Author: ARLnow.com

Another Push to Remove Lee’s Name — “Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) today announced the introduction of bicameral legislation to redesignate the National Historic Site known as ‘Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial’ to its original name ‘Arlington House.'” [Press Release]

Record DCA Passenger Traffic — “Reagan National reported just under 1.15 million enplanements in May, up 3.1 percent from a year before and up 4.2 percent from May 2019, the last comparable month before the pandemic arrived. The 2023 figure is an all-time record for May passenger counts at the airport.” [Gazette Leader]

Firefighters Ratify Labor Agreement — From IAFF Local 2800: “The last Collective Bargaining Agreement in Arlington County was in 1975. Today, our members unanimously ratified the next Collective Bargaining Agreement that will go into effect July 1st. Extremely thankful to County staff that helped make this happen.” The agreement will cost the county about $6 million over three fiscal years, according to a staff report from November. [Twitter]

No Opposition for Klingler — “The June 20 candidate-filing deadline came and went, leaving Kim Klingler as the lone contender on the Nov. 7 ballot for commissioner of revenue… The commissioner of revenue is responsible for the tax assessment of all property in Arlington except real estate (which is done by the county government), administers the business-tax process and operates a DMV Select office among its other duties.” [Gazette Leader, Twitter]

New Sheriff’s Deputies — “On Friday, June 16, 2023, nine new deputies of the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office graduated from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy as part of Session 148.” [ACSO]

Foster Dog Info Session — “Interested in fostering dogs with AWLA? Join us for a Foster Program Dog Social [today], June 23 at 5:30pm! Meet dogs looking for foster homes, hang out with other foster families and get to know our foster team!” [Twitter, AWLA]

Rush Hour Crash on Camera — From Dave Statter: “A crash just after 6pm at Langston Boulevard & N. Scott Street in Arlington. @ArlingtonVaPD & @ArlingtonVaFD handling.” [Twitter]

It’s Friday — Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 81. South wind 8 to 10 mph. 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 69. [Weather.gov]

Terrifying Lyft Ride — “An Arlington, Virginia, woman says she jumped out of a moving Lyft car after the driver refused to take her to her destination. When Katlyn got into a Lyft Saturday afternoon, she said she quickly realized something was wrong. ‘He actually almost hit the person in front of him, which, then I’m really on edge. Like, within a foot,’ she said. She said the driver then put a different destination in his GPS that was away from where she was headed and he refused to answer her questions.” [NBC 4]

Consolidated Bus Route Launching — “The public and media are invited to join Arlington County officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for WMATA’s Metrobus Route 16M Columbia Pike-National Landing. The ceremony will take place at the Arlington Mill Community Center. This new bus route will launch on Sunday, June 25, 2023, expanding connectivity from the Skyline neighborhood in Fairfax County through Columbia Pike and extending to the Crystal City Metrorail station. The route represents the growth of Columbia Pike as a Premium Transit Corridor.” [Arlington County]

Rosslyn Bike and Sidewalk Improvements — “Arlington County Board members on June 10 approved just under $12 million in funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, providing funds necessary to support a host of transportation upgrades in the Rosslyn area.” [Gazette Leader]

Primary Update: House of Delegates — “Adele McClure is headed to the general election and, likely, into the General Assembly… The 2nd House District includes Clarendon, Courthouse, Rosslyn and Crystal City, among other areas. It appears that tonight’s filing deadline will have come and gone with no general-election opposition having materialized.” [Gazette Leader]

Primary Update: State Senate — “State. Sen. Barbara Favola appeared to be having no difficulty in beating back an intra-party challenge. Favola, first elected to the Senate in 2011 after serving a dozen years on the Arlington County Board, was being challenged for the new 40th Senate District in the Democratic primary by James DeVita, an attorney who seemed to tack slightly to the left of the incumbent on many issues.” [Gazette Leader]

No Opposition for Other Dems — “Barring a (very) last minute challenger emerging, Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson and Treasurer Carla de la Pava will be unopposed in November. So, too, will Kim Klingler, who is running to succeed Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy, who is retiring (and has endorsed Klingler).” [Gazette Leader]

Air Force Assoc. Building Sold — “The Air & Space Forces Association recently sold a long-held, aging office building in Arlington, with plans to move into more contemporary digs. The association, a nonprofit that advocates for the military branches for which its named, has its national headquarters in the roughly 85,000-square-foot, 1980s-era Class B office building at 1501 Langston Blvd., which it owned for more than 40 years — until June 1.” [Washington Business Journal]

NSA Funding for Marymount — “The National Security Agency (NSA) has selected Marymount University to build and operate a cybersecurity clinic through a $1.5 million grant, covering a two-year timeframe that begins in July 2023. The initiative aims to increase the cybersecurity capabilities of small businesses and nonprofits in the DMV region by helping them prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats.” [Press Release]

It’s Thursday — Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 73. Northeast wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. 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 67. [Weather.gov]

Cruiser Rammed in Pentagon City — “800 block of Army Navy Drive. At approximately 4:45 p.m. on June 16, police observed a stolen vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, during which the driver of the suspect vehicle reversed into an occupied police cruiser before fleeing the area. Officers then initiated a vehicle pursuit. The driver eluded police and the suspect vehicle was not located. No injuries were reported.” [ACPD]

Police Recruits Graduate — “Friday, June 16, 2023, marked a significant milestone in the careers of Arlington County Police Department’s eight newest officers as Session 148 graduated from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy. In front of family, friends and colleagues, the new officers took their solemn oath to serve and protect the Arlington community and safeguard the Constitutional rights of all.” [ACPD]

New Pike Eatery Now Open — Mpanadas, the “South American-inspired cafe” at 2602 Columbia Pike, officially opened over the weekend. [Instagram]

Local Poetry Book Tour — “Hear what resilience means to high school students in Arlington with the publication of a new book of poems. An event to celebrate the launch of the new youth poetry anthology ‘Words for the World’ was held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Arlington Library. All summer long, the editors and poets of the new book will conduct a series of readings across Arlington County.” [WUSA 9]

It’s Wednesday — Rain in the morning, likely getting heavier in the afternoon. Cloudy, with a high near 72. Northeast wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. At night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 61. Northeast wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. [Weather.gov]