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.
A car is fully engulfed in flames behind Mrs. Chen’s Kitchen restaurant on Columbia Pike.
Firefighters are currently on the scene, on the 3100 block of the Pike, working to extinguish the vehicular inferno in the rear of the long-time Chinese eatery.
No injuries have been reported. The vehicle is said to be a gray BMW.
Thieves recently stole nearly a dozen catalytic converters early Wednesday in a crime spree that spanned numerous North Arlington neighborhoods, police say.
Word of the thefts follows Wednesday’s arrest of three people from Chicago who were allegedly seen tampering with cars near Columbia Pike and found with catalytic converters and power tools.
It’s unclear whether that crew may be linked to any of these newly-reported thefts of the valuable car component.
More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series), 2022-08310031, 2100 block of 18th Street N. Between 12:01 a.m. on August 31 and 7:05 a.m. on August 31, unknown suspects stole approximately 11 catalytic converters from 9 victim vehicles. Witnesses reported observing 3 – 4 Black males wearing bandanas near some of the incident locations. Reported incidents occurred in the Colonial Village, East Falls Church, Highland Park-Overlee Knolls, Lyon Village, Rock Spring, Westover Village neighborhoods. The investigation is ongoing.
On Thursday, meanwhile, four cars — all Hondas or Acuras — had airbags stolen in the Shirlington area. Arlington has seen dozens of airbags stolen from cars this year, as thieves target another car part that’s valuable on the resell market.
From ACPD:
LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series, Late), 2022-09010077, 4200 block of 31st Street S. At approximately 8:03 a.m. on September 1, police were dispatched to the report of a late series of larceny from autos. Upon arrival, it was determined that between 9:40 p.m. on August 31 and 8:03 on September 1, the unknown suspect(s) smashed the driver’s side windows of four vehicles and stole the airbags. The victim vehicles were Honda and Acura models. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.
Flowers along a walking path in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington Woman Turns 107 — “What’s the secret to living a long and healthy life? Just ask Vera Punke! Vera just turned 107-years-old and celebrated her big milestone with a birthday party Wednesday in Arlington, Virginia. ‘I tell you – I don’t feel any different than when I was 100!’ she told FOX 5.” [Fox 5]
Labor Day Weekend Closures — “Arlington residents will bid farewell to summer as the season unofficially ends with Labor Day weekend. As families hold backyard barbecues or head to the beach for some late summer fun, there will be various closures for the holiday. Labor Day falls on Monday, Sept. 5, when Arlington County government offices will be closed along with other services. Some other services like transit will be open with schedule changes.” [Patch, WMATA]
Missing Middle’s Election Impact — “The controversial proposal to gut single-family zoning across Arlington is likely to take center stage in the three-candidate race for County Board that kicks off next week. But will the public’s views really hold sway with County Board members, and will the opposition have any resonance in a county where Democrats normally win more than 60 percent of the vote in any election?” [Sun Gazette]
County: Be Prepared — “National Preparedness Month is observed every September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies. The 2022 theme is ‘A Lasting Legacy’ with the following tag line: ‘The life you’ve built is worth protecting. Prepare for disasters to create a lasting legacy for you and your family.'” [Arlington County]
Another I-395 Exit Crash — From Dave Statter: “#CaughtOnCamera: Another almost rollover at I-395S Exit 8C after a driver stops on the highway & makes a left turn. Two of the #395cam(s) caught this one at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.” [Twitter]
Va. Train Ridership Rises — “Passenger counts on Virginia’s state-supported train services hit an all-time high in July, with more than 110,000 travelers. That’s an increase of nearly 29 percent from June and a jump of nearly 20 percent from pre-pandemic levels, according to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VRPA).” [Sun Gazette]
September Staying Hot — “While it’s now meteorological fall (defined as September through November), September can be a summer sibling in many ways. Washington can experience strong heat and humidity at times during the ninth month. In the coming weeks we expect it will generally feel more like summer than fall.” [Capital Weather Gang]
It’s Friday — Clear throughout the day. High of 84 and low of 67. Sunrise at 6:40 am and sunset at 7:39 pm. [Weather.gov]
Carbon monoxide incident at Starbucks (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Carbon monoxide incident at Starbucks (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Carbon monoxide incident at Starbucks (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Carbon monoxide incident at Starbucks (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Carbon monoxide incident at Starbucks (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Carbon monoxide incident at Starbucks (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
You’ll have to walk an extra block to get your pumpkin spice fix in Rosslyn this afternoon.
The standalone Starbucks store on N. Oak Street has been evacuated after reports of elevated carbon monoxide levels in the building. Firefighters are working to determine the source of the apparent leak and Washington Gas crews are on the way to the scene.
So far there have no reports of significant illness as a result of the CO leak.
Drivers should expect some slowdowns in the area due to fire department activity, though that should start thinning out soon. Police blocked a portion of N. Oak Street during the investigation.
For those on the hunt for pumpkin-flavored coffee and baked goods on this first day of September, there’s good news: another Starbucks is located across the street in the Safeway grocery store.
Firefighters are currently working to ventilate the building, which is technically located at 1501 17th Street N.
Scene of alleged Pentagon City carjacking attempt (via Google Maps)
(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) An alleged Wednesday evening carjacking attempt led to a crash and an arrest in Pentagon City.
Police say a suspect who was armed with a gun tried to forcefully take a car from a driver at the intersection of 12th Street S. and S. Fern Street, near the future Amazon HQ2 campus and the DEA headquarters.
The attempt was unsuccessful and the suspect fled on foot after she and the driver struggled in the car and then crashed into a parked vehicle. The suspect, identified in a crime report Thursday afternoon as an 18-year-old Alexandria woman, was subsequently taken into custody by responding officers, according to Arlington County police.
More from ACPD:
ATTEMPTED CARJACKING, 2022-08310199, 12th Street S. and S. Fern Street. At approximately 5:56 p.m. on August 31, police were dispatched to the report of a hit and run that had just occurred. Upon arrival, officers were flagged down by the victim who stated he had left his unlocked vehicle idling in the 700 block of 12th Street S. and entered a business. Upon exiting, he observed the female suspect enter into the driver’s seat of his vehicle and he ran over and entered into the passenger’s seat. The victim told the suspect to exit the vehicle at which point she drove off at a high rate of speed. A verbal dispute ensued inside the vehicle, during which the suspect allegedly brandished a firearm and threatened the victim. The suspect and victim then physically struggled as the suspect continued driving and struck an unoccupied, parked vehicle. The suspect then exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. A lookout was broadcast with the suspect description and officers established a perimeter and searched the area. The suspect was located and taken into custody without incident. During a search of the suspect’s person incident to arrest, a firearm and suspected narcotics were recovered. The victim sustained minor injuries and declined medical attention on scene. Mkyah Hatfield, 18 of Alexandria, VA was arrested and charged with Carjacking, Abduction, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, Possession of Schedule I/II and Possession of a Firearm While in Possession of Drugs. She was held without bond.
The arrest was caught on video, as published by local public safety watcher Dave Statter, below.
Have you had sex with multiple partners — or someone whose name you don’t know — over the past two weeks?
If so, you’re now officially eligible for a monkeypox vaccine in Arlington.
Arlington County has widened its previous vaccine eligibility criteria to include people of all genders and orientations who are engaging in potentially risky sexual behavior. That includes those who “have had anonymous or multiple (more than one) sexual partners in the last two weeks.”
As before, sex workers or staff of “establishments where sexual activity occurs” are included regardless of gender.
Arlington’s health department, meanwhile, has launched a new online request system for the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine.
About 4,700 people in Northern Virginia have received the monkeypox vaccine so far, according to VDH.
More from an Arlington County press release, sent Thursday afternoon, below.
The Arlington County Public Health Division (ACPHD) has expanded eligibility for the monkeypox virus vaccine and launched a new appointment request process.
Have had anonymous or multiple (more than one) sexual partners in the last two weeks; OR
Are a sex worker; OR
Are a staff member at an establishment where sexual activity occurs (bathhouses, saunas, sex clubs, etc.)
The criteria for being vaccinated may be updated in the future.
Close contacts of known cases continue to be eligible and prioritized for the monkeypox vaccine.
ACPHD also launched a more streamlined process to request an appointment for a first dose of the monkeypox vaccine. People who meet the eligibility criteria can request an appointment by visiting acphdmpv.timetap.com. ACPHD will review all requests to verify eligibility before confirming the appointment.
Starting this week, ACPHD also began administering the monkeypox vaccine using the intradermal (in between the layers of the skin) method and dose in accordance with federal and VDH guidelines. People ages 18 years or older who received their first JYNNEOS dose by the subcutaneous (under the skin) method will receive their second dose by the intradermal method to complete their vaccination series.
Monkeypox is a contagious rash illness caused by the monkeypox virus. In most cases it resolves without treatment. It is spread by close contact with an infected person. Close contact includes touching skin lesions, bodily fluids, or clothing or linens that have been in contact with an infected person. Spread can also occur during prolonged, face-to-face contact.
While anyone can catch monkeypox if they have close contact with someone with the virus regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, many of those affected in the current global outbreak are gay, bisexual, or men who have sex with men. People with monkeypox in the current outbreak generally report having close, sustained contact with other people who have monkeypox.
Currently, the highest risk activity is having sex with multiple or anonymous partners. Avoiding these activities greatly reduces one’s risk of catching or spreading monkeypox. Monkeypox does not spread from person to person from walking past someone who is infected or through casual conversation with someone who is infected.
If someone has a new or unexpected rash or sores, they should work with their health care provider to determine the cause. Health care providers in Arlington can visit ACPHD’s Monkeypox for Healthcare Providers website for more information and how to contact us should they have questions.
For sale / contract pending real estate sign (file photo)
The once-hot real estate market in Northern Virginia is cooling as interest rates rise.
The median home sale price dipped slightly in July. While Arlington’s stats did not include a price drop — prices here have held up better than the outer suburbs — the number of home sales dropped.
The median sales price for homes that sold in Northern Virginia in July stood at $580,000, according to figures reported by the Virginia Realtors trade group.
While higher by nearly 5 percent than the $553,000 recorded in July 2021, the $580,000 figure trails the median sales price of $583,000 for the first seven months of 2022.
Put another way: While the year-to-date median sales price through July was up $13,100 (from $539,900 during the first seven months of 2021), July 2022’s sales price was down $3,000 from the same point a year before.
A sign of the apocalypse? No. But decidedly a sign of cooling. Especially as the summer months tend to be among the strongest, price-wise, in the local real-estate market.
Today we’re asking a somewhat counterintuitive question: do you, personally, think this dip in prices is a good thing?
After all, the run-up in home costs have come at the expense of affordability for first-time homebuyers, pricing many middle-income families out of the market for homes in places like Arlington, even as it has benefited existing homeowners.
So, purely from your perspective, do you see a home price swoon as a net negative or a net plus?
Lengthy Sentence for Office Shooter — “Convicted murderer Mumeet Muhammad was sentenced Wednesday to serve 45 years in prison for shooting and wounding his ex-girlfriend in her Arlington, Virginia, office in 2019. Muhammad forced his way into the woman’s office in Crystal City on Aug. 28, 2019, and shot the woman. Muhammad also was shot by police… Arlington County prosecutors had sought life in prison for Muhammad.” [WTOP]
Rents Keeping Going Higher — “Apartment renters in Arlington, typically, are still paying the highest rates in the Washington region, and prices keep on heading higher. The median rental prices of $2,151 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,573 for two bedrooms in Arlington were the highest in the metro area… Arlington’s year-over-year rate of appreciation stood at 9.7 percent.” [Sun Gazette]
Rosslyn Venture Firm Raising New Fund — “Arlington’s Sands Capital says it has raised $201.5 million for a new global venture fund, and it may add still more to that pile… Sands Capital is the sixth largest venture capital investor in Greater Washington, ranked by number of investments closed in 2021.” [Washington Business Journal]
AIM In-Person Classes Return — “Arlington Independent Media (AIM) will resume in-person instruction in the coming month, after a shutdown that began with the pandemic’s arrival in 2020… Among the classes scheduled for fall are studio production, field production, on-air radio broadcast and producing. Registration is set to open Sept. 1.” [Sun Gazette, AIM]
Cherrydale Neighborhood Profiled — “On a wall between a hair salon and a sushi restaurant in the main commercial district of the Cherrydale community of Arlington, Va., is a small plaque testifying to the neighborhood’s contribution to American history. It commemorates the six Black students from Howard and Duke universities who took part in the first day of a lunch-counter ‘sit-in’ protest in Northern Virginia.” [Washington Post]
Chip Saves the Day for Lost Dog — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “When Roxy got lost, she knew just what to do – find an Animal Control office for help! When Officer Elpers pulled up in her van, Roxy hopped right in and made herself comfortable. Thankfully, Roxy had a microchip so Officer Elpers was able to reunite her with her family.” [Twitter]
Free Coffee Today — “Wawa says all 100 of its stores in Virginia will provide free coffee of any size [today]. At the [new] Fairfax store, the coffee giveaway will continue through Sept. 11.” [FFXnow]
It’s Thursday — Clear throughout the day. High of 85 and low of 66. Sunrise at 6:39 am and sunset at 7:41 pm. [Weather.gov]
Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)
A trio of catalytic converter theft suspects, all from Chicago, were arrested early this morning.
Arlington police say they were able to track down all three suspects after they tried to speed off in a car, which they then crashed in the Penrose neighborhood. They were later arrested in the northern portion of the neighborhood, near Sequoia Plaza and Butler Holmes Park.
The arrests, which come amid a rash of thefts of the valuable car part across Arlington, ultimately happened thanks to an alert resident who reported a vehicle break-in along 13th Road S., near the Arlington Village condos, around 2 a.m.
More from an Arlington County police crime report:
VEHICLE TAMPERING, 2022-08310022, 2700 block of 13th Road S. At approximately 1:55 a.m. on August 31, police were dispatched to the report of a vehicle tapering in progress. Responding officers located a parked vehicle on Walter Reed Drive at S. Randolph Street matching the description provided by the reporting party and observed three male suspects enter the vehicle. Officers activated their emergency equipment and attempted a traffic stop but the driver fled from the scene at a high rate of speed. Additional officers responded to the scene and located the unoccupied suspect vehicle crashed in the 2600 block of 2nd Street S. Officers established a perimeter and located one suspect at 1st Place S. and S. Barton and the other two suspects were located in the 100 block of S. Wise Street and taken into custody. A search of the suspect vehicle resulted in the recovery of two catalytic converters and power tools.
The three suspects, who range in age from 29 to 34, are facing a number of charges, including Eluding, Tampering with Auto, Larceny with Intent to Sell, Possession of Burglarious Tools and, in the case of one suspect, Hit and Run.
Asked by ARLnow about whether the suspects were previously known to ACPD or suspected in other catalytic converter thefts, police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said the investigation is still underway.
“Detectives will continue to investigate to determine if the suspects are linked to any other reported thefts,” she said, adding that “Virginia law prohibits the disclosure of someone’s prior criminal history.”
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