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.

Sources: Amazon Toured Crystal City and Rosslyn Last Week

By ARLnow.com

Amazon officials visited Crystal City and Rosslyn last week as part of the company’s HQ2 search, multiple sources tell ARLnow.com.

Commercial real estate industry sources say the Crystal City tour happened Wednesday. The Arlington neighborhood, with its vacant office space and robust transportation options, has been mentioned as a frontrunner among D.C. area locales.

Amazon officials also toured Rosslyn, the other Arlington location in the running, we’re told.

The Washington Post’s Jonathan O’Connell reported today that the Amazon officials toured sites in D.C., Montgomery County and Northern Virginia, having breakfast with Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) Wednesday morning and dinner with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower (D) Wednesday night.

The Post report corroborated the tips received last week by ARLnow.com. Arlington County officials, who are under tight non-disclosure agreements, declined to comment on the visit. Another local leader, speaking off the record, suggested that reports of the visit were erroneous.

Dominion Crews Still Working to Fully Restore Power in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Some 330 Dominion customers in Arlington were still without power Monday morning, following Friday’s intense, prolonged wind storm.

Dominion crews worked throughout the weekend to restore electricity in Northern Virginia. The few hundred without power in Arlington was down from more than 14,000 as of Friday evening.

The power outages in Arlington are mostly smaller, with a few homes or a single home affected in a given area. Sometimes the outage is the result of the service line being ripped from the house by a falling tree.

Dominion is estimating full restoration to be complete by 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to its website.

The company says the “#windmageddon” storm is among the top 5 most damaging storms in Dominion history, with about 700,000 customers losing power. Dominion had nearly 4,000 personnel working to restore power over the weekend, including hundreds called in from out of state.

More via social media:

Map via Dominion

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Partisans Stake Out Sides on Country Club Tax Bill — There are two very different political perspectives on the state bill that would greatly lower the tax bills of Arlington’s two country clubs. On one hand, a writer on the conservative blog Bearing Drift says Arlington’s tax treatment of Army-Navy Country Club (which is covered by the bill along with Washington Golf & Country Club) is “manifestly unfair, and… impacts an especially distinguished and patriotic group of older folks.” On the other hand, progressive blog Blue Virginia says the bill, which passed the Virginia General Assembly last week, should be vetoed by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) because it would “lavish big $$$ on super-rich people, weaken local autonomy vs state AND set a horrible precedent.” [Bearing Drift, Blue Virginia]

County Launches Online Payments for Building Permits — After years of grumbles from local businesses, starting today Arlington County is accepting online payments for building permits. Payments can only be made online when one is submitting permits via the ePlan Review portal. [Arlington County]

Arlington Tourism Tax Bill Passes — “More than a dozen Republican members of the House of Delegates voted against, but Arlington’s effort to retain its ability to levy a surtax on hotel stays to pay for tourism promotion is headed to the governor’s desk.” [InsideNova]

Arlingtonian Making World Record Attempt — Crystal City resident and elite runner Tyler Andrews will attempt to break the 3o-year-old record for fastest 50K run next month. [STRIVE Trips]

First Down Marks Ninth Anniversary — First Down Sports Bar & Grill in Ballston is celebrating 9 years in business today. [ARLnow Events]

Nearby: Lebanese Taverna Closing in Bethesda — Arlington-based local restaurant chain Lebanese Taverna is closing its Bethesda location, citing an inability to reach agreement on a new lease with the landlord of Bethesda Row. [Bethesda Beat]

Photo courtesy Paola Lyle

‘Highly Intoxicated’ Man Leads Police On Chase Into Four Mile Run

By ARLnow.com
1/4

A suspect, alternately described as “highly intoxicated” or “possibly on drugs,” led police on a brief foot chase that ended in the frigid waters of Four Mile Run Friday night.

The man, who was acting erratically but not suspected of a crime, ran from officers — near the intersection of Four Mile Run Drive and S. Walter Reed Drive — and into the creek, but then was too intoxicated to get out, according to scanner traffic.

Firefighters arrived and used a rescue basket to remove the suspect from the water and then up a steep embankment. He was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for medical treatment.

Tree Falls on Car Near H-B Woodlawn

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) A tree fell on a car in the Donaldson Run neighborhood Friday afternoon, amid the ongoing wind storm.

The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. on the 4200 block of Vacation Lane, not far from the Stratford building that houses the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program.

Initial reports suggest that a tree fell on a car, trapping the driver inside and sending live power lines down across the street. Firefighters were able to extricate the driver, who was reportedly not injured, within about 15 minutes.

Vacation Lane is expected to remain closed for an extended period of time, awaiting the power and tree removal crews.

https://twitter.com/LincolnACFD/status/969692503749390341

Photo via Google Maps

UPDATE: Capitol City Brewing Has Closed in Shirlington

By ARLnow.com
1/4

Update at 5:30 p.m. — A statement was just posted on the Capitol City Brewing Shirlington Facebook page, confirming that it has closed permanently.

After 22 years of proudly serving Northern Virginia, we have had to make the difficult decision to close this location. We thank you for your tremendous support and loyalty over the years and for that we are truly grateful. Please visit us at our Downtown location (at 11th and H St NW) to enjoy our award-winning beers, great food and friendly service.

Earlier: Capitol City Brewing appears to have closed its Shirlington location, but it’s unclear whether the closure is permanent.

Paper covered the brewpub’s windows and its doors remained closed today. Nobody answered the phone as of 3 p.m.

Several tipsters have emailed ARLnow.com to say Cap City, located at 4001 Campbell Avenue, had closed. Some were upset, saying employees were abruptly told today, without prior notice, that it had closed.

On its website and social media Friday afternoon, things seemed to be business as usual. OpenTable was still taking reservations and the business’ Facebook account wrote a cheery, generic post: “You could stay in this Friday night, but we think you’d have much more fun with us and your favorite beer in hand.”

“Unless you live in Shirlington, apparently,” said one person, in return. “You freaking lying pieces of [poop emoji],” wrote another.

An anonymous tipster contacted ARLnow.com last week, advising us to “watch for Capitol City Brewing Company closing in Shirlington in early March.” Calls and emails sent to the company since have not been returned.

A mainstay of the neighborhood, Capitol City has remained busy on most weekdays and weekends. The company also hosts the popular, annual Oktoberfest event in Shirlington.

Columbia Pike Partially Blocked Due to Drafthouse Damage

By ARLnow.com

The westbound lanes of Columbia Pike are temporarily closed due to damage to the outside of the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike).

On traffic cameras, the front panel of the Drafthouse’s marquee sign, which announces upcoming acts, could be seen dangling precariously in the wind. Firefighters are currently working to secure it and reopen the roadway ahead of rush hour.

While traffic is being diverted, there is another road hazard nearby. According to scanner reports, a large tree has fallen across 8th Street S. near the intersection with S. Walter Reed Drive.

More views of the dangling Drafthouse sign:

Update at 3:20 p.m. — All lanes of Columbia Pike have reopened. A photo of the tree down on 8th Street S. is below.

Falling Trees Damaging Houses, Blocking Roads in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) Today’s wind storm has caused tree carnage throughout Arlington County.

As of 12:30 p.m. firefighters responded to seven calls for trees that had fallen on houses, according to the Arlington County Fire Department, but no injuries were reported. The department has responded to another 31 calls for wires down over the past 12 hours or so.

Among the places where there were reports of trees falling on houses:

  • 18th Street S. near Army Navy Country Club
  • 2500 block of Military Road
  • Near the intersection of N. Roosevelt Street and 15th Road N.

Numerous trees and large branches are reported to have fallen and blocked or partially blocked roads. Arlington County Police have responded to more than 40 tree-related calls since midnight, officials say.

Among the roads blocked are 26th Street N. near Lee Highway and Washington Blvd west of Westover, among with:

https://twitter.com/LuckyLyzzie/status/969584535469023233

As of noon, Dominion was reporting 11,438 customers without power in Arlington, including widespread outages in North Arlington neighborhoods.

Dominion says a total of 335,000 customers have lost power since Thursday night. The company stopped providing police and the fire department with estimated times of arrival for crews responding to downed lines earlier this morning.

Police Looking for Man Who Filmed Woman in Dressing Room

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are trying to find a man who used his cell phone to film a woman in a dressing room.

The incident happened Wednesday evening on the unit block of S. Glebe Road, the same block as the Goodwill retail store.  Police say a woman was in a dressing room when she saw a man reach under the wall with his phone. The suspect then fled the scene.

More from ACPD:

PEEPING, 2018-02280206, Unit block of S. Glebe Road. At approximately 5:25 p.m. on February 28, police were dispatched to the report of a subject recording a female victim in a dressing room. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 5:00 p.m., while the victim was inside of a fitting room, an unknown male suspect reached under the wall and began recording her with a cell phone. The victim shouted for help and the suspect left the fitting room. The suspect fled the scene prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a light skinned Hispanic male, approximately 40 years old, with a heavy build, a short neck, short curly, black hair, wearing a gray and red striped shirt, a dark jacket, gray or khaki pants, carrying a dark backpack.

Photo via Google Maps

Power Outages in Arlington Tick Up Past 10,000

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Update at 10:50 a.m.) More than 10,000 Dominion customers are currently without power in Arlington, according to the company’s website.

Numerous reports of downed trees, branches and power lines around the county have been rolling in over the past few hours as today’s “high impact” wind storm continues to roar across the D.C. region.

As of as of 10:45 a.m., Dominion was reporting 11,409 customers without electricity in Arlington. Parts of the county affected include large portions of residential North Arlington neighborhoods, as seen on the map about.

Among a growing list of road closures around the county due to downed trees, police are blocking the 6000 block of Washington Blvd, just west of Westover, for a large tree across the road. Another significant road closure is N. Harrison Street between 26th Street N. and Lee Highway.

The fire department has kept busy, calling for staff to volunteer to work a double shift into the afternoon and making frequent trips to buildings where power outages have resulted in stuck elevators.

The Arlington County Police Department is advising residents to steer well clear of downed power lines and trees and to “remain aware of your surroundings and secure your belongings” today. The National Weather Service says the strongest wind gusts are expected through noon, though damaging winds are expected to continue into Friday night.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Golf Course Tax Bill Passes — A bill that would provide a massive tax break to two Arlington country clubs has passed the Virginia General Assembly. The bill, if signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), would cost Arlington $1.5 million or more in tax revenue. [Washington Post]

Military Couple Fights Wife’s Deportation — The wife of a retired Army special forces veteran was to face deportation in an Arlington-based immigration court next week, but the Dept. of Homeland Security is now offering to drop the proceedings. Prior to the reversal, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) called said via social media: “Military families should not be targeted like this. It’s unconscionable.” [Military Times, Twitter]

Cherry Blossom Bloom Prediction — The National Park Service expects peak bloom for the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms to take place March 17-20. [PoPville]

Beyer’s GOP Challenger — “The Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D) used a Feb. 28 meeting of the Arlington County Republican Committee to introduce himself to the county’s GOP rank-and-file. ‘I look forward to the campaign,’ said Thomas Oh… an Army veteran and currently a contractor in Falls Church.” [InsideNova]

Marymount Joins New Conference — Marymount University in Arlington and five other schools have formed the new Atlantic East Conference within NCAA Division III. [Marymount University, Twitter]

County Seeking Budget Feedback — Arlington County is seeking feedback on its proposed budget. The online survey asks residents to weigh in on various priorities, including county employee raises, economic development, Metro funding, school funding, infrastructure investment and affordable housing. [SurveyMonkey]

View More Stories