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.

Jay and Silent Bob Coming to Arlington for Movie Screening

By ARLnow.com

Jay and Silent Bob — aka Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith — are coming to Arlington this fall to screen their new film, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

The long-time comedic duo are set to screen the film (NSFW trailer here) at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) on Sunday, Nov. 10, as part of a cross-country roadshow from Oct. 21-Dec. 12. Tickets ranged from $50 for general admission to $750 for a VIP meet-and-greet, but all are now sold out.

Per a description of the event:

Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith come to YOUR town to show their latest and greatest motion picture, the star studded Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. The New Jersey stoner icons who first hit the screen 25 years ago in CLERKS are back! When Jay and Silent Bob discover that Hollywood is rebooting an old movie based on them, the clueless duo embark on another cross-country mission to stop it all over again!

Jay and Silent Bob are among the bold-faced comedy names coming to the Drafthouse this fall. Silicon Valley’s Jimmy O. Yang, 2 Dope Queens’ Phoebe Robinson and Flight of the Conchords’ Rhys Darby are also set to perform.

The current comedy lineup at the Drafthouse through the end of the year is below.

Image via Arlington Cinema Drafthouse

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Interim APS Superintendent to Be Named — The Arlington School Board is planning to name an interim superintendent at a special meeting tonight, following the departure of long-time APS Superintendent Patrick Murphy. The School Board is expected to select a search firm by early fall to find a new, permanent superintendent. [Twitter, InsideNova]

Plan for New Ballston Metro Entrance Advancing — “Arlington County staff have been given the ‘go-ahead’ to move forward with planning a second entrance at the Ballston Metro station, according to project manager Bee Buergler, but it could be another five years before it actually comes to fruition. The project is over 15 years in the planning, but until recently it’s been held up because the building that would be above it was being redeveloped and ran into delays.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Cross-Crystal City Corporate Clash — Crystal City-based prescription drug IT provider SureScripts is feuding with its future neighbor, Amazon, over the use of patient medical records. [Bloomberg]

Photo courtesy laash/Instagram

Roads Closed in Clarendon for Vice Presidential Visit

By ARLnow.com

A number of roads around Clarendon were closed this morning for a visit by Vice President Mike Pence.

The veep was speaking at the Leadership Institute, which runs training programs for conservative activists and is based on the 1100 block of N. Highland Street, next to Trader Joe’s.

Buses were rerouted as the Secret Service and Arlington County Police closed several roads in the area. The closures were lifted around 11:45 a.m.

Courtesy photo (top)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

‘Lee’ Supporters Seek W-L Name Delay — “It may be a last-ditch attempt, but supporters of retaining the name of Washington-Lee High School are seeking a delay of a year to implement the change to Washington-Liberty. ‘There are multiple active legal actions working their way through various courts,’ said Dean Fleming, vice president of the Washington-Lee High School Alumni Association, in an e-mail to school leaders. ‘This is a very serious matter. It should not be taken lightly.'” [InsideNova]

Moran Donates Leftover Campaign Cash — “In the summer of 2018, congressman-turned-lobbyist Jim Moran was trying to recruit his former colleagues to put pressure on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moran was doing so on behalf of one of his clients, the government of Qatar. And he had a pot of money, left over from years of donations to his reelection campaigns, that he could steer to his lobbying targets.” [The Daily Beast]

Makeshift Memorial for Career Center Employee — “Candles, flowers, balloons, and thoughts shared in the Penrose Giant parking garage lower level for Haley Garcia, the Career Center employee.” [Twitter]

Fast-Growing Amazon Divisions Coming to HQ2 — “The divisions heading to Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters in Arlington are some of the fastest-growing in the company, according to Amazon’s latest quarterly earnings report. The company said Thursday its headcount is up 13% to 653,300 full-time and part-time employees… Amazon Web Services and Alexa — two of the three Amazon businesses that are HQ2-bound — are growing at a much faster pace.” [Washington Business Journal]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

The last full week in July is coming to a close and a warm but relatively pleasant weekend is on tap.

It has been a busy week at ARLnow — a week we announced a new readership record and three new hires. (Technically, thanks to strong readership yesterday, our trailing 30-day traffic is now up to 1.415 million pageviews, another new record.)

Here are the top six most-read articles we published on this busy week.

  1. Officials Warn of Foodborne Illness Outbreak in Arlington and N. Va.
  2. A Bridge Too Far: The Dating Divide Between D.C. People And Arlingtonians
  3. Missing Man Found Dead in Arlington Was a Career Center Employee
  4. Arlington Brothers Save Child from Drowning in Ireland
  5. JBG Smith Unveils New Expansion Plan for RiverHouse Property Near Amazon HQ2
  6. Columbia Pike Dry Cleaner Closing Leaves Customers Hanging

Feel free to discuss these stories or any other topics of local interest in the comments. Have a nice weekend!

Pentagon Police Holding Emergency Exercise Saturday

By ARLnow.com

The Pentagon’s police force will be holding a training exercise Saturday, prompting the closure of the Pentagon Metro and bus stations.

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency said Pentagon transit stations will be closed between 3 a.m.-2 p.m. The emergency-response exercise itself is slated to start at 8 a.m.

“If you see activities near the Pentagon, do not be alarmed,” the agency said via social media, “it is part of the exercise.

Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

ACPD School Donation Drive Returns — “Help Arlington County students start the school year prepared to succeed by donating new school supplies and other classroom materials during the Fill the Cruiser Back-to-School Supply Drive… on Thursday, August 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.” [Arlington County]

Discussing Marymount’s Ballston Campus — “Colleges and universities have cracked the code to propel cities forward toward the future of education: focus on the campus experience, expand pathways to new careers, and partner with surrounding communities and cities to drive growth. In Arlington, Va., Marymount University has done just that.” [Medium]

National Night Out in Crystal City — The Crystal City Civic Association and Crystal City BID will be holding their first National Night Out event on Tuesday, Aug. 6. [Crystal City BID]

Post-Flood Trash Collection Update — “The County took special measures to assist residential curbside customers in trash collection efforts following the July 8 damaging storm. This service was in addition to the weekly trash collection by our contractors. Over 110 tons of trash was collected through this service, which is the equivalent of the total weight of 16 school buses. Most of this had to be hand collected and lifted by our crews.” [Arlington County]

ARLnow Sets 30-Day Readership Record, Announces New Hires

By ARLnow.com

ARLnow.com has set a new 30-day readership record.

From June 25-July 24, more than 400,000 unique users visited the local news site, viewing 1.41 million pages, according to Google Analytics. The average unique user, as measured by Google Analytics, read 3.5 pages during the month, though those returning 15 or more times throughout the month accounted for more than half of ARLnow’s pageviews.

The readership figures are the highest recorded since ARLnow launched in January 2010.

“The ARLnow team is immensely proud of the local journalism we’ve been producing this year — from comprehensive storm coverage to dogged local government reporting to longer-form, investigative pieces — and this new record serves as validation that those efforts are paying off,” said ARLnow founder Scott Brodbeck. “Arlington is a fantastic community, with civically-engaged residents and commuters who care about the community they work in. Thank you to all of our readers who helped make this new record possible.”

ARLnow and its parent company, Local News Now, are also announcing the hiring of three new members of our team.

Ashley Hopko joined the company last month as an Editorial Fellow. A 2019 graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder’s journalism program, Hopko previously worked for Law Week Colorado and the student-led News21 investigative project. She is primarily reporting for Local News Now’s Tysons Reporter site, alongside editor Catherine Douglas Moran, but Hopko is also contributing to ARLnow.

Lene Query joined our company’s business team in May as an Account Executive, alongside Content Manager Turquoise Jackson. Bringing five years of retail and restaurant experience to the job, Lene (pronounced like “Layna”) is now the primary contact for clients seeking to place advertising on ARLnow or our other sites. She can be reached at [email protected] or 703-348-0583.

Jay Westcott will be joining us in September as our first full-time photojournalist. Jay’s 15 years of professional photography experience — he previously worked locally for TBD.com, Politico and the Washington Examiner — will help bring a new visual language to our local news sites and enhance our breaking news coverage. He will also produce video for certain projects.

The new hires will bring Local News Now’s full-time staff count to eight — made possible by our loyal advertisers and patrons, and our hard-working business team. Jordan Ciminelli, who led our business team since September 2017 and played a pivotal role in training and operations, departed earlier this month to join a new venture.

“At a time when local news is facing business model struggles around the country, thanks to our dedicated readers, advertising clients and employees, we’re able to grow as an organization,” said Brodbeck. “Our growth over the last decade has been slow compared to some of the local startups we’ve profiled over the years, but being the proverbial local news tortoise — with a commitment to quality journalism, business innovation and customer service — has allowed us to continue to find success.”

ACPD Continues Bike Lane Ticketing Campaign

By ARLnow.com

Even a large, electronic sign in Crystal City telling drivers there is “no stopping in bike or traffic lane” doesn’t seem to be deterring some from doing just that, right next to the sign.

But Arlington County Police are backing up the sign’s message with citations.

Photos posted by the police department on Wednesday show officers ticketing a driver stopped in a bike lane on Crystal Drive — as a cyclist pedaled by in the travel lane — near the Chick-fil-A restaurant.

The high-visibility enforcement in Crystal City has been happening for at least a week.

On social media, several people cheered word of the continued enforcement this week.

“As someone who bikes in Crystal City — YEAH!!” said one.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” said another.

https://twitter.com/Mr__Amac/status/1154186824048435202

Crime Report: Indecent Exposure Arrests Along Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Two Arlington men were arrested for separate indecent exposure incidents along Columbia Pike over the past week.

The first happened early Friday morning at the intersection of the Pike and S. Glebe Road, when a man allegedly approached a woman in her vehicle and exposed himself, according to this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.

The second happened Monday morning, when a drunk man was refused service at a business and subsequently exposed himself to an employee, police said.

Both men were charged with Indecent Exposure and Drunk in Public.

More from this week’s crime report:

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2019-07190026, S. Glebe Road at Columbia Pike. At approximately 2:22 a.m. on July 19, police were dispatched to the report of an indecent exposure. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was in her vehicle at a traffic light when the unknown male suspect allegedly approached her vehicle and exposed himself. Arriving officers located the suspect nearby and he was taken into custody. David Nichols, 39, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Indecent Exposure, Drunk in Public and Failure to ID. He was held on no bond.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2019-07220261, 4800 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 9:00 p.m. on July 22, police were dispatched to the report of an exposure. Upon arrival, it was determined that after the male suspect was refused service at a business due to his level of intoxication, he allegedly exposed his genitals and inappropriately touched himself, before attempting to approach an employee. The employee was able to push the suspect away and leave the business to call police. Arriving officers located the suspect and took him into custody. Josue Sierra Lopez, 31, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Indecent Exposure and Drunk in Public.

The rest of the crime report is below, after the jump.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Brews for Crystal City Oktoberfest — “Oktoberfest is returning [to Crystal City] in 2019 with a new partner, local Arlington brewery New District Brewing. The second annual celebration, which will feature a selection of local beers, live entertainment, and a variety of food trucks and vendors serving traditional German fare, will take place on Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 1-4 p.m. at The Grounds, located at 12th and South Eads Street in Crystal City.” [Press Release]

D.C. Developments Now Touting Proximity to Arlington — The announcement of a large, new mixed-use development in the District touts its 750 market-rate residential rental units, 42,000 square feet of co-working space, and “great access to… emerging areas, including National Landing.” [Twitter]

Catholic Newspaper Reducing Publishing Frequency — The Arlington Catholic Herald will be moving from weekly to biweekly publication, as part of a series of changes that also includes expanding the number of households to which the paper is sent. [Arlington Catholic Herald]

Sewage Leak Along Spout Run — “Residents are advised to avoid a generally inaccessible portion of Spout Run due to a sanitary sewer main break east of the Spout Run Parkway-Lorcom Lane fork. County staff are on site establishing a bypass.” [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

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