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.

ARLnow parent Local News Now partners with Montgomery County news site The MoCoShow

By ARLnow.com
The MoCoShow logo

ARLnow has a new neighbor in the ol’ datacenter today.

The MoCoShow — the homegrown (and very popular) local news site for Montgomery County, Maryland — has partnered with Local News Now, the company that publishes ARLnow, ALXnow and FFXnow.

Much like LNN’s partnerships with PoPville and Potomac Local, our company will be working with The MoCoShow to help sell advertising to local organizations, to provide a high level of service to advertising clients, and to host and maintain their website.

It remains a challenging time for local news, even at large companies with deep financial backing like the Washington Post. But LNN and its partners are finding success through authentically local, audience-focused coverage; through forward-thinking and client-focused advertising solutions; and by centralizing technical and back office functions.

With the addition of The MoCoShow to the roster of LNN owned-and-operated and partner sites in the D.C. area, the company now collectively reaches more than 3 million monthly unique website visitors while serving over 80 million pageviews annually.

“We are so excited about our partnership with LNN and look forward to being able to expand the ways we can continue to work with local businesses,” said The MoCoShow founder Alex Tsironis.

“Local news is alive and well in the D.C. area and the added scale and reach this partnership provides will help bolster the editorial mission of all of our sites and partners,” said LNN founder Scott Brodbeck. “We’re especially pumped about working with The MoCoShow since its rapid organic growth reminds of us of the first years of ARLnow — except they now have an even bigger audience. And that’s not to mention their incredible social media engagement.”

“The MoCoShow is an authentic local voice for Montgomery County and an example of how local news consumers are prioritizing useful, relevant and fact-based information over staid news reporting styles and sensibilities,” Brodbeck continued. “We can’t wait to see how they find more ways to serve MoCo residents as we help grow their revenue and keep non-editorial costs down.”

This is LNN’s first presence in Maryland since the sale of Bethesda Now to Bethesda Magazine in 2014.

Expanded advertising opportunities on The MoCoShow are now available. In the coming months, meanwhile, LNN will embark on a major web development project to modernize the look, feel and function of The MoCoShow, ARLnow and the rest of our local sites.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A runner and fallen leaves long the Bluemont Trail (Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler)

Veterans Day Closures — Arlington schools, libraries and most local government facilities are closed today due to the observance of Veterans Day. Additionally, parking meters will not be enforced. [Arlington County]

Event at Arlington National Cemetery — “Join ANC for the National #VeteransDay Observance this Sat., Nov. 11 at 11… You must use the tram to go to the Memorial Amphitheater, walking to the event will not be permitted.” [Twitter]

Gun Brandishing Incident — “4600 block of King Street. At approximately 7:17 a.m. on November 8, police were dispatched to the report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was walking in the area when the female suspect approached and began yelling and filming her before allegedly brandishing what appeared to be a firearm. The suspect subsequently left the scene in a vehicle. During the course of the investigation, officers identified the suspect, located her inside her vehicle and took her into custody.” [ACPD]

Comcast Gets Another Extension — “Arlington County Board members on Nov. 11 are expected to extend, again, the franchise agreement that allows Comcast to provide cable-television service in the county… The extension will allow both sides to continue working on an agreement through late 2024. In a letter to the county government, Comcast officials agreed to the extension.” [Gazette Leader]

Another Snowy Winter Prediction — “We’re anticipating a harsher winter ahead, and one that is much more satisfying for those who love the snow. Our outlook calls for above-normal snowfall for the first time since the winter of 2018-2019, when Reagan National Airport, Washington’s official observing location, received 16.9 inches.” [Capital Weather Gang]

It’s Friday — Expect rain mainly from 10am to 4pm, accompanied by cloudy skies and a high near 52. Northwest winds will shift west, blowing at 6 to 10 mph, with a 70% chance of precipitation. Rainfall amounts will be less than a tenth of an inch. Friday night will be partly cloudy with a low of 38 and a light west wind. Veterans Day will be mostly sunny, featuring a high around 55 and northwest winds at 6 to 8 mph. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Most and least expensive condos sold in Arlington (October 2023)

By ARLnow.com

Here in Arlington, real estate is a spectator sport. Let’s take a look at some of the most and least expensive condos sold last month (October 2023).

Most expensive condos sold

  1. 1401 N Oak St Unit 907 — Rosslyn — $1,800,000 (2 beds | 2.5 baths | 1,694 sq. ft.)
  2. 900 N Stafford St Unit 2625 — Ballston — $1,050,000 (2 beds | 2.5 baths | 1,974 sq. ft.)
  3. 1411 Key Blvd Unit 303 — Rosslyn — $862,500 (2 beds | 2 baths | 1,135 sq. ft.)
  4. 1881 N Nash St Unit 705 — Rosslyn — $780,000 (1 beds | 1.5 baths | 1,322 sq. ft.)
  5. 1781 N Pierce St Unit 2502 — Rosslyn — $2,200,000 (2 beds | 2 baths | 1,690 sq. ft.)

Least expensive condos sold*

  1. 824 S Arlington Mill Dr Unit 1302 — Arlington Mill — $235,000 (1 beds | 1 baths | 592 sq. ft.)
  2. 3404 25th St S Unit 44 — Green Valley — $240,000 (2 beds | 1 baths | 861 sq. ft.)
  3. 2055 N Woodstock St Unit 201 — Waverly Hills — $207,999 (1 beds | 1 baths | 583 sq. ft.)

*Minimum home value of $200,000 set to exclude certain land sales, retirement condos, properties with expiring ground leases, etc.

NEW: Protests come to Arlington amid Israel-Hamas war

By ARLnow.com
1/7

Protests have been targeting the Arlington offices of military contractors amid the Israel-Hamas war.

At least the second protest in as many days was being held outside of the Lockheed Martin building at 2121 Crystal Drive today. The midday protest featured about ten demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags, holding signs and conducting a “die-in” on the public sidewalk.

They also placed child-sized coffins and baby dolls splashed with red paint on the ground around them. A contingent of Arlington County police officers stood watch over the protest and at one point directed the demonstrators off of private property.

Organizer Hazami Barmada, who was holding a sign with the words “Your Weapons Are Killing Babies,” said the group has been conducting protests around Arlington and D.C. for the past 15 days.

“We do die-ins and silent protests like this to help hopefully inspire the hearts and minds of more people to understand the plight of what’s happening to the… Palestinian population,” she said. “Today, we are in front of Lockheed Martin. We’ve actually been in front of all the weapons manufacturers in the D.C. area. And we’re going to continue to do that to put pressure on corporations that are benefiting financially from the genocide and ethnic cleansing that’s happening towards the Palestinian people right now.”

“The seventh of October, we saw a massive spike in [Lockheed Martin’s] stock and also the revenue of the support for these companies that are benefiting,” Barmada continued, referencing the day that Hamas militants crossed into Israel from Gaza and killed over 1,000 Israeli civilians. “So we’re putting our bodies out on the line right now. To say enough benefiting financially off of the murder of innocent civilians.”

Since Oct. 7, Israeli bombardments and a currently underway ground invasion have reportedly killed more than 10,000 Palestinians. Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests have broken out worldwide since the start of the war, and international pressure has ramped up for a release of the several hundred Israeli hostages being held by Hamas and for Israel to minimize civilian deaths.

“Human rights for the Palestinians does not negate human rights for someone else,” Barmada said. “We do this in from the White House, the State Department, all buildings around D.C., to remind people of the cost of inaction and the human realities behind it.”

Barmada said the group protested at the U.S. Capitol yesterday and plans to protest in front of Raytheon in Rosslyn later today.

The Rosslyn protest will be at least the second this week at the now Arlington-based company’s headquarters. Yesterday six activists were charged with trespassing by Arlington police during a protest “to confront the war profiteer on its role in producing weapons that are causing extreme suffering and death to innocent children, women, and men around the world,” according to the anti-war group Code Pink.

ACPD spokeswoman Alli Shorb confirmed the incident. A group of six people from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin and New York — ranging in age from 28 to 77 — were arrested, charged and released, she said.

More, below, from ACPD.

TRESPASS, 2023-11080112, 1100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 12:12 p.m. on November 8, police were dispatched to the report of trespassing. Upon arrival, it was determined a group of individuals were protesting on private property. The property manager reportedly spoke with the group and asked them to leave which they refused. Responding officers then spoke with each member of the group regarding the request from the property manager and advised they would be subject to arrest if they remained on the property. The below listed individuals remained on the property following the announcement and were arrested and charged with trespassing and released on personal recognizance.

James Jarvis contributed to this report

Threat scrawled in girls’ bathroom prompts investigation at Gunston MS

By ARLnow.com
Gunston Middle School (file photo)

Gunston Middle School students returned to class today after a police investigation yesterday afternoon.

Arlington County police were dispatched to the school around 3:30 p.m. Thursday for a report of threatening graffiti. A subsequent email to families from the school’s principal said someone wrote “Im going to shoot up the dumb ass school” in a girls’ bathroom stall.

“While we do not believe this to be a credible threat, the investigation is ongoing,” Principal Carolyn R. Jackson wrote.

Arlington public schools have faced a number of gun-related threats in 2023.

In March, Gunston was put in lockdown after “a message written inside a restroom stall referencing gun violence” was discovered, prompting a significant police response. In May, a Kenmore Middle School student was charged after an implied shooting threat was posted on social media. In September a man was arrested outside Washington-Liberty High School after allegedly threatening a shooting during after-school student activities on the field.

The email sent to Gunston families Thursday afternoon is below.

Dear Gunston Families,

Gunston Administration was informed of a threat of violence written in a girl’s bathroom stall. The specific threat was written in pencil and barely legible, stating, “Im going to shoot up the dumb ass school”.

The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) and Safety, Security, and Emergency Management (SSEM) were immediately made aware of the threat and are investigating the situation. Any students who know of this are asked to contact the school.

While we do not believe this to be a credible threat, the investigation is ongoing. Students are reminded that making threats, regardless of credibility, is unacceptable and in violation of the Student Code of Conduct and will result in disciplinary action by the school and a referral to law enforcement.

We appreciate the student who brought this to our attention and ask all community members to report any threats they may see or hear, whether they believe they are credible or not. We also need to remind everyone that spreading rumors among classmates or on social media that have not been verified can create unnecessary stress for students.

We always take threats of violence of any kind very seriously.

Our top priority is the safety of our students and staff, and I want to thank the Gunston community for your support and responsiveness. If you hear or see something that concerns you, please let me or a staff member know immediately.

Thank you for working together to make our school safe.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A crape myrtle and a blue wall (Flickr pool photo by Jeff Vincent)

Veterans Day Concert Today — “In honor of all who proudly serve and defend our nation, Arlington County will host a Veterans Day Commemoration and Concert, featuring the Brass Quintet from the U.S. Army Band ‘Pershing’s Own.’ Everyone is invited to join us in person at Bozman Government Center Plaza (2100 Clarendon Blvd.) Thurs., Nov. 9, at 11:30 a.m.” [Arlington County]

Pedestrian Struck in Crystal City — From Dave Statter: “Watch: Pedestrian struck, apparently without serious injury, at Route 1 and 23rd Street in Crystal City just after 6p.m. @ArlingtonVaFD & @ArlingtonVaPD handled.” [Twitter]

APS May Nix Wellness Reporting — “Arlington Public Schools apparently has not been abiding by its own requirements to present the public with annual reports detailing how each school is progressing as is works to meet the school system’s overall student-wellness goals. Instead of forcing schools to follow the rules and create/disseminate those mandated reports, the school system likely will rescind the requirement altogether unless School Board members step in.” [Gazette Leader]

Write-down for Local Developer — “The loss includes about $59.3 million in impairment charges related to reduced values at three properties… JBG Smith wrote down the values of two office buildings, both decades old, at 2100 Crystal Drive in Arlington and 2101 L St. NW in D.C., and of an unspecified development parcel, per the company’s quarterly report filed Nov. 7.” [Washington Business Journal]

Whitlow’s Gets Closer to Arlington — “WoW. It’s those three yellow letters with green shadowing that at one time marked the home of Whitlow’s on Wilson, the venerable Clarendon restaurant and bar that shuttered in 2021 after nearly three decades. Prepare for the return of the WoW factor. It won’t be on Wilson Boulevard this time; it’ll be a floating watering hole on the Potomac River.” [Washington Business Journal]

It’s Thursday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high around 77, accompanied by south winds at 10 to 13 mph shifting to the northwest in the afternoon, and gusts reaching up to 20 mph. Clouds will increase Thursday night as temperatures drop to around 49, with northwest winds continuing at 8 to 14 mph and gusts still reaching 20 mph. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photo by Jeff Vincent

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Nov 8, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Nov 8, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Thursday’s forecast

Expect a mostly sunny day with a high around 77 degrees. Initially, there will be a south wind at 9-13 mph, transitioning to northwest in the afternoon, and wind gusts could reach up to 20 mph. As for Thursday night, it will be mostly cloudy with a low temperature near 49 degrees and prevailing northwest winds of 8-14 mph. Similar gusts as high as 20 mph might be experienced. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. “
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

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

Alleged pickleball masturbator nabbed after Columbia Pike peeping incident

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A man whose stroke on the pickleball court was most unwelcome has allegedly been identified and arrested.

Police say a 49-year-old Arlington resident was taken into custody Monday after a peeping incident along Columbia Pike Friday night.

Just before 7 p.m. Friday, according to Arlington County police, the man was spotted masturbating while peeping into a business on the 1000 block of S. Edgewood Street. A source tells ARLnow that the business was a boxing gym.

Police were only told about the incident the next day, but a “review of evidence in the case” led them to the suspect, who was then also linked to a public masturbation incident on the morning of May 3 at the Walter Reed Community Center pickleball courts.

ARLnow previously reported about a pair of masturbation incidents at the Walter Reed courts in April. A police press release makes no reference to those incidents.

The suspect is currently being held in jail on two counts of public masturbation and one count of peeping, according to police.

More, below, from the ACPD press release.

The Arlington County Police Department’s Patrol Section is announcing the arrest of a suspect following investigations into exposure incidents. Alexei Rodriguez, 49, of Arlington, VA is charged with Public Masturbation (x2) and Peeping. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

At approximately 1:45 p.m. on November 4, police were dispatched to the 1000 block of S. Edgewood Street for the late report of a peeping. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 6:55 p.m. on November 3, the occupants of an open business allegedly observed the suspect peeping through a window and masturbating before leaving the scene on foot. Following the review of evidence in the case, officers identified the suspect and obtained warrants for his arrest. He was taken into custody on the morning of November 6.

As a result of the ongoing criminal investigation, officers identified Mr. Rodriguez as the suspect in an exposure incident from May and obtained an additional arrest warrant. At approximately 10:44 a.m. on May 3, a patrol officer was contacted by a community member regarding a male suspect allegedly observed masturbating by the courts of the Walter Reed Community Center located at 2909 16th Street S.

Crime prevention and control is a key initiative of the Arlington County Police Department and officers are committed to conducting active patrols throughout Arlington and comprehensive follow-up investigations to identify, deter and prevent criminal activity. Community members observing in-progress criminal activity should report information immediately for police investigation by calling the Emergency Communications Center at 703-558-2222 or 9-1-1 in an emergency.

Morning Poll: What are you going do with your Virginia tax rebate?

By ARLnow.com
Letter accompanying a Virginia tax rebate (photo courtesy anonymous)

Virginia residents have been receiving state tax rebates over the past week or so.

The rebates for those who paid taxes in 2022 — $200 for individual filers, $400 for joint filers — were approved by the Virginia General Assembly in a compromise budget and signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Putting aside the eyebrows raised by the checks going out during election week, we were wondering what our readers in Arlington are planning to do with their rebate.

Are you planning to go right out and spend it, invest it for the long term, or something in between?

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Autumnal scene at Sharps Park in North Arlington (Flickr pool photo by Michael McCullough)

Flyover This Afternoon — From AlertDC: “The Naval Air Force Atlantic will conduct a military aircraft flyover in the NCR over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at approximately 3:10PM.”

Parents Still Coping With Son’s Death — “Some families cope with loss behind closed doors. Rose and Kris chose to shoulder theirs frequently out in the open. As the months passed, rather than avoid situations where Braylon should have been, they embraced them—and were embraced in return. They were in the bleachers for as many W-L basketball games as their schedules would allow. In the spring, they attended pre-prom gatherings and graduation parties for Braylon’s peers.” [Arlington Magazine]

Arlington Rents Dip Slightly — “Median Arlington apartment rents dropped 0.9 percent from September to October, in line with historic norms but slightly above the 0.7-percent national dropoff. The median rental rate for county apartments for the month was $2,275 ($2,146 for one-bedroom units and $2,567 for two bedrooms), according to figures reported Oct. 31 by Apartment List.” [Gazette Leader]

Local Thanksgiving Pie Guide — “Spend more time with family and guests—and less in the kitchen—with the help of these area bakeries.” [Arlington Magazine]

Guilty Plea in Child Exploitation Case — “A former FBI contractor pleaded guilty today to production and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). According to court documents, beginning in February, Brett Janes, 26, of Arlington, groomed a 13-year-old minor (MV1) to transition from playing Valorant with him, a popular first-person shooter game, to engaging in “strip” games on a video chat function in Discord.” [ARLnow]

Morning Robbery in Virginia Square — “At approximately 8:00 a.m., the female victim was inside her parked vehicle when the two suspects approached. Suspect One opened the passenger door while Suspect Two opened the driver’s side door, assaulted the victim and stole her cellphone. The victim screamed and Suspect One ran from the scene and Suspect Two fled in a white SUV. Medics evaluated the victim on scene.” [ACPD]

Local Company Makes Acquisition — “Arlington health-tech company Surescripts LLC has acquired Minneapolis-based analytics startup ActiveRadar Inc. in a deal the local firm says adds an important dimension to its electronic prescription service for health systems and pharmacies.” [Washington Business Journal]

HQ2 Lit Up in Green — “In honor of Veterans Day, more than 30 of Amazon’s operation sites around the U.S. and the company’s headquarters in King County, Washington, and Arlington County, Virginia will participate in Operation Green Light for Veterans from November 6 – 12.” [Press Release]

Doug Kammerer Predicts Snowy Winter — “Get those waterproof boots and snow shovels ready — because if you want snow, and lots of it, Storm Team4 says this could be your year. Storm Team 4 is predicting: 22″-30″ of snow this winter for the I-95 corridor and the D.C. metro area.” [NBC 4]

It’s Wednesday — Expect sunny skies and a high of 61 degrees, accompanied by a north wind at 6 mph, later becoming light and variable. For Wednesday night, the sky will be partly cloudy with a low temperature around 49 degrees and a southeast wind at 6 mph. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photo by Michael McCullough

DEVELOPING: Arlington Democrats celebrate another local election sweep

By ARLnow.com
1/2

(Updated at 11:15 p.m.) It is another good election night for Arlington Democrats.

While some might have hoped for a Missing Middle-inspired upset in the two-seat Arlington County Board race, Democrats Maureen Coffey and Susan Cunningham have commanding leads over Republican Juan Carlos Fierro and independent Audrey Clement.

All but one Arlington precinct have reported results as of 10 p.m.

There is some evidence of a relatively minor Missing Middle backlash at the ballot box on Election Day: Cunningham — who advocates for “closely monitoring and revising” the policy, also known as “Expanded Housing Options” — is running just shy of three points ahead of Coffey, who generally supports it.

Clement, the most outspoken Missing Middle critic among the four candidates, has nearly 13% of the vote, about the same as Fierro. That compares to about 35% and 38% for Coffey and Cunningham, respectively.

Elsewhere down the ballot, it’s a sea of blue votes.

Among competitive races, GOP state Senate candidate Sophia Moshasha kept it closest, with about 24% of the vote to 75% for incumbent Sen. Adam Ebbin. Republican David Henshaw has 21% of the vote to 79% for incumbent Sen. Barbara Favola. And incumbent Del. Alfonso Lopez is defeating independent Major Mike Webb 81% to 18%.

The remaining races have no active second candidates, resulting in the election of incumbent Del. Patrick Hope in the 1st House District, Adele McClure in the 2nd House District, incumbent Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson, incumbent Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Sheriff Jose Quiroz, Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler, incumbent Treasurer Carla de la Pava, and School Board member Miranda Turner.

“We’re really excited,” Arlington Democrats Chair Steve Baker told ARLnow. “It seems like the voter turnout was really high all day long… We had a lot of local issues this year that brought people out in the primary. I think that helped Democrats.”

“With respect to the General Assembly, it was every bit about protecting the progress Democrats made after the 2019 election on voting rights, on education, on common sense gun safety, on protecting reproductive rights,” Baker continued. “Arlington voters were motivated to go to the polls.”

On the County Board race, Baker said he expects “difficult conversations” to continue while Board members “find the right approach and combination of policy to solve the issue of housing.”

Local Democrats potentially have another reason to celebrate tonight: election watchers project the party has won control of both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.

While the Arlington GOP came up well short in the vote tally, it did notch a national news story today.

A voter’s expletive-filled rant against local party chair Matthew Hurtt, who was handing out sample ballots — as previously noted by ARLnow — ended up on the homepage of Fox News, Townhall and other media outlets.

James Jarvis contributed to this report

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