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.

Morning Poll: Too early for pumpkin spice?

By ARLnow.com
1/2

It’s that time of year again: the Pumpkin Spice Lattes have arrived at local Starbucks stores.

Local chain Compass beat the Seattle-based coffee giant to market this time, rolling out a fall menu featuring pumpkin- and maple-flavored pick-me-ups a few days ago. Dunkin and others started slinging the spice even earlier, part of a broader trend of fall flavors creeping into the summer season.

More from Axios:

Starbucks said it will release its Pumpkin Spice Latte and fall menu on Thursday, six days earlier than last year.

  • The announcement kicks off the annual debate over whether it’s too soon for fall flavors and if pumpkin fanfare has gone too far.
  • It also follows pumpkin spice’s Aug. 16 arrival at Dunkin’ and even earlier launches at Krispy Kreme, 7-Eleven and Bath & Body Works.

Between the lines: Nostalgia is one reason why the fall flavor keeps coming back earlier, Jason Fischer, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University, told Axios.

  • “It brings to mind those associated memories including those flavors and aromas of the pumpkin spice stuff,” said Fischer, a perception researcher who is also a pumpkin fan.
  • The summer heat is often the argument for why some say pumpkin pandemonium is too early but Fischer said it could be the opposite this year.
  • “Maybe the enduring heat is a thing that just makes us imagine and crave that cooler weather and then it calls to mind pumpkin spice even earlier,” Fischer said.

So what do you think: Have companies taken the pumpkin spice creep to far? Or do you like the fall vibes starting earlier, actually?

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Cyclists on the bridge over Langston Blvd at sunset (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Leaders Summit Held in Ballston — From Sen. Mark Warner: “Great morning in Arlington speaking with elected leaders across Northern Virginia about some of the most pressing issues the region is facing: the affordable housing crisis, WMATA’s deficit, and the future of workforce development.” [Twitter, Press Release]

Rosslyn VC Firm Co-Leads Big Deal — “Arlington venture firm Sands Capital has co-led a $300 million Series D round into New York fintech Ramp to help the firm hire and bring products to market more quickly. Sands, which invested in Ramp for the first time, led the round with an existing investor, New York-based Thrive Capital.” [Washington Business Journal]

Beyer Blasts Trump Over Tariffs — “Maybe it’s a case of summer boredom, a little attention-seeking, an attempt to take a potential Republican presidential nominee down a peg, or maybe simply a visceral reaction to a main nemesis of the Democratic Party. Whatever the reason, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer wants you to know he is not happy with a proposal put forth by Donald Trump on imposing higher tariffs on all imports coming into the U.S.” [Gazette Leader, Twitter]

Award Deadline Extended — “The 30th annual William T. Newman, Jr. Spirit of Community Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a tireless and unselfish commitment to improving the quality of life in Arlington… Please submit nominations by Monday, August 28 to be considered.” [Arlington Community Foundation]

Letter: Fair Too Hard to Get To — “Why did Arlington officials make it so difficult to access the County Fair this year? There was only one shuttle-pickup location. Authorized parking was limited to a church with two small lots. Walking from there to the fair was not easy for those with physical limitations, like me, much less persons with disabilities. I suspect that this is a ploy by the County Board.” [Gazette Leader]

No Cable News Here — “PSA: We do not report on every cable outage. Also, small outages are frequent and Comcast has tightened up access to its outage map such that it makes it hard to discern major vs. routine outages.” [Twitter]

It’s Thursday — Scattered showers and thunderstorms with mostly cloudy skies throughout Thursday, accompanied by a high temperature of about 82 degrees. The south wind will blow at 10-13 mph, gusting up to 18 mph, and there’s a 40% chance of precipitation. Thursday night will continue to be mostly cloudy with the possibility of showers and thunderstorms, with temperatures dropping to around 69 degrees. The south wind will slow down to around 8 mph, and the chance of precipitation will rise to 50%. [Weather.gov]

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 23, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 23, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

  • No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.

🌦️ Thursday’s forecast

Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms with mostly cloudy skies throughout Thursday. Temperatures will reach a high of around 82°F with south winds ranging from 10 to 13 mph and gusts up to 18 mph. The chance of precipitation is at 40%. Thursday night will continue to be mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. The temperature will drop to around 69°F and the south wind will decrease to about 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
– Nelson Mandela

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Police: Man sleeping in car fends off carjacking attempt

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A man sleeping in his car chased off a pair of would-be carjackers, according to Arlington County police.

The incident happened around 4 a.m. near the intersection of N. Woodrow Street at 20th Road N. That’s in the residential Waverly Hills neighborhood, about a block from Woodstock Park.

The carjacking attempt was reported to police about two hours after it happened, ACPD said today in a crime report.

“At approximately 3:55 a.m. the victim was asleep inside his parked vehicle when he was awoken by two unknown male suspects opening one of the vehicle’s back doors,” said the crime report. “The suspects demanded the victim exit the vehicle and made threatening statements implying they had a weapon.”

“The suspects then attempted to open the driver door and a struggle ensued during which the suspects struck the victim with an unknown object resulting in the victim sustaining lacerations,” the crime report continues. “The suspects then fled the scene on foot and the victim briefly gave chase. The victim then returned to the scene and called police.”

The victim’s injuries were described as non-life threatening. He declined treatment on scene.

So far in 2023 Arlington police have investigated more than a dozen carjackings as well as a few unsuccessful carjacking attempts.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Grand Champion photograph at the 2023 Arlington County Fair (photo courtesy Samuel Norton)

APS Mulls Next School Calendar — “The biggest battle may be over the proposal that Arlington align itself with other jurisdictions that are now starting the school year two weeks before Labor Day. Arlington’s school year in recent years has started one week before, and many respondents to an online survey conducted by the school system were not in favor of starting earlier than that.” [Gazette Leader]

Higher Faregates Working? — “Metro today released preliminary data showing that new, higher faregates are reducing fare evasion by more than 70 percent at the first stations where they have been installed, including Fort Totten, Pentagon City, Bethesda, Vienna, Mt. Vernon Square, and Addison Road.” [WMATA]

Redditors Examine Local Murder — Online sleuths have been revisiting the still-unsolved 2020 murder of Scott Ratigan in his Ballston apartment. [Reddit]

YHS Baseball Coach Stepping Down — “With a change of full-time jobs on the horizon in coming months, Yorktown High School head baseball coach John Skaggs has decided to step down from that position at the Arlington school. Skaggs has coached Yorktown for nine seasons, with the last five being significantly successful with two Liberty District tournament championships in 2021 and 2018.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Wednesday — A sunny day with a high of 83°F, accompanied by a calm wind in the morning, which will pick up a southeastern direction at 5 mph in the afternoon. Wednesday night will witness partly cloudy skies and a low of 66°F, as the south wind maintains a breezy 6 to 9 mph. [Weather.gov]

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 22, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 22, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

The weather will be sunny with a high near 83 degrees, accompanied by light and variable winds. Expect increasing clouds Wednesday night with temperatures dropping to around 67 degrees, and a southeast wind at 6 to 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Police investigating burglary at Clarendon gun store

By ARLnow.com
Nova Armory in Clarendon had their door smashed in an attempted burglary (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington County police responded to a break-in at Nova Armory early this morning.

The Metro-accessible gun store at 2607 Wilson Blvd had its front door “smashed in” by a suspect, setting off a loud alarm. The suspect reportedly took items but not any guns — the retailer takes weapons off shelves and stores them securely at night.

“At approximately 1:48 a.m. on August 22, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary just occurred,” said today’s ACPD crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the unknown male suspect forced entry into the business by smashing a glass door. The suspect then rummaged through the interior of the store before fleeing the scene with stolen items.”

“No firearms were reported stolen,” an Arlington police spokesperson told ARLnow.

Officers searched the area for the suspect but could not locate him. Police were called to the store later today to retrieve video surveillance footage.

“This is an active and ongoing investigation and our detectives are reviewing all the information available to them to identify the suspect in this case,” said the ACPD spokesperson. “We encourage anyone who may have information regarding the incident to contact police.”

Nova Armory was previously burglarized at its former Lyon Park location. In 2022, after moving to Clarendon earlier in the year, a Nova Armory employee chased down an alleged thief who tried to run off with a gun. In March of this year a ski mask-wearing man robbed the store of a gun and ammunition but was arrested on a bus soon thereafter, according to police.

UPDATED: Power being restored after 10,000 in dark around Pentagon City and Crystal City

By ARLnow.com
Power outage map as of 2:15 p.m. on Aug. 22 (via Dominion)

(Updated at 9:15 p.m.) Thousands were without power in and around Crystal City and Pentagon City for much of the day due to a widespread outage.

The outage was first reported just after 11:15 a.m. Arlington County firefighters investigated a possible underground explosion and treated a Dominion worker with burns from steam that came out of a manhole, according to scanner traffic.

“At 11:18 a.m. a splice in an underground cable failed causing an arc/flash and 10,000+ outages in Crystal City, Pentagon City & nearby neighborhoods,” Dominion spokeswoman Peggy Fox told ARLnow shortly before 4 p.m. “We’re working to have all customers restored as quickly as possible, hopefully in a half an hour. A worker was treated at the scene and released.”

ACFD also responded to a large quantity of stuck elevator calls in the area, owing to the outage.

More than 10,250 Dominion customers were without power as a result of the outage. The outage map extended into the Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge residential neighborhoods, including Oakridge Elementary.

Arlington’s parks department closed the Long Bridge Aquatic and Fitness Center and the Gunston Community Center due to the outage.

As of 5:15 p.m., Dominion said all but 1,229 customers had their power restored, with outages still reported along Crystal Drive by ARLnow readers. As of 9 p.m. all customers had been restored, per Dominion.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Haze overhead in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

‘Missing Middle’ Permits Approved — “Arlington County approved its first three expanded housing option permits that will allow developers to move forward on building a 6-plex housing unit, a three townhouse complex, and a two-unit project… on lots in different parts of the county previously zoned for single-family housing. One of the projects approved by Arlington County is located uphill from an area in the Cherrydale and Waverly Hills neighborhoods in which the county is taking measures to address flooding issues.” [Patch]

Late Night Fire at Apartment Building — From Dave Statter, about a Sunday night incident: “Video of @ArlingtonVaFD arriving at the Crystal Plaza Apartments, 2111 Richmond Highway, about 30 minutes ago. A fire was found in the boiler room.” [Twitter]

Arrest for Attempted Break-in — “At approximately 7:31 p.m. on August 19, police were dispatched to a mental health call for service. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was walking in the area when the known male suspect attempted to engage her in conversation. The victim walked away and into a residential building during which the suspect followed her. The victim was then inside her apartment when she observed the suspect allegedly attempt to force entry to the residence and asked him to leave. Officers located the suspect in another residential building in the 200 block of N. Glebe Road and took him into custody.” [ACPD]

Some APS Vacancies Remain — “They’ll be close, but Arlington Public Schools’ ranks of teachers and bus drivers are unlikely to be at 100 percent come the start of school on Aug. 28. The school system as of Aug. 17 still had 58 full-time teacher slots to fill, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members.” [Gazette Leader]

More Photos from Fair — “The 2023 Arlington County Fair benefited from Mother Nature’s nice side, as the weather cooperated for the tens of thousands who turned up to enjoy fun for all ages.” [Gazette Leader]

Signs of Summer’s Ending — From the Pentagon City mall: “Behold the spookiest collection of potions, oddities and curiosities at @bathbodyworks #Halloween.” From Starbucks: “👀🎃” [Twitter, Twitter]

New Parkington Photo Collection — “Before it was known as the #Ballston Quarter, #Parkington was the largest shopping center on the East Coast. Explore our #CenterForLocalHistory’s new chronicle of Parkington’s rise and retirement with more than 200 never-before-seen photos.” [Twitter, Arlington Public Library]

It’s Tuesday — A mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 84°F and a north wind at about 10 mph. Tuesday night will be mostly clear with a low around 63°F, and a Northeast wind around 6 mph will become calm after midnight. [Weather.gov]

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Aug 21, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Monday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 21, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Tuesday’s forecast

In summary, the forecast promises a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 84 degrees and a north wind at around 10 mph. During Tuesday night, the sky will remain mostly clear as temperatures drop to around 63 degrees, with a northeast wind at 6 mph that is expected to become calm after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
– Benjamin Franklin

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Suspects armed with ‘AK-47’ rob man after rear-end crash

By ARLnow.com
Police car speeding to a call at night (staff photo)

Arlington County police are investigating an armed robbery in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood early Friday morning.

The robbery happened around 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of S. Arlington Ridge Road and 23rd Street S.

The victim told police that he was rear-ended by a black Ford Mustang or Dodge Charger, and then two men dressed in ski masks and all black clothing got out, armed with an AK-47 or similar gun, and robbed him of jewelry.

More from an ACPD crime report:

…the victim was stopped in his vehicle at a traffic light when the suspect vehicle rear ended him. The victim exited his vehicle and approached the suspect vehicle when Suspects One and Two exited their vehicle. Suspect One assaulted the victim causing him to fall to the ground and Suspect Two threatened the victim with a firearm and demanded his belongings. The victim gave the suspects his jewelry before they reentered their vehicle and fled the scene. The victim sustained minor injuries and did not require medical attention.

Officers were unable to locate the suspect vehicle, which was believed to have been driven off in the direction of I-395 and D.C.

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