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.

Police: Man Filmed Woman While in Bathroom of Clarendon Restaurant

By ARLnow.com

A man allegedly filmed a woman in the bathroom stall of a Clarendon restaurant last night.

The incident happened just before 9 p.m. Monday, on the 3100 block of Wilson Blvd, according to the Arlington County Police Department. That block, across from the Clarendon Metro station, is home to a long stretch of bars and restaurants.

Police say that the woman was in the bathroom when she looked up and saw a man filming her with what appeared to be a cell phone.

“The victim advised that she was inside the restroom when she felt a presence, causing her to look up,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The victim then observed an unknown male suspect recording her. Once the victim observed the suspect, he fled the scene on foot.”

“The suspect is described as a 50-60 year old white male with long gray hair and blue eyes,” Savage continued. “He was wearing a blue plaid shirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident. The investigation is ongoing.”

Report: Man Robbed By Armed Man in Buckingham

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) Arlington County Police are investigating an alleged armed robbery that happened mid-afternoon on Monday.

According to initial reports, a Buckingham resident was robbed by an armed man after withdrawing cash from a bank along Columbia Pike.

A police spokeswoman said the robbery occurred inside a residence on N. Thomas Street in Buckingham. The suspect remains at large.

More from today’s ACPD crime report:

ARMED ROBBERY, 2017-06120175, 300 block of N. Thomas Street. At approximately 2:07 p.m. on June 12, officers responded to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, the victim reported that an unknown male subject brandished a firearm and stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the victim. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. Responding units established a perimeter with negative results. The investigation is ongoing.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

D.C. and Arlington: Tech Towns? — The Greater Washington area has ranked third on a major real estate firm’s list of “Tech Cities 1.0.” The area received high marks for its educated workforce and pace of startup growth. Arlington, meanwhile, is continuing to land tech firms from D.C. and Fairfax County, in part thanks to active outreach and an incentive program from Arlington Economic Development. State incentives helped keep Applied Predictive Technologies in Ballston; the firm has a new office and is now expanding and creating 350 jobs.

Exotic Pet Ban Vote Delayed — The Arlington County Board is expected to delay its consideration of a new exotic pet ban until the fall. The proposal has garnered strong reactions from both sides of the issue, including from the D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute, which is urging the Board to approve the ban. [InsideNova]

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Gets Architect — Denver-based Fentress Architects has been selected as the designer of the $75 million 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center. The center will be built near the intersection of Washington Blvd and Columbia Pike, which is set to be realigned as part of an expansion of Arlington National Cemetery.  [Washington Business Journal]

DJO Standout in Running for National Recognition — Bishop O’Connell High School softball standout Kathryn Sandercock is in the running for USA Today’s ALL-USA High School Softball Player of the Year. She is currently second in an online poll. Sandercock was also just named to the 2017 Spring All-Met first team. Other Arlington high school students named to the first team All-Met in their sports include three boys soccer and one girls soccer player. [USA Today]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

County Board to Consider Contract for Clark Street Demolition

By ARLnow.com
1/3

A key transportation goal of the Crystal City Sector Plan is close to becoming reality.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday is expected to consider a $6.3 million contract to demolish the elevated portion of S. Clark Street between 12th Street and 20th Street S.

While taking away a useful but relatively lightly used shortcut across Crystal City, the project will “normalize the street network and create more development space in the Crystal City area,” according to the county staff report.

More from the county’s webpage for the project:

The South Clark-Bell Street Demolition project is a goal of both the Crystal City Sector Plan and Crystal City Multimodal Transportation Study. It will improve safety for all modes of transportation and will establish the long-term street grid for the north and south portions of Crystal City along with the 15th Street South/South Clark-Bell Street Realignment project.

The elevated portions of South Clark-Bell Street will be demolished north of 18th Street South. South of 18th Street South, new open space will be created in the existing roadway right-of-way and new sidewalks, landscaping, and lighting along U.S. Route 1 will be provided. The project will also establish new building pad development sites for redevelopment of Crystal City, with the necessary infrastructure to transform the U.S. Route 1 corridor in Crystal City on the east side.

The project also includes traffic signal upgrades at 20th Street S. and Route 1.

The winning bid on the project was $6.3 million from Ardent Company, LLC, which was higher than the original $5.5 million county engineer’s estimate, but much lower than the only other bid published: $15 million from Fort Myer Construction Corporation.

If approved by the County Board, the contract would include a $1.3 million contingency for a total authorization of $7.6 million.

Construction is expected to begin this fall and wrap up in the summer of 2019.

Photo via Google Maps

W-L High School Closes Due to A/C Issues

By ARLnow.com

Washington-Lee High School has been closed and students sent home early due to air conditioning issues.

The HVAC problems at W-L struck on one of the hottest days of the year so far.

Separately, the air conditioning system for the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program was down this morning, but workers were able to get the chiller “back up and running,” according to an Arlington Public Schools spokeswoman. Classes there remain in session.

Washington-Lee’s principal sent the following email to parents this morning.

Dear W-L Families,

We appreciate your children’s patience and resilience as we deal with the HVAC issue in the building.

APS has decided to release students early. We will follow these procedures:

Buses will operate per usual routes.

Walkers will make their way home as normal.

Students who are unable to depart at the new dismissal time may remain on campus — a room in the trailer, where HVAC is unaffected, is available.

APS Facilities and Operations are currently in the building trying to address the problem.

Thank you to our families for their flexibility and support during this unusual situation.

Sincerely,

Gregg

Dr. Gregg Robertson
Principal, Washington-Lee High School

Photo via Google Maps

ACPD Officer Rescues Kitten From Car Engine

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) An Arlington County Police officer rescued a kitten over the weekend.

The officer found the kitten in the engine compartment of a car in Clarendon and was able to coax her out and hold her until animal control arrived.

That earned her kudos from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington’s Facebook account. Via AWLA:

Thank you to Officer Ernesto from The Arlington County Police Department for saving this little kitten! Officer Ernesto found this little kitten (now named Grease Monkey) in a car engine in Clarendon. She was able to coax the kitten out and hold on to her until Animal Control arrived. Thank you Officer Ernesto!

The rescue happened early Saturday morning, after Officer Ernesto saw people peering into the hood of a car, at the corner of 12th Street N. and N. Garfield Street, and stopped to help.

“At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, Officer Ernesto was on routine patrol when she observed a group of individuals at the intersection of 12th Street at Garfield Street using lights to look into the hood of a vehicle,” an ACPD spokeswoman said. “Officer Ernesto stopped to assist what she believed was a disabled vehicle and later determined there was kitten stuck inside.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Yorktown Girls Win Soccer Championship — The Yorktown girls soccer team has won the state Group 6A championship for the first time, defeating the Kellam Knights 1-0 on Saturday. The state champs placed second in a regional tournament to reach the state finals. [InsideNova]

Arlington Triathlon Held — Kids ages 7-15 woke up early to participate in the Arlington Triathlon at Washington-Lee High School over the weekend. [WTOP]

Gunston Getting More Seats — Thanks to a proposed $651,000 internal modification project, Gunston Middle School will be able to add 72 seats, increasing its overall capacity to 1,004 students. [InsideNova]

Nearby: Alexandria Struggles With Housing Promise — “The escalating cost of construction and dramatic changes in how affordable housing is ­financed are leading Alexandria officials to consider modifying a requirement to replace any of its 1,150 public housing units that are redeveloped with equally priced apartments.” [Washington Post]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

221 N. George Mason Drive
1 Bed/1 Bath Condo
Agent: Evan Lacopo
Listed: $205,o00
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

1300 S. Arlington Ridge Road #508
1 Bed/1 Bath Condo
Agent: Derick Hammond
Listed: $242,500
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

4201 Lee Highway #510
2 Bed/1 Bath Condo
Agent: Kevin Makowski
Listed: $299,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

5509 4th Street S.
2 Bed/1 Bath Single-Family Detached
Agent: Ellen Heather
Listed: $625,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

2239 N. Columbus Street
4 Bed/2 Bath Single Family Detached
Agent: Carol Mcewen
Listed: $735,000
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

1111 19th Street N.
2 Beds/2 Bath Condo
Agent: Susan Hand
Listed: $920,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3104 N. Dinwiddie Street
5 Bed/4 Bath Single-Family Detached
Agent: Bradshaw Chamberlin
Listed: $1,735,522
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

Teen Driver Eludes Police, Then Crashes Car

By ARLnow.com

A teen driving a car with no license plates sped away from police but then crashed shortly thereafter.

It happened around 2:30 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Route 50 and Fillmore Street. Police say they didn’t pursue the car, in accordance with Arlington County Police Department policy against chasing suspects for traffic violations alone, but the driver was soon involved in a single-vehicle crash.

More from today’s daily ACPD crime report:

ELUDING, 2017-06080029, Arlington Boulevard at S. Fillmore Street. At approximately 2:30 a.m. on June 8, an officer on routine patrol observed a vehicle traveling with no license plates and attempted to conduct a traffic stop by activating their emergency equipment. The driver refused to stop, increased their speed and fled from the officer. A vehicle pursuit was not initiated. Shortly after, the Emergency Communication Center was notified of a single vehicle crash involving the suspect vehicle. The juvenile suspect was taken into custody and petitions were obtained for felony eluding, possession of stolen property, no operating license and no registration.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Road Closures for Bike Races — As a reminders, there will be significant road closures in Clarendon and Crystal City on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, for the Armed Forces Cycling Classic.

Arlington Woman Invented ‘Monopoly’ Precursor — An Arlington woman may have been the “real” inventor of the board game Monopoly. Lizzie Magie, who died in Arlington in 1948, created a board game very similar to Monopoly. Three decades later, Charles Darrow, taking inspiration from Magie’s game, created Monopoly and sold it to Parker Brothers. [Arlington Magazine]

I-66 Tolls Expected to Start in December — New tolls on single-occupancy vehicles on I-66 are now expected to take effect in December. Electronic toll signs have started going up near I-66 on-ramps. [Twitter, NBC Washington]

Krupicka Having Fun Running Donut Stores — Former member of the Virginia House of Delegates Rob Krupicka is enjoying his second act: owning Sugar Shack donut stores in Arlington, Alexandria and now D.C. [Washington City Paper]

Wages Drop in Arlington — Mirroring regional and national trends, average weekly wages in Arlington dropped 1.4 percent, to $1,677, in the last three months of 2016. Arlington ranked as the seventh-highest average weekly wage in the country. [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by Bekah Richards

Arlington Nonprofits Raise Thousands During One-Day Giving Campaign

By ARLnow.com

Arlington-based nonprofits have raised more than $16,000 so far as part of the United Way’s Do More 24 campaign.

The 24-hour fundraising campaign encourages D.C. area donors to give to any of more than 700 local participating nonprofits, thus funding “programs and services right here in our own community.”

“Held on June 8, 2017, Do More 24 is the DMV’s largest 24-hour online fundraiser,” said the United Way of the National Capital Area. “Last year, Do More 24 raised more than $1.55 million, which allowed nonprofit organizations to fill holes in their budget, buy desperately needed new equipment and serve more people in need across our region.”

Among the Arlington-based organizations on the Do More 24 leaderboard as of 5 p.m. Thursday were:

To help generate excitement for the campaign, many local nonprofits were active on social media, posting videos, detailing good things for which donations would be used, and setting goals for matching donations.

The donation campaign runs through 11:59 p.m. tonight (Thursday).

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