Author: ARLnow.com

Amazon Prepping for HQ2 Phase 2 — “Amazon expects to break ground next year on the next stage, Holly Sullivan, the company’s vice president of worldwide economic development, said in an interview. PenPlace, she noted, is already an ‘active construction site,’ with staging ongoing. ‘We are continuing on that kind of a pre-permitting process with all indications of kicking that off next year,’ Sullivan said… Ask Amazon, and the only thing that’s changed around PenPlace, even slightly, is the timeline. A spokeswoman said no changes or updates are planned for the phase as it’s envisioned.” [Washington Business Journal, Bisnow]

Paper Makes County Board Endorsements — “Our picks? Let’s start with the honorable-mentions. Susan Cunningham and Tony Weaver almost made the cut into the top two. Both have some positions we can get behind, and both have experience in civic life. They are viable options who should not be overlooked by voters. But they were not our top selections. Instead, we are urging voters to choose Natalie Roy and J.D. Spain Sr.” [Gazette Leader]

Dental Donation for Free Clinic — “The Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation awarded the Arlington Free Clinic a $75,000 grant to support the clinic’s efforts to provide its patients with oral health care. The Arlington Free Clinic’s dental program began in 2015 with a part-time dentist. In 2017, a gift helped build a three-chair dental clinic that now provides onsite dentistry.” [Patch]

Arlington Baseball Standouts — “Four high-school baseball players from Arlington were chosen to the 2023 all-6D North Region first team for their performances during the spring season.” [Gazette Leader]

Local Ice Cream Shop Expanding — “An Arlington-based ice cream shop that brings together flavors from around the world is planting its flag in the Mosaic District to further an ambitious expansion plan. Mimi’s Handmade will take up residence in the Merrifield neighborhood at 2985 District Avenue, Suite 160, replacing 520 Ice Cream and Tea after the cafe closed late last year.” [FFXnow]

Va. AG Targeting Lead Gen Spam — “Attorney General Jason Miyares today joined a bipartisan coalition of 28 state attorneys general calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take a tougher stand against companies tricking consumers into agreeing to receive telemarketing and texts. ‘Sleazy ‘lead generators’ try to trick people into consenting to receive spam calls or texts from hundreds of companies they’ve never heard of and never want to hear from. We are asking the FCC to toughen the rules on consent requirements so Virginians only hear from organizations they agree to,’ said Attorney General Miyares.” [Press Release]

Smoky Day Photos — “D.C.’s tallest monument is hardly visible through the worst air pollution ever recorded in the area. A blanket of smoke from devastating wildfires in Canada coated D.C. and the Maryland and Virginia suburbs on Wednesday and Thursday. Here’s a look.” [NBC 4]

Code Orange Today — “The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Code ORANGE Air Quality Alert Friday for Northern Virginia. A Code Orange Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups.” [National Weather Service]

It’s Friday — A slight chance of showers between 11am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Widespread haze. Patchy smoke. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. At night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Widespread haze before 1am. Patchy smoke before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. West wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. [Weather.gov]

On March 11, 2020, Covid was declared a global pandemic. More than three years later, the knock-on effects of Covid are still being felt, including when it comes to television and internet service in Arlington.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday is expected to extend the franchise agreement with Verizon to provide its Fios service to county residents for another year. The relatively short-term extension is being proposed because negotiations over a longer-term extension were “significantly impacted” by the pandemic, county staff say.

The Board approved a similar extension for Comcast Xfinity service in November.

More on the Verizon extension vote, below, from the staff report to the County Board.

SUMMARY: The County Board has issued Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity to three entities for the provision of cable television service: Comcast, Verizon, and RCN Corporation. The Verizon franchise expires on June 13, 2023. To continue the Verizon renewal process, the County must extend the existing Certificate.

BACKGROUND: Verizon has provided cable television services within the County since June of 2006 when the Board approved the initial franchise. Before considering any renewal of the Certificate, the County must assess its needs for public, educational and government television facilities, institutional network, technology, and other general requirements. In addition, the County must determine if Verizon has complied with all the terms and conditions of the Certificate.

DISCUSSION: By the letter dated January 17, 2019, Verizon sent to the County a notice of its desire to renew the Certificate, as provided for by 47 U.S.C. § 546. The COVID pandemic significantly impacted the County’s ability to commence good-faith face-to-face negotiations. Accordingly, the proposed Resolution extends the period available for negotiation beyond the expected duration of the pandemic

Forecast: Home Prices to Keep Soaring — “An already constrained inventory coupled with developers circling the community in search of lots viable for Missing Middle-type housing could continue pushing the price of single-family homes higher in Arlington. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors and Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, which predicts 2023 will end with Arlington single-family-home prices up an average of 9.2 percent from the year before.” [Gazette Leader]

APS Examining Renovation Needs — “Arlington School Board members on June 8 are slated to approve a contract to finish up an ongoing analysis of existing facilities in preparation for future renovation. The second-stage contract of $832,273 will go to Arlington-based MTFA Architecture, which in coming months will develop an analysis that focuses on the conditions of: 25 elementary schools. Six middle schools. Six high schools and high-school programs.” [Gazette Leader]

Local History Event Tonight — “Did you know that during the Civil War our county was home not only to a ring of US Army defensive forts but also to convalescent camps? In 1862 the US Army established a convalescent camp north of Four Mile Run. The camp had barracks for 5,000 convalescents, tents for 1,000 men returning to their regiments and hospital wards for 500 patients.” [Event Calendar]

Welcome Interns — ARLnow and sister site FFXnow are proud to introduce our 2023 summer intern class: Anya Wareck, Hallie LeTendre and Vivian Hoang. Readers will be seeing their work on our sites over the next two months.

It’s Thursday — Widespread haze. Areas of smoke. Sunny, with a high near 79. North wind around 8 mph. At night: Widespread haze. Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Northwest wind around 7 mph. [Weather.gov]