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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Langston Blvd Plan Meets Resistance — “Following this May’s release of area planning maps and a presentation on density from consultant AECOM, a furious screed was published by Lyon Village Civic Association president John Carten. Though the process is still in the community engagement phase that precedes concrete recommendations, the hint of possible changes in the General Land Use Plan prompted the Lyon Village group to predict a parade of horribles.” [Falls Church News-Press]

New Clarendon Apartment Building Sold — “Trammell Crow Residential has sold the Alexan Earl, a 333-unit multifamily building at 1122 N. Hudson St., to Lincoln Property Co. for $192 million… The Earl represents the first phase of the long-planned Red Top Cab redevelopment… Shooshan continues to plan for the second phase, a roughly 250-unit building fronting Washington Boulevard at the intersection with 13th Street North. It expects to start demolition this fall.” [Washington Business Journal]

Online Fundraiser for Fallen Officer –” The family of George Gonzalez started a memorial fund Sunday for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer who was fatally wounded Tuesday on the platform of the Pentagon Transit Center… By 3 p.m. on Monday, the GoFundMe campaign had already raised $15,000, outstripping its original goal of $1,000.” [Patch, GoFundMe]

Local BBQ Joint Competing in ‘World Championship’ — “Arlington’s Smokecraft Modern Barbecue… has been invited to compete in the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue.  Taking place in Lynchburg, TN on on October 8th and 9th, ‘The Jack’ as it is known, is widely considered the world’s most prestigious barbecue competition.” [Press Release]

Va. AG Continues to Fight Robocalls — “Attorney General Mark R. Herring today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fight back against the scourge of illegal robocalls by moving up the deadline for smaller telephone companies to implement caller ID technology. Attorney General Herring joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general have in submitting comments to the FCC.” [Press Release]

Pentagon to Require Vaccinations — “The Pentagon will require members of the military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo on Monday. About 64% of active duty military members are fully vaccinated, a low enough rate to pose concern for potential outbreaks and international deployment.” [Axios]

Press Club: Early Morning Notes for Aug. 10

By ARLnow.com

Editor’s Note: We’re testing publishing our ARLnow Early Morning Notes email on the homepage for members to read and comment on. Let us know what you think.

This post is exclusively for ARLNow Press Club members. Not a member? Join here.

Members can sign in here.

Coronavirus Cases Still Rising in Arlington, But Hospitalizations Remain Low

By ARLnow.com

The bad news is that the rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington continues to rise. The good news is that few people are getting seriously ill from the disease.

The trailing seven-day average of new Covid cases in the county is now up to 32, the highest point since mid-April, when getting vaccinated still required proof of eligibility. On Friday, 42 new cases were reported, the highest one-day total since April 9.

With more than 70% of adults in Arlington having received at least one vaccination dose, on top of those who received doses from a federal agency (which aren’t tracked at a local level) or who have some level of natural immunity from a prior infection, the virus is no longer causing the same level of severe illness and death locally that prompted stay-at-home orders earlier in the pandemic.

Five hospitalizations and no deaths have been reported in Arlington over the past two weeks, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. Only one hospitalization has been reported over the seven days week.

The more contagious delta variant of the virus has been filling hospitals in parts of the South, particularly those with lower vaccination rates. While “breakthrough” cases among vaccinated individuals happen, they are relatively uncommon, and it’s statistically rare for vaccinated individuals to suffer severe illness or death.

Despite the high local vaccination rate, Arlington County is urging even those who have been vaccinated to wear a mask indoors while in public.

New Aquatics Center Expected to Open This Month

By ARLnow.com
1/5

The new Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center “should open later in this month,” a county spokeswoman tells ARLnow.

The long-planned, $60 million center near Crystal City is preparing to make its debut as a destination for lap swimmers, casual pool users and fitness buffs alike. A formal announcement of its impending opening is imminent, we’re told.

“We will be announcing its opening date [this] week,” said Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish. “Beginning in September, all of the County’s swim classes will be held at Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center.”

“While the pandemic may have impacted the timeline slightly (much like most construction projects over the past 18 months), the fact that this was a Design/Build agreement assured us that costs remained the same and did not escalate,” Kalish said of the slight delay in the opening — at one point it seemed possible it might open in July. The project was approved in 2017.

Kalish said a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Friday, Sept. 24, followed by an open house on Saturday, Sept. 25.

“To celebrate… we are coordinating a community-wide Opening Celebration,” she wrote. “More details on this event will be available in the next two weeks.”

A new website for the aquatics center was recently launched, inviting interested patrons to sign up for an email list.

“Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center is a 92,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art aquatics and fitness facility that serves the needs of health-conscious, fun-seeking and active individuals and families,” the website says. “The center is committed to the promise of fitness and fun for all who live, work and visit Arlington County.”

Get Ready for a Nine-Day Closure of Glebe Road

By ARLnow.com
1/3

Update at 3:25 p.m. — The closure has been extended due to flooding at the construction site.

All lanes of N. Glebe Road between Military Road and Chain Bridge Road, in the northern tip of Arlington, will be closed for construction starting Friday.

The nine-day closure is the culmination of the $10 million rehabilitation project for the nearly 50-year-old bridge over Pimmit Run, just before Chain Bridge. Between Friday, Aug. 13 and Monday, Aug. 23, crews will work to replace the entire bridge deck and its underlying beams.

A winding detour around the closure, through parts of Arlington and McLean, will be put in place. Pedestrians and cyclists hoping to cross Pimmit Run will have an on-demand shuttle available to them during the closure, according to the Virginia Dept. of Transportation.

More from a VDOT press release:

North Glebe Road (Route 120) between Military Road and Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) will be closed to traffic for about nine days beginning Friday night, Aug. 13 to efficiently replace the entire bridge deck and beams over Pimmit Run, just west of Route 123, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

North Glebe Road will close at 10 p.m. Aug. 13 and is scheduled to reopen to traffic by 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 23.

Vehicle traffic will be detoured via Route 123, Kirby Road (Route 695) and Chesterbrook Road (Route 689) back to North Glebe Road.

To help pedestrians get around the closure, a free shuttle for up to 12 passengers will be available Saturday, Aug. 14 through Sunday, Aug. 22 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Signs and posters with a phone number (240-300-3264) and shuttle information will be posted at both ends of the bridge over Pimmit Run, with the shuttle provided within ten minutes of a call (if needed, a free accessible shuttle will be provided within 30 minutes of a call). Each shuttle ride will last approximately five minutes.

The portion of the Potomac Heritage Trail under the Pimmit Run bridge will remain open, with trail access controlled by flaggers when needed.

Construction began in April on the overall project to rehabilitate North Glebe Road over Pimmit Run, which was originally built in 1973 and currently carries about 13,000 vehicles a day. The work includes improvements that will extend the overall life of the bridge and improve safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. They include:

  • Replacing bridge beams, deck and barriers
  • Repairing, waterproofing and providing corrosion protection to abutments and piers
  • Replacing barriers and railings along bicycle and pedestrian connection to trails
  • Upgrading guardrails and drainage

The $9.9 million project is financed with federal and state funds, including State of Good Repair funding used for bridges. The project is scheduled for completion this fall.

Learn more about the project at www.virginiadot.org/glebeoverpimmit.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Fallen Pentagon Officer Remembered — “George Gonzalez was a proud New Yorker, ever loyal to his home turf of Brooklyn and the New York Yankees. He was also a proud Army veteran, having served a ferocious tour at the height of the Iraq War, always mindful of his comrades who didn’t come home. And he was a proud police officer, like his older brother, having served as an airport security agent, a federal jail guard and finally a Pentagon police officer.” [Washington Post]

DCA Passenger Traffic Still Down — “The airport’s passenger count in July was down 35.2 percent from the same month in 2019… The biggest challenge facing Reagan National will be an ongoing dearth of business travel. While some airline executives are expecting to see some rebound this fall, the U.S. Travel Association predicts that business-travel spending will not be back to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.” [Sun Gazette]

VHC’s New Lobby Piano Debuts — “We were honored to host Arlington resident, Andrea as our first volunteer to play the Steinway B Grand Piano featured in our newly refurbished lobby. The piano was recently gifted to Virginia Hospital Center by Sid and Reva Dewberry, longtime Arlington residents and VHC  donors.” [Twitter]

Local Workers Want Telework to Continue — “Nearly half (48 percent) of area workers have teleworked in the past month, according to the Washington Post-Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University poll, and more than half want to continue to telework at least some of the time. With a larger population working remotely, fewer people and less money would come to dense commercial areas that rely on a steady stream of people.” [Washington Post]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

JUST IN: Man Shot in Crystal City Hotel

By ARLnow.com

A man was shot at a hotel in Crystal City early Saturday morning.

The shooting happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. Police say they initially responded to a hotel on the 1300 block of S. Eads Street for a report of gunshots heard, then found a man with a gunshot wound in the parking lot and evidence of shots being fired in a hotel hallway.

The victim is expected to survive.

On social media, a tipster described “a massive police/SWAT presence at the Embassy Suites this morning” around 4 a.m. No arrests were made, however, and police are still investigating the incident.

The hotel is across from the Amazon HQ2 construction site.

More from an ACPD press release:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating a shooting that took place in a Crystal City hotel during the early morning hours of August 7, 2021.

At approximately 1:41 a.m., police were dispatched to the 1300 block of S. Eads Street for the report of shots heard. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male in the parking lot of a hotel suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately began performing emergency first aid until medics arrived. He was transported to an area hospital with injuries that are considered non-life threatening.

During the course of the investigation, officers located evidence in the hallway confirming multiple shots had been fired inside the hotel. Detectives interviewed several occupants of the hotel as they continue to work towards determining the events that preceded the shooting.

This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Most-Read Arlington Stories of the Week: August 6, 2021

By ARLnow.com
Photos from a homecoming greeting at Glebe Elementary School for Arlingtonian and Olympic silver medalist Torri Huske (via ACFD/Twitter)

A half-decent weekend is on tap before another stretch of hot and humid weather next week.

We’re approaching the time of the year when it seems like everybody is on vacation. That will include some ARLnow staff next week — expect a reduced publishing schedule Thursday and Friday as a result.

In the meantime, here are the most-read articles of the past week on ARLnow:

  1. Police Officer Killed in Attack Outside Pentagon
  2. Residents Abuzz Over Mysterious Bug Bites Possibly Tied to Cicadas (July 28)
  3. Police Investigating Fight at Yorktown High School
  4. Arlington Is Seeing ‘Substantial’ Community Transmission of Virus, CDC Says
  5. Local Couple Killed in California Plane Crash (July 19)
  6. Torri Huske Given Hero’s Welcome Upon Return to Arlington
  7. Most Expensive Arlington Homes Sold in July
  8. Four Years Ago Today: One of the Weirdest Stories in Arlington History
  9. Uber Driver Who Struck Advanced Towing Owner Pleads Guilty
  10. Making Room: Speak Up Now to Expand Housing Opportunities in North Arlington
  11. Life Time Gym Coming to The Crossing Clarendon
  12. Recall Effort Targets Arlington’s Top Prosecutor

Feel free to discuss those stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a nice weekend, Arlington.

Firefighters Douse Flaming Garbage in Front of Gunston Middle School

By ARLnow.com

(Updated 4:25 p.m.) Local firefighters handle all sorts of hazards. Today, one such hazard was a flaming pile of garbage.

The rubish’s rapid oxidation happened around noon today in front of Gunston Middle School, near Arlington Ridge. The blazing bags of refuse were reportedly dumped by a trash truck after the driver noticed smoke and flames coming from the back.

“He dumped his load that was on fire,” a witness tells ARLnow. “He did the right thing. Saved his truck.”

The quick thinking spared the truck and a bigger conflagration, but it left big mess in the Gunston parking lot. Arlington and Alexandria firefighters worked to douse the combusting crud, leaving a soggy heap of waste to be cleaned up.

The trash fire, no doubt seen by a metaphor by some, was caught on camera by Washington Post media reporter Jeremy Barr.

Arlington County police blocked S. Lang Street, in front of the school, during the firefighting effort. A fire department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.

Later this afternoon, the county’s Department of Environmental Services shed some light on what likely caused the fire — rechargeable batteries tossed into a recycling bin — and provided some advice on how to properly recycle such batteries.

ACPD: Combative Theft Suspect Arrested After Striking Officer

By ARLnow.com

A D.C. man is in jail after allegedly stealing a cell phone and hitting a police officer on the head.

The incident happened around 11:15 a.m. Thursday in Clarendon and drew a large police response. The Arlington County Police Department says they were called after a 37-year-old man stole a cell phone from someone he knew and refused to return it.

Arriving officers spotted the suspect walking along Clarendon Blvd “and attempted to stop him to investigate the alleged larceny,” ACPD said in a crime report.

“The suspect refused to comply and continued walking in the opposite direction. The suspect then turned around and shoved one of the officers before turning and walking away,” the department said.

At that point the officer radioed for backup, and numerous other officers began rushing to the scene, near The Crossing Clarendon retail center. As more police arrived and tried to detain the combative suspect, “actively resisted and struck an officer in the head,” said ACPD. “The officer sustained minor injuries.”

“With the assistance of additional officers, the suspect was detained, but continued to actively resist, kicked towards the officers and attempted to bite an officer,” the crime report continues. “Maurio Johnson, 37, of Washington D.C., was arrested and charged with Assault & Battery on Police (x2). He was held on no bond.”

A witness tells ARLnow that police used restraints and a police van to transport the man to jail, a few blocks away.

“Big response with about a dozen cops and 6 cars,” the witness said. “Guy was tied up hand and feet and put in wagon.”

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com
3530 6th Street S.

Although the number of homes for sale is down this week from last, you can still find plenty of open houses across Arlington this weekend.

Before taking a look at a few of them, let’s check out the numbers. In the past four weeks, there have been 176 new listings, giving us a total of 654 homes for sale, according to Homesnap. That includes 423 condos, 191 single-family homes and 40 townhomes.

Now, here’s a look at a few of the open houses you can look forward to this weekend:

  • 3038 N. Peary Street
    7 BD/6.5 BA single-family home
    Noteworthy: Elevator, three gas fireplaces, geothermal heating and cooling
    Listed: $3,250,000
    Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
  • 2721 S. Arlington Ridge Road
    3 BD/4 BA single-family home
    Noteworthy: Large addition, koi pond, front and rear patio, two-car garage
    Listed: $1,795,000
    Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
  • 3530 6th Street S.
    4 BD/3.5 BA single-family home
    Noteworthy: Hardwood floors on two levels, renovated kitchen, lower level guest room
    Listed: $1,049,900
    Open: Sunday, 2-4 p.m.
  • 4720 24th Street N.
    4 BD/3.5 BA townhouse
    Noteworthy: Walkout basement, 1.5 acres of private green space, two assigned parking spots
    Listed: $974,900
    Open: Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
  • 5826 5th Street S.
    4 BD/3 BA single-family home
    Noteworthy: Refinished hardwood floors, renovated kitchen, large rec room
    Listed: $889,900
    Open: Saturday, 1-4 p.m. and Sunday, 2-4 p.m.

Image via Google Maps

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