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 Notes

By ARLnow.com

ARLnow’s Eighth Birthday — Today is the eighth anniversary of the founding of ARLnow.com. Here is our first post ever.

Sexual Harassment FOIA Folo — In a follow-up to our FOIA request seeking any records of sexual harassment or assault allegations against senior Arlington officials since 2000 — no such records were found — we asked about any such cases, against any county employee, that were handled by the County Attorney’s office over the past decade. The response from the county’s FOIA officer: “There are no records responsive to your request because no such cases exist.” The last publicly reported case was that against an Arlington police officer in 2007.

Vihstadt Launches Re-election Bid — Arlington County Board member John Vihstadt made it official last night: he is running for re-election. Vihstadt, who is running as an independent, has picked up at least one Democratic challenger so far. However, he again has the backing of a number of prominent Democrats, including fellow Board member Libby Garvey, Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos and Treasurer Carla de la Pava. [InsideNova]

County Accepts Millions in Grant Funds — “The Arlington County Board today accepted $17.85 million in grant funding from three transportation entities that will be used for transit, bridge renovation and transportation capital projects in the County.” Among the projects is a new west entrance for the Ballston Metro station. [Arlington County]

County Board Accepts Immigration Donation — “The Arlington County Board today accepted a resident’s anonymous donation for a Citizenship Scholarship to help Arlingtonians pay the $725 federal application fee charged to those seeking to become U.S. citizens.” [Arlington County]

Man Convicted of 7-Eleven Robberies — A man arrested last year for a string of robberies has been convicted by a federal jury of three armed robberies and an armed carjacking. Among the crimes were two armed robberies of 7-Eleven stores in Arlington. [Alexandria News]

Arlington Lauded for Solar Program — The U.S. Department of Energy has named Arlington County a “SolSmart” community “for making it faster, easier and more affordable for Arlington homes and businesses to go solar.” [Twitter, Arlington County]

Flickr photo by John Sonderman

New Arlington Population Estimate: 239,074

By ARLnow.com

A new estimate from the University of Virginia’s Cooper Center pegs Arlington’s population at 239,074 as of mid-2017.

That would make Arlington the fourth fastest-growing locality in Virginia since the 2010 U.S. Census, when Arlington’s population was 207,627. Of the top seven fastest-growing Virginia localities, according to UVA demographers, most are in Northern Virginia.

The following lists the latest population estimate and percent change since 2010 of the top seven on the list.

  1. Loudoun County — 396,068 (26.8%)
  2. New Kent County — 21,709 (17.8%)
  3. Falls Church City — 14,269 (15.7%)
  4. Arlington County — 239,074 (15.1%)
  5. Alexandria City — 160,719 (14.8%)
  6. Fredericksburg City — 27,645 (13.8%)
  7. Prince William County — 455,990 (13.4%)

The estimate puts the year-over-year population growth in Arlington, from mid-2016 to mid-2017, at 2,383 — about 1 percent.

The UVA estimates are significantly higher than figures cited by Arlington County in its 2017 county profile. The profile says Arlington’s population was estimated at 222,800 as of Jan. 1, 2017, an increase of only 7.3 percent since 2010. The county’s estimates are “based on housing unit counts and residential construction activity.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Arlington’s population at 230,050 as of July 1, 2016. The next official decennial Census count will take place in 2020.

Arlington estimates that the county’s population will reach 278,100 by 2040.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn Vying for Amazon HQ2 — Rosslyn is being pitched as a possible destination for Amazon’s second headquarters, alongside Crystal City and other Northern Virginia locales. Rosslyn’s main downside is a lack of space for Amazon’s growth ambitions, but the neighborhood does have a sizable office development pipeline, close proximity to Georgetown and D.C., monumental views and numerous transit options. [Washington Business Journal]

Metro Approves Service Guarantee — “Metro’s Board of Directors today approved the Rush Hour Promise program, a first-of-its-kind service guarantee for Metro customers. Beginning with tomorrow morning’s rush hour commute, on Friday, January 26, if a Metrorail or Metrobus customer using a registered SmarTrip card is delayed by 15 minutes or more, Metro will credit the customer’s SmarTrip card for future travel.” [WMATA]

Fire in Cherrydale — Arlington County firefighters extinguished a chimney fire in the Cherrydale neighborhood last night. The fire did not spread and no one was hurt. [Twitter]

Nominations for Park Volunteer Award — Nominations are being accepted through Friday, Feb. 2 for Arlington’s Bill Thomas Outstanding Park Service Award. The award “was established to pay tribute to lifelong parks volunteer Bill Thomas and to honor and encourage those residents who also demonstrate a passionate dedication and support for [Arlington parks] programs, natural resources and public open spaces.” [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

Crime Report: Man With Gun Threatens Hotel Employees

By ARLnow.com

A Maryland man entered the lobby of a Courthouse hotel early Tuesday morning, made some demands and then threatened employees with a gun when the demands were not met, police say.

The man was seeking “the business cards of management,” according to this week’s Arlington County crime report. Police did not give an explanation for why he wanted business cards at 1 a.m.

Responding officers were able to find the man nearby, based on a “lookout” broadcast after the victims called 911. He was arrested and now faces multiple charges.

More from ACPD:

BRANDISHING, 2018-01230010, 2400 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 1:00 a.m. on January 23, police were dispatched to the report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, it was determined that a male suspect entered the lobby of a business, made contact with two employees and requested the business cards of management. When the victims declined, the suspect threatened them, brandished a firearm and fled in his vehicle prior to police arrival. A lookout was broadcast based upon the suspect description provided by witnesses and arriving officers located a vehicle and suspect matching the description nearby. Richard Hylton Jr., 28, of Gaithersburg, MD, was arrested and charged with Assault & Battery (x2), Brandishing a Firearm, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon (x2).

This week’s crime report was one of the shorter ones in recent memory. The remaining items from it are below.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (series), 2018-01170105, 4000 block of Lee Highway. At approximately 12:06 a.m. on January 17, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny from auto. Upon arrival, it was determined that an unknown suspect(s) removed the tires from and tampered with multiple vehicles in the parking lot of a business. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (series), 2018-01170002, 01170124, 1000 block of Arlington Boulevard. At approximately 12:08 a.m. on January 17, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny from auto. Upon arrival, it was determined that between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on January 16, an unknown suspect(s) smashed the windows of two vehicles and stole items of value. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Gets New Emergency Management Director — Arlington County has named Aaron Miller as its new Director of the Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management. He is currently the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for the City of New Orleans. [Arlington County]

Gunston Students Win Anti-Bullying Video Competition — Two eighth-grade girls from Gunston Middle School have won a second-place prize from the AT&T Film Awards for their cyberbullying prevention video. The duo will receive $2,000 in camera equipment and a one-day workshop at Gunston with professional filmmakers. [WJLA]

Vihstadt Could Face Tough Reelection — Democrats are energized by their opposition to President Donald Trump, and that could mean an especially challenging reelection for independent County Board member John Vihstadt. A blue wave in the 2018 midterms may make Vihstadt more vulnerable to his eventual Democratic challenger, one local political blogger suggests. [Blue Virginia]

Expensive Morning Commute on I-66 — “The toll to travel along eastbound Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia hit $46.75 Wednesday morning, about a week after it notched a record high.” [Washington Post]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

County: No Record of Recent Sexual Harassment Cases Involving Senior Officials

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County’s Dept. of Human Resources has no record of any allegations of workplace sexual harassment or sexual assault against senior county officials over the past 18 years.

That’s the response ARLnow.com received to a Freedom of Information Act request, filed in the wake of a wave of sexual misconduct allegations in Hollywood, politics and the news business.

The recent #MeToo awakening started with explosive allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and has since spread, with dozens of prominent men from Kevin Spacey to Matt Lauer to Rep. John Conyers Jr. facing accusations that have led to firings and resignations.

One common thread: often the men accused of serious wrongdoing — from rape to harassment — were in positions of authority, which they used against their victims.

ARLnow wanted to see if anyone in a position of high authority within Arlington County government has been accused of sexual harassment or assault since 2000. At first we asked a county spokeswoman, who then directed us to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

Here’s the response we received to our FOIA filing:

This letter is in response to your Virginia Freedom of Information Act request for details of any allegations, known to Arlington County’s Human Resources Department, of sexual assault or sexual harassment against Arlington County elected officials or senior staff members (director level or above) since 2000.

Please note, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3704(B)(3) the requested records could not be found or do not exist.

Thank you for contacting this office.

Sincerely,

Ina Chandler
Arlington County FOIA Officer

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Career Center Redevelopment Could Be Big for Pike — County and school officials are moving forward with a redevelopment of the Arlington Career Center site, which holds the possibility of helping to shape the future of Columbia Pike. “We see this as a huge opportunity to create a crown jewel of Columbia Pike. The only question is the amount of money that might be invested,” said Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization Executive Director Cecelia Cassidy. [InsideNova]

N. Va. Real Estate Continues Upward Trajectory — As illustrated by a table showing the past four decades of Northern Virginia real estate sales and average prices, the local real estate market has been on a long-term upward trend. Last year continued the trend, with a 4.1 percent increase in prices and a 6.9 percent increase in total sales. [InsideNova]

Five Guys at DCA Closed for Renovations — The Five Guys burger restaurant in Terminal C of Reagan National Airport is reportedly closed, temporarily, for renovations. [PoPville]

TechShop Evicted in Crystal City — Financially troubled makerspace chain TechShop has officially been evicted from its location in Crystal City. [Washington Business Journal]

Some Experts Say Prepaid Property Tax Will Be Deductible — Don’t ask for a refund of your prepaid property taxes, say some tax experts. Despite the IRS stating that taxes prepaid to jurisdictions like Arlington County will not be deductible on your taxes this year, before a cap on state and local tax deductions goes into effect, some experts believe that legal challenges to the IRS determination will prevail. [Washington Post]

Applications Accepted for ‘Neighborhood College’ — “Learn how to become a neighborhood advocate and effect change through Arlington County’s free Neighborhood College program, which meets on eight consecutive Thursday evenings, beginning April 12, 2018.” [Arlington County]

Video: A-Town Co-Owner Speaks Out About Imposter

By ARLnow.com

Scott Parker had been dealing with someone posing as him on social media for some time, but he had no idea how far the imposter would go to try to wreck his reputation.

That’s what the A-Town, Don Tito, Barley Mac and G.O.A.T. co-owner told Fox 5’s morning show earlier this week.

Parker was discussing an incident in which an imposter Facebook account sent a well-known writer a hateful, profanity-laced rant that encouraged her to kill herself. The journalist, not realizing at the time that it was not the real Scott Parker, then posted a screenshot of the message she received.

“It happened very fast,” Parker said.

The backlash over the message sent by the “catfish” account led to death threats and angry calls to bars, before it was determined that the real-life Scott Parker was not responsible.

“It was not my first time dealing with trolls,” Parker told Fox 5, “but what woke me up to the dangers of the whole thing is that they’re going after other people now.”

Parker said he was considering working with the police to catch the owner of the troll account, but then decided against it.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Puerto Rico Pets Coming to Arlington for Adoption — Dogs and cats from Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, were flown from the island to the D.C. area over the weekend by Arlington-based Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. The pets arrived via van convoy to a hero’s welcome in Shirlington and are now up for adoption. [Washington Post]

Arlington Among ‘Best Places to Live’ — City ranker Livability.com is out with its 2018 “Top 100 Best Places To Live” list and Arlington has placed No. 35, one spot below Pittsburgh and one above Asheville, N.C. Arlington previously ranked No. 3 on the list. [Livability]

Lower Property Value Rise Will Cause Budget Challenges — “The year-over-year increase in real-estate assessments throughout Arlington came in lower than government officials had expected, which may cause problems for County Board members trying to avoid either tax increases or budget cuts.” [InsideNova]

More on Key Bridge Marriott Sale — The new owners of the Key Bridge Marriott in Rosslyn may benefit from the previous owner’s application to the FAA to construct buildings up to 470 feet tall on the property, which overlooks Georgetown and the Potomac River. The FAA application is “an indication it was setting the stage for the site’s redevelopment.” [Washington Business Journal]

Betsy Franz Leaves Leadership Center — Leadership Center for Excellence (formerly Leadership Arlington) founding President and CEO Betsy Frantz is leaving the organization in April to become President of the Virginia Hospital Center Health System Foundation. Liz Nohra, the COO of LCE, will take over as Acting President and CEO. [Leadership Center for Excellence]

Eviction Notice for TechShop in Crystal City — “A Jan. 18 eviction notice from the Arlington County sheriff’s department now hangs in the storefront of the maker space chain’s Crystal City location. The notice comes more than a month after San Jose, California-based TechShop announced it would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and then, a few weeks later, disclosed in early December it was reaching a deal to be acquired.” [Washington Business Journal]

County to Connect Building Owners and Investors for Sustainability — “All systems are ‘go’ for Arlington’s new ‘C-PACE’ program, a first-in-Virginia public-private partnership to provide affordable, long-term financing to improve energy or water efficiency of commercial buildings.” [Arlington County]

Reminder: Use Salt in Moderation — Prior to this morning’s rain, Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services tweeted a reminder to residents to avoid excess application of salt during freezing weather. “Use only as much as needed and no more to melt ice because this will wash into our watershed,” DES said. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Police: Three Arrested for Gang-Related Stabbing Along Four Mile Run

By ARLnow.com

Update at 11:55 a.m. — Three suspects, all teens, have been arrested and charged in the stabbing. Police say the incident was gang-related.

Police have charged three Alexandria, VA juveniles for their involvement in a stabbing on the Four Mile Run Trail on Monday evening. The suspects, ages 16 and 17, were each charged with Aggravated Malicious Wounding, Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Malicious Wounding and Gang Participation.

At approximately 4:50 p.m. on January 22, police were dispatched to the 3400 block of S. Glebe Road for the report of a stabbing. Arriving officers located one male victim suffering from multiple stab wounds and immediately began performing life saving measures. The victim was transported by Alexandria Fire Medics to George Washington University Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

The investigation determined that the male victim was walking on the trail when he was approached by the suspects. Following a verbal altercation, the suspects assaulted the victim before fleeing the area. Arriving officers established a perimeter and located three suspects matching the descriptions provided by witnesses.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing. Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact Detective Henretty of the Arlington County Police Department’s Gang Unit at 703-228-4110 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Earlier: Arlington County Police are investigating a stabbing along the Four Mile Run Trail.

The stabbing happened around 4:50 p.m., along the trail near the county’s water treatment plant. Police say a man was stabbed after some sort of altercation with a group of suspects.

Other trail users came to the victim’s aid. He was transported to the trauma center at George Washington University Hospital and is expected to survive.

An ACPD spokeswoman said the investigation is “ongoing” and that police talked to witnesses at the scene, but thus far no arrests have been made. As of Monday evening there was no description of any of the suspects nor any word of a motive for the crime.

Photo via Google Maps

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