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 man is facing multiple charges after an unusual incident in the Ballston area this morning.
Around 8:30 a.m. police were dispatched to the AVA Ballston apartment complex at 4650 Washington Blvd for a report of a man who was standing nude near a grill in the building’s courtyard.
After police arrived on scene, an officer radioed that the man had assaulted her and ran into a second floor apartment at one of the complex’s lower-rise buildings.
“The arriving officer located the suspect who refused to follow of the officer’s commands, assaulted the officer and then fled into a residence,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow. “With the assistance of additional units, the suspect was taken into custody and provided false identifying information to officers.”
It was a startling scene for those who live nearby. A resident described “over 10 police cars” outside the complex and “one officer with a police shield and an axe.”
“No one is telling us anything (is it safe to go outside?)” the resident wrote in a tip to ARLnow.
Savage said the public is not in danger and the suspect will face several charges.
“Warrants for Assault and Battery on Police, Identity Theft and Indecent Exposure were obtained,” he said. “There is no ongoing threat to the community related to the incident.”
A police officer keeps watch during Walk and Bike to School Day 2012 at Oakridge Elementary School (staff photo)
Signs and stepped-up enforcement are part of the police plan for bringing Arlington students back to the classrooms safely.
In advance of the first day of school for Arlington Public Schools students on Monday, the Arlington County Police Department is encouraging drivers to be especially cautious on local roads.
“On Monday, August 29, 2022, there will soon be an increase in children walking, bicycling, and riding the bus to schools throughout Arlington,” ACPD said in a press release this week. “Transportation safety is a shared responsibility and it’s up to all of us to keep our students safe by following the rules of the road.”
The police department says it will “conduct a high-visibility transportation safety campaign in and around school zones and bus stops to ensure the trip to class is as safe as possible.” That includes enforcement and electronic signs “placed along roadways in Arlington to raise awareness about the start of the school year and to share important safety messaging.”
Police noted that last fall the Arlington County Board voted to establish 13 “School Slow Zones” around public and private schools in the county. The zones reduce the speed limit to 20 mph on roads within 600 feet of the school.
The department also reminded drivers that the law requires drivers to stop behind a school bus that is loading or unloading passengers, except when traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway.
An ACPD press release with safety and traffic law reminders, along with a new “Back to School Safety PSA” video starring APS Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán and Arlington police chief Andy Penn video, are below.
Police respond to Advanced Towing lot in Ballston after a call in response to a contractor’s vehicle being towed (staff photo)
Police respond to Advanced Towing lot in Ballston after a call in response to a contractor’s vehicle being towed (staff photo)
Police respond to Advanced Towing lot in Ballston after a call in response to a contractor’s vehicle being towed (staff photo)
Last week we reported on a call to police made after an Amazon delivery van was towed. This week, another commercial vehicle tow led to another police response.
Advanced Towing — the Ballston-based trespass tow company with a reputation for being prolific or predatory, depending on your perspective — is at the center of both.
This time around, police were dispatched to the tow lot on 5th Road N. for a report of an alarming incident: a Dominion power crew supposedly had a vehicle towed during emergency repair work. A short time later, several police units could be seen at the lot, talking with the crew.
Arlington’s towing ordinance specifies that public safety vehicles and vehicles responding to an emergency are not to be towed, even if parked on private property.
But is seems that the reality did not quite match the initial report. First, it was a utility contractor’s pickup truck that was towed, not a Dominion-owned vehicle, as seen in the photos above. On top of that, police said the incident was soon cleared by responding officers.
“At approximately 12:35 p.m., police were dispatched to the 4000 block of 5th Road N. for the report of a dispute,” said Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “Upon arrival, it was determined the dispute was related to a vehicle tow from private property. The incident was determined to be non-criminal and the scene was cleared by responding officers.”
Advanced Towing asserted in a brief statement that the vehicle that was towed was parked on private property for non-emergency work across the street.
“This was a construction crew, and not an emergency crew, with several vehicles parked illegally on private property, while doing work across the street,” the company told ARLnow. “They were not working on the property they parked at. Contractors cannot violate someone’s private property rights, especially to do work and a completely different property.”
The exact details could not be independently confirmed and it’s unclear from which property the vehicle was towed, but the circumstances are not unlike last week’s Amazon tow. Initially, police were told that the van had been stolen, but they later determined that it had been towed from private property; Advanced said the van was parked in a fire lane.
And these were not the only commercial tows to catch the attention of locals over the past week or so. On Twitter yesterday, a user noted a locksmith’s van being towed near the Pentagon City mall.
Police are frequently called to the Advanced lot, but not just for commercial vehicle tows.
Advanced’s poor reputation mostly comes from its towing of private vehicles. The speed with which such tows occur have, along with other factors, at times enraged vehicle owners to the point that police are called for reports of heated disputes at the lot.
In 2020, a rideshare driver become so irate that he struck Advanced owner John O’Neill with his car, injuring O’Neill and also reportedly striking another vehicle before running into a utility pole. That driver pleaded guilty to reckless driving and a felony hit and run last August.
Construction continues at Amazon’s HQ2 site in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sheriff Names New Chief Deputy — “Captain Jose Quiroz was named the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Monday, making him the first Latino Chief Deputy to serve in that role.” [Arlington County]
School Days to Still Feature Pledge — “Arlington students headed back to class on Aug. 29 will continue to be encouraged to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and engage in a minute of silence to start the school day, based on a policy affirmation made at the Aug. 18 School Board meeting… the Code of Virginia mandates that school systems conduct both.” [Sun Gazette]
APS Charging for Meals Again — “There’s no more free lunch at Arlington Public Schools. With some exceptions. The start of the new school year will bring a return of paying for school-provided breakfasts and lunches, owing to an end of federal subsidies that had provided the meals to students for free since the arrival of COVID. The cost for lunch will be $3.10 for elementary-school students, $3.20 for secondary-school students, with a standard $1.80 charge for breakfasts.” [Sun Gazette]
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Screening Tonight — Sparrow Room and Bun’d Up will be hosting a free, outdoor screening of Crazy Rich Asians at the Pentagon Row (aka Westpost) plaza tonight. [Eventbrite]
Whitlow’s Reopens in D.C. — “Whitlow’s, the area’s legendary neighborhood bar and restaurant has relocated to a new neighborhood. Whitlow’s DC’s new home is 2014 9th Street NW at U Street, in the Shaw community, across from the 930 Club. It opens tonight, Tuesday August 23, at 5 pm.” [PoPville, Eater]
It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 86 and low of 68. Sunrise at 6:32 am and sunset at 7:53 pm. [Weather.gov]
Mandy is the sweetest, friendliest little girl to anyone and immediately comes over for attention!
She is so tiny and cute. She loves pets and chin scratches. She will sit as close as possible to you, and taps you with her paw when she wants more attention.
She just recently learned how to play! She likes the laser and ribbon wand, as well as the ball in a track, and tunnels.
Are you and Mandy a match? Is Mandy the furry companion you’ve been searching for? Check out her complete profile to learn more!
Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos — they don’t fit in our photo gallery!
The playground outside the Lubber Run Community Center (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington is the No. 3 most family-friendly locale in the country, according to a new set of rankings.
Online real estate platform Opendoor compiled the “best cities for families” list, which is based on the presence of various amenities like playgrounds, community centers and pools.
“We found that most family friendly cities like Arlington have quite a few common features — whether that’s a small-town feel or plenty of outdoor spaces to explore,” said Opendoor’s Beatrice de Jong, the author of the rankings.
De Jong said Arlington gets high marks for schools, local businesses, family-friendly amenities and transportation.
“Many young professionals live here and the public schools are highly rated,” she said, listing the county’s selling points. “Good public transportation and a mix of urban and suburban. Very walkable and bikeable… Lots of restaurants, coffee shops and parks… Close to D.C. with great museums for kids. Local museums include: Arlington Arts Center, Arlington Historical Museum, etc. Parks include: Rocky Run Park, Lubber Run Park, Fort Barnard Park, etc.”
Per Opendoor, the top 15 family-friendly cities and towns are:
The best cities for families are identified by analyzing and averaging the number of OpenStreetMap ‘family friendly’ tags that are within 3 miles of all addresses in a city where Opendoor Brokerage operates. These tags include: bench, community center, drinking water, garden, kindergarten, museum, park, picnic site, playground, school, swimming pool, supermarket, and waste basket.
Forty-six percent of government employees who telework – both fully remote and hybrid employees – say their team’s performance improved during the past two years. Only 35 percent of in-person government workers say their team’s performance has improved during the period, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting.
And as the trend for remote work continues among both federal and state and local governments, more than half of the government workforce reports teleworking, either in a fully remote (26 percent) or hybrid environment (24 percent). A substantially higher number of younger workers in government report working fully remotely (34 percent) as compared to mid-career (24 percent) and older workers (11 percent). Those working in-person are far more likely to be older workers (70 percent).
Findings like this may lend further credence to the idea that hybrid and fully-remote work environments are not just a pandemic blip and are here to say, which will present significant challenges for both office building owners and local governments, including here in Arlington.
Today, we wanted to pose the performance question to readers, as well.
Are you working remotely, either on a full-time or hybrid basis? And, if so, do you think remote work has improved or hurt your team’s overall productivity?
Sunlight streaks through as the rain ends in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Shorter Summer Break for HS Athletes — “So much for long, nearly two-month summer breaks from high-school sports, which for a long time used to be the case. With the preceding spring high-school sports campaigns lasting closer to the end of June these days, then practices for the next fall season starting Aug. 1 this year, the summer break was about a month long. July is becoming about all there is of the summertime anymore.” [Sun Gazette]
SOL Scores Lag Pre-Pandemic Benchmark — “The Virginia Education Department said students are still bearing the scars of prolonged pandemic-related school closures, releasing test scores from last school year that showed them performing behind pre-pandemic levels. While students saw across-the-board gains in the 2021-2022 school year compared to the previous academic year, state education officials said the progress was not enough, and pinned some of the good news on lowered standards — not on better student performance.” [Washington Post]
Talking Teacher Shortage on CNN — From School Board member Barbara Kanninen: “Terrific @CNN interview with Arlingtonian Mary Kusler regarding our ‘five-alarm crisis,’ the teacher shortage. It’s the number one issue concerning parents today.” [Twitter]
Arlington is Middling for Views — “Arlington ranks in the top half of the pack when it comes to urban areas where residents enjoy nice views from their residences. Lawn Love recently set up parameters and then crunched the data to determine how those heavily populated areas stack up. The study looked at where residents have the nicest park views, mountain views, water views and cityscape views, as well as the air quality in every area.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Tuesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 83 and low of 68. Sunrise at 6:31 am and sunset at 7:54 pm. [Weather.gov]
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
The new preliminary concept plan for Langston Blvd envisions the corridor’s transformation over several decades into a “Green Main Street.”
The extensive plan — which has been in the works for years — calls for land use changes along the former Lee Highway, with the aim of encouraging re-development over time, though the proposed zoning changes are not quite as drastic as what had been discussed last year.
“The new recommended building heights are generally two to three stories lower than were considered in the 2021 [Land Use Scenario Analysis],” said the plan, a 135-page document filled with small text and large renderings. “While it may take longer to implement the vision and improvements along Langston Boulevard may happen intermittently, the plan provides options for property owners to execute the plan’s vision and recommendations.”
Should the vision be realized, the corridor’s ubiquitous, aging strip malls and large surface parking lots would be replaced with taller, more walkable hubs of social and economic activity.
The Lyon Village Shopping Center could be turned into a 12-15 story mixed-use development, with the current Giant grocery store and The Italian Store on the ground floor, looking out on a bike path that connects to the Custis Trail and a reconfigured intersection of Langston Blvd, N. Kirkwood Road and Spout Run Parkway.
The Lee Heights Shops, home to Arrowine and Pastries by Randolph, may remain largely as-is, but with mixed-use developments of up to seven stories and pedestrian promenades around it.
Another nearby landmark, Moore’s Barber Shop, could also remain in its current building, but next to a five-story apartment building an an outdoor cafe, rather than parking lots and a car care center. Across the street, however, the McDonald’s could make way for a new public school and other public infrastructure, alongside a renovated Langston-Brown Community Center.
Further down the road, the busy shopping centers surrounding the intersection of Langston Blvd and N. Harrison Street — currently anchored by Harris Teeter and Safeway grocery stores — could become mixed-use centers of housing and ground-floor retail, up to 7 stories.
In addition to the current mix of restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses, the plan calls for other types of commercial tenants, including coworking spaces, fitness centers, hotels, and childcare providers.
Langston Blvd itself, also known as Route 29, would become more pedestrian oriented, with street trees, wider sidewalks and some bike infrastructure. Two vehicle lanes would be maintained in each direction, but often without the center median. Where bike lanes or a shared use path are not possible, the plan calls for parallel bike routes, including along 22nd and 26th streets.
“The vision for Langston Boulevard is corridor-wide and is based on the community’s desire to transform the corridor into a resilient, renewable, and re-energized place by 2050,” the plan says. “The Preliminary Concept Plan is informed by the community’s aspirations and priorities and the unique characteristics, challenges, and opportunities for achieving the vision in each of the neighborhood areas.”
Police car speeding to a call at night (staff photo)
A driver who fled from police early Saturday morning in Crystal City then returned, successfully fled again, and returned and tried to flee a third time, police say.
The third time was the charm for officers.
Police say the unusual sequence ended with a foot chase and the arrest of a 19-year-old Springfield, Virginia man near the Pentagon City mall. It followed a vehicle pursuit that originally ended when the suspect crossed the bridge into D.C., but was re-initiated after he inexplicably returned, according to police.
The man is now facing numerous felony charges, including drug possession, three counts of eluding, and attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer for allegedly ramming a police cruiser with his vehicle during the first half of the car chase.
More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
ATTEMPTED MALICIOUS WOUNDING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2022-08200075, 20th Street S. and Richmond Highway. At approximately 3:54 a.m. on August 20, a patrol officer observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and attempted a traffic stop in the 2400 block of S. Eads Street. The driver disregarded the officer’s emergency equipment and fled from the stop. At approximately 8:00 a.m., officers observed the vehicle traveling in the area of 20th Street S. and Richmond Highway and attempted a second traffic stop. The driver accelerated, struck a police cruiser with his vehicle, and fled onto Richmond Highway. A vehicle pursuit was initiated and subsequently terminated in Washington D.C. due to the driver’s erratic behavior. Shortly afterwards, officers observed the vehicle reenter the County and reinitiated the pursuit. The driver exited the vehicle in the 800 block of Army Navy Drive and attempted to flee the scene on foot. Following a foot pursuit, officers took the suspect into custody. A search of the suspect incident to arrest yielded suspected narcotics. Adrian Molina, 19, of Springfield, VA was arrested and charged with Attempted Malicious Wounding of a Law Enforcement Officer, Felony Hit and Run, Felony Eluding (x3), Possession of a Schedule I/II Narcotic, Obstruction of Justice and Driving without a License.
Another alleged assault on police happened early this morning in Clarendon. Police say a drunk man started “became disorderly and uncooperative” along the 3100 block of Clarendon Blvd, near some of the neighborhood’s bars, after officers tried to “have him secure a safe ride home.”
From the crime report:
At approximately 1:35 a.m. on August 22, police were dispatched to the report of an intoxicated individual. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the male suspect and attempted to have him secure a safe ride home. The suspect ignored the officer’s instructions and became disorderly and uncooperative. As officers attempted to take the suspect into custody, he actively resisted arrest and a physical struggle ensued. With the assistance of additional officers, the suspect was successfully detained. While being walked to a transport vehicle, the suspect assaulted the arresting officer.
A 27-year-old D.C. man “was arrested and charged with Assault and Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer, Public Intoxication and Obstruction of Justice,” ACPD said. “He was held without bond.”
On Sunday afternoon, meanwhile, police arrested a 40-year-old South Carolina man in a Pentagon City parking lot near the mall, after a woman said she saw him in a car exposing himself.
The man has an extensive history of indecent exposure arrests, according to variousnewsreports.
From ACPD’s crime report:
INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2022-08210124, 800 block of Army Navy Drive. At approximately 3:23 p.m. on August 21, police were dispatched to the report of an indecent exposure that had just occurred. Upon arrival, the victim stated she was going to exit her parked vehicle when she observed the unknown male suspect allegedly exposing himself in the car parked next to hers. The suspect was located on scene and taken into custody without incident. Berrino McClary, 40, of Kingstree, SC, was arrested and charged with Indecent Exposure. He was held without bond.
Kitten rescued from ART bus (photo via AWLA/Twitter)
A kitten was rescued from the engine compartment of an Arlington Transit bus last Friday.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington posted a video to social media last week highlighting the Aug. 12 rescue in Ballston, showing the grease-covered rescuers cradling the tiny kitten, who later received veterinary care after being fed and thoroughly washed.
“The bus was stopped at N. Randolph and Wilson Boulevard,” AWLA’s Chelsea Jones tells ARLnow. “The bus driver spotted Artie running across the street and then up under the bus!”
Artie, of course, was the name given to the kitten after the rescue, in honor of the transit agency’s assistance in getting him safely out of the engine compartment.
“Artie is doing well and is loving all the attention he’s getting from staff and volunteers!” AWLA said in a Facebook post. “He will need surgery to repair a hernia, but because of your support, he’s going to get all the care he needs!”
