Author: Airey

County, State Pitching in Millions for Veterans-Focused Affordable Housing Development

By Airey
1/7

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) The Commonwealth of Virginia and Arlington County are loaning a combined $13,700,000 to a Virginia Square affordable housing project focusing on veterans.

Officials announced yesterday (Tuesday) evening that the Virginia Housing Trust Fund will loan $700,000 and Arlington County will loan the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) $13,000,000 to build a seven-story, 160-unit building on the site of the American Legion Post 139 (3445 Washington Blvd).

“We want to make sure Virginia is the most veteran-friendly state in this great country of ours,” Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said in a speech outside the aging Legion building, which will be torn down and replaced by the new development.

Half the units will have a “veteran-preference in perpetuity,” APAH President and CEO Nina Janopaul told ARLnow Tuesday.

County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a speech he was “really thrilled” the county could be a part of the effort to help veterans.

“This is an opportunity for us to actually, truly thank them for their service by providing a very key need. That is, long-term housing,” Dorsey said.

Board member Katie Cristol told ARLnow that it was a “terrific project” and a “model” for Legion posts statewide. She added that it was inherently difficult to bring together all of the disparate parties on these kinds of projects, but the process could be easier if state legislators invested more in the affordable housing fund.

“You see Arlington and APAH trying to fill a really big hole,” said Cristol.

Northam thanked legislators, including state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31st), for helping to add $11 million to the state’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, of which $700,000 is loaned to the Legion development.

The governor added the the fund needs an addition $9 million to meet affordable housing needs across Virginia, saying “we still have a lot of work to do.”

The current design of the Legion’s new building features a new access road that runs along the west side of the lot, by the Casual Adventure shop next door. At the rear of the lot, the road will end in a parking garage for residents and Legion members.

Some neighbors have expressed concern about traffic and noise from the development. A total of 96 parking spaces are proposed, some of which are designated for use by the Legion. Janopaul said the parking ratio is lower than other APAH projects due to proximity to transit, adding that a planned driveway was moved in response to resident concerns.

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County To Start Demolishing S. Clark Street Bridge Next Week

By Airey
1/2

Arlington County will begin tearing down the S. Clark Street bridge over 18th Street S. in Crystal City next week, which is expected to generate noise and traffic disruptions for the rest of the month.

Demolition work will begin Monday, June 10, according to the county’s website. The work is part of a $6 million project to tear down the elevated section of S. Clark Street and rebuild a “new open space” in what will soon become a hotspot with the arrival of Amazon’s second headquarters.

“There will be a lot of noise near the work site. No explosives will be used,” the county wrote about the demolition. It added that while debris is being removed, residents “should expect more truck traffic in the area.”

Crews will work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, road detours will stay in effect during the weekend and will last for the next two to three weeks. Per Arlington County:

There will be a series of eastbound and westbound closures on 18th Street between South Eads and South Bell Streets during this work. Northbound South Bell Street between 18th and 15th Streets also will be closed. Detours are expected to last for 2-3 weeks, weather permitting.

Drivers will be able to detour around the closure by taking 15th Street S. or using 20th Street S.

The June demolition date for the bridge is slightly after the “tentative” May start date the county originally had hoped for. The project’s demolition of the S. Clark Street overpass over 15th Street S. wrapped up this winter.

Images via Arlington County and Google Maps

Commonwealth’s Attorney Campaign Fundraising Skyrockets as Primary Nears

By Airey

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Total fundraising in the heated race for Arlington and Falls Church’s top prosecutor is nearing an unprecedented $1 million as the June 11 primary approaches.

Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate Parisa Dehghani-Tafti raised $604,682 between April 1 and May 30, in large part due to one political action committee (PAC), according to new campaign finance filings.

The Justice and Public Safety PAC, which is funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, previously donated to Tafti’s campaign and paid for her social media videos. In the latest filing period it made a total of $515,492.28 in donations, including $190,000 in cash and $325,492.28 in in-kind contributions.

After spending $189,000 on a TV ad buy, and racking up other expenses, Tafti’s campaign reported ending the quarter with $57,255 in its coffers.

Theo Stamos’ campaign, on the other hand, reported closing out May 30 with $22,077 left in its war chest, after raising $55,426 and spending $133,999 in total.

All told, the incumbent raised $161,760 for her 2019 re-election bid compared to the $743,604 Tafti raised to unseat her.

The combined sum of $905,364 from both candidates dwarfs the money raised in the state’s other commonwealth’s attorney races.

“I think our voters are going to see through this effort from all this outside money,” Stamos told ARLnow today (Tuesday.) “It’s so unprecedented for it to be happening in Arlington.” 

When asked if her challenger’s large fundraising haul affected her chances of keeping her seat, Stamos said she thought residents will end up voting for someone they’ve known for years over Tafti who has, “absolutely no experience, who is not prepared for the job, and who has quite honestly run a fundamentally dishonest campaign.”

Tafti said in a press release earlier today that she was “proud” the campaign has continued, “to garner the support of not just small dollar donations but also that of local and national organizations that will help maintain enthusiasm and engagement” in the election.

In the press release, the progressive campaigner also highlighted $39,000 in cash contributions from individuals and the endorsements she’s received, saying: “Simply put, this level of local support for a challenger is unprecedented in a local primary election where the incumbent has not ever faced a robust primary challenge. What it shows is that community leaders and ordinary citizens understand the office is in dire need of reform.”

Two other PACS also donated to Tafti’s campaign this past quarter.

Racial justice-focused New Majority Virginia PAC donated $31,545 to Tafti’s campaign last month, and Real Justice PAC, which was co-founded by civil rights activist Shaun King donates to progressive prosecutor candidates nationwide, contributed $5,814.

Other notable donations to Tafti’s campaign include:

  • $1,350 in combined donations from four local private defense lawyers. Three of the lawyers (Terry Adams, Edward Ungvarsky, and Christopher Leibig) previously signed a letter opposing Stamos. The fourth lawyer-donor (Mark Rochon) did not sign the letter.
  • $1,000 from former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who has publicly endorsed Tafti’s campaign.
  • $150 from former Arlington County Board member Chris Zimmerman.

For Stamos, some notable donations included:

  • $1,162 from former independent County Board member John Vihstadt, whose unsuccessful bid for re-election Stamos supported despite displeasure from her Democratic colleagues. The figure includes a $912 in-kind contribution from Vihstadt’s campaign committee.
  • $651 from former Arlington School Board member Noah Simon
  • $500 from theater labor union I.A.T.S.E. Local 22

Next week’s primary will determine which Democratic candidate progresses to the November general election. Voters can cast their votes between 6 a.m. to 7 p.m on Tuesday, June 11.

Candidates from other parties may declare their intention to enter the race after the primary election. If no other candidates runs, the winner of next week’s primary election will most likely win the general election.

Citizen Burger Bar Has Closed in Clarendon

By Airey
1/3

Clarendon’s Citizen Burger Bar is now closed, per a sign on the door.

“Our time with you has come to an end,” reads the sign on the front doors of the restaurant at 1051 N. Highland Street. “We want to thank you so much for visiting us and supporting us for the last 5 years!”

The notice said its last day was Sunday. Phone calls to the eatery went unanswered, and the number appeared to be disconnected.

The restaurant posted a copy of the sign on its Facebook Friday, noting it was “a sad day for us here in Clarendon.”

Inside the restaurant, chairs could be seen stacked up between cleaning materials last night (Monday). The unlit sign of Mister Days, which closed in April across the street, reflected in the burger joint’s windows.

Clarendon was the second location for Citizen Burger Bar’s Charlottesville, Va.-based business. The Arlington location opened in February 2015, expanding its menu two years later.

Owner Anderson McClure told ARLnow.com before the restaurant opened that his goal was to “broaden people’s horizons when it comes to simple, ‘classic American’ fare.”

The closing adds to the agony this week for local connoisseurs of the bovine, who are mourning the impending closure of Courthouse staple Ray’s the Steaks.

Washington Sports Club Closing This Month in Clarendon

By Airey
1/3

The Washington Sports Club in Clarendon is closing down for good later this month.

The gym at 2700-2800 Clarendon Blvd is slated to shutter its doors by June 30, staff told ARLnow today (Monday) after notifying members this weekend of its plans.

Gym manager Diamond Thompson said that memberships are transferable to chain’s other sports clubs.

Clarendon, however, is Washington Sports Club’s only location in Virginia, according to the franchise’s website. The company also operates six gyms in D.C. and three gyms in Maryland.

Thompson said he couldn’t comment on why the gym was closing. A spokesman for the company could not be reached in time for publication.

The gym is across the street from the ongoing Market Common Clarendon renovation project. Crews are turning the building into a four-story office retail development called The Loft which is expected to open by next summer.

High-end gym Equinox is reportedly planning to open at Market Common Clarendon, but so far few details about the plans have been revealed.

Screenshots via Google Maps

Arlington Kicks Off Pride with Flying Flags, Planned Events

By Airey

Arlington officials are flying rainbow flags and local bars are hosting drag events to kick-off this month’s Pride celebrations.

During the month of June, residents will spot the multi-hued flags hung at county’s government offices in Courthouse, as well as outside the county’s Justice Center, Arlington Central Library, the Department of Human Services office near Penrose, and the Trades Center, among other places.

Although some of the biggest Pride events are happening this weekend in D.C. and Centreville, there are plenty of smaller Pride events in Arlington on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that started it all.

Arlington staple and Northern Virginia’s only gay bar Freddie’s Beach Bar is continuing to host nightly karaoke events, as well as free drag bingo nights every Wednesday and drag shows every Saturday this month, featuring a rotating cast of queens for a $5 cover.

Italian eatery Pinzimini in Ballston will host its first LGBT happy hour this Friday at 6:30 p.m. The event is free but attendees are encouraged to RSVP online.

Next Monday, June 10, the Columbia Pike Branch Library is hosting a Pride Paint Night.

Oz Restaurant & Bar in Clarendon will also host a Pride Karaoke night on June 13 from 8-11 p.m., featuring $7 cocktails and $5 wine and rail drinks.

At the end of the month, Barnes & Noble in Clarendon (2800 Clarendon Blvd) is organizing a free reading event for children with three books featuring LGBT characters on Saturday, June 29 at 11 a.m.

Photo via EricaJoy/Flickr

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Airey

It’s Friday which means you made it to the weekend: Congratulations you!

If you’ve made it this far, you waded through this week’s national news headlines to read our coverage on local issues like the School Board settling with the Department of Justice over allegations of inadequate services for some English-learner students.

And if you’re still reading, you’ve made it through Arlington’s power outages and the thunderstorm warning to read our analysis of why the county’s bar crawls have disappeared and how the county turns compost into fresh produce for a food bank.

This week’s dedicated readers will have also learned about new programs like a British soccer summer camp and a barbershop that’s bringing books to kids.

But in that newstorm you may have missed the many restaurant openings and closings around the county. Here’s just a few:

Also, if you’re missing two adorable pups, there’s late word that the Arlington County Fire Department helped to bring them to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington:

What was your favorite story this week? And how do you plan to spend your weekend? Let us know in the comments below.

Campaign Ads for Commonwealth’s Attorney Race Show Difference in Money, Gender, and Geography

By Airey

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Campaign ads for the commonwealth attorney’s race show differences in how the two candidates are spending money and aiming to win the upcoming primary election.

Incumbent Theo Stamos and challenger Parisa Dehghani-Tafti have spent differently when it comes to online advertising. Their campaigns have reached different populations as part of the hotly contested race for the county’s prosecutor office that’s been split by endorsements and support from lawyers.

Tafti spent $27,837 on six videos ads touting her recent endorsement by the Washington Post and attacking Stamos on Facebook and Instagram, including $20,414 spent by a political action committee funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. That number exceeds Stamo’s $9,745 in total spending this year on Facebook ads, including four video ads and several flyer-style ads touting her record in helping to lower the jail population and establishing a drug court diversion program, according to Facebook’s ad library.

“We’re running a local campaign without the assistance of any national group that might be relying on these types of metrics,” Stamos said of her lower spending, in an apparent reference to Tafti’s support from the Justice & Public Safety PAC.

“I’m hopeful that what is driving that interest is a desire to learn more about this campaign, what this office is about and why I’m the right person for the job,” Stamos added.

The ad with the highest overall impressions was one of Tafti’s. The ad criticizes the incumbent, claiming she charged children with a felony for putting soap in a teacher’s water in 1991 and that she opposed then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s approach to restoring voting rights to felons in 2016. This ad cost Tafti’s campaign between $1,000 and $5,000 to run, and has generated between 50,000 and 100,000 total impressions so far.

Other recent negative ads placed by the Justice & Public Safety PAC and authorized by Tafti have linked Stamos to national political issues, from abortion rights to voting rights.

Another difference between the candidates’ advertisements is not just how many people they reached, but who they reached.

Data from Facebook’s ad library indicates that viewers of Tafti’s campaign ads have overwhelmingly been women. Stamos, on the other hand, had several ads where the majority of viewers were male. A third of those viewing her digital flyer announcing Sheriff Beth Arthur’s endorsement were men ages 25-34.

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New Coffee Shop Coming to Courthouse in the Fall

By Airey

(Updated 2:45 p.m.) Courthouse coffee drinkers rejoice: another coffee shop is planning to move into the neighborhood.

For Five Coffee Roasters is planning to open a new cafe in the 8-story office building at 2311 Wilson Blvd, which replaced three restaurants back in 2012. On its website, For Five says the Courthouse location will open this fall.

The New York City-based coffee company roasts its own blends of dark, medium, and light coffee in its Queens headquarters and says beans are sustainability sourced from between 15 and 30 growers.

The company runs several locations in the city, as well as in D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. A planned Alexandria location is also listed on their website as opening in the fall.

For Five applied for a building permit yesterday (Thursday) to begin construction in the Courthouse office building, according to county records.

The new coffee shop will have plenty of competition. A Dunkin Donuts location is a block away while the independent Blumen Cafe is a few blocks up the street.

Hat tip to Chris Slatt. Photo via For Five Coffee Roasters.

Rosslyn Preparing Putt Putt Pop-Up for This Summer

By Airey
1/2

Mini-golf lovers will soon be able to play a pop-up putt putt course in Rosslyn that features local landmarks.

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District is building the nine-hole mini goal course at 1401 Wilson Blvd in a small park space donated by Monday Properties.

The park is nestled at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Oaks Street, and the pop-up is expected to open on Friday, June 21 and remain open until late August or September, according to a press release.

Re-creations of Rosslyn landmarks will decorate the pop-up, including the Key Bridge, Dark Star Park, and the Potomac Tower, which was designed by the recently deceased architect I.M. Pei.

Admission will cost $3 and tickets will go on sale in June.

Next to the park, attendees will be able buy penny candy and ice cream and play arcade and carnival games at a vintage pop-up cafe the BID is also building for the summer. The cafe will also sell sangria, wine, and craft beer.

The bar and structures on the golf course were built by Capitol Drywall, which also worked another Rosslyn pop-up store last summer.

The putt-putt course was designed by CannonDesign, which also led design work on a rain garden nearby at N. Moore Street and Wilson Blvd in 2010.

The pop-up will be open on Fridays and Saturdays with an option for private bookings on Thursday, per the press release.

Image 1 via Rosslyn BID, Image 2 via Google Maps

School Board Signs Settlement Over Services for English-Learning Students

By Airey

(Updated at 4:50 p.m.) The Arlington School Board has agreed to sign a settlement with the federal government promising to provide more services for English-learning students in county schools.

Board members voted to allow Board Chair Reid Goldstein to sign the document during a meeting last night (Thursday), two weeks after first announcing the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought a settlement with the school district.

Goldstein, who is currently running for re-election, asked Dr. Tara Nattrass, Arlington Public Schools’ assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, how many of the DOJ’s 33 requirements APS will implement “systemwide.” Nattrass said she didn’t have the number “off hand” but stressed the intention is to apply improvements to all schools.

“This is a resolution with the Department of Justice,” Nattrass said, when asked if she had comments to add earlier that evening.

“It’s an issuance that doesn’t have any adverse findings attached to it,” she said, but acknowledged that “there are some things that we need to be doing differently.”

The settlement identified several problems at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. As part of the agreement, the DOJ mandates that the county not use Google Translate in place of interpretation services, begin translating special education and disability plans, and submit annual reports to the federal agency on its progress, among other requirements.

“Many of the solutions outlined in the agreement are in practice in Jefferson” Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy said of the middle school.

He added that APS was “committed” to serving students learning English as a second language, and his administration will report to the Board quarterly about APS’ progress on meeting the DOJ’s requirements.

Both Murphy and Nattrass stressed that APS has already adopted some of the recommendations, such as surveying families for the home language.

Board members Monique O’Grady and Vice Chair Tannia Talento were not present for the Thursday night vote.

The vote was part of the evening’s consent agenda, a placement usually reserved for items expected to pass without debate.

Two parents shared their concerns over APS’ English-language learning resources Thursday night, one saying her adopted daughter had to request any accommodations she needed, like a bilingual dictionary.

“One teacher even told me she was doing her a favor by granting her accommodations,” said the parent, adding that she believed “there are systemic issues across the county” when it comes to services for students learning English.

“I’m sorry about all of this,” said Board Member Nancy Van Doren, who noted that she’d long heard from advisory committees about problems with APS’ English Language Learner programs.

“I wish that we would more assiduously listen to those committees when they tell us there’s a problem, so we can get out ahead of these things,” Van Doren said.

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