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.

Arlington Pet of the Week: Chip & Queso

By ARLnow.com
1/4

This week two kittens are Arlington’s Pet of the Week: Chip and Queso.

Here is what the feline brothers’ owner has to say about their new lives in Arlington:

Chip, a grey tabby, and Queso, an orange tabby, are 8 months old and are, in fact, brothers…though you wouldn’t guess it by the looks of them. Rescued by City Kitties from a rural farm in West Virginia, they now enjoy the urban life in Clarendon.

Chip’s hobbies including eating, chasing Queso, and darting into his home away from home, the common area hallway, each and every time the front door opens. He has an affinity for the refrigerator and will eagerly jump inside it, given the opportunity. Of the two brothers, he is the more vocal, and will make it known when he is ready for his human servants to feed him.

Queso excels at playing with cat coils, his favorite toys. He owns approximately 50 of them, 45 or so of which are under the sofa at any given time. He is mesmerized by water and enjoys paw bathing in the sink. If he’s not relaxing on his personalized blankie, you can probably find him nestled in a cardboard box or hanging out inside an IKEA bag, his other favorite toy.

To enjoy Chip and Queso’s daily antics, follow them on Instagram at @chipandquesokitties.

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!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of eight consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

Asian Sandwich Chain Appears to Be Coming to Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Lee’s Sandwiches, which bills itself as the “World’s Largest Bánh Mì Chain,” may be coming to Ballston, according to permit filings.

The business is still in the process of applying for permits at 801 N. Quincy Street, where a Subway sandwich shop closed last summer. The windows of the space are covered in paper and no sign of construction activity can be seen yet.

Lee’s Sandwiches serves Asian sandwiches including its flagship Bánh Mì, and is also noted for its fresh-baked baguettes and Vietnamese iced coffee. The chain opened its first East Coast store at 3037 Annandale Road in Falls Church in 2016.

“Founded in 1983 in San Jose, California, Lee’s Sandwiches is a quick-serve restaurant chain specializing in Bánh Mì, Vietnamese sandwiches and other Euro-Asian food products,” a press release said at the time. “From its beginnings as a food truck, Lee’s Sandwiches is now the largest Bánh Mì chain with over 60 locations in Arizona, California, Las Vegas (Nevada), Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Taiwan.”

Video: How to Navigate the Columbia Pike Lane Closure

By ARLnow.com
1/3

For most of the year, a stretch of Columbia Pike on the western end of Arlington County will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

During the extended closure, necessitated by utility work, drivers can expect significant delays during rush hour. Another impact: on left turns in the construction zone.

Following criticism of county officials for insufficient communication about the closure, Arlington’s television arm has released a video detailing the closure and the detours in place to move traffic around it.

After construction concludes, the video notes, the affected portion of Columbia Pike will have wider sidewalks and will no longer have overhead utility lines.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Musical Send-Off for Kenmore SRO — “Kenmore Middle School students came up with a fun way to commemorate the retirement of School Resource Officer Jackie Pagan. They presented a musical dance number Friday, Jan. 11, as part of a flash mob.” [Patch, WJLA, Twitter]

Arlingtonian Has Olympic Aspirations — Arlington resident Sarah Anyan qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, which will be held next month leading up to the Tokyo games this summer. [RunWashington]

Lots of Police Activity on Clarendon Nightlife — “The 3100 block of Wilson Boulevard in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington County is a hot spot. There are bars, restaurants, and a metro stop all in a block radius… there’s also a surge of calls to Arlington county police, and problems that lead to those calls in the first place.” [WUSA 9]

Del. Levine Pushing Minimum Wage Bill — “A state delegate’s proposed bill to allow localities to set their own minimum-wage levels, provided they do not dip below the federal government’s level, has drawn a tentative response from one local official and outright opposition from two chambers of commerce…. But not everyone agrees with the thrust of [Del. Mark] Levine’s bill. Kate Bates, president and CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, said chamber leaders oppose the legislation.” [InsideNova]

Beyer Tapped for Economic Committee — “Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi today recommended Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) to serve as the Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee… The Speaker’s recommendation must be confirmed by a vote of the full committee to take effect.” [Rep. Don Beyer]

JUST IN: Police Investigating Death on Yellow Line Train

By ARLnow.com

Police are conducting a death investigation after a person died on a Yellow Line train Tuesday evening.

Arlington County medics were dispatched to the Pentagon Metro station around 4:15 p.m. for a report of a person suffering a medical emergency on a Yellow Line train bound for Huntington. The individual was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest, and was declared dead shortly after medics arrived on scene, according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Justin Tirelli.

Metro Transit Police and officers from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency both responded to the Metro station with medics.

The incident prompted delays and single-tracking on the Blue and Yellow lines. The single-tracking ended shortly before 5 p.m.

The Right Note: 2020 Vision

By ARLnow.com

The Right Note is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

The “no longer a New Year’s Day tradition” Arlington County Board organizational meeting once again gave our elected representatives an opportunity to lay out their priorities for the year.

Much like cabin air on a flight, the speeches you receive at the County Board’s annual organizational meeting are in many ways recycled.

This is especially true when it comes to the issue of affordable housing. According to our Board, 2020 is going to be the year when the County Board makes significant strides toward defeating market forces and making housing affordable in Arlington — just like 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, etc.

There were a two nuggets from incoming Chair Libby Garvey’s speech that hinted at things we could see in 2020.

First, a consulting firm will make a pretty penny from a joint contract with Arlington and Montgomery County, Maryland to fight airplane noise. It may make elected officials feel better to say they are doing something about this, but airplanes and helicopters are likely to remain noisy as they fly over populated areas.

Second, this year’s CIP process may see a greater emphasis on stormwater management. Many community activists, and more than one Republican candidate for County Board, have argued basic infrastructure needs like this have been neglected for years.

At the same time, this newly rediscovered desire to address infrastructure will almost certainly be paired with ongoing school enrollment challenges to justify the level of revenue the Board will take from taxpayers in April. In other words, do not hold your breath for a tax rate cut this spring in the face of what many believe will be a robust revenue boost from assessments.

Looking back at 2019, outgoing Board Chairman Christian Dorsey summed up his main priority this way:

“That is why I prioritized advancing equity as a central framework for governance last year. By developing the capacity to recognize the barriers that marginalized and vulnerable populations face in trying to thrive, we can deliver public policy that is responsive to all and not only to those with power and influence.

I am excited about what we are doing right here in Arlington, but my aspirations in: housing, transportation connectivity, sustainability, resilience, and human development exceed our ability to achieve needed results alone. I will look to multiply our efforts through collaboration with our fellow Northern Virginia jurisdictions, our neighbors in the national capital region and with our state government.”

While it is hard to point to a lot of policy changes the Arlington County Board made in this regard, Dorsey did put forward an equity resolution in the fall that Garvey promises to honor. For decisions moving forward, the resolution outlines an approach that is effectively what government officials should already be doing — determining who policies help and hurt before you pass them.

As with all of the County Board’s priorities, we will wait and see how it plays out in reality.

Mark Kelly is a 19-year Arlington resident, former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

Join ARLnow to Celebrate Our 10th Anniversary

By ARLnow.com

On Jan. 29, 2010, ARLnow.com launched with an inauspicious post that basically no one except the family and friends of the site’s owner read. It was followed by a post about 2-4 inches of snow in the forecast.

Ten years later, despite major challenges in the local news biz, this site is still around. A quarter million people read it each month. We have a dedicated, full-time team; a newly-formed alumni group; a long list of fantastic advertising clients (thank you for supporting local journalism!); and an office in a Ballston high-rise complete with a mini fridge stocked with Diet Coke and a granola bar drawer.

Yes, we’ve come a long way in the past 10 years. And we’re looking forward to the next 10.

To celebrate, ARLnow is pleased to invite everyone who lives or works in Arlington, or just is a fan of the site, to join us at Bronson Bierhall (4100 Fairfax Drive) on Wednesday, Jan. 29 from 5-7 p.m. for a free happy hour event.

We’ll have local beer flights and a special Arlington cocktail available for purchase, local movers and shakers, and the entire ARLnow team on hand. Meet your neighbors, local notables, and maybe even an ARLnow commenter or two. Also: we’ll have 10th Anniversary cups for the first 100 people to arrive.

Please RSVP via Facebook so we can better estimate a guest count. See you there!

Windows Smashed, Airbags Stolen in Car Larceny Spree

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are investigating another series of vehicle break-ins.

In the latest incident, about 10 cars had windows smashed and airbags stolen in parts of south Arlington. The thefts were reported in the Columbia Forest and Shirlington areas early Saturday morning.

Police say they don’t have a suspect description and are continuing to investigate.

Vehicle break-ins have seemingly become a regular occurance in Arlington. Last week, the police department’s crime reports detailed more than 17 vehicles being broken into and at least one stolen, mostly in overnight crime sprees. On local listservs and in an email sent by a victim to ARLnow, some reported their vehicles being broken into via electronic means.

Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said police are taking a number of steps in response, but still need the public’s help.

“ACPD officers proactively patrol Arlington’s neighborhoods to identify and prevent criminal activity,” Savage told ARLnow. “The department’s efforts are enhanced by the active involvement of residents. Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activity to police for investigation by calling 703-558-2222 or 9-1-1 in an emergency.”

“We also encourage residents to reduce the opportunity for crime by participating in the 9 P.M. Routine,” Savage added, referring to the department’s campaign to remind residents to lock their doors and remove valuables from their cars.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Stolen Car Leads to Arrests — Several people were arrested after fleeing a reported stolen car on foot in the Green Valley neighborhood Monday afternoon. At least one of those arrested was a juvenile, according to scanner traffic. [Twitter]

Group Lists Properties Set for Demolition — “Demolition permits for a total of 159 homes, plus a number of other properties, were approved by the Arlington County government in 2019, according to an analysis by Preservation Arlington… In addition to homes, three garden apartments, 11 commercial buildings, two civic buildings and several other structures also were being readied for razing.” [InsideNova]

Doorways CEO Departing — “Doorways announced today that the agency’s President and CEO, Caroline Jones, MSW, will be leaving the organization in February. Since 1978, Doorways has operated at the many intersections of homelessness, poverty, and intimate partner violence, responding to community members in crisis.” [Press Release]

ARLnow Needs You — Help ARLnow set the direction for our news coverage and offerings in 2020 by taking this quick 10-question survey. So far, the average survey-taker has spent about 3 minutes answering the questions. [SurveyMonkey]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

There’s a Simple Explanation for High Recent Water Bills, Officials Say

By ARLnow.com

Local listservs and Nextdoor networks in Arlington have been abuzz over high water bills, but officials say there’s a very simple explanation for it.

Many residents — including at least one ARLnow staffer — saw a 40%+ jump in their most recently quarterly water bills.

“I’m seeing on NextDoor many people complaining about high Q4 water/sewer bills,” Noah, a local resident, said in a tip to ARLnow earlier this month. “Ours for example indicated a 50% increase in daily consumption over same period last year.”

“Many, many Cherrydale residents got enormous water bills this quarter double and triple their normal bills,” said June, another Arlington resident. “Our listserv is loaded with comments.”

But Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services says it has not found any systemic problem leading to high water bills. Instead, officials suggested, an extended drought led to more outdoor watering and thus higher water usage by those with yards and outdoor vegetation.

“From what we’ve seen in our data so far, there was some increase in usage in the September time frame,” Mike Moon, the Chief Operating Officer for DES, told ARLnow this morning. “We attribute that mostly to the drought… Sometimes there are issues with meters, [but we’re] not seeing any systemic issues this time around.”

DES says it saw a 14% increase in water usage in September, as the drought intensified.

In an email to ARLnow, one local resident wondered whether online forums were leading people to draw false conclusions about the higher bills.

“Can you investigate the Arlington buzz about unusually high water bills?” asked Betsey. “Places it’s been discussed [include] Ashton Heights, Cherrydale, Lyon Village, and a few complaints from Bluemont.”

“Either it’s a real problem,” she continued, “OR the power of the Internet is breeding a false problem.”

A statement to water customers released by DES is below, after the jump.

(more…)

JUST IN: Uber Driver Arrested After Pedestrian Struck at Advanced Towing Lot

By ARLnow.com
1/8

(Updated at 8:25 a.m.) The driver of a car with Uber branding is in police custody after an incident at the Advanced Towing lot in Ballston.

Witnesses tell ARLnow that around 3 p.m. a man was trying to prevent the Uber vehicle from leaving the tow lot at 4000 5th Road N. when the driver gunned it, striking the man, another vehicle and a utility pole.

When a reporter arrived on scene, the alleged driver was being taken into custody by police a short distance away from the lot. The striking vehicle — a silver Kia with a cross on the hood — could be seen parked on 5th Road N. with a damaged front bumper and the passenger side of its front windshield shattered.

According to scanner traffic, the victim was bleeding from the face after being struck and was being transported to Virginia Hospital Center via ambulance. His injuries were described as non-life-threatening.

A towing company employee told ARLnow that the victim was Advanced Towing owner John O’Neill.

“All this over 135 bucks,” the employee said.

Police said Monday evening that a Fairfax man had been arrested and is facing multiple charges.

“At approximately 3:11 p.m. on January 13, police were dispatched to the report of a crash with injuries in the 4000 block of 5th Road N.,” said Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect attempted to exit a tow lot as the employee was closing the gate. The suspect allegedly accelerated, struck the employee, a dumpster and light pole before fleeing the scene.”

“An officer located the suspect and took him into custody without incident,” Savage continued. “The employee was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Gigssa Bekele Bengessa, 27, of Fairfax, VA was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding, Destruction of Property and Defrauding a Garage Keeper. He was held on no bond. ”

Advanced Towing gained national notoriety in 2015 after video emerged of an ESPN reporter, whose car was towed, berating an Advanced employee. The company, which tows cars that are considered to be trespassing on private lots and then charges the vehicle’s owner a fee, faces frequent accusations of “predatory” towing.

Photos and reporting by Vernon Miles

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