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.
A hammock set up near the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
No GOP Candidates Yet — “The clock continues to tick and the calendar pages keep turning, but as yet, the Arlington County Republican Committee remains 0-for-13 when it comes to recruiting candidates for the November ballot. Hope, however, springs eternal. ‘If you’re interested in running . . . I encourage you to do so,’ new party chair Matthew Hurtt said at the April 24 meeting of the GOP’s rank-and-file.” [Gazette Leader]
Video: Low-Flying Helicopter — A reader spotted a low-flying helicopter over the Four Mile Run Trail yesterday morning. It appeared to be inspecting the high voltage power lines. [Twitter]
GGWash Candidate Questionnaires — “The two new [Arlington County Board] members could have a big say in how the new zoning goes forward (or if, depending on how the lawsuit goes)… That’s why we reached out to the six candidates and sent them a questionnaire. We’re sharing the responses we received here as a service to the public.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Reduced Pet Adoption Fee Event — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “We are so excited to be taking part in BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelters event again this year! AWLA is offering $25 adoption fees from Sunday, April 30 to Sunday, May 7 for all adult dogs and cats. We’ll have more details available very soon!” [Twitter]
It’s Wednesday — Mostly sunny, then increasing cloudiness and a chance of showers. Mild. High of 66 and low of 43. Sunrise at 6:17 am and sunset at 7:55 pm. [Weather.gov]
Police on scene at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in June 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington County police are investigating whether a student threatened another student with a knife brought into a local middle school.
The alleged incident happened this past Thursday morning at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, at 125 S. Old Glebe Road.
Police were only informed of the incident yesterday (Monday) afternoon, after a school administrator learned about the incident and called ACPD.
“At approximately 2:57 p.m. on April 24, police were dispatched to the late report of threats,” said today’s ACPD crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 11:20 a.m. on April 20, the juvenile victim and juvenile suspect were in a restroom in the building when the suspect allegedly demanded the victim’s shoes, displayed a knife and made threatening statements.”
“The victim then safely exited the bathroom. No injuries were reported and no items were reported stolen,” the crime report continued, “Officers made contact with the suspect at his residence and recovered a knife. Petitions were sought for the juvenile suspect for Attempted Robbery and Possession of a Weapon at School.”
Ballston at twilight (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
This past Friday the social media account Eat DC had a hot take: Ballston is nice. But also, it’s not.
The reasoning came down to Ballston’s stores and restaurants being predominantly chains (of various sizes) and the neighborhood — home to the densest census tract in the D.C. area — giving off “sterile” vibes.
Not just that. I think every single place has more than one location, streets are wide with big setbacks, lots of concrete and steel without much beautification – flowers, murals, etc. Very sterile. Age is part of it but not the whole story. More about lack of texture.
The implication here seems to be that Ballston is a contrast from some D.C. neighborhoods which have, for instance, more homegrown restaurants and less of a sense that someone is actively trying to make a once not-so-nice place nice. Of course, those homegrown restaurants that help to give a neighborhood its organic character often don’t last forever.
So what do you think? Is Ballston a nice place without caveats, or is Eat DC onto something?
Food being prepared at Bob & Edith’s Diner in Crystal City (Flickr pool photo by Emma K. Alexandra)
Dem Primary Results May Take Days — “‘Final results will be available 3 to 7 days after the election, as soon as the Electoral Board can complete their canvass, adjudicate provisional ballots and meet to begin tabulation,’ Reinemeyer said. ‘We will keep candidates and voters aware of the process throughout this period as best as possible.’ The Arlington Democratic primary for County Board will be the first state-run election in Virginia to use ranked-choice voting.” [GazetteLeader]
Advocates: Take Our Tree Study Seriously — “Arlington tree advocates on April 22 continued pressing leaders to take to heart a new analysis showing the county’s tree canopy is significantly lower than figures the local government has been using. ‘County leadership needs to make trees and natural resources a much higher priority,’ said Mary Glass, a veteran activist and vocal voice within the Arlington Tree Action Group.” [GazetteLeader]
New Va. Driver’s License — “New driver’s license and ID card designs are rolling out in Virginia starting today, the Commonwealth’s Department of Motor Vehicles announced Monday. The design features the Richmond Capitol building’s rotunda dome, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (the state insect), and an American Dogwood (the state flower). It also has ‘next-generation’ security features that make counterfeiting more difficult.” [DCist]
State Monitoring School Absences Again — “For the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, schools in Virginia will be graded on whether students are coming to school. In Virginia, chronically absent students are defined as those who miss 10 percent or more of the school year, which typically measures out to missing 18 or more days. During the pandemic, the state suspended using a school’s chronic absenteeism rate as a factor in measuring school performance.” [Washington Post]
YHS Girls Soccer Team Keeps Winning — “The defending Class 6 state champion Yorktown Patriots girls soccer team improved to 6-1-1 overall during the regular season with an 8-1 non-district rout of West Potomac last week.” [GazetteLeader]
It’s Tuesday — Broken clouds. Cool. High of 61 and low of 41. Sunrise at 6:18 am and sunset at 7:54 pm. [Weather.gov]
A 25-year-old man is in jail after he allegedly stabbed a former coworker at a local hotel over the weekend.
The stabbing happened around 2 p.m. Saturday at the Hotel Pentagon, on the 2400 block of S. Glebe Road, near I-395. According to initial reports, a former employee stabbed the hotel manager at least twice, including in the back.
Police arrived and reportedly took the suspect, who was still on scene, into custody at Taser-point.
“The known suspect entered an office inside a business and allegedly physically assaulted Victim One with a knife,” Arlington County police said today in a crime report. “Victim Two attempted to intervene during which he sustained minor injuries.”
“Victim One sustained serious, non-life threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital,” the report continues. “Officers located the suspect on scene, took him into custody and transported him to an area hospital for further evaluation. The investigation revealed the suspect had previously called Victim One and made threatening statements.”
The suspect is facing several charges, including Aggravated Malicious Wounding, Assault and Battery and Threatening Language via Phone, according to ACPD.
Police response to reported gun brandishing in Clarendon on Sunday night (photo courtesy anonymous)
Police swarmed Clarendon last night after a man who was kicked out of a bar allegedly flashed a gun at a bouncer.
The incident started at Don Tito (3165 Wilson Blvd) around 8:45 p.m., according to scanner traffic. Two people were kicked out of the bar, leading to one of them to brandish a gun and make threats, responding officers were told.
Numerous officers responded to the scene. One officer reported spotting the brandishing suspect trying to walk away, leading to them ultimately being taken into custody at police gunpoint near the Clarendon Metro station entrance.
More, below, from the Arlington County Police Department.
BRANDISHING, 2023-04230201, 3100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 8:45 p.m. on April 23, police were dispatched to the report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, it was determined a verbal dispute occurred inside an establishment between patrons and employees. As the employees were escorting the patrons out, the suspect allegedly lifted his shirt to display a handgun in his waistband while making threatening statements. Responding officers located the suspect at Clarendon Boulevard at N. Highland Street and took him into custody without incident. During the course of the investigation, officers executed a search warrant on a vehicle associated with the suspect and recovered a firearm. [The suspect], 24, of Brandywine, MD, was arrested and charged with Brandishing, Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Carrying a Concealed Weapon while Consuming Alcohol.
Arlington County Board meeting on April 22, 2023 (via Arlington County/YouTube)
The Arlington County Board has approved a budget that hikes the salaries of county employees — as well as Board members themselves.
The $1.55 billion budget is a 3.3% increase over the current fiscal year’s $1.5 billion budget, funded in large part thanks to rising residential property assessments. The property tax rate was held steady at $1.013 per $100 of assessed value, but the average Arlington homeowner will pay around $450 more per year due to higher assessments and higher fees, including a $98 increase in the trash collection fee and $26 for higher water rates.
As proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz, the budget will raise the pay of county employees between 4.5 and 10%.
Uniformed police and sheriff’s employees will see raises on the upper end of that scale, amid continued recruiting and staffing challenges among law enforcement agencies. The Board additionally directed Schwartz to consider “any potential enhancements to the newly revised step and grade wage structures that would address compensation, recruitment, retention and pay compression challenges facing police and fire staff.”
Another addition to the budget made by the Board, as voted on during a recent work session, was to hike its own pay.
Following a $20,000 raise of Board salaries last year, the new budget adds just over $62,000 to bring Board salaries to the maximum rate set by the Board in a 2019 vote: $89,851 for members, $95,734 for the Board Chair (a position that rotates among members annually).
The Board pay increase was proposed by Libby Garvey, who said it will provide “close to a living wage for people doing this job, commensurate with the time and the skills needed.”
“There is never a good time to raise Board salaries, they’ve always been low,” she said at the work session. “So I would like to do it now.”
Takis Karantonis concurred, noting the cost of living in Arlington.
“We cannot have it so that those that bring a lot of means… are able to afford to run” for office, he said. “That is not in the long-term… interest [of the county].”
Board Chair Christian Dorsey abstained from the vote and Katie Cristol voted against it. Both are not seeking reelection this year.
Two significant focuses of the budget and Board directives were aimed at affordable housing and the opioid crisis.
The budget adds four behavioral health therapists to address substance abuse among students, while providing $95,000 to the Dept. of Parks and Recreation for improved out-of-school youth programming.
The latter was hailed by the Arlington County Council of PTAs.
“Our existing programming was well-intentioned but difficult to access by the students who might need it the most,” CCPTA President Claire Noakes said in a statement. “Not all families are fortunate enough to have an adult tackle the multiple organizational tasks needed to pre-register a child for a class, organize a family calendar, arrange for transportation at a set time each week, and find a way to pay for it. Additionally, students who are dealing with anxiety or depression may not be able to participate in programs that involve physical competition, such as sports.”
“Other students may just need a safe place to decompress when household stress becomes overwhelming,” Noakes added. “We realized that there was an unmet need for accessible, supervised, drop-in space for youth to simply hang out and connect with peers, mentors, and caring adults.”
The budget, as adopted by the Board, includes $83 million for various housing programs. On the heels of the Board’s approval of “Missing Middle” zoning changes — also dubbed Expanded Housing Options — the budget directs the County Manager to design an “Affordable EHO Homeownership Pilot Program” that could be implemented by the end of 2024.
More on the new budget and its approval is below, from a county press release.
The Arlington County Board voted unanimously Saturday, April 22, 2023, to adopt a $1.55 billion balanced Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The adopted budget focuses on community needs as the County continues to emerge from the pandemic, including affordable housing, while also providing foundational services, such as public safety, environmental services, transportation, and schools.
The base real estate tax rate remains unchanged at $1.013 per $100 of assessed value.
“As we return to normalcy after years of prioritizing critical operations and making difficult budget decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arlington is finally in a position to build much-needed capacity within its departments and in its efforts to address community priorities and needs,” said Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey. “The past few years impacted everyone, especially our lower-income neighbors. Adding funding to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, for example, ensures that we maintain our vital role in financing affordable housing development within Arlington. Moreover, the County Board is eager to capitalize on opportunities that may arise from the Homeownership Study, helping us further understand how to better support existing and aspiring homeowners.”
“Pedestrian bridge to nowhere” over I-66 (photo courtesy Geoff Collins)
Rollover Crash Caught on Camera — From Dave Statter on Sunday: “Watch: Car hit from the side overturns on I-395N at the crash prone Exit 10C. This happened today just after 2p.” [Twitter]
Old Home May Be Deemed Historic — “The Cherrydale neighborhood is not likely to end up as Maywood – covered entirely in a local-historic overlay district with development restrictions rigidly enforced. But it wouldn’t hurt if more Cherrydale homes became stand-alone historic districts. That was the view of members of the Arlington government’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), who on April 19 started the ball rolling on historic status for a century-year-old home at 2002 North Stafford St.” [GazetteLeader]
Cyclist Struck, Injured Friday Night — “Scanner: Cyclist struck by driver near intersection of Langston Blvd and N. Quinn Street, near Rosslyn. Cyclist is reported to be bleeding from the face but is alert and conscious.” [Twitter]
Local YIMBYs on MM Learnings — Q: “What advice would you have for other towns and cities who are working towards this? Jane Green: From a policy perspective, do as much as you possibly can. There is no benefit from compromising with NIMBYs who will lie, hyperbolize, and misinform throughout the process. From an advocacy perspective, gather the broadest set of allies you can. Be the most representative of the community. Have pro-housing voices at every public engagement” [Triangle Blog Blog]
Successful Raccoon Rescue — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “Our Animal Control officers sprang into action when they learned that 4 young raccoons were stranded after their tree was cut down. After reuniting them with their mother, they watched as she led them to a new safe home. Proud of our officers’ swift and compassionate response!” [Twitter]
Horse Deaths at Arlington Nat’l — “The Army’s Caisson platoon — a ceremonial horse unit that has transported fallen troops to their final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery for decades — plans to shut down starting May 1 for 45 days to prioritize the health of the herd, an Army spokesperson told Military.com Friday. The Army said the ‘suspension’ will not impact military honors at the cemetery. The suspension follows four equine deaths in the platoon over the last year-plus.” [Military.com]
It’s Monday — Afternoon clouds. Refreshingly cool. High of 60 and low of 42. Sunrise at 6:19 am and sunset at 7:53 pm. [Weather.gov]
Just over 5,000 Dominion customers were without power Saturday afternoon, according to the power company’s website.
The large outage, centered around Columbia Pike but running from Douglas Park in the south to Lyon Park in the north, is the result of storm damage, Dominion said. A line of thunderstorms with gusty winds and heavy rain rolled through Arlington prior to the outage.
A total of 5,044 customers were affected as of 2:45 p.m.
Dominion reported nearly 20,000 outages throughout Northern Virginia following the storms. The good news is that an earlier Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been dropped for Northern Virginia locales, suggesting that the worst of the storms is over.
Update at 7:20 p.m. — Power has mostly been restored after an hours-long outage. Fewer than 250 homes and businesses in Arlington remain in the dark as night falls, according to Dominion.
