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.

UPDATE: Severe Thunderstorm Warning Issued for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:10 p.m. — Arlington is now under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. From the National Weather Service:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING…

* UNTIL 400 PM EDT.

* AT 310 PM EDT, A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER CENTREVILLE, MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

HAZARD…PING PONG BALL SIZE HAIL AND 60 MPH WIND GUSTS.

SOURCE…RADAR INDICATED.

IMPACT…DAMAGING WINDS WILL CAUSE SOME TREES AND LARGE BRANCHES TO FALL. THIS COULD INJURE THOSE OUTDOORS, AS WELL AS DAMAGE HOMES AND VEHICLES. ROADWAYS MAY BECOME BLOCKED BY DOWNED TREES. LOCALIZED POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE. UNSECURED LIGHT OBJECTS MAY BECOME PROJECTILES.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE… ARLINGTON, ALEXANDRIA, CENTREVILLE, WALDORF, RESTON, ANNANDALE, CLINTON, SPRINGFIELD, SOUTH RIDING, FORT WASHINGTON, FAIRFAX, FORT HUNT, VIENNA, GROVETON, FALLS CHURCH, HUNTINGTON, CORAL HILLS, MANTUA, FORT BELVOIR AND PIMMIT HILLS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A BUILDING.

Earlier: Arlington County and most of the D.C. area is now under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

Forecasters say storms with heavy rain, large hail, wind gusts up to 65 miles per hours and even isolated tornadoes are possible in the region this afternoon and evening.

More via social media:

UPDATED: Power Outage Reported in N. Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Update at 5:10 p.m. — A power outage near the southern tip of the county has prompted the closure of the Fairlington Community Center, according to the parks department.

Update at 4:15 p.m. — Power has been restored to most of the residential north Arlington neighborhoods affected by the earlier outage, but the Virginia Square outage is ongoing. George Mason University’s Arlington campus closed around 3:30 p.m. as a result of the outage, which Dominion says is affecting just over 100 customers.

Earlier: A portion of residential north Arlington is without power, ahead of the arrival of a line of storms.

The outage was reported amid calm weather, with more than 500 Dominion customers affected and a restoration time of 5-8 p.m., according to the power company’s online map. Earlier Thursday afternoon, nearly 2,500 customers were reported to be in the dark.

The cause of the outage is listed as “pending investigation.” Among the affected neighborhoods are Dover Crystal, Riverwood, Woodmont and Maywood.

A smaller outage was also reported in the Virginia Square area this afternoon.

Morning Poll: What’s Your Least Favorite Thing About Summer in Arlington?

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:25 a.m.) Summer is great. Warm weather, cookouts, swimming pools — everything.

Well, not everything. There are some downsides to summer in Arlington, of course. It’s hot and swampy, mosquitos abound, frequent storms ruin your outdoor plans and, thanks to all those summer vacations, there’s less going on and less excitement.

Of the above, which is your least favorite part of summer here in town?

By popular demand, we’re adding the following poll about your favorite parts about summer in Arlington.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Auditor Probes Police Overtime — “A performance audit conducted by the County Auditor as part of his Fiscal Year 2018 work plan found that the Arlington County Police Department’s overtime costs exceeded budgeted expenses in Fiscal Years 2016, 2017 and 2018. The audit did not identify any evidence of improper overtime.” [Arlington County]

Few Fireworks in School Board Race — “A relatively low-key race for the Democratic endorsement leading into November’s School Board race is headed to three days of caucus voting, with the two candidates focused more on the issues than landing body blows on each other. ‘I would prefer to talk about how we are going to move in a positive direction in the future,’ challenger David Priddy said when asked to lay out the biggest failures of the School Board during the period incumbent Reid Goldstein has served on it.” [InsideNova]

ACPD and Mental Health Awareness Month — “In 2018, the Arlington County Police Department responded to 2,227 calls for service involving individuals in mental health crisis — a figure that has risen each year since 2015. To increase awareness about Department initiatives and resources, we are sharing information about how we interact with the public, and how we are ensuring that our officers have the resources they need to continue to provide professional police services to our community.” [Arlington County]

School Board Member Endorses Tafti — Arlington School Board member Monique O’Grady has endorsed Commonwealth’s Attorney challenge Parisa Dehghani-Tafti in her race against incumbent Theo Stamos. [Facebook]

Launch of ‘Housing Arlington’ — “Go bigger. Be bolder. We’ve heard from Arlingtonians that housing affordability — rental & ownership — demands even more aggressive solutions. So we’re launching ‘Housing Arlington’ tonight to tackle the challenge — together.” [Twitter]

Arlington Firm Acquires Health Insurance Company — “Arlington health system consultancy Evolent Health Inc. has reached a deal to take majority ownership of a Kentucky health insurance provider… Evolent’s stock price dipped more than 28% to $10.15 per share in Wednesday afternoon trading on the news.” [Washington Business Journal]

VDOT Planning to Permanently Close HOV-to-Main-Lanes Ramp Along I-395

By ARLnow.com

VDOT is permanently closing a ramp that allowed drivers heading southbound in the HOV lanes of I-395 to merge into the main southbound lanes near the Pentagon.

The closure, which is expected to happen later this week, will mean that drivers who take the southbound HOV lanes of the 14th Street Bridge from D.C., but who want to get into to the main lanes in Arlington, will need to take the earlier exit, closer to the bridge.

The closure is part of the 395 Express Lanes project.

More details from a VDOT press release:

The slip-ramp connecting the HOV lanes to the regular (or general purpose) lanes on I-395 South near the Pentagon will close permanently starting on or about June 1, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Drivers wanting to access the southbound general purpose lanes from the southbound HOV lanes on this stretch of I-395 will need to use the slip-ramp located north of the Pentagon, near Boundary Channel Drive after crossing the 14th Street Bridge from D.C. into Virginia. Motorists traveling to the Pentagon or Crystal City — or non-HOV drivers who missed the exit near Boundary Channel — must take the exit at Eads Street. Drivers heading to the I-395 general purpose lanes should then follow signs to Army/Navy Drive and Hayes Street.

Tips for Motorists:

In the mornings:

  • Southbound motorists traveling on the I-395 HOV lanes from Washington, D.C. should move into the general purpose lanes immediately after crossing the 14th Street Bridge at the ramp near Boundary Channel Drive. Don’t wait to switch lanes until after you pass the Pentagon, as this slip-ramp will be closed.

In the afternoons:

  • For HOV motorists traveling southbound from D.C., nothing changes.
  • For non-HOV drivers, exit the HOV lanes after crossing the 14th Street Bridge at the ramp near Boundary Channel Drive.
  • Anyone heading to the Pentagon or Crystal City – or non-HOV drivers who missed the exit near Boundary Channel – should take the exit at Eads Street. Follow signs to Army/Navy Drive and Hayes Street to return to the I-395 South general purpose lanes.

Getting to I-395 South from the Pentagon:

  • Non-HOV drivers should take North Rotary Road to South Washington Boulevard to the I-395 southbound general purpose lanes.
  • HOV drivers should take the Eads Street ramp near the Pentagon to get directly onto the I-395 HOV lanes.

To help plan, drivers can find maps, videos and other educational information at www.expresslanes.com/projects/395.

This planned ramp closure is part of the new I-395 Express Lanes configuration, which will provide eight miles of faster, safer and seamless travel from the I-95 Express Lanes north to the D.C. line, as well as direct connections to the Pentagon and Crystal City. The new express lanes are scheduled to open in late October 2019. Information on how Express Lanes work and how to get an E-ZPass can be found at www.ExpressLanes.com.

The 395 Express Lanes are a public-private partnership between VDOT and Transurban. See more details on the project and related lane closures.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Extra Brush Pickups in Arlington — “Because of recent weather events, the County has added extra brush pickups this week. Schedule a collection online.” [Twitter]

Clement Endorses Stamos — “Arlington County Board candidate Audrey Clement won’t be on the ballot until November, but she has weighed in with a ringing endorsement of incumbent Theo Stamos in the June 11 Democratic primary for commonwealth’s attorney.” [InsideNova]

Deep Pothole in Ballston — Beware of “a small — but deep — pothole at the intersection of Wilson and Randolph in Ballston.” [Twitter]

Arlington Man Wins Big Lottery Prize — “An Arlington man is now $100,000 richer after buying a Virginia Lottery ticket at a local convenience store. Robert Hilleary, a produce clerk, purchased two 10X The Money tickets at Glebe Market located at 300 N. Glebe Road.” [Patch]

Best Business Award Winners — Last week the Arlington Chamber of Commerce recognized the 2019 winners of its Arlington Best Business Awards: Dalton Digital, Pentagon Mixed Martial Arts, Bayou Bakery, Hungry Marketplace, Signature Theatre and Arlington Community Federal Credit Union. [Arlington Chamber]

Ode to Arlington’s Environmental Assessment Process — “Regulation 4.4 establishes an admirable ideal — a careful and highly-public process to ensure that civic projects are designed to identify and mitigate potential adverse environmental effects.  Though under-resourced, unevenly applied, and frequently honored only in the breach, the Regulation does reinforce and flesh out Arlington’s long commitment to both environmental sustainability and project planning.” [Blue Virginia]

Starr Hill Comes to DCA — Virginia’s Starr Hill Brewery has opened a new bar at Reagan National Airport, replacing the former Sam & Harry’s. The bar is located “near the Terminal C checkpoint pre-security.” [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Real Estate Smoking Hot Near HQ2 — “Since Amazon announced in November its choice of Crystal City and Pentagon City, the median home sale price in that area has increased 17.7%, leaping to $655,000, and the typical home was placed under contract in just six days, down from 10 days last year, according to fresh data from real estate brokerage Redfin.” [Washington Business Journal, Axios, WTOP]

Marymount Names Tech-Oriented Interim Business Dean — “Tech expert and entrepreneur Jonathan Aberman is the new interim dean of Marymount University’s School of Business and Technology. Aberman replaces outgoing dean Marianne Ward-Peradoza and officially takes the reins of the school July 1.” [Washington Business Journal, PRNewswire]

Missing: Firefighter’s Keys — “A firefighter left his keys on the bumper of a fire truck while rushing to an emergency! If you happened to pick up this set of keys along Wilson Blvd from Ballston to 7 Corners, kindly return them to Fire Station 2!” [Twitter]

Water Main Work in Lyon Village — “Emergency Water Main Repairs: Crews are working on an 8-inch main at the 2800 block of Key Boulevard. Some 150 water customers could be affected. The street is detoured around the work site.” [Twitter]

Metro Summer Shutdown Underway — “After long lines and packed buses shortly after opening, commuters on Metro’s Yellow and Blue lines are seeing more frequent pick-ups but some traffic delays… Tuesday is the first work day that six stations on Metro’s Blue and Yellow lines south of Reagan National Airport are closed for platform repairs and other upgrades until Sept. 8.” [WTOP]

Photo: Tomb Sentinel in Thursday’s Storm — “On Thursday, Arlington was hit hard with rain and wind with gusts up to 70mph, but that didn’t stop one man from honoring the fallen. A Tomb Sentinel withstood torrential rains and wind gusts to honor the fallen at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.” [WJLA, Facebook]

Photo courtesy Peter Golkin

Motorcyclist Dies After Friday Night Crash in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

A motorcyclist died Saturday after a Friday night crash on Washington Blvd near the Pentagon.

Police say a van struck the motorcycle, driven by a 54-year-old man from Hampton, Virginia, while changing lanes to exit the highway. The van’s driver remained on scene.

The fatal crash happened during Rolling Thunder weekend. Police are now asking witnesses to come forward with additional information.

More from ACPD:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Critical Accident Team (CAT) is investigating a fatal vehicle crash involving a motorcycle.

At approximately 7:46 p.m. on May 24, 2019, police were dispatched to Washington Boulevard near the ramp to Pentagon-South Parking for the report of an accident with injury. Upon arrival, it was determined that a motorcyclist was traveling on Washington Boulevard when the driver of a van changed lanes to exit the highway, causing an impact between the vehicles.

The motorcyclist, identified as Luis Martinez, 54, of Hampton, Virginia, was transported to an area hospital in critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased in the early morning hours of May 25. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Police ask that anyone with information related to this investigation contact Detective K. Nucelli at (703) 228-4048 or [email protected].  Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).

Also this weekend, three D.C. firefighters were struck by a truck on the 14th Street Bridge during Friday’s evening rush hour.

Severe Thunderstorms Expected Sunday Evening

By ARLnow.com

Arlington residents should watch the skies tonight (Sunday) due to the threat of severe storms.

Anyone participating in outdoor activities as part of their Memorial Day weekend, in particular, will want to monitor to the weather Sunday evening. Storms packing “dangerous winds and large hail” are possible.

More from the National Weather Service:

…SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING… THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SEVERE, WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. ANYONE WHO PLANS ON BEING OUTDOORS DURING THIS TIME SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE LATEST FORECASTS. STAY ALERT FOR WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER QUICKLY SHOULD THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR. IF YOU SEE LIGHTNING OR HEAR THUNDER, YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE IN HARM’S WAY. THE THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOST LIKELY BE IN TWO ROUNDS. THE FIRST ROUND THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON MAY BE MORE SCATTERED IN NATURE, BUT AGAIN SOME OF THOSE STORMS WILL BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY THIS EVENING INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT, AND SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE AS WELL.

File photo

Podcast: ARLnow Commenter Dave Schutz

By ARLnow.com

Anyone familiar with ARLnow and our little corner of the digital media universe knows that we have a prolific comment section.

Voices from every spectrum of the community can be seen weighing in on local topics, often just minutes after an article on any given topic publishes. Driving the comment section is a community of regular commenters that has developed over time, and one of the leading voices in that comment community is Dave Schutz.

Dave is an Arlington resident who’s active in civic life and has a political bent that one might call middle-of-the-road. He is noted for being one of the few commenters to use his or her real name in the comments.

Dave has some signature opinions that he shares often — that the county should acquire the two country clubs that reside in Arlington, and their extensive acreage, for instance. But aside from a couple idiosyncratic takes, Dave can often be described as a voice of reason in the midst of heated discussions — he helps, to some degree, to keep comment threads focused and civil, and to make the comment section more of a community.

We talked with Dave about the comment community on ARLnow, about our comment moderation, and about his opinions on various topics — a unilateral audio comment section, of sorts.

Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn.

Police Charge Custodian With Credit Card Fraud Targeting School Staff

By ARLnow.com

A custodian at Long Branch Elementary School is facing a battery of charges after allegedly making fraudulent purchases with the credit cards of school employees.

Arlington County Police say 25-year-old Kevin Sykes stole personal and banking information by photographing items from a colleague’s purse. The woman, and two other school employees, reported the suspected credit card and identity theft to police.

More from an ACPD press release:

The Arlington County Police Department has charged a suspect following a fraud investigation targeting employees of Long Branch Elementary School. Kevin Sykes, 25, of Washington D.C. has been charged with three counts of credit card theft, two counts of credit card fraud, and two counts of identity theft. Mr. Sykes was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department and is being held in Washington D.C.

At approximately 3:46 p.m. on May 11, police were dispatched to the report of a credit card fraud. Upon arrival, the victim reported her credit cards had approximately 16 fraudulent charges since April. The investigation determined that the suspect, a custodian at Long Branch Elementary School, had stolen the victim’s personal and banking information by photographing documents obtained from inside her purse. Detectives identified two additional victims who were working at the school at the time their personal information had been stolen.

Arlington County Police are reminding residents to regularly check your bank statements. If you notice fraudulent activity, notify the banking institution so they can begin an investigation and file a police report.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact Detective G. Gammell of the Arlington County Police Department’s School Resource Officer Unit at [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

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