Author: ARLnow.com

Woman Detains Alleged Groper — “A woman detained a man on an electric bike who she says groped her while she was jogging. The woman says the man slapped her backside as he passed by at 14th and North Rolfe streets in the Courthouse area of Arlington, Virginia, Thursday afternoon… She finally caught up with him in Rosslyn and physically subdued him with a chokehold at Wilson Boulevard and North Lynn Street until police arrived.” [NBC 4, WJLA, Twitter]

Stolen Van Flees Traffic Stop — From Dave Statter: “A stolen Penske truck had @ArlingtonVaPD’s attention around 9:30 tonight. Spotted at Glebe & Columbia Pike an officer tried to stop it near George Mason & 50. They followed the truck into Fairfax County as it got onto the service roadway at 7 Corners where it was last seen.” [Twitter]

Murder Conviction for Pentagon Officer — “After a mistrial in February due to a deadlocked jury, an off-duty Pentagon police officer was convicted Thursday for fatally shooting two Takoma Park men on April 7, 2021, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said… According to video surveillance footage of the parking lot, Dixon fired at the Lexus from behind, while it was leaving the parking lot. The charging documents said that Dixon fired his gun several times after the car passed him.” [MoCo360]

ACPD Scam Reminder — “SCAM ALERT: ACPD is sharing information on the Jury Duty Scam and ways to spot and avoid it. Scammers pose as local law enforcement and contact victims accusing them of failing to appear for jury duty and state a warrant for their arrest will be issued unless a fine is paid.” [Twitter]

More on Ballston Building Sale — “D.C.-based real estate firm Penzance has acquired Ballston One, a 1980s-era office tower in Arlington, for $25 million, which appears to represent a bargain. A Penance affiliate bought the 12-story, roughly 253,000-square-foot building at 4601 N. Fairfax Drive, a little less than half a mile west of the Ballston-Marymount University Metro station, on Aug. 30, per county property records… The $25 million sale price — roughly $100 a square foot — is notably less than the building’s current assessment and what it last sold for.” [Washington Business Journal]

Coming Soon: Coffee With a Cop — “In honor of National Coffee with a Cop Day on Wednesday, October 4, the Arlington County Police Department’s Community Engagement Division is inviting the public to two events to celebrate community/police relations. These morning and afternoon events are welcome to all and are a great informal engagement opportunity to ask questions, voice concerns, get to know neighbors, interact with the Community Engagement Division and meet officers from different sections of the department.” [Arlington County]

It’s Monday — Partly sunny with a high temperature around 75°F and a north wind ranging from 7 to 11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. Monday night will be mostly clear with a low of approximately 58°F and a northwest wind around 8 mph. [Weather.gov]

Ballston Office Building Sold — “JLL has arranged the sale of Ballston One, a 239,678-square-foot office building located at 4601 N. Fairfax Drive in Arlington, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Penzance purchased the building from UBS Realty Investors LLC for an undisclosed price.” [Rebusiness Online]

YHS Senior Earns Int’l Medals — “Thanks to high finishes at the recent world championships, Eleni Guerrera recently added even more significant power-lifting medals to her already impressive collection. The Yorktown High School senior earned four individual medals – three silvers and one bronze – in her Sub Junior (ages 14-18) 125-pound weight category at the world power lifting championships held in August in Romania.” [Gazette Leader]

APS Wants Portion of Road — “What’s a few square feet – 131, to be exact – among friends? That’s the question that goes to the Arlington County Board later this month, as their School Board counterparts are asking county officials to trim a sliver off South Walter Reed Drive to make way for construction of the new Arlington Career Center. The slice of right-of-way is located between 7th and 8th streets South.” [Gazette Leader]

Local Nat’l Merit Scholars — “Sixteen high school students from Arlington have been named 2024 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, taking the first step in securing a scholarship in the competitive program. On Wednesday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced approximately 16,000 semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors in the U.S.” [Patch]

Odd Crash on I-395 — From Dave Statter: “Exit 8C never disappoints. It’s always something that has you go WTF! Today at 10:00 a.m.” [Twitter]

Lots of Migrating Birds Overhead — The website BirdCast estimates that 529,100 crossed Arlington Wednesday night into Thursday morning. From former School Board member Barbara Kanninen, in response: “Bigger night! Turn your outside lights off at night to help them stay on course.” [BirdCast, Twitter]

Minn. Judge Blocks MM-Like Zoning — “A Minneapolis zoning plan praised by supporters of Missing Middle Housing in Arlington has been struck down by a state judge in Minnesota, who ruled the city’s implementation of the plan is an ongoing violation of the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. The zoning plan, called the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, eliminated single-family zoning in Minneapolis as a way to create greater housing density within city limits.” [Patch]

It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with a high temperature near 76 degrees accompanied by north winds blowing at 9 to 11 mph. Later in the evening, skies will remain clear while the temperature drops to a low of around 55 degrees. [Weather.gov]

Could Pickleball Disrupt Voting? — “Will the effort to squeeze the vehicles of both voters and pickleball players into the parking lot at Walter Reed Community Center go harmoniously? Or will it result in conflict that raises a (wait for it …) racket? County election officials are hoping for the former rather than the latter as the days count down to the start of early voting at Walter Reed.” [Gazette Leader]

Housing Voucher Lottery Now Open — “Arlington opened the waitlist for its housing voucher lottery Wednesday. It’s the first time since 2012 that county residents have a chance to apply for the federally-funded rent subsidy program.  Eligible residents can apply online to be entered into a lottery draw for the county’s 5,000-slot waitlist for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly called Section 8, which helps residents pay a portion of their monthly rent.” [Fox 5]

APS Enrollment Down Slightly — “It appears that, once the dust settles, 2023-24 enrollment for Arlington’s public-school system will be roughly on par with that of the preceding academic year. County school officials announced a first-day-of-school enrollment of 27,407 – 26,554 in kindergarten through 12th grade and 853 in pre-kindergarten – which represents a slight (117 students) shortfall compared to last year’s official student-body count submitted to state education officials.” [Gazette Leader]

New Urgent Care Clinic Opens — “MedStar Health has opened a new urgent care location in the heart of Ballston to serve the surrounding community of Arlington, Va., including students, faculty, and staff from nearby Marymount University. It is the 34th urgent care site in the MedStar Health system.” [MedStar]

WHS Grad Helps YMCA — “A 2023 graduate of Wakefield High School in Arlington spent the summer working with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington as part of an internship sponsored by Bank of America… Yabsera Negussie, who is beginning her first year at Dartmouth College and is majoring in neuroscience and business, worked with Home Depot to get materials needed for students to participate in the 29th annual Thingamajig Invention Convention.” [Patch]

Amazon’s Housing Investments — “Amazon.com Inc. has committed over half its $2 billion affordable housing fund to projects in Greater Washington, far more than the other regions the fund touches. The $1.1 billion distributed in the region via the company’s Housing Equity Fund has gone toward more than 7,500 affordable units across 29 projects in various stages of advancement in Greater Washington, according to figures furnished by Amazon.” [Washington Business Journal]

Football Forfeit = DJO Win — “The Bishop O’Connell Knights (1-1) did not play this past weekend but the high-school football team still got a victory by virtue of a forfeit. The St. Albans Bulldogs were scheduled to play at O’Connell on Saturday, Sept. 9 in a non-conference private-school contest at noon, but forfeited the game instead for unspecified reasons, giving O’Connell a win.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Thursday — Sunny and pleasant with a high temperature close to 77 degrees. There will be a gentle north wind at about 10 mph throughout the day. Moving into Thursday night, the sky will remain clear and the low temperature will be around 57 degrees. [Weather.gov]