Arlington firefighters extinguished a house fire in Arlington Ridge this afternoon (Friday).
First responders were called to a home along the 1100 block of 21st Street S. over reports of a structure fire around 4 p.m.
The blaze was concentrated on the rear deck of the house, and the homeowner managed to make it out of the building without injury.
At 4:01 pm today, units were dispatched to 1100 blk of 21st S for possible structure fire. Homeowner extinguished prior to arrival. Minor damage to deck, none to home. No injuries. Fire Marshal is investigating. pic.twitter.com/LIkBvpdK1x
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) July 27, 2018
Arlington’s School Board is laying out more details as it prepares to redraw elementary school boundary lines this fall, identifying 11 schools set to see boundary changes ahead of the 2019 school year.
With the new Alice West Fleet Elementary School set to open in Arlington Heights next year, Arlington Public Schools needs to tweak boundaries for a variety of schools as ripple effects of the change spread throughout the county. The Board’s already been busy working with staff to sort out which schools should be “option” programs, accessible to students around the county, and plans to spend the next few months sorting out remaining boundary details leading up to a final vote this December.
While school leaders have discussed a variety of programs over the course of the year, today (Friday) Arlington Public Schools released the final list of elementary schools set to have their boundaries changed as part of this process. Those schools are:
Abingdon
Arlington Science Focus (ASFS)
Ashlawn
Barcroft
Drew
Henry (Fleet)
Hoffman-Boston
Long Branch
Oakridge
Randolph
Taylor
Notably, that list does not include Carlin Springs or Nottingham Elementary Schools, even though APS staff previously suggested that the schools would be good candidates to be converted to option schools. However, APS says the schools’ boundaries will be reviewed as part of a fall 2020 boundary process, which will involve 14 schools in all.
Barcroft, however, is on the list after being recommended for a conversion to an option school.
The question of which schools will become, or remain, countywide option programs is sure to be one of the most contentious issues the Board wrestles with during the boundary process.
APS currently has five option schools at the elementary level: Arlington Traditional School and Campbell, Claremont, Drew and Key Elementary Schools. The rest are all “neighborhood schools,” which only accept nearby students who live within set boundaries.
The School Board has already agreed to move the county’s “Montessori” program from Drew Model School to Patrick Henry Elementary School for the 2019-2020 school year, with Drew changing to a neighborhood school, so at least one option site is guaranteed to change.
County staff have yet to offer any final recommendations on option schools, but in a preliminary analysis in May, they told the Board that Campbell, Carlin Springs and Henry Elementary Schools were all likely to earn their recommendation to either become or remain option sites.
Barcroft, Claremont and Nottingham Elementary Schools and the Arlington Traditional School were also cited as possibilities to fill the final two available slots for option schools, leaving Barcroft as the only school recommended for conversion on the list for the 2018 process.
But staff don’t plan to offer any final recommendations until sometime this fall, and will only do so after holding a series of public meetings on the process.
Staff will hold an open office hours session on the issue from 7-8:30 p.m. on Aug. 7 and the first community meeting on the topic on Sept. 26, both at Kenmore Middle School (200 S. Carlin Springs Rd.).
The Board plans to take a final vote on boundaries Dec. 6.
Officials also released the full list of schools set to be impacted by the 2020 boundary process, precipitated in part by the opening of the new building on the Reed school site in 2021:
Abingdon
Ashlawn
Barcroft
Barrett
Carlin Springs
Discovery
Glebe
Jamestown
McKinley
Long Branch
Nottingham
Reed
Taylor
Tuckahoe
“A school may be involved in both boundary processes, but a specific planning unit will only be impacted once to minimize the number of times that individual students who have continued to reside in a particular attendance area are impacted by the boundary change,” APS wrote in a release.
Prepare for more rain, and more flooding, the National Weather Service warns.
The NWS has issued a severe thunderstorm watch through 10 p.m. tonight, with a flash flood watch as well from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. due to the excessive amounts of rain the region’s seen recently.
Showers and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and evening as a cold front approaches the area. Both severe weather and flash flooding will be possible in association with these storms. For additional details visit https://t.co/o2JIHfMyKQpic.twitter.com/JRDudNNHFT
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) July 27, 2018
Full details from the NWS:
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM EDT THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING…
The Flash Flood Watch continues for
* Portions of Maryland, The District of Columbia, and Virginia,
including the following areas, in Maryland, Anne Arundel,
Carroll, Central and Southeast Howard, Central and Southeast
Montgomery, Charles, Northern Baltimore, Northwest Harford,
Northwest Howard, Northwest Montgomery, Prince Georges,
Southeast Harford, and Southern Baltimore. The District of
Columbia. In Virginia, Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria,
Eastern Loudoun, Fairfax, King George, Prince
William/Manassas/Manassas Park, and Stafford.
* From 3 PM EDT this afternoon through 11 PM EDT this evening.
* Showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop late this
afternoon and evening, with heavy rainfall rates likely. Given
saturated soil from this week`s excessive rainfall, any
additional heavy rain or repetitive thunderstorms may result in
rapid rises of water in streams and low lying areas.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may develop that lead
to flash flooding. Flash flooding is a very dangerous situation.
You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action
should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
(Updated at 4:30 pm.) Arlington police have arrested one man in connection with a string of overnight car thefts in Arlington Ridge, and another perpetrator may still be at large.
County police charged 18-year-old Sean Palmer of Washington D.C. with two counts of petit larceny involving a theft from a motor vehicle and two counts of entering or setting in motion a vehicle. He’s set for a Monday (July 30) hearing in Arlington County General District Court on the misdemeanor charges.
Spokeswoman Kirby Clark says officers arrested Palmer after receiving reports about two suspicious men in the area of S. Arlington Ridge Road and 20th Street S. late last night (Thursday). They eventually managed to locate two men matching a witness’s description, including Palmer, though one was able to flee the scene on foot.
Clark says officers determined “multiple vehicles in the area were entered and items of value stolen,” and it’s possible that other vehicles beyond the ones police found were broken into at some point.
An anonymous tipster told ARLnow that police left a variety of notes on car windshields around the 1000 block of 18th Street S. warning owners to check the vehicles to see if anything was amiss.
Police are asking anyone whose vehicle might’ve been broken into to call the department at 703-558-2222.
A daughter of one of Arlington’s “Lawyer Moms of America” preps a lemonade stand (courtesy of Natalie Roisman)
County Board member Libby Garvey attends an Alexandria rally with Arlington activists (courtesy of Natalie Roisman)
Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be big news that some kids and their parents plan to sell some lemonade around Arlington on a late-July day — but the lemonade stands popping up around the county this weekend come with a bit more of a message than most.
Activists with the group “Lawyer Moms of America” are setting up several stands in Arlington and other locations around Northern Virginia tomorrow (Saturday), as part of a national demonstration dubbed “Kids Take a Stand.” Parents and kids alike plan to use the event to raise money to hasten the reunification of families separated at the Mexican border.
While the Trump administration has managed to reunite roughly 1,400 children, from ages 5 to 17, with their families ahead of a court-imposed deadline, hundreds of other kids remain in government custody without any connection to their parents.
Though public outrage over the Trump administration’s since-reversed family separation policy has died down, Lawyer Moms of America is hoping to use Saturday’s demonstration to re-focus attention on the issue by putting their own kids in the spotlight.
“The women who founded Lawyer Moms of America heard first-hand accounts from lawyers who knew what was happening with these families at the border,” Natalie Roisman, an Arlington resident and member of the group’s national organizing team, wrote in a statement. “The immediate response was, ‘We have to do something.’ The next step was to think about how we – as lawyer moms – could uniquely contribute and do something effective. We have focused on education, advocacy and fundraising, and now we wanted to do something that would allow our kids to be directly involved.”
Roisman says the group will set up one stand at the intersection of N. Harrison Street and 8th Road N. in the Bluemont neighborhood, with another planned for Arlington Forest. She adds that stands will also be set up in the Waynewood area of Alexandria, at the Falls Church Farmers Market and in Reston, and more could pop up by the time Saturday arrives.
All proceeds of the lemonade sales will go to Project Corazon, an effort organized by the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation to provide immigrants at the border with legal services.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
A sinkhole in front of the Atrium Condominiums in Rosslyn.
Following days of relentless rain, a series of sinkholes have opened up in front of a condo complex in Rosslyn.
The front driveway and lawn of the Atrium Condominiums, located at 1530 Key Blvd, are now marked by the large pits. Two holes several feet deep have opened up around some of the complex’s front lawn, and another has caused cobblestones to buckle leading up to its driveway in front of the main entrance.
Traffic cones currently block off the complex’s driveway, including parts of it unaffected by the pits.
A tipster told ARLnow that the sinkholes first appeared “many weeks ago” and have “gradually grown as more rain has come” over the last few days.
The complex’s management company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the severity of the sinkholes, or when they might be fixed.
Northam Eyeing Fix to E-ZPass Deactivation Headaches — Currently, E-ZPass accounts can get shut down or users can be forced to switch transponders if they don’t use Virginia’s HOT lanes frequently enough. Virginia’s governor says some relief could soon be on the way. [WTOP]
Arlington’s School Board Could Soon Control Its Own Calendar — State legislators are gearing up for another fight around the so-called “King’s Dominion rule” for next year’s legislative session in Richmond. That could be good news for county parents, itching to see the school system’s post-Labor Day start change. [InsideNova]
Republican Challenging Beyer Swears Off Utility Cash — Thomas Oh says he’ll refuse any money from Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power, two state-regulated utility companies and dominant political players, as part of his long-shot challenge to Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th District). The activist group “Activate Virginia” has encouraged dozens of candidates to take such a pledge since last year, though Oh may be one of, if the not the first, Republican to accept that challenge. [Twitter]
Northwest Arlington Neighborhood Profiled for Its “Midcentury Ambiance” — Rock Spring is getting attention as a neighborhood in a “quiet suburban setting close to urban-like amenities.” [Washington Post]
Blerdcon Kicks Off in Crystal City This Weekend — The convention, dubbed as a “fully inclusive” experience for nerds of all stripes, starts today at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. Organizers promise an “emphasis on inclusivity and intersectionality” in all of the convention’s events and panels. [WAMU]
N. Edison Street and N. Carlin Springs Road in Bluemont (via Arlington County)
N. Edison Street and N. Carlin Springs Road in Bluemont (via Arlington County)
N. Edison Street and N. Carlin Springs Road in Bluemont (via Arlington County)
After a man was struck by a car in the middle of a Bluemont intersection, some of his neighbors see new urgency for their years-long effort to force the county to improve conditions for pedestrians in the area.
County police say Eric Larsen was crossing N. Carlin Springs Road near its intersection with N. Edison Street early in the morning last Monday (July 16), when a car slammed into him. Larsen was taken to George Washington University hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and neighbors say he’s still recovering from some broken bones caused by the crash.
Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage says “charges are pending” against the driver, but people living in the area see the intersection’s design deficiencies as the real cause of the crash.
Lora Strine, who lives in the Arlington Forest neighborhood nearby, says her citizens’ association has pressed the county for changes in the area going back to at least 2016. She points out that Carlin Springs is a popular option for walkers looking to reach the Ballston Metro, as Larsen was at the time of the accident, or even the Safeway near the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. George Mason Drive.
Yet Strine says the area lacks clearly marked crosswalks or traffic calming measures to slow drivers, particularly on such a wide road, and she can’t understand why it’s taken the county so long to address the issue.
“This accident is not really an accident,” Strine told ARLnow. “It’s really been years in the making.”
Arlington officials point out that they’re hardly ignoring the area, however.
County transportation spokesman Eric Balliet says workers plan to install a flashing sign that can be activated by pedestrians crossing Carlin Springs near the road’s intersection with N. Harrison Street, just a few blocks from the Larsen crash. That signal should be in place as soon as next month.
Balliet added that the county is also planning some curb extensions and crosswalk improvements all along Carlin Springs, leading up to Edison Street, with work set to start in the spring of 2019 and wrap up the following year.
But Strine feels that’s far too long for the neighborhood to wait, and managed to secure a meeting with county staff and County Board member John Vihstadt to make that argument.
Vihstadt says “the jury is still out” in terms of how, exactly, the Board might be able to speed up the construction, though he certainly agrees with Strine’s assessment of the intersection. He’s spent the last year or so working with Arlington Forest residents on the issue, and he sees a need for the county to act quickly, as development in Ballston continues to ramp up and bring people to the area.
“That’s an awful long time to wait for these measures,” Vihstadt said. said. “I don’t find that acceptable at all.”
At the very least, Vihstadt hopes to see the county beef up the webpage displaying details about the road improvements to keep neighbors better informed.
But even if Vihstadt can successfully convince officials to speed up construction, Strine worries that the work won’t actually slow cars speeding along Carlin Springs. She’d much rather see an additional stop light in the area, or even a stop sign, to bring speeds down.
“They’re wasting time and money by making changes that we know aren’t going to work,” Strine said. “These are just incremental changes: another Band-Aid, as one of my neighbors said.”
While county officials are confident that their planned changes will indeed slow passing cars, Vihstadt agreed that he wants to see the county do more to take into account “context-specific considerations” raised by neighbors about local road projects.
Overall, he lamented that this latest community clash is indicative of a pattern he’s seen all around Arlington in recent years, and provides a clear example of how the county still struggles to balance traffic congestion and pedestrian safety.
“While we like to say that our public policies like ‘the car-free diet‘ are having a positive impact on Arlington traffic, and I think they are, a lot of neighborhoods don’t yet feel that way,” Vihstadt said.
Arlington police arrested a man for peering into a window and trying to force it open near a Lyon Park apartment complex Tuesday night (July 24).
County police say they received a call about a man looking into the window of a home along the 100 block of N. Wayne Street just after midnight Tuesday. The block is home to the Washington and Lee Apartments, just off Washington Blvd.
Two people tried to confront the man, but he fled the scene on foot. Officers subsequently apprehended 33-year-old Andelino Carrillo Najarro, and charged him with peeping into a dwelling and drunk in public.
He’s now being held without bond, awaiting an Aug. 22 hearing in Arlington County General District Court.
Full details on the incident from a county crime report:
PEEPING, 2018-07240004, 100 block of N. Wayne Street. At approximately 12:10 a.m. on July 24, police were dispatched to the report of peeping. Upon arrival, it was determined that a witness observed an unknown male suspect looking into the window of a residence and attempting to open the window. After being confronted by the witness and victim, the suspect attempted to flee the scene on foot prior to police arrival. Andelino Carrillo Najarro, 33, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with Peeping and Drunk in Public. He was held on no bond.
The Van Buren Bridge near the East Falls Church Metro station is back open after months of renovation work, complete with a new walkway for cyclists and pedestrians.
The city of Falls Church had been working since last fall to repair and widen the bridge, located near where N. Van Buren Street intersects with 18th Street N. and running over Benjamin Banneker Park.
The bridge previously lacked a sidewalk of any kind, forcing pedestrians into the roadway. Accordingly, the $300,000 construction project won some regional transportation funding for its potential to provide a smoother connection for people looking to reach the nearby Metro station with the new 12-f00t walkway.
Great news! The Van Buren Street bridge has now reopened to all traffic, including pedestrian & bicycle access! The new bridge has a dedicated walkway & improved access to the @WODTrail & the @ArlingtonVA Benjamin Banneker Park. #BikeDC#BikeVApic.twitter.com/MqexG8vHTs
— City of Falls Church (@FallsChurchGov) July 24, 2018
With the W&OD Trail close by as well, planners also envision the bridge improving conditions for cyclists in the area.
The project’s conclusion also marks the end to detours on N. Van Buren Street, which previously routed drivers onto nearby roads like 19th Street N. and N. Sycamore Street.
