I kept walking, but quickly regretted not turning around to talk to him.” [PoPville]

Local Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving — “Spending hours preparing and cleaning up after a big dinner isn’t for everyone. For those who want to skip the fuss, several restaurants open Thanksgiving Day in Arlington will cook turkey dinner — or something else entirely. Restaurants open for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 24, offer a range of dining experiences, from fine dining to fast casual to fast food.” [Patch]

Shooting Near Arlington Border — Updated at 8:10 a.m. — From Henry Bright: “Shooting in Bailey’s Crossroads. ~0040E: Mason patrol officers dispatched to 3500 blk of S George Mason Dr (very near Arl Co line) after caller reported being shot. He was uncooperative in describing the circumstances, and is going to VHC with NLT inj. 1 detained, gun recovered.” [Twitter]

It’s Friday — Rain throughout the day, with gusty winds and heavy downpours at times. High of 73 and low of 60. Sunrise at 6:48 am and sunset at 4:59 pm. [Weather.gov]

Daily Debrief for Nov 10, 2022

By ARLnow.com

Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Today we published 7 articles that were read a total of 5270 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Nov 10, 2022.

  1. JUST IN: Katie Cristol says she will not seek reelection next year
  2. FBI, ATF helping with Little Free Library explosion investigation
  3. Morning Notes

📅 Upcoming events

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

FBI, ATF helping with Little Free Library explosion investigation

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Federal and state law enforcement have joined the investigation into a series of small explosions in the Arlington Forest neighborhood.

As ARLnow first reported, someone blew up a Little Free Library on the 100 block of N. Columbus Street and caused another small explosion at the nearby Lubber Run amphitheater early Wednesday morning.

The Arlington County Fire Department was joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Virginia State Police in processing evidence from the scene.

“The Fire Prevention Office is asking anyone that lives in the immediate area with home surveillance equipment to please review their video for any information that could assist with the investigation,” ACFD said Thursday evening.

The full ACFD press release is below.

At approximately 12:45 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2022, the Arlington County Fire Department responded to the 100 block of N. Columbus St. for a reported outside fire. When crews arrived, they found a small outside fire, as well as a destroyed privately owned exterior book collection box (or, a “Little Free Library”).

A Fire Marshal was requested to the scene and during the initial investigation, it was determined that the likely source of the fire and damage was caused by a small explosion.

While performing a canvass of the initial crime scene (100 block of N. Columbus St.), the Arlington County Fire Prevention Office located a second possible crime scene at the Lubber Run amphitheater. The scene was processed by the Arlington County Fire Prevention Office with assistance from the Arlington County Fire Department Bomb Squad, Virginia State Police (VSP), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Arlington County Fire Prevention Office will be sending collected evidence to the ATF lab for processing. This location, as well as the initial scene, are believed to be connected and all possible leads are being explored.

The investigation is still ongoing, and we will provide updates as they become available. There is currently no suspect(s) description.

The Fire Prevention Office is asking anyone that lives in the immediate area with home surveillance equipment to please review their video for any information that could assist with the investigation.

Anyone with information pertaining to this incident is encouraged to reach out by emailing [email protected] or by calling the Arlington County Police Department’s Tip Line at 703-228-4180.

Blown up Little Free Library in Arlington Forest (photo courtesy Michael Thomas)
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