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 on cross-country skis navigating the snow in Rosslyn on Jan. 3, 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Like it or not, another round of snow is looking increasingly likely this weekend.
Forecast models are putting the odds of at least an inch of snow at 50% or above, and some are even suggesting more than a foot is possible, according to the Capital Weather Gang. The storm would cross our area Sunday into Monday.
And the European caves to the GFS and brings a major impactful Winter storm into the mid Atlantic region on Sunday!
Given that we just got through a full week of school closures, caused by snowstorms that bookended the week, we’re wondering how Arlingtonians feel about the idea of more snow.
Looking forward to another winter wonderland and more snowball fights? Dreading shoveling and days off of school? Weigh in below.
It seems like there’s a crash at a particular stretch of the northbound GW Parkway near Key Bridge where crashes are always happening, particularly during bad weather. That’s the subject of this month’s local Mike Mount cartoon.
Want to see all of Mike’s weekly musings? Join the ARLnow Press Club.
But more importantly… drive safely out there!
A reader sends this photo of the earlier crash on the GW Parkway, near Key Bridge, in case anybody drives by later and wonders what happened to the wall (photo courtesy Jeff V.) pic.twitter.com/RyXorJEn9i
(Updated at 4 p.m.) Arlington County police responded to a pair of gun crimes in and near Rosslyn over the weekend.
The first happened around 4:30 p.m. Sunday on the 1500 block of 17th Street N. Arlington police do not typically reveal which businesses have been the victims of crimes, but that’s the same block at the standalone Rosslyn Starbucks store.
“At approximately 4:31 p.m. on January 9, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery,” said an ACPD crime report today. “Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect entered the business, approached the register, brandished a firearm and stole money from a tip jar. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. Responding officers established a perimeter and searched the area with negative results.”
Less than an hour later, there was a report of a similar tip jar robbery by an armed man in D.C., near Metro Center. Initial reports suggested that a suspect was arrested.
Asked whether police believe the two incidents are related, ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said she “cannot provide any additional details as [the D.C. robbery] is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.”
“The robbery in Arlington has been assigned to our Homicide/Robbery Unit and our detectives are actively working with our law enforcement partners to determine if it is linked to any other cases in the region,” said Savage.
RESTAURANT ARMED ROBBERY— Jimmy John's at 1208 G St NW DC. Male armed with a handgun took tip jar during robbery and fled into Metro Center. Possible suspect has been captured by @DCPoliceDept. #wmatapic.twitter.com/6t8YI3K33V
On Sunday night, another reported gun crime — the theft of a gun and a shot fired by the fleeing suspect — happened just west of Rosslyn along the 2500 block of 20th Road N.
“At approximately 10:46 p.m. on January 9, police were dispatched to the report of shots heard,” said an ACPD crime report. “It was determined that the suspect stole Victim One’s firearm and a verbal dispute ensued when he attempted to get it back. The suspect allegedly discharged the firearm before fleeing the scene on foot. No injuries were reported.”
The suspect was identified and tracked down to the nearby Inns of Virginia motel.
“Officers identified the suspect, obtained warrants and determined he was inside a hotel room in the 3300 block of Lee Highway,” said the crime report. “Responding officers established a perimeter and took the suspect into custody without incident. The investigation determined that while inside the hotel room, the suspect allegedly became involved in a verbal dispute with Victim Two, during which he brandished the firearm and threatened her.”
The suspect, a 38-year-old Maryland man, “was arrested and charged with Discharge of a Firearm, Grand Larceny of a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and Brandishing a Firearm,” police said. “He was held without bond.”
Covid cases in Arlington as of Jan. 10, 2022 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) There’s some hope that the current Omicron wave of Covid cases in the D.C. area may be near a peak, but new data in Arlington is a mixed bag in terms of whether that’s actually the case.
The county’s seven-day moving average of new cases hit a fresh high today, with 548 new cases being reported each day, on average. Saturday also reached a new single-day case record, with 867 new cases.
After weeks of staying low, Covid hospitalizations have also taken an upturn amid the surge of new cases. Five new hospitalizations were reported today in Arlington, bringing the seven-day moving average to just below three hospitalizations per day.
Covid hospitalizations in Arlington as of Jan. 10, 2022 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
No new deaths have been reported in Arlington so far in 2022, but according to the Virginia Dept. of Health that may be delays in implementing a new way of classifying Covid fatalities.
Regardless, the county’s high vaccination rate likely has contributed to the relative lack of serious illness and death. As of today, 94.6% of the adult population in Arlington has been vaccinated.
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said on CBS’s Face the Nation this weekend that he believes the Omicron wave is peaking in Mid-Atlantic cities, including in the D.C. area.
Omicron may infect 40% of public on this wave; many won't escape it. But for those who were able to protect themselves till now, and get vaccinated, and confront a milder variant with benefit of immunity; they'll be at much less risk for having protected their families this long
While the case data is still pointing upward, the test positivity rate in Arlington has taken a downturn, perhaps supporting the idea that a peak is near.
The Covid test positivity rate peaked at 29.3% on Jan. 2 in Arlington. It has come down since then and currently stands at 27.1%.
Covid positivity rate in Arlington as of Jan. 10, 2022 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
Statewide, Virginia hospitals say they’ve surpassed the peak Covid hospitalization numbers of January 2021, straining the healthcare system.
On Monday afternoon, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that he was taking steps to temporarily increase hospital capacity in the Commonwealth.
A press release noted that “modeling… suggests the virus will peak in the next few weeks.”
Governor Northam today took steps to increase Virginia’s hospital capacity and support healthcare workers responding to COVID-19, after a record number of hospitalizations were posted on Friday of last week. He issued a limited 30-day order to expand the number of available hospital beds, increase staffing capacity at hospitals and nursing homes, and allow public health agencies greater flexibility in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The limited duration is based on modeling that suggests the virus will peak in the next few weeks.
“Health care workers and hospitals are exhausted, and they are again facing increasing numbers of patients, affecting their ability to provide care,” Governor Northam said. “These steps will help ease the strain, giving medical professionals more flexibility to care for people. Ultimately, the best thing everyone can do for our hospitals and their staff is to get vaccinated.”
Here in Arlington, Virginia Hospital Center ER chief Mike Silverman wrote in his weekly Facebook update that “the number of new cases we’re diagnosing is on a whole different scale than previous surges.”
First off, we are diagnosing a lot of COVID in the emergency department. Patients classified as being symptomatic are testing at a 64% positivity rate. That is up from 59% last week. The good news is we had less symptomatic patients this week than during the holiday week and an overall decline of about 20% of new positive cases among this group of people. It is really crazy to look at the graph that I have kept throughout the pandemic because the number of new cases we’re diagnosing is on a whole different scale than previous surges. We’re seeing 5 times more positive cases among our symptomatic patients that in either of the previous surges. We’re also doing a considerable amount of testing on patients that are classified as asymptomatic. As a reminder, these are patients generally being admitted to the hospital for non-COVID related reasons or have symptoms that are not consistent with COVID. The positivity rate among these patients was less than 1% last week of November. This week, it was over 29%, up from 24% the week previous.
“The Coronavirus is not done with us yet,” Silverman’s post concluded.
Local News Now, the Arlington-based publisher behind ARLnow, has a trio of announcements to kick off the week.
First, we have a new leader on the news side of things. Brandi Bottalico, who most recently served as an editor of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, has joined LNN in the newly created position of editorial team lead.
Brandi will work across the sites we own and operate in Northern Virginia, helping to lead our team of local journalists while guiding a number of editorial initiatives that we have planned over the next year. She started last week.
LNN now employs 10 full-time employees and two full-time contractors — nine on the news side and three on the business side — plus a number of part-time contributors.
Second, we have a new website. FFXnow will cover all of Fairfax County, with a hyperlocal focus on the Reston and Tysons areas. Our existing Reston Now and Tysons Reporter sites will be folded into FFXnow, though each will maintain their brand and identity as separate social media accounts and daily email newsletters, focused on each respective coverage area.
FFXnow will officially launch in February with three full-time journalists and plans to eventually expand to additional hyperlocal coverage areas within the county.
In addition to publishing our soon-to-be three owned-and-operated sites — ARLnow, ALXnow and FFXnow — LNN assists other local publishers with their web presence, advertising sales and other business services. The goal is to help our partners grow revenue, focus on readers, and do more local journalism.
The partnership with Lake & McHenry County Scanner represents our first expansion outside of the greater D.C. area.
These agreements — which join our existing partnerships with PoPville, Greater Greater Washington and Run Washington — will lead to continued expansion of our business operations, including more advertising sales and sponsored content production capabilities. The additional capabilities will also benefit our owned-and-operated sites, boosting revenue and allowing the sites to do more local reporting.
Local organizations interested in advertising can check out the new-for-2022 sponsored content and banner ad options here. We are also expanding self-serve options, like Community Posts, across our network of sites.
Snowvid-19, at Westover Baptist Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Icy Conditions Possible This Morning — “The risk of dangerous driving conditions will continue Monday morning — after freezing rain coated parts of the D.C. region Sunday — with the potential for wet roads to refreeze overnight.” [WTOP, Twitter]
Mail Delivery Complaints in 22207 — The local Nextdoor social network was abuzz last week with mail delivery complaints from residents of northern Arlington neighborhoods, specifically in the 22207 zip code. Amid snowstorms and a Covid wave, residents reported not receiving any mail for several days. A spokesman for Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) tells ARLnow that the congressman’s office “had a call with USPS” on Thursday. “Rep. Beyer is working on getting answers on why this is happening (snow is a factor but it seems like many of the issues preceded the storm) and trying to get it fixed,” the spokesman wrote.
Citizen Police Academy Applications Open — “The Arlington County Police Department is now accepting applications for the 26th Community Police Academy (CPA), formerly the Citizen’s Police Academy. The CPA is an educational program designed to create better understanding and communication between police and the community they serve. The intent of the CPA is to make participants aware of how the Arlington County Police Department operates and its role in the community.” [ACPD]
It’s Monday — Today will be sunny, with a high near 34. Northwest wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Sunrise at 7:27 a.m. and sunset at 5:05 p.m. Tomorrow will be sunny and chilly, with a high near 28 and a northwest wind 6 to 11 mph. [Weather.gov]
A special Covid snowman at Westover Baptist Church (photo courtesy Nora Palmatier)
A dog and a kid in the snow (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)
Sunrise along Washington Blvd (photo courtesy John Antonelli)
It’s been a snowy week, and a veritable marathon for working parents with school-aged kids.
There are some snow lovers out there who have huge carefree smiles on their faces after two sizable snowfalls in one week. And there are others who — whether you generally like snow or not — will be falling asleep within 30 seconds of getting in bed early tonight
Now, here are the most-read Arlington articles of the past week.
Welcome to 2022! It’s a new year with new open houses. It looks to be a chilly weekend ahead, so grab your coat, mittens and boots to stay warm when visiting any open houses across Arlington.
According to Homesnap, there are currently 366 homes for sale. Of those 366 homes for sale, 246 are condos, 93 are detached homes and 27 are townhomes. There have been 248 sales in the last four weeks. The median list price is $557,000 and the median sales price is $700,000.
Take a look at a few open houses across Arlington this weekend:
2805 11th Street N.
3 BD/2.5 BA townhome
Noteworthy: Rood top balcony, courtyard entry, gas fireplace
Listed: $1,290,000
Open: Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
5100 25th Place N.
4 BD/2 BA single-family home
Noteworthy: Hardwood floors, backyard patio, fire pit
Listed: $985,000
Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
1600 N. Oak Street #610
2 BD/2 BA condo
Noteworthy: Renovated kitchen, new washer/dryer, indoor parking garage space
Listed: $749,900
Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
1200 N. Nash Street #212
2 BD/1 BA condo
Noteworthy: End unit, floor-to-ceiling windows, front and side balcony
Listed: $695,000
Open: Sunday, 12-2 p.m.
2908 S. Buchanan Street
2 BD/2 BA condo
Noteworthy: Hardwood floors, fully fenced backyard, brick patio
Listed: $564,900
Open: Saturday, 1-3 p.m.
1052 S. Edison Street
2 BD/1 BA single-family home
Noteworthy: Wood floors, fenced yard, two decks
Listed: $475,000
Open: Saturday, 1-3 p.m.
Snow on the Yorktown High School sign announcing winter break (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)
Update at 12:45 p.m. — Roughly half or more of Arlington’s neighborhood streets have been cleared, according to the county’s snow removal map. ART bus routes are returning to normal service levels.
From Arlington Transit: "Due to improving road conditions, all ART routes will operate normal weekday service this afternoon and evening."
Earlier: It’s a snow day in Arlington, but getting around is not quite as treacherous as on Monday.
A smaller storm and more time to prepare have contributed to a much different situation on the roads.
About three inches of snow accumulation has been reported in Arlington — officially, 2.6 inches at National Airport — but cold temperatures have kept the snow light and fluffy. That compares to the 6.5-10 inches of snow from Monday’s storm, which started as rain and left a heavy wet layer of snow at the bottom.
Most primary and secondary routes seen on traffic cameras were clear as of 8:30 a.m.
Since 8 a.m., few significant traffic-related issues have been reported on police and fire radios.
Arlington County’s snow response remain in Phase 2 at last check, meaning crews are currently focusing on primary and secondary roads, leaving local roads snow-covered. Traffic cameras show visible pavement on most primary and secondary routes.
Colder temperatures will keep the overnight layer of snow light and manageable but go slow in case underneath there's ice leftover from earlier this week. Crews are making their way through Phase 2 of storm response. #ArlWXhttps://t.co/DuInmBchJWpic.twitter.com/JH1tMXXwsI
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) January 7, 2022
Bus service is running this morning, but on severe weather schedules. Both Arlington Transit and Metro have suspended a number of routes. The ART routes suspended as of publication include 53, 61, 62, 74, 75 and 84.
Metrobus Operating Moderate Snow Plan – January 7: Buses will begin the service day on a moderate snow plan, January 7. Learn more at https://t.co/aunDSDeWZz
Arlington Public Schools are closed today for the fifth day in a row, joining other major local school systems in declaring Friday a snow day, while Arlington County government facilities will open today on a delay, at 10 a.m.
Due to inclement weather, Arlington County Government will open facilities for in-person services at 10:00 am on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Visit the Closings, Delays & Cancellations page for details. https://t.co/0QHU4ZhGT6
Snowy bridge in Rock Spring Park (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)
New Leadership for Local Dems — “The Arlington County Democratic Committee went with the more centrist option on Jan. 5, electing Steve Baker to a two-year term as party chair. Baker defeated Matt Royer in the balloting, held at the party’s biennial reorganization meeting. Baker promised to use his leadership post as ‘a collaboration and a partnership’ and ‘keep Arlington Democrats a big-tent party.'” [Sun Gazette]
W&OD Bridge Work Has Started — From BikeArlington: “Work on the @WODTrail bridge [near the caboose] was delayed but has begun today. Please follow detour signs onto the Four Mile Run Trail.” [Twitter]
Amazon Donates to Local Nonprofit — “Amazon.com Inc. donated $25,000 to Arlington nonprofit Boolean Girl to support the organization’s workshops that teach young students how to code and build electronics. Amazon’s gift from November boosts the Clubhouse educational program to meet weekly instead of monthly.” [Washington Business Journal]
It’s Friday — Following the overnight snowfall, today will be sunny, with a high near 30. Northwest wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Sunrise at 7:29 a.m. and sunset at 5:02 p.m. Saturday will be sunny, with a high near 33. Sunday there’s chance of freezing rain and sleet before 9 a.m, then rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. [Weather.gov]
Washington-Liberty High School in the snow (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Your kids and your trash will be staying at home until next week.
Arlington Public Schools just announced that it will be closed for the fifth school day in a row, in anticipation of 2-4 inches of snow overnight. Students have not been in class since before the winter break.
More from APS:
Due to the winter weather advisory issued for Arlington, all schools and offices will be closed on Friday, January 7, 2022. Unless otherwise directed by their supervisors, maintenance staff should report to work at their scheduled time, and all custodians should report to work at 6 a.m. Extracurricular activities, games, team practices, field trips, adult education classes, and programs in schools and on school grounds are canceled. For updates about Pool Operations, go to www.apsva.us/aquatics. For information about Arlington County programs and operations go to www.arlingtonva.us.
Schools are not the only local closure of note tomorrow. Arlington County has already cancelled curbside trash and recycling collection.
Friday will be the third collection day this week — in addition to Monday and Tuesday — to be cancelled. Residents whose trash was not collected this week will have to wait until their next scheduled collection date next week.
In other words, prepare to see trash piling up in roughly three-fifths of Arlington’s single-family-home neighborhoods.
The special Christmas tree pickup, meanwhile, has been delayed by a week and is now set to start on Monday. From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services:
Curbside recycling/trash/organics collection is cancelled for Friday, Jan. 7 due to the expected overnight storm.
There will be no make-up collection days for this week.
Weather- and safety-permitting, curbside collections will resume Jan. 10 with regular Monday routes plus special Christmas tree collection. Free paper shredding and inert material drop-off scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8 at the Trades Center has been postponed until Saturday, Jan. 15.
After being short-handed for Monday’s winter storm, Arlington snow crews are now working to pre-treat roads and prepare for tonight’s snowfall. About 2-4 inches of accumulation are expected, though the forecast has been trending toward the lower half of that range.
Tonight's snow forecast on track! Snow has spread into WVa after producing ~4" in Nashville (most since 2016!). Should arrive in DC area between 11p-1a. We're still expecting ~2." Latest NAM model run syncs up well with our forecast issued earlier. Update: https://t.co/c0R0LyY3uXpic.twitter.com/iARpUpNjD7
Arlington and much of the D.C. area is under a Winter Weather Advisory starting at 9 p.m. From the National Weather Service:
328 PM EST Thu Jan 6 2022
…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM EST FRIDAY…
* WHAT…Snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches.
* WHERE…The Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan areas, portions of central and southern Maryland, and portions northern Virginia.
* WHEN…From 9 PM this evening to 7 AM EST Friday.
* IMPACTS…Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The heaviest snow is expected overnight when snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour are possible. Visibility will be reduced to near or less than one-half mile.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Slow down and use caution while traveling.
When venturing outside, watch your first few steps taken on steps, sidewalks, and driveways, which could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury.
