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
Ballston at twilight with storm clouds looming (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Assault Along Langston Blvd — “4800 block of Langston Boulevard… the two male victims were inside a business when the two male suspects approached and a verbal dispute ensued. The suspects then physically assaulted the victims before fleeing the scene in a SUV. Victim One was transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries considered non-life threatening and Victim Two declined medics on scene.” [ACPD]

Cristol Preps for Tysons Job — “As she prepares to leave elected office after seven and a half years, Arlington County Board member Katie Cristol is looking ahead to her next post. Cristol does not formally come on board as CEO of the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) until July 5 – a day after her County Board resignation takes effect – but earlier this month she appeared before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Economic Initiatives Committee as part of a briefing on the new organization’s plans.” [Gazette Leader]

Dorsey Debt Decision — “No show — Court enters $34k judgment against @ArlCountyBoard Chair Dorsey on June 7th for failure to pay credit card debt.” [Twitter]

‘Apology’ for Karen Comment — From local political consultant Ben Tribbett, as quoted in a press release: “I would like to apologize to any Karen’s who were offended by my comments… Whether they are calling the police on individuals in their neighborhood, playing pickleball or just innocently measuring their neighbors grass length, the Karen community in Arlington plays an important role in the civic lifestyle Arlingtonians have come to expect.” [PDF]

It’s Tuesday — A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 2pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 81. Light southwest wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. At night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 65. [Weather.gov]

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Jun 26, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Monday evening, Arlington. Today we published articles that were read a total of 15538 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Jun 26, 2023.

  1. JUST IN: Community activist charged with sexual assault
  2. The new “athletic country club” in Clarendon is sprinting to open next month
  3. ACPD: Bystanders intervene as suspect fights officer in Clarendon
  4. Morning Notes

📅 Upcoming events

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

⛈️ Tuesday’s forecast

A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 2pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 81. Light southwest wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. At night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 2am. Low around 65. West wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
– Alan Kay

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

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

ACPD: Bystanders intervene as suspect fights officer in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com
Police on scene of assault in Clarendon on Sunday, June 25 (photo courtesy Matthew Hurtt)

A man allegedly assaulted a police officer in Clarendon last night, prompting bystanders to intervene.

The incident happened around 7:45 p.m. Sunday. Police were initially dispatched to N. Danville Street near the Starbucks for a report of a potential domestic violence incident between a man and a woman.

The suspect reportedly started fighting with the first arriving officer before her backup arrived, according to scanner traffic, leading to numerous officers throughout the county speeding to the scene to assist.

Before they arrived, however, several bystanders “attempted to assist the officer as the suspect continued to struggle,” an Arlington County police spokeswoman said. The suspect was eventually taken into custody and now faces multiple charges, including assault on police and DUI.

More, below, from ACPD.

ASSAULT ON POLICE, 2023-06250225, 2600 block of Clarendon Boulevard. At approximately 7:45 p.m. on June 25, police were dispatched to the report of a dispute. The preliminary investigation indicates the male victim observed the suspect yelling at an individual inside a vehicle and banging on the vehicle’s window before the suspect entered the driver’s seat and turned the vehicle on. The victim was recording the incident with his cell phone when the suspect allegedly exited the vehicle, approached the victim and knocked his phone out of his hand. As the responding officer attempted to detain the suspect, he became combative and struggled with and assaulted the officer. Bystanders attempted to assist the officer as the suspect continued to struggle. With the assistance of additional arriving officers, the suspect was taken into custody. [The suspect], 26, of Annandale, VA was arrested and charged with Assault on Police, Assault and Battery, Driving under the Influence and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a secure bond.

JUST IN: Community activist charged with sexual assault

By ARLnow.com
Elder Julio Basurto speaks during the County Board recessed meeting in 2021 (via Arlington County)

A man well known as a local community activist has been charged with sexual assault.

Julio Basurto, 42, was arrested as part of an investigation into a sexual assault that happened early in the morning of Sunday, May 21, Arlington County police said this afternoon.

According to ACPD, Basurto picked up a woman from outside of a bar in Clarendon, then sexually assaulted her part-way through the ride. He was not working as a rideshare driver at the time, police noted.

Prior to his arrest last week, Basurto was frequently quoted by local news outlets — including ARLnow — as a community activist, often going by his church title: “Elder Julio Basurto.” He was outspoken on local issues from drug overdoses in schools to conditions in affordable apartment complexes.

Basurto worked as an interpreter, including for Arlington Public Schools, according to his LinkedIn profile. He served on an APS advisory committee, received an award from a prominent local nonprofit for his tenant advocacy, and was highlighted by a County Board member on his website’s endorsements page.

Arlington police are now actively investigating whether Basurto might have assaulted others.

“This remains an active criminal investigation possibly related to other assaults in the area,” police said in a press release. “Anyone who may have experienced a similar incident or who has had past inappropriate encounters with this suspect is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line.”

Sources tell ARLnow that Basurto’s personality took a dark turn in recent months, leading to a fallout with another local activist. Basurto has no criminal record in Arlington beyond traffic violations over the past few years, according to court records.

The full ACPD press release is below.

The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is announcing the arrest of a suspect in a sexual assault investigation. Julio Basurto, 42, of Arlington, VA is charged with Abduction and Forcible Sodomy. He is being held in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

At approximately 6:40 a.m. on May 21, police met with the adult female victim who reported a sexual assault inside an unknown vehicle. The investigation determined that during the early morning hours, the victim exited a nightlife establishment and was in the 3100 block of Clarendon Boulevard when the suspect approached in a black vehicle and the victim entered. During the course of the ride, the suspect sexually assaulted her before she was able to exit the vehicle. The suspect was not operating as a rideshare driver or in a for-hire status.

During the course of the investigation, detectives reviewed evidence and conducted witness interviews. The review resulted in additional information that led detectives to identify the suspect and obtain warrants for his arrest. He was taken into custody without incident on the evening of June 22.

This remains an active criminal investigation possibly related to other assaults in the area. Anyone who may have experienced a similar incident or who has had past inappropriate encounters with this suspect is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). For additional community resources and contact information, visit our website.

Basurto’s most recent Twitter post was of a bible verse.

NEW: Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued for Arlington

By ARLnow.com
Lightning over Langston Blvd and Metro 29 Diner (file photo)

Arlington County and the rest of the D.C. region are now under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

The watch is in effect until 9 p.m.

Severe storms packing damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible this afternoon and evening, forecasters say. There’s also a threat of flash flooding and a brief tornado.

More from the National Weather Service:

VDOT, meanwhile, says its crews are preparing for the worst.

Earlier today much of the state — including Richmond, Virginia Beach and most of Northern Virginia — were placed under an “enhanced” threat of severe weather by the NWS Storm Prediction Center. That designation is usually only issued once or twice per year for our area.

More, below, from VDOT.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is prepared to address the potential impacts of the forecasted severe weather expected this afternoon and into the evening.

At this time, forecasts indicate that heavy rain and wind gusts will arrive in the Commonwealth between 2 p.m. in western portions of Virginia to midnight in the eastern areas, with regions east of Interstate 81 experiencing the worst conditions. Severe weather threats along and east of the I-95 Corridor could include wind gusts up to 75 mph, large hail and possible isolated tornadoes. The safety of the traveling public and our crews is VDOT’s top priority. As forecasts and conditions could change, travelers should pay close attention to local weather reports and announcements from officials and limit their travels based on conditions.

The weather impacts may cause downed trees, power lines and other debris, as well as flooding that will make roadways extremely hazardous or impassable. Stay away from downed wires and do not approach or touch trees or limbs that are entangled with wires as they could be extremely dangerous. If those are in state maintained roadways, VDOT crews will await the power company to remove any electrical hazard before addressing downed trees or other roadway debris.

“Whenever severe weather is expected, we partner with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Virginia State Police to coordinate efforts,” said VDOT Commissioner Stephen C. Brich, P.E. “Teams throughout the Commonwealth are prepared to address impacts from this storm. We ask for the public’s assistance to remain safe and stay aware of changing weather and road conditions in their area and along their travel routes.”

Travelers should use extreme caution on roadways:

  • Obey all “road closed” signage.
  • “Turn around, don’t drown” – Do not attempt to travel through flooded roadways. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the primary causes of flood-related deaths occur to individuals driving into or walking in or near flood waters.
    • 6 inches of flood water is enough to knock an adult off of their feet
    • 12 inches can move most cars
    • 18-24 inches can carry away most large SUVs, vans and trucks
  • Be alert to debris, downed trees and power lines
  • Move over for emergency crews operating in or near roadways.
  • Be alert to High Wind Advisories, especially on bridges or taller structures. High-profile vehicles such as tractor trailers, SUVs or box trucks are especially vulnerable and should not cross a bridge when a High Wind Advisory is posted.

Prior to travel, the public should check road conditions by calling 511, visiting www.511Virginia.org or checking the 511 Virginia mobile app.

Morning Poll: Do you consider ‘Karen’ an offensive term?

By ARLnow.com
A file photo of a business woman who is stressed and frustrated (Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash)

“Karen” has been making the rounds again in Arlington.

The slang term, popularized after a 2020 incident in New York City that got national attention, refers to “a middle-class white woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal,” according to Wikipedia.

It was brought last week in the context of the Democratic primary.

Geographic distribution of votes for Commonwealth’s Attorney on Election Day (via Virginia Public Access Project)

From an ARLnow article Friday morning:

[Political consultant Ben] Tribbett was more blunt about what he saw as the electoral dynamic, citing the geographic distribution of votes in the Commonwealth’s Attorney race in particular.

“It’s the Karens versus the non-Karens,” he said. “Clearly, there’s a divide in the community that jumps out at you.”

“When that divide crosses over into multiple races and they follow the same pattern of results, even when fought on different issues… it tells you this is a lot more about different visions for the community than it is about any individual issue,” Tribbett added.

That did not sit well with some segment of our readership.

“Karen” in that context is generally considered a pejorative term, but at least one reader saw it as a slur, and wanted its use — including by those in the comment section — banned.

From an email we received:

Please STOP allowing ArlNow commenters to call women who are concerned with deteriorating quality-of-life in Arlington, and speak out about it, “Karens”.

The meme “Karen” has evolved over several years into borderline hate speech directed against middle aged White women who are unhappy with deteriorating quality of life here (e.g., crime in their neighborhoods) and call ACPD when, for example, they see suspicious behavior.

Charles, Arlington

Do you agree with the emailer that the term “Karen” is offensive? Or something more benign?

Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Storm clouds over Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Flyover Planned This Morning — From D.C.’s alert system: “The US Navy will conduct a flyover over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, June 26th, 2023 at 9:15AM.”

Equipment Issue Grounds Flights — “Flights to and from airports in the Washington region were suspended for a time Sunday evening after a problem at a major air traffic control facility, according to both the Federal Aviation Administration and the local airports authority. Departures from both National and Dulles were subjected to a ground stop.” [Washington Post]

Dateline Examines Arlington Murder — “The murder of Arlington resident Andrea Cincotta, who was found strangled and stuffed inside a bedroom closet 25 years ago, [was] featured Friday night on a new episode of NBC News’ ‘Dateline.’ […] “Dateline” interviewed Cincotta’s son, Kevin Cincotta, in his first network television interview on the case.” ABC’s 20/20 also recently aired an episode about the case. [Patch, Peacock]

Arlington Rises in Dog Park Rankings — “Arlington County ranked as the fifth-best city in the U.S. for its dog parks in 2023, up from its ranking as 14th best a year ago, according to a new report by LawnStarter. Among the key metrics used by LawnStarter, Arlington ranked fourth for the number of top-rated dog parks, eighth for the number of dog parks per 100,000 residents, and 44th for the number of very hot days.” [Patch]

Dogs Go to Jail — “The Arlington County Detention Facility had some special four-legged visitors Wednesday as a local therapy dog organization, People Animals Love, interacted with those incarcerated.” [ACSO]

Pike Library to Stay Open — “Construction may be about to begin on the new Arlington Career Center building, but patrons using the adjacent Columbia Pike branch library should not see significant impacts. ‘No library services or programs will be affected and Columbia Pike Library will remain open during the construction period,’ county officials said.” [Gazette Leader]

More Metro Service Improvements — “Metro customers will see more trains, more buses, and simpler fares next week as Metro rolls out its tenth service improvement since last summer… Beginning Monday, June 26, Orange Line trains will operate every 10 minutes from opening until 9:30 p.m.” [WMATA]

It’s Monday — Chances of storms throughout the day. Storms later in the day may be severe. High near 90. South wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. At night: Showers and storms. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Low around 66. [Weather.gov]

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Jun 23, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Friday evening, Arlington. Today we published articles that were read a total of 4013 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Jun 23, 2023.

  1. An update in the ‘wide open’ Arlington County Board race could come this afternoon
  2. Morning Notes
  3. Morning Poll: Are you more or less optimistic about Arlington than one year ago?
  4. Local kabob shop donates meals to children fighting rare diseases

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. Young black bear spotted in Arlington (20232 views)
  2. JUST IN: Woman stabbed to death in Virginia Square apartment building (17537 views)
  3. JUST IN: Bear spotted in another N. Arlington neighborhood (15348 views)
  4. NOW: Police searching for pursuit suspect near Air Force Memorial (7962 views)
  5. DEVELOPING: Dehghani-Tafti ahead in early vote tally as results roll in (4915 views)
  6. Shove seriously injures innocent bystander near East Falls Church Metro (3964 views)
  7. New Japanese restaurant opening in Ballston, next to Uncle Julio’s (3773 views)
  8. An update in the ‘wide open’ Arlington County Board race could come this afternoon (2679 views)
  9. Light turnout so far for Democratic primary in Arlington (2630 views)
  10. Celtic House planning to expand with lower level whisky bar (1947 views)
  11. Local civic association says parks department ignoring their pickleball court objections (1747 views)

📅 Upcoming events

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

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

⛈️ Saturday’s forecast

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Southwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. At night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 68. Southwest wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
– William James

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

WaPo: Caps and Wizards have had ‘preliminary’ talks about new arena in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
MedStar Capitals Iceplex (via Monumental Sports and Entertainment)

Could Arlington one day be the home of the Capitals and the Wizards?

The Washington Post says talks to build a new arena in the National Landing area, not far from Amazon’s HQ2, are underway — but are in the early stages. The talks come as Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the NHL and NBA franchises, contemplates leaving Capital One Arena in D.C. after the expiration of a lease clause in 2027.

“MSE executives have also talked to Virginia government officials about relocating the Capitals and Wizards from downtown D.C. to Northern Virginia, near Amazon’s new HQ2, according to three people with knowledge of the situation, who were not authorized to speak publicly about negotiations,” the Post reported Friday. “Two people familiar with the talks, including a Monumental official, described them as preliminary and exploratory.”

“If Monumental were to leave for Virginia, it would follow Amazon into a neighborhood boosters have renamed ‘National Landing,’ which has already started experiencing rapid transformation,” the Post’s article adds. “The move would be a major economic development win for both Arlington County and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who has been mulling a 2024 presidential bid.”

It’s unclear where a new arena might go in the largely built-out neighborhood. The long-vacant PenPlace site, once contemplated as a possible landing spot for a Washington Nationals stadium before the team committed to D.C., is set to become the second phase of HQ2. That project, including the signature “Helix” building, is delayed but local officials expect it to get underway next year.

Another plot of land just to the west of PenPlace, however, is set for redevelopment, across from the Pentagon City Metro station, and located on a pair of high-capacity roads near I-395.

The Capitals already have a presence in Arlington — the MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Ballston hosts the hockey team’s training facility and team offices.

UPDATED: Coffey, Cunningham win County Board primary

By ARLnow.com
1/9

(Updated at 9:40 a.m. on 6/26/23) The ballots have all been counted and the results are finalized: Maureen Coffey and Susan Cunningham are the Democratic nominees for the Arlington County Board.

The results, released at 3:15 p.m. today (Saturday), culminated Arlington’s trial run of ranked-choice voting method. Eyes across the state were reportedly on Arlington, which the state legislature allowed to use the process for County Board elections one year before extending the right to the rest of the Commonwealth.

At noon today, Arlington election officials adjudicated the remaining 135 provisional ballots and began tabulating them around 1 p.m. These ballots were not expected to change the outcome of the tabulation yesterday (Friday), when officials processed ballots from early voting, primary day voting, and mail-in ballots.

On Tuesday’s primary day, no candidate in the six-way race crossed the threshold with only the first round of votes counted. Arlington waited until all the ballots were in, save provisional ballots, before eliminating lower vote-getters and tallying second- and third-place rankings.

Coffey, a researcher for the think tank American Progress, appears to have captured votes from many millennial renters like herself, receiving 10,786 votes.

Cunningham, who ran an unsuccessful bid for Arlington County Board as an independent in 2020, received 14,208 votes, initially carried by several precincts north of Langston Blvd.

Arlington County Board Democratic Primary Round 1 votes by precinct (by Jo DeVoe)

Coffey emerged victorious in the fourth round, after Jonathan Dromgoole, Tony Weaver and Julius “JD” Spain were eliminated, in that order. Cunningham crossed the victory threshold in round six, after Natalie Roy was eliminated.

How the ranking rounds played out for Arlington County Board (via Virginia Dept. of Elections)

Tabulation yesterday and today at county government headquarters was open to the public as was the certification of the results.

Both Coffey and Cunningham were both present on Friday. Coffey observed the vibe in the tabulation room was upbeat, complimenting Director of Elections Gretchen Reinemeyer for walking through every step, even though it seemed boring and technical.

“But as we waited for each step to happen, people were joking and laughing and being silly with it,” she said. “I think it’s reflective, Arlington County has some really good people.”

After the preliminary results were finalized on Friday, Coffey seemed stunned.

“This is so surreal,” she said. “This is wild.”

Cunningham was similarly upbeat.

“I am just excited at the prospect of serving our community next January,” Cunningham told ARLnow shortly after the tabulation. “I’m ready to take a true deep breath and I’m really proud of our candidates and the community for having a good and clean race.”

(more…)

Adoptable Pet of the Week: Cosmic Brownie

By ARLnow.com
1/2

The newest Adoptable Pet of the Week is Cosmic Brownie!

This girl is an adorable pup who is up for adoption at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.

Cosmic Brownie had this to say about herself:

I’m a bouncy pup who is still learning all about life in a home. I’m sweet as brownies and would like to rocket right out of this world on an adventure with you.

As a growing pup, I will need lots of attention and training to raise me just right. I am probably gonna grow up to be a big girl, so having excellent manners will make me a successful pet. I’m definitely still in my puppy phase, so be ready!

At AWLA I worked with trainers to ignore distractions, practice good manners, and connect to my handler on walks. In foster, I’ve worked on showcasing my cuteness and trying to explore my new home.

Is this girl the puppy you’ve been searching for? Read her entire profile to learn more!

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos — they don’t fit in our photo gallery!

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