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.

JUST IN: Local Officials Release Statements About Verdict in Floyd Murder Case

By ARLnow.com
1/6

The Arlington County Board, along with other local officials, applauded a historic guilty verdict handed down by a Minnesota jury today.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd, a crime that was caught on camera and which led to a summer of protests and a racial reckoning — in Arlington, across the U.S. and around the world. The verdict was announced this afternoon.

The Board said in a statement that it “hopes that today’s verdict is a step forward in dismantling the systemic racism that pervades life throughout our nation.”

The Arlington County Board commends the Minneapolis jurors for returning a guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial and joins others around the nation in relief. The shocking video of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Chauvin while other officers stood by and failed to intervene, showed the disregard for and devaluing of Black lives that is too common. The Board hopes that today’s verdict is a step forward in dismantling the systemic racism that pervades life throughout our nation.

We know that Arlington is not exempt from this racism and its impacts, and we renew our commitment to addressing those inequities and creating a culture of caring and respect. We are proud to live in a vibrant, diverse and inclusive community that champions human and civil rights, and while we know there is more work to be done, we are inspired by the efforts of Arlington community members and leaders who strengthen us as a whole.

Arlington’s congressman, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), said the verdict “confirms what we saw.”

Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Durán said in letter to families that counseling will be available “to help students deal with their feelings” in the wake of the verdict.

“While this verdict provides some closure, there are still many feelings that need to be processed and changes that need to be made to combat systemic racism in our justice system,” Durán said.

Dear APS Students, Families and Staff,

The verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who was charged for the murder of George Floyd, was announced this afternoon, and he was found guilty. We understand how difficult the last few months have been for many of our students and staff, and while this verdict provides some closure, there are still many feelings that need to be processed and changes that need to be made to combat systemic racism in our justice system. We acknowledge the impact this verdict will have on social justice but know there is work that still needs to be done to achieve a society where we are all treated fairly and equitably.

The racism and violence that have been highlighted in these recent tragic events may be widely discussed this week at school. Teachers will give students the opportunity to process their feelings and how this feels to them personally, as appropriate, and as they are comfortable. […]

I want to take this opportunity to affirm our commitment to anti-racism and social justice, and to our continued work in schools and in our community.

Arlington police made some preparations in the event of a verdict that prompted civil unrest, including sending parking meter enforcement aides home early and moving some parked police vehicles, ARLnow hears.

The Winners of the 2021 Spring Arlies Are Here

By ARLnow.com

The votes have been tallied and the results are in!

Below are the winners of the spring 2021 Arlies, as voted on by the readers. We’ve highlighted the top vote-getter, but have included up to two others that were close behind in the voting as additional winners.

Congratulations to all the winners and a huge thank you to all who voted! And a thank you to our sponsor, George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government.

The Arlies will return, featuring a new format and of course new categories in a couple of months.

FAVORITE DATE NIGHT SPOT

  • Lyon Hall
  • Other winners: Ruthie’s All-Day, Screwtop Wine Bar

FAVORITE POOL

FAVORITE BRUNCH SPOT

  • Ambar
  • Other winners: Ruthie’s All-Day, Liberty Tavern

FAVORITE LOCAL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT

FAVORITE FARMERS MARKET

FAVORITE ARLINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD

  • Ballston
  • Other winners: Clarendon, Westover

FAVORITE NOTABLE ARLINGTON RESIDENT (PAST OR PRESENT)

FAVORITE LOCAL SHOP

  • Covet
  • Other winners: Gallery Underground, Urban Farmhouse

FAVORITE PARK

FAVORITE LOCAL NONPROFIT

FAVORITE CLEANING SERVICE

FAVORITE AUTO REPAIR SHOP

FAVORITE ROSSLYN-BALLSTON CORRIDOR REAL ESTATE AGENT

FAVORITE APARTMENT BUILDING

FAVORITE OPTOMETRY SHOP

FAVORITE DERMATOLOGIST

FAVORITE MOVING COMPANY

FAVORITE PEST CONTROL COMPANY

  • Pest Now
  • Other winners: All American Pest Control, Suburban Pest Services

The announcement of the winners can be seen in the video below.

Arlington Restaurants Featured on Michelin Bib Gourmand List (Kind Of)

By ARLnow.com
Cuisine from Stellina Pizzeria (Photo by Rey Lopez, courtesy Stellina)

Some Arlington restaurants have been honored, by association at least, in the latest edition of the city-centric Michelin Bib Gourmand list.

A number of D.C. restaurants with Arlington outposts made the list, which highlights great but affordable during experiences.

Among them:

Arlington has traditionally been an also-ran to the District in terms of award-winning restaurants, but has lately been attracting more culinary sophistication. Four of the five restaurants on the above list — Jaleo is the exception — opened within the past couple of years.

Arlington has also recently upped its barbecue cred, scoring four spots on a recent Washington Post list of the top 10 BBQ joints in the D.C. region.

Of course, critical acclaim from professional reviewers doesn’t always equate to relative popularity. None of the above are among the top 40 diner-reviewed restaurants in Arlington, according to rankings on Yelp.

Photo courtesy Stellina Pizzeria

Air Defense Exercise Planned This Morning

By ARLnow.com

Don’t be surprised if you see helicopters and some small planes flying around the D.C. area this morning — it’s all part of a military training exercise.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) says the air defense exercise will be conducted between 11 a.m. and noon. It will involve Coast Guard helicopters and general aviation aircraft — often smaller prop planes.

“Portions of the exercise may… be visible from the ground,” NORAD said in a social media post.

Flickr pool photo by J. Sonder

More Business Burglaries Reported in Westover and Dominion Hills

By ARLnow.com

The recent spate of business burglaries in Arlington is continuing.

Early Saturday morning a group of three thieves broke into businesses in the Dominion Hills and Westover neighborhoods, stealing several cash registers and leaving behind piles of broken glass. At least five businesses were damaged by the burglars.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

BURGLARY, 2021-04170015/04170016, 6000 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 1:23 a.m. on April 17, police were dispatched to the report of multiple audible security alarms. Upon arrival, it was determined that multiple businesses had their front doors damaged, with two of the businesses being burglarized and two of the businesses showing signs of attempted forced entry. A cash register with an undisclosed amount of cash was stolen from one business, while no other items were reported stolen. Officers established a perimeter and the area was checked with negative results. The investigation revealed that the three suspects, who were wearing dark colored clothing and face masks, had fled the scene in a dark colored vehicle prior to the arrival of police. The investigation is ongoing.

BURGLARY, 2021-04170017, 5800 block of Washington Boulevard. At approximately 1:33 a.m. on April 17, police were dispatched to the report of a glass break alarm. Upon arrival, it was determined that employees were inside the closed business when they heard glass break, followed by footsteps and unknown individuals talking. The investigation determined that three unknown suspects forced entry into the business through a window, stole two cash registers containing and undisclosed amount of cash and fled the scene on foot. Responding officers established a perimeter and the area was checked with negative results. No injuries were reported. There are no suspect descriptions. The investigation is ongoing.

The western portion of Wilson Blvd in Dominion Hills and Bluemont has been the scene of at least a half dozen prior burglaries this year, including three on the same block as Saturday’s incident.

ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said detectives are investigating these and other prior business break-ins, in Arlington and around the region, as potentially related given the method of theft.

“The burglaries… are being investigated as part of the commercial burglary series,” Savage tells ARLnow. “Detectives continue to follow up on investigative leads in the case and are working collaboratively with our regional law enforcement partners to identify and apprehend those responsible.”

“Investigators believe that some of these cases are linked but not all are committed by the same suspects,” she added.

In February, ACPD announced that is was “investigating an increase in overnight commercial burglaries targeting cash-based businesses.” At the time, there had been 21 reported business burglary incidents in Arlington since the start of the year. Since then that number has risen to 31, including 22 completed burglaries and 9 attempted burglaries, according to police.

The police department previously offered the following crime prevention tips for businesses.

  • “Don’t store money overnight in your business. If you must keep cash or other valuables overnight, store them in a safe anchored to the floor”
  • “Leave cash drawers open, indicating there’s nothing to steal”
  • “Post signs in your store window that cash and valuables are removed from the premises overnight”
  • “Ensure your property has adequate lighting, especially at points of entry”
  • “Consider installing security cameras with alarms to capture suspects on video and notify police immediately if unauthorized individuals gain entry to your business”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Final Departure for Gate 35X — Reagan National Airport’s notorious Gate 35X served its last unhappy passengers last night. A newly-built, fully-indoor concourse opens today. [WTOP, Twitter, Twitter, The Points Guy]

Rosslyn Resident Makes Big Donation to UNC — “The University of North Carolina at Pembroke… has received a $6 million planned gift — the second largest in the university’s history — from former trustee Mary Ann Elliott to name the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing.” Elliott is a Rosslyn resident and former aerospace executive. [Yahoo]

Thursday Is Earth Day — “It might be easy to overlook Earth Day this time around, even in Arlington. Vaccine progress indicates better days ahead; in-person classes are returning; the air is visibly cleaner, and winter failed to freeze growth in bike sales and trail use. But Earth Day, April 22, has always offered a good pause to note long-term progress and dig below the surface. Just ask the periodical cicadas, due to reappear any moment after 17 years of silence.” [Arlington County]

History of the Pentagon’s Waterfront — “Today it’s home to the Pentagon, but around the turn of the 20th century, the riverfront area just north of National Landing was a seedy district known as Jackson City. A haven for drinkers, gamblers and daredevils, its attractions included, among other things, a half-mile-long racetrack near the foot of the 14th Street Bridge used for horse racing, and later, drag racing. Some even referred to it as a ‘Miniature Monte Carlo.'” [Arlington Magazine]

Here Are the Top 40 Highest-Rated Restaurants in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Anecdotally, at least, restaurants seem to be getting busier around town.

That’s not too surprising, given the warmer weather and the fact that vaccinations are on the rise and now available to everyone ages 16 and up.

The pandemic has not been kind to the restaurant industry. In Arlington, more than two dozen have closed since March 2020. Nationally, some 10% of all restaurants have closed, according to one measure.

Rising vaccination rates point to a light at the end of the tunnel for the industry, though some challenges — including difficulty hiring — remain.

For those who are fully vaccinated and considering dining out, we’ve compiled a list of the top-rated restaurants in Arlington, according to Yelp reviews. Note that the order corresponds to that presented by Yelp, which seems to take into account the number of reviews in addition to the star ranking, and some of the following are actually food trucks.

If you’re not yet vaccinated, or not yet comfortable dining at a restaurant, most if not all of the following also offer takeout and/or delivery.

  1. Idido Coffee and Social House
  2. Paramount Cafe
  3. Tacos El Chilango Food Truck
  4. Superette
  5. Kaldi’s Social House
  6. The Celtic House
  7. Maya Bistro
  8. Good Company Doughnuts and Cafe
  9. Arlington Kabob
  10. Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita
  11. Fettoosh
  12. McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant
  13. Ruthie’s All Day
  14. Ambar
  15. La Tingeria Food Truck
  16. Chill Zone
  17. El Pollo Rico
  18. El Fuego
  19. Pupatella
  20. Pa’ Tacos El Papi Food Truck
  21. Colony Grill
  22. Charga
  23. Palette 22
  24. Metro Halal Food Cart
  25. Dama Pastry and Restaurant
  26. Oby Lee
  27. Mezeh Mediterranean Grill
  28. Smokecraft Modern Barbecue
  29. Verre Wine Bar
  30. Cava Mezze
  31. Carlyle
  32. Namaste Everest
  33. The Italian Store
  34. Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ
  35. Pho 75
  36. Enjera Restaurant
  37. Istanbul Grill
  38. Sushi 2 Go
  39. Galaxy Hut
  40. La Union Restaurant

File photo

Coronavirus Cases Slow in Arlington As Vaccinations Quicken

By ARLnow.com

The rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington has reached the lowest point since October.

A total of 167 cases have been reported over the past week. That follows about two months of the case total fluctuating between about 200-300 new cases per week.

It has been a week since the last reported Covid-related hospitalization, and two weeks since the last reported Covid death.

Since the start of the pandemic, 5.5% of people infected with COVID-19 in Arlington — 14,846 cases as of today — have been hospitalized, while 1.7% of cases have resulted in a fatality.

The drop in cases comes as vaccinations in Arlington continue to speed up. The trailing seven-day average of daily vaccine doses administered rose above 3,000 for the first time today. About 1,650 people are being reported as fully vaccinated each day, according to ARLnow’s analysis of Virginia Dept. of Health data.

As of this morning, about 48% of the county’s adult population has received at least one vaccine dose. About 27% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

On Sunday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that all state residents ages 16 and older are now eligible to make a vaccination appointment. At 10 a.m. this morning, cell phones across the Commonwealth will buzz with a message encouraging those who haven’t yet been vaccinated to make an appointment.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Covid Testing Unit Coming to Marymount — “The mobile testing unit, operated by Quest Diagnostics, will operate at the university in the parking lot by Reinsch Library, from April 19 – May 7, open Monday-Friday from 9 AM – 4 PM. It will offer no-cost, no-appointment COVID-19 testing to the general public, as well as Marymount students, staff and faculty.” [Arlington County]

School Board Candidate’s Emails FOIAed — “Arlington School Board candidate Mary Kadera said a political opposition-research effort is unlikely to turn up any dirt on her. In a note to supporters, Kadera (one of two candidates in the upcoming Democratic caucus) noted that a local resident had submitted a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act in order to gain access to all the e-mails she has sent to School Board members over the past two years.” [Sun Gazette]

Wakefield Alums Push for Accountability — “Members of the Wakefield High School community are pushing for more accountability and action in the wake of a March 5 football game where players on George C. Marshall High School’s football team allegedly used racial slurs against Wakefield players. In a letter sent Wednesday, alumni, parents and staff members at Wakefield — one of four public high schools in Arlington County — said they were ‘horrified’ by the events that occurred at the March 5 game.” [Patch]

Rosslyn Developer Dies — “Stanley Westreich, a commercial real estate developer whose projects helped define and shape Rosslyn’s skyline, died April 11 at his residence in San Diego. His cause of death was not disclosed. He was 83. Westreich and Westfield Realty… helped establish the Arlington neighborhood with 10 projects, most notably the Gannett and USA Today towers, now known as the Towers at 1000 and 1100 Wilson Blvd.” [Washington Business Journal]

No Founding Farmers at DCA Yet — “It turns out that Founding Farmers won’t open a restaurant inside Reagan National Airport’s new 14-gate concourse, though it is still weighing one elsewhere within the complex. The Kensington-based company has scrapped plans… [it] was expected to join other restaurant and retail tenants there including Elevation Burger, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill and Timber Pizza Co.” [Washington Business Journal]

Nearby: Murder Outside Skyline Target — “A man was found dead this morning inside a parking garage in Bailey’s Crossroads. Officers responded around 3:30 a.m. to the 5100 block of Leesburg Pike after 58-year-old Hernan Leiva, of Falls Church, was found suffering from apparent stab wounds and blunt force trauma to his upper body… [a 22-year-old Alexandria man later] returned to a parking lot near the scene and turned himself into police.” [Fairfax County Police, Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by C Buoscio

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

It’s a sunny, if a bit chilly end to the work week.

On a more somber note, today is also a day to remember those killed and wounded at Virginia Tech on this day in 2007.

Below are the most-read stories of the past week.

  1. Pie Shop Says Ongoing County Construction Has Cost Them Lots of Dough
  2. Police: Man Tried to Strangle Woman in Attack Near Courthouse
  3. Arlington Public Schools Stays Course with Hybrid Instruction This Spring
  4. Liberty Tavern in Clarendon Vandalized
  5. Police: Woman Danced on Car, Exposed Herself in Crystal City (April 8)
  6. New Developer Takes Over Stalled Ballston Church Redevelopment Plan
  7. Arlington Pauses Use of J&J Vaccine After Federal Warning
  8. Punch Bowl Social to Reopen Next Week
  9. Coronavirus Cases Steady, Full Vaccination Rate Speeds Up

Feel free to discuss any of the above — or anything else of local interest — in a respectful and civil manner, in the comments. Have a relaxing weekend, Arlington.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Morning Poll: Keep Arlington County Board Meetings Virtual?

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11 a.m.) After more than a year of online-only Arlington County Board meetings, some have decided they actually prefer it to in-person.

Instead of schlepping to a Courthouse office building and sitting quietly for hours, one can now speak at Board meetings at home, in your pajamas if you prefer. Board meetings have been broadcast on local cable TV and online for years, but the virtual format now provides an opportunity to participate in the meetings to those who cannot attend in person.

Parents who would otherwise have to hire a babysitter in order to attend, for instance, are now more likely to be able to speak at a meeting.

Last May, two months into the pandemic, we asked whether the county should “consider making virtual meetings a more regular feature of citizen participation” after the pandemic. About 73% of more than 900 respondents said yes.

At least one civically-engaged local called keeping Board meetings open to virtual participation after the pandemic “a no-brainer.”

https://twitter.com/CarFreeHQ2/status/1382329999815024642

Of course, there are downsides. Older and disadvantaged residents may lack the technology and/or the know-how to participate in a virtual-only meeting. And there is something to be said for in-person meetings helping to keep elected officials accountable to their constituents.

A hybrid option that allows virtual and in-person participation is an option — in fact, one that the county appears to be pursuing (see below) — though virtual participation could come to be seen as less impactful than speaking at the meeting in person. And it could be more difficult to coordinate the combination of in-person and virtual speakers.

What about streamlining things and making all regularly-scheduled, monthly County Board meetings online-only on a permanent basis after the pandemic, however? Would that be a better idea than a hybrid participation option or the in-person-only way of yore?

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that in order to facilitate virtual-only meetings, Arlington library branches can open during meetings and offer video conference stations from which library staff can help people speak and participate. And the Board can still hold certain special meetings in person.

What do you think?

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