Author: ARLnow.com

Snow Crews Worked Overnight — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Full road crew shifts starting at midnight; plenty of residual salt already down. Avoid driving during a winter weather event.” [Twitter]

Two Hour Delay for Feds — From the Office of Personnel Management: “Federal agencies in the DC area will OPEN with a 2-hour delay and have the option of allowing unscheduled leave/telework. Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than 2 hour(s) later than they would be expected to arrive.” [Twitter]

Metro Prepared for Snow — “Metro is monitoring conditions throughout the region, as another round of winter weather moves into the service area overnight and Friday. Preparations are underway to respond to snow, gusty winds, and extreme temperatures, conditions that may vary widely. Customers are advised to prepare for potential service impacts, to Metrobus service tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 19, if conditions become hazardous. ” [WMATA]

County Leaders Request Bill Delay — “Arlington County Board members have requested a one-year delay in consideration of a bill introduced in the General Assembly that would enable changes to the county’s 90-year-old form of governance. County Board Chairman Libby Garvey (D) and Vice Chairman Takis Karantonis (D) recently traveled to Richmond to discuss the bill with its patron, Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), and request that it be held over until 2025.” [Gazette Leader]

Solar Panels Coming to Pentagon — “The Defense Department will install solar panels on the Pentagon, part of the Biden administration’s plan to promote clean energy and ‘reestablish the federal government as a sustainability leader.’ The Pentagon is one of 31 government sites that are receiving $104 million in Energy Department grants.” [Associated Press]

Wakefield Wins Hoops Tourney — “With the game’s Most Valuable Player Miles Hancock leading the way, the Wakefield Warriors defeated the Edison Eagles, 62-47, in the fourth boys basketball contest of the Jan. 13 MLK Classic at Osbourn High School in Manassas. The victory, coupled with a 52-50 home Liberty District win over the Marshall Statesmen on Jan. 17 gave Wakefield (13-2, 5-0) five straight triumphs.” [Gazette Leader]

Soccer Star at Westover Bakery — From the Washington Spirit: “This offseason, @aubs_kingsbury had the opportunity to pursue her passion off the pitch & learn about the business of baking at Village Sweet in Arlington. She wraps up her apprenticeship on Saturday, Jan. 20 from 8:00 – 9:00 am – come say hi.” [Twitter]

Tomb Honor Runs in Family — “When Bryan Campagna pinned the Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification badge onto the chest of his son, Staff Sgt. Isaiah Jasso-Campagna, it symbolized more than a father honoring his son. Campagna had earned his own Tomb badge as a Tomb Guard decades earlier.” [U.S. Army]

It’s Friday — Snow is expected mainly before 1pm, with a high near 34. Northeast winds of 6-9 mph will shift to northwest in the afternoon. Friday night, there is a slight chance of snow showers before 1am, with partly cloudy conditions and a low around 19. Northwest winds will be 9-13 mph with gusts up to 18 mph, and a 20% chance of precipitation. [Weather.gov]

Ballston Towing Standoff — “There was a mini standoff at the Advanced Towing lot in Ballston today, with the company blocking a vehicle whose owner tried to drive off without paying. Per ACPD, ‘the incident was determined to be civil in nature and the parties resolved their dispute. No arrests were made.'” [Twitter]

Cost of County’s Lawsuit Defense — “Arlington taxpayers will be on the hook for fees ranging from $300 to $750 per hour under an agreement signed by the county government with a law firm that will support local leaders’ defense of Missing Middle housing and zoning policies. Following a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by Arlingtonianis for Our Sustainable Future, the Arlington government released correspondence conducted between Dec. 29 and Jan. 2 with the law firm Gentry Locke.” [Gazette Leader, Fox 5]

Protest at Sec. of State’s Home — “There was another protest outside of [Secretary of State Tony] Blinken’s house on the Arlington/McLean border yesterday. He was out of town at the time but ACPD responded to help Diplomatic Security disperse the 15-20 demonstrators.” [Twitter]

Local Teacher’s Role in AP Class — “Today, many are learning—about the first African American aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces and more—thanks to Waters, who was one of two public school teachers on the original development committee for Advanced Placement African American Studies (AP AfAm). Last year, 60 U.S. high schools piloted the course, including Waters’ Wakefield High School, in Arlington, Va.” [neaToday]

Resident Faces Fraud Charge — “An Arlington resident was charged on Friday with falsely posing as an immigration lawyer and defrauding her clients of about $700,000, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury.” [Patch]

Pair of Water Main Breaks — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services yesterday: “Crews are working on an 8-inch water main break at 4817 31st St S. Some 250 customers in a low-rise building could be affected… Crews are working on a 6-inch water main break at 5047 25th St S. Some 100 customers could be affected.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Region Suffering Office Glut — “Office vacancy rates in Greater Washington hit new highs at the end of 2023 as vast swaths of space were added to the vacancy rolls, according to new market reports from commercial real estate brokerages. Nearly 80 million of the region’s 364.8 million square feet of privately owned office space is now sitting empty, per CBRE, a commercial real estate service giant. That’s more than 12 times the size of the 6.5 million-square-foot Pentagon.” [Washington Business Journal]

More Snow Accumulation Likely — “After going two years without one inch of snow in a calendar day, we could do it twice in one week, but that’s not a lock. Wednesday’s brutal wind chills will ease a bit Thursday ahead of our next chance of snow Thursday night and Friday. We anticipate less snow than the last storm, but it could be enough to cause some delays and cancellations Friday.” [Capital Weather Gang]

It’s Thursday — Expect a mostly cloudy day with a high around 37 degrees and a gentle south wind between 3 to 6 mph. Snow is likely Thursday night, especially after 1am, as the temperature drops to about 28 degrees. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler