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 rainy end to the workweek isn’t too bad when a decent late spring weekend is on tap.
The weather isn’t the only thing to look forward to. Two new members of the ARLnow team start on Monday: a summer intern and a new Evening Editor. Plus, our reporter Jo DeVoe will be moving into a new editing and reporting role.
Before that happens, let’s take a look at the most-read articles from the past week.
A Pennsylvania woman injured one person and nearly collided head-on with others while driving the wrong way on the Beltway and I-66.
Virginia State Police detailed what happened today, after NBC 4 reported on the incident on Thursday, airing dashcam footage (above) taken along I-66 in Arlington.
“At approximately 10:36 a.m. Thursday (June 11), Virginia State Police began receiving calls for a red sedan traveling north in the southbound Express Lanes of I-495 near Exit 51,” VSP spokeswoman Corinne Geller wrote this afternoon. “As state police were responding, the vehicle took I-66 and was then traveling east in the westbound lanes of I-66. As the vehicle headed into Arlington County, it struck another vehicle.”
“The impact of that crash caused the wrong-way vehicle to suffer a flat tire,” Geller continued. “State police troopers were able to meet the oncoming red sedan, at which time the vehicle pulled off to the shoulder.”
With the vehicle stopped near the Lee Highway/Spout Run exit of I-66, the 57-year-old driver initially refused to get out of the car when state troopers approached.
“The troopers recognized the woman was suffering from mental duress and were able to contact a family member,” Geller said. “The troopers kept communicating with the woman and were able to establish a rapport with her. She exited the vehicle and was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation. The driver of the vehicle that was struck was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.”
Potential charges against the woman are still pending, said Geller.
The man who shared the dashcam video with NBC 4 told the station that it felt like something out of a video game as he swerved and missed colliding with the woman’s Chevrolet “by inches.”
U.S. Postal Inspection officer at the N. George Mason Drive Post Office on Oct. 13, 2020
One of five individuals implicated in a scheme to steal mail from Postal Service boxes around Arlington County has pleaded guilty.
Aaron Kyle Johnson pleaded guilty in Alexandria federal court on May 28 in connection to the scheme, which lasted more than a year, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office tells ARLnow.
A statement of facts document entered with the guilty plea says that Johnson and his co-conspirators stole mail from blue mailboxes around Arlington, including those outside the post offices in Buckingham and on N. George Mason Drive, using a USPS master key known as an “arrow key.”
The document does not say how the suspects obtained the key and prosecutors did not provide additional detail after inquiries by ARLnow. In a discussion on an online forum among numerous residents who reported having their mail stolen, one resident reported having been told by law enforcement that the key was stolen from a postal employee at gunpoint.
The crime spree started in late 2019 and continued until March 2021, according to the document. There were numerous victims, including individuals and local businesses. ARLnow’s initial report detailing numerous reports of mail thefts, mostly from the George Mason Drive post office, was published in October 2020 after we photographed a U.S. Postal Inspection investigator kneeling besides one of the post office’s blue boxes.
The suspects, prosecutors say, would steal checks from mailed letters and fraudulently deposit them at local banks, using false identification and forgery. In one case, a $21,000 check from an Arlington business was stolen and “altered such that it was made payable to ‘John Martian,'” according to the document.
In early March 2021, Johnson and another defendant were found “in possession of approximately 150 personal checks and approximately 50 business checks drafted by individuals and businesses located in and around Arlington County, Virginia, many of which were stolen from the mail in or around Arlington County,” the document says. “Some of the checks were in the process of being altered.”
Johnson and another suspect also kept records of personally-identifiable information gleaned from stolen mail, prosecutors say.
The suspects “disposed of any mail that had no value to the defendant or his co-conspirators such that the mail” — which would have been anything from greeting cards to smaller bill payments — “could not reach its intended recipients,” the document said.
The scheme was perpetrated for financial gain, allowing Johnson to purchase “numerous luxury items,” among other things.
“Between no later than 2019 and in or around March 2021, the defendant used the proceeds gleaned from mail theft, bank fraud, and/or identity theft to enrich himself, including purchases of numerous luxury items, clothing, and apartment rentals,” said the statement of facts, which Johnson admitted to as part of his plea.
The scheme was almost foiled in February 2020 when the stolen key became stuck in a blue USPS collection box in Arlington. Johnson and his co-conspirators discussed what to do, and finally a few hours later one suspect was able to dislodge it, according to the document.
Prosecutors identified four other suspects in the case.
Keshawna Howard, who has a July 27 trial date; Jose Reyes, who is in law enforcement custody in Maryland; Malcom Ward, who was arrested this past Monday on bank fraud charges; and Miles Ward, Malcom’s brother, who died in March. The cause of Miles Ward’s death was not disclosed.
A U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesperson declined comment when reached by ARLnow in late May, citing an “active investigation.”
APS Working With Nonprofit on ‘Cultural Competence’ — “This week, RISE, a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, began facilitating interactive workshops with Arlington Public Schools Student-Athlete Advisory Council members and coaches. This is the first in a series of interactive cultural competence workshops that APS and RISE will be providing to athletes and coaches as part of a new partnership.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Northam to Sign Bill at Marymount — “This coming Monday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam will be visiting Marymount University to hold a ceremonial bill signing for House Bill 2123 and Senate Bill 1387. The legislation will make Virginia students eligible for state financial aid if they are eligible for in-state tuition in the fall of 2022, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.” [Press Release]
GOP Candidate Running Against Del. Hope — A Republican challenger has emerged to contest the re-election campaign of Del. Patrick Hope. Laura Hall said she filed paperwork last week. Hall said she would share more publicly when she hears back from the state regarding her filing. A Democratic primary for the delegate’s district did not occur, after the state Board of Elections determined challenger Matt Rogers did not meet a filing deadline. [Twitter]
Metro Changes On the Way — “Rail service will be extended to midnight, seven days a week, in July, and other bus and rail service improvements and fare changes will start being implemented in the Fall, beginning Labor Day weekend, as many in the region prepare to go back to work and school.” [WMATA, DCist]
Domino’s Is Offering a Signing Bonus — The Domino’s Pizza location on Columbia Pike has signs advertising a $500 hiring bonus for new employees, amid a national labor shortage that is hitting restaurants particularly hard. [Twitter]
Video Shows Wrong-Way Driver on I-66 — Updated at 8:20 a.m. — “Scary video footage shows a driver speeding the wrong way on Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia on Thursday morning. Virginia State Police say the driver headed the wrong way on the Capital Beltway and I-66, hit at least one car and set off a wave of 911 calls… The driver finally pulled over in the Rosslyn area because of a flat tire. No information on an arrest or charges was immediately released.” [NBC 4]
Protesters from a long list of advocacy groups are planning to spend a hot Thursday afternoon protesting ICE in Arlington.
The protest is set to kick off at 4 p.m. today (Thursday) in front of county government headquarters, at 2100 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse.
The issue: police in Arlington notifying U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about undocumented suspects under certain circumstances, and the sheriff’s office releasing notifying ICE about jail inmates for whom a detainer was signed by a judge.
The group La ColectiVA has been leading the charge over the past few months to push Arlington County officials into putting an end to such practices. Today’s protest will also target the county’s relationship with Amazon, which hosts ICE and its contractors via its Amazon Web Services cloud computing arm.
From a press release:
Community members will rally today to demand Arlington County board members take immediate action to end collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Arlington. People who have faced detention and deportation because of the Arlington County Police Department’s collaboration with ICE, their loved ones, and supporting community members and organizations will gather at the Arlington County Government Center to call on county officials to immediately end all ties with ICE.
For months, community members have been demanding Arlington County police cut ties with ICE after multiple reports of migrants getting arrested by police and transferred to ICE for deportation proceedings, including the deportation of a long-time community member who was reported to ICE by an Arlington County police officer after a fender bender. Community members who have experienced this state violence will demand county officials introduce and pass county-wide policies to end and prevent collaboration and information sharing with ICE.
The protest is also part of a week of action to highlight the collaboration between law enforcement and Amazon, a major provider of tech for police and ICE. Protestors will highlight the Arlington County Police Department’s use of technology in deporting migrants, as well as the County’s partnerships with Amazon’s AWS, which hosts ICE and its contractors.
(The deported community member referenced above was a previously deported felon who provided false identification to police after a crash, according to an ACPD spokeswoman.)
The groups taking part in today’s action, according to the press release, include: La ColectiVA, DefundNoVAPolice, For Us Not Amazon, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, SURJ Northern Virginia, Justice for Muslims Collective, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Sanctuary DMV, Our Revolution Arlington, Mijente, NoVA DSA, Legal Aid Justice Center, United Students Against Sweatshops Local 54, ShutDownDC, and Media Justice.
Expect signs with slogans like “#ICEoutofArlington,” “#EyesOnAmazon,” “#NoTechForICE,” and “#DefundNoVAPolice,” per the press release.
A cold front is likely to bring slow-moving thunderstorms and downpours to the D.C. area later today.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch, which takes effect at noon, cautioning of the possibility of 2-4 inches of rain falling in a short period of time. Such rainfall could cause flash flooding, as happened nearly two years ago.
More from NWS:
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING…
The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a
* Flash Flood Watch for portions of DC…Maryland…Virginia and West Virginia…
* From Noon EDT today through this evening
* A cold front will drop southward into the area today. This front will become the focus for slow moving thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Because of the slow motion and ample moisture in the atmosphere, storms may drop 2 to 4 inches of rain a short period of time, resulting in flash flooding.
* Heavy rainfall in a short amount of time can result in rapid rises of water in streams, creeks, and urban areas.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may develop that lead to Flash Flooding. Flash Flooding is a very dangerous situation. You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
If you’re fully vaccinated, there’s no longer a requirement to wear a mask in most places you go in Arlington.
There are exceptions — notably at the airport, in schools, and in healthcare settings — but most businesses are now following CDC guidelines and allowing the fully vaccinated to go mask-less.
There was, of course, a time in the pandemic when masks were very necessary to slow the spread of the disease and save lives.
Most masks worn by members of the general public are of the cloth or disposable surgical variety, which are moderately effective at preventing transmission, mostly by the wearer. That made masks an important public health tool during a pandemic caused by an airborne virus that can be highly contagious before an infected person shows symptoms.
Cloth and surgical masks are not as effective at filtering inhaled particles — and thus preventing the wearer from becoming infected — as the N95 masks used by healthcare workers, but are generally seen as better than nothing, particularly when worn in crowded settings indoors.
With about two-thirds of eligible Arlington residents at least partially vaccinated, and average daily new infections in the low single-digits, a fully vaccinated person wearing a surgical or cloth mask in most situations is conveying very little public health benefit. Rather, if anything it’s more of a societal signal — a thoughtful, if unnecessary, courtesy to those around you.
Many in Arlington, we’ve observed, are still wearing masks by default when entering a business, like a restaurant or a store. Perhaps some are not vaccinated, while for others it’s out of habit or uncertainty about which businesses still require masks.
This morning we’re wondering: what is your default regarding masks when stepping into a business?
Report Details ACPD Actions at Lafayette Park — “The ACPD civil disturbance unit commander told us that ACPD officers were not equipped with chemical irritants other than rounds similar to pepper ball but said the ACPD did deploy inert smoke and a flash bang grenade on 16th Street during the clearing operation.” [Dept. of Interior, DCist]
Arlington Sit-ins Remembered With Art — “Sixty-one years ago this month, several Howard University students and allies walked into the People’s Drug Store on Lee Highway in Arlington. For the next two weeks, they participated in sit-ins to protest white-only lunch counters across the county. Now, there is a special exhibit and letter pressed cards to mark this moment of Arlington’s civil rights history.” [NBC 4]
Cicada Sundae at Local Ice Cream Shop — “Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee in Arlington is offering a Cicada Sundae. Don’t worry. It’s not made with real cicadas. The frozen treat comes with one scoop each of chocolate, bittersweet chocolate and café au lait, topped with chocolate sprinkles, two red M&Ms and a waffle cone… The waffle cones are fashioned to look like wings and the M&Ms as eyes.” [Patch, WTOP]
Del. Levine’s Farewell Message — From Del. Mark Levine, after falling short in his reelection bid and run for lieutenant governor: “I’ve had the honor of impacting positive change in the world in so many ways already through decades of activism, thousands of radio and tv shows, and dozens of laws. Whatever the future holds for me, I know I will never stop speaking out against injustice.” [Twitter]
Candidate Adds Military Rank to His Name — “Major Mike Webb, who has floated around the periphery of the Northern Virginia political scene for nearly the past decade, qualified for the School Board ballot. He will be the lone opposition to [Mary] Kadera, who last month won the Democratic endorsement over Miranda Turner… (‘Major’ was Webb’s military rank but now also is a formal part of his name, as he did requisite legal paperwork add it.)” [Sun Gazette]
(Updated 6/10/21) This past week, 65 properties were recently sold in Arlington, according to Homesnap.
The median list price was $584,900 whereas the median sales price was $701,250. Additionally, homes spent an average of 58 days on the market.
To get a closer look at these numbers, here are a few properties that were sold this past week, including their original list price and final sales price.
5116 27th Street N.
List price: $1,699,900
Final price: $1,800,000 (+$100,100)
The net count of coronavirus cases in Arlington has barely budged over the past 2 to 3 weeks.
On May 22, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported a cumulative total of 15,289 cases in Arlington over the course of the pandemic. Today, June 9, that number is 15,290, after five cases were removed overnight.
The removal of cases is due to suspected cases that later test negative being subtracted from the total, a county spokeswoman previously told ARLnow. Excluding the removed cases, Arlington County has seen just a couple of new cases per day over the past few weeks.
The current test positivity rate in the county is just 0.6%, according to VDH.
Covid-related hospitalizations, meanwhile, are low but still happening. Two have been reported over the past week, for a pandemic total of 854. One new death was reported on Monday, the first nearly three weeks, bringing Arlington’s total of reported Covid fatalities to 257.
In terms of vaccinations, the average daily vaccination rate in the county has hovered around 1,000 doses over the past week or so. Roughly 55% of eligible Arlington residents — those age 12 and over — are now fully vaccinated. About two-thirds of eligible residents have received at least one dose.
More than 240,000 doses total have been administered in the county, a number that excludes anyone vaccinated directly by a federal government agency, like the Dept. of Defense.
With the vaccination rate high and the case rate low, ARLnow has decided to discontinue our daily, independent recording of local Covid data, which we started in March 2020.
Each day we’ve put the latest Covid stats reported by the state — including, as of January, vaccinations — in an Excel spreadsheet. That has allowed us to create certain charts and perform some analyses not available to someone relying on VDH’s cumulative datasets.
We reported on the latest data on a daily basis during the peak of the pandemic, and have done so on a weekly basis more recently. Given the low infection rate, however, we will be stopping our independent data collection and regular reporting after today. Instead, we’ll report periodically on the latest numbers in the context of other local Covid-related news, utilizing VDH datasets and charts. Should the numbers rise significantly later this year, for whatever reason, we may resume more frequent reporting.
Say “hi” to Fetch, Arlington’s latest Pet of the Week. Fetch is a playful cat who, like his name suggests, likes to play fetch.
Here’s what Fetch’s human had to say about his life in Courthouse:
Meet Fetch, who relocated to Courthouse all the way from Warsaw, Poland, in March.
As his name suggests, he loves to “fetch” anything that gets thrown, from scrunched up pieces of paper to floss picks and toy mice.
He often thinks he’s in “The Matrix” and will run up the walls at full speed before bouncing off them sideways and then gracefully landing on his feet.
Fetch also loves to sunbathe, partake in a bath, drink from the kitchen tap and visit his uncle over in Shaw, D.C.
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 galleries!
We are also looking for local pets who look like their owners or like celebrities. Email us photos of your pet and their doppelgänger, explaining the resemblance and whether it has been noticed in your neighborhood.
