Author: ARLnow.com Sponsor

Virginia Tech Ranked #1 for Cybersecurity

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Virginia Tech’s 100% online Master of Information Technology program has been ranked the No. 1 online graduate degree for cybersecurity nationwide in the 2019 rankings list from CyberDegrees.org, a Washington, D.C.  based company.

In addition, the program was named one of the three best online graduate information technology programs nationwide for the seventh consecutive year in the annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

Based at Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church, the online program is offered jointly by the Pamplin College of Business and College of Engineering. The interdisciplinary nature of the program allows students to develop a range of skills and focus their studies in a topic that best serves their career goals.

Cybersecurity is one of 11 areas of specialization that students can use to tailor their degree. Other areas include Analytics and Business Intelligence, Big Data, Health Information Technology and Software Development.

The program also offers six graduate certificate options for professionals that are not looking to pursue a full degree.

The program plans to continue adding new courses and graduate certificates that keep up with current trends in tech, particularly as the wider university takes on a central role in the cybersecurity ecosystem.

In 2010, Virginia Tech launched the Hume Center to lead the university’s research and experiential learning programs in national security. The center now has a research facility in Ballston.

In 2018, the Commonwealth of Virginia announced that Virginia Tech will lead its $25 million Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.

For more information about Virginia Tech’s 100% online Master of Information Technology Program, visit vtmit.vt.edu or sign up for an upcoming information session.

Ask Eli: New Condo Building 2000 Clarendon Banning Smoking

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Are there any smoke-free condo buildings in Arlington?

Answer: There is overwhelming support amongst condo owners in Arlington and the D.C. area to ban smoking in condo buildings, including within individual units and balconies. The problem is that it requires a two-thirds (or more) vote in all existing condo buildings to change the by-laws to ban smoking completely and only a handful of buildings have successfully done so.

2000 Clarendon to be Smoke-Free, LEED Certified

I’d like to recognize The Bush Companies for making 2000 Clarendon, an 87-unit condo building currently under construction in the Courthouse neighborhood, for being the first developer in Arlington to ban smoking outright in the original by-laws. Per the by-laws:

“Smoking is prohibited inside the Condominium building. Smoking is prohibited outside the Condominium building except in designated smoking areas located at least 25 feet from all entries, outdoor air intakes and operable windows. The no-smoking policy applies to spaces outside the property line used for business purposes.”

In addition to being smoke-free, 2000 Clarendon will also be a LEED Certified “green” building.

There is real demand in the Arlington condo market for smoke-free buildings and there will likely be multiple owners who choose 2000 Clarendon as their home because of the smoking ban. I believe that the decision by The Bush Companies to ban smoking will result in stronger sales and I expect more developers in Arlington and the surrounding D.C. area to follow suit.

On October 15 I’m hosting a panel and info session on smoking bans in existing condo buildings. If you are interested in attending or getting a recording of the meeting, please email me at [email protected].

2000 Clarendon Sales Update

If you’re in the market for a condo in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor and aren’t aware of 2000 Clarendon, it’s because marketing has been very limited and nothing has been entered into the MLS yet (hopefully you saw my column introducing 2000 Clarendon in April). However, demand has been high enough without a full marketing push that over 50% of the units are already under contract.

The shift in demand within the Arlington condo market to larger units with 2+ bedrooms is evident at 2000 Clarendon, with impressive demand for their 2 BR and 2 BR+Den units and double-digit waiting lists. The 1 BR+Den floor plans have been nearly as popular, but 1 BR sales have lagged. I expect the 1 BRs to move rather quickly once they’re entered into the MLS for broader distribution.

The developer is releasing units for sale by floor and to-date ten of the fourteen floors have been released with floors 9, 11, 13 and 14 yet to be offered. Some units on the upper floors are expected to have direct D.C. views.

If you’re interested in learning more about available units at 2000 Clarendon or other new condo development in Arlington or the D.C. area, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

Listing of the Day: 3100 N. Peary Street

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/10

Address: 3100 N. Peary Street
Neighborhood: Bellevue Forest
Listed: $2,235,000

Breathtaking new construction home in sought after Bellevue Forest!

2-story family room with floor-to-ceiling windows, walk-out Trex deck and full wall stone fireplace. Gourmet kitchen with marble counter tops, stainless steel appliances and large pantry with custom storage shelves. Master bedroom suite with his and her closets, large soaking tub, dual marble sinks, tray ceiling and coffee bar with mini-fridge. Control4 Home Automation with full surround sound, camera, security, video. Back-up generator.

Expansive lower level with exercise room, fully wired media room, wine storage with cooling capabilities, and wet bar. In-law/nanny/rental suite with full kitchen, washer/dryer, separate entrance. DON’T MISS!

Listed by:
Keri Shull
Keri Shull Team/Optime Realty
703-609-5183
[email protected]
www.kerishull.com

Legal Insider: States Begin to Offer Employment Rights to Domestic Violence Victims

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.

Some states are beginning to offer victims of domestic violence employment law rights.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has not done so yet, but this article focuses on the jurisdictions that have enacted such legislation. The most major legislation in this area has come from New York and California. It is hoped that more states (and Virginia) will begin to enact these types of employment law protections for victims of domestic violence.

New York and California Laws Offer Employment Law Protections

The State of New York recently enacted Bill A5618/S1040, which offers employment law protections to victims of domestic violence. The new law enhanced previous New York protections which prohibited discrimination against victims of domestic violence within the workplace. The new law adds the following:

Reasonable Accommodation: The law requires employers to reasonably accommodate victims of domestic violence who must be absent from work for a reasonable amount of time to seek medical attention, therapy or legal services in connection with domestic violence.

Anti-Discrimination: The new law further ensures that domestic violence victims are considered a protected class and that employment discrimination against them is considered another form of illegal discrimination.

The State of California has enacted similar protections for victims of domestic violence. In some ways, the protections given to employees in California are slightly stronger than those in New York. California Labor Code §§ 230 and 230.1 provides employment law protections to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Like in New York, California requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to domestic victims. California also makes it illegal to discriminate or retaliate against a victim of domestic violence for taking time off of work to seek help.

Virginia Lags Behind in Protections

Virginia lags far behind in the protection of domestic violence victims in the workplace. The legislature should move to adopt a law similar to those enacted by California and New York to ensure that employees suffering from domestic violence are not terminated or discriminated against for taking time off to get medical or mental assistance needed in order to get better.

Currently, Virginia only protects victims of domestic violence (and other crimes) for the time taken to respond to a summons or subpoena related to the criminal proceedings. Va. Code § 18.2-465.1. Virginia also requires an employer to permit a victim of a crime to be present at all criminal proceedings related to a crime against the employee. Va. Code 40.1-28.7:2.

Virginia also offers suggested (not binding) guidance to employers asking them to consider allowing victims of all crimes (including domestic violence) to be able to attend court without loss of pay. Va. Code § 19.2-11.01(A)(3)(a). Virginia should follow the lead of New York and California and protect domestic violence victims in the workplace.

Conclusion

If you need assistance with employment law issues, please contact our office at (703) 668-0070 or at www.berrylegal.com to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BerryBerryPllc.

Rethink Energy: The Climate Change Challenge, Arlington’s Plan

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored column is written by the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy team (AIRE). This county program helps you make smart energy decisions that save you money and leaves a lighter footprint on the environment.

Climate change is serious. Businesses, residents and governments must act.

Today, the Arlington County Board has adopted sweeping updates to the Community Energy Plan setting ambitious targets for transforming the County’s energy sector.

Some highlights of Arlington’s Community Energy Plan include:

  • Sets goal of a carbon neutral Arlington by 2050
  • Government operations to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2025
  • Community to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2035
  • Considering energy equity during implementation

“This plan is bold, because nothing less than a bold response from every community across this nation and across the globe is essential to address the dire threat to our planet posed by climate change,” Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said.

“Arlington’s updated Community Energy Plan is based on the latest climate science and views energy decisions through the lenses of energy security, economic competitiveness, environmental commitment and equity. It will maintain Arlington County’s position as a leader in America on climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

The plan incorporates goals for buildings; resilience; renewable energy; transportation, County government actions, and education and human behavior. It envisions an Arlington that by 2050 will be more resilient, where all electricity will come from renewable sources, where more residents will drive electric vehicles and more will use transit, and where homes and buildings will be more energy-efficient.

Just this week similar announcements were made by Governor Northam to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050 for all of Virginia as well as an announcement by Amazon to fight climate change by achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.

We are proud of the work we’ve done to date to save money and energy. We are equally energized about the work ahead to reach carbon neutrality in Arlington by 2050.

Some simple actions you can take today to act and stay connected:

Please join us as we move forward. Every action makes a difference.

Together we can create a carbon-neutral Arlington by 2050.

New Homes in Arlington: September 20

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Welcome to New Homes, a biweekly column highlighting the new construction real estate market, written by Conor Sullivan and Dave Moya of Three Stones Residential at Keller Williams Realty. We are here to share our experience and expertise in lot acquisition, financing and construction of custom homes. 

Quick Ways To Make Your Home “Smart”

New construction homes are popping up everywhere in Arlington County.

These homes are beautiful and updated with all the bells and whistles of “smart-home” technology, but may not be the perfect fit for everyone. To help your home compete against the new construction in the marketplace, there are a few simple upgrades to make your home smarter, safer and more efficient.

  • Ring Doorbell: This motion activated video doorbell system allows you to view your front doorstep while you are away, or even speak to visitors remotely, all through the app. Keep an eye on packages that have been delivered, or who comes to your front doorstep while you’re not home.
  • Smart Light Bulbs: These Wi-Fi enabled LED light bulbs allow you to access the lighting in your home from anywhere using an electronic device or smart speakers. Forgot to turn that kitchen light off before leaving? No problem — turn it off from your phone!
  • Smart Speakers: Smart devices like Google Home or Amazon Echo can sync to your smart electronics via Wi-Fi letting you control them with your voice. Turn off your lights or the heat up hands free!
  • Nest Thermostat: Installing this sleek new thermostat in your home is not only visually appealing, it’s convenient! Control the thermostat remotely from your smartphone using all the Nest technology features. The device will eventually learn the climate of your home and automatically adjust the temperature when conditions change.
  • TP-Link Smart Plug: If your appliances don’t have Wi-Fi, you can use this adapter to easily control them from an app. Turn on your coffee maker before you even get out of bed!

Having these tech-savvy upgrades will not only bring your home to the 21st century and boost it’s value, it will give you peace of mind knowing you have security in place for when you’re out of town.

It could also help save money, if you forgot to turn off your lights or turn down the heat, it is now just an easy click away from your smartphone. If you have any questions about these upgrades or your home’s market value, please contact us at [email protected] or 571-429-7670.

Below is a list of new homes currently on the market in Arlington.

Want to learn more about financing a New Home build? McLean Mortgage (NMLS ID: 99665) can handle all of your construction financing needs. You can build your new home with as little as 5% down. Contact construction loan expert Troy Toureau (NMLS ID: 5618) at 301-440-4261 or AnyHomeLoans.com to learn more.

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

705 N. Barton Street
6 BD/5 BA single-family home
Agent: Compass
Listed: $1,795,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3228 N. Pershing Drive
4 BD/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $1,150,000
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

1418 N. Rhodes Street, B102
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $949,949
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

5209 16th Street N.
4 BD/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $849,900
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

3919 7th Street S.
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $650,000
Open: Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

 

820 N. Pollard Street #405
1 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $524,900
Open: Saturday 1-4 p.m.

 

1024 N. Utah Street #325
1 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $395,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

Arlington’s fall real estate market appears to be getting off to a slow start.

It’s not bad. But it’s not great either.  It’s just sort of okay, which indicates something may be going on that’s not clear yet.

Sellers listed 71 homes this week, which is good. But buyers seem to be dragging their feet with only 51 ratified contracts. Of those, some 30 homes sold within seven days on the market.

Compared to last year, these numbers are ho hum. In the last three weeks of last September, buyers ratified 55, 65 and 54 contracts each week. And sellers really did their part by listing 96, 95 and 65 homes each week. Numbers tell a story.

Perhaps it has something to do with consumer confidence. The Fed on Wednesday dropped its overnight rate by .25% as a measure to bolster signs of a slowing economy. It cited concerns of a slowing global economy influenced by the US-China trade war and Britain’s exit from the European Union. The Fed wants consumers and businesses to maintain their level of spending while keeping inflation at its current rate of 1.6%

If you read this blog regularly, you may recall us telling you to grab the low mortgage rates to buy or refinance several weeks ago. Hope you followed the advice. Mortgage rates, which are NOT directly linked to the Fed rate, jumped this week with quotes varying from 3.73% to 4.01%. And they’re likely to rise more.

The good news for buyers this week is that the housing inventory level is at its highest in a year at 1.3 months. That gives buyers more to choose from, and strengthens their negotiating power

Click to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.

Listing of the Day: 1300 4th Street, SE Unit 310

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/7

Address: 1300 4th Street, SE, Unit 310
Neighborhood: The Yards (Navy Yard)
Listed: $729,900 for Unit 310
Open: Sunday, September 22 from 12-4 p.m.

Discover the world of possibilities waiting at The Bower, now 90% sold with only 14 units remaining.

Explore Unit 310, a 1,020 square feet, 2 bedroom 2 bath with floor-to-ceiling windows and wide-plank hardwood floors. Living at The Bower the possibilities are endless from artisan dining to nights at the ballpark, it’s all in reach at the only condos for sale at The Yards.

Listed by:
Hoffman Realty
202-869-5233
[email protected]
www.thebowerdc.com

The St. James Celebrates First Anniversary With Homecoming Party

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

When the area’s largest indoor sports and recreation facility celebrates its first anniversary, it’s not just a party, it’s a Homecoming.

The 450,000 square foot complex, The St. James winds up its debut year with a family-friendly open house on Saturday, September 21, from 1-5 p.m.

The sports club — which boasts two full-size turf fields, two NHL regulation-sized ice rinks, an Olympic-sized pool, hardwood basketball and volleyball courts, a climbing and bouldering wall, a 50,000-square-foot fitness center and a waterpark for kids — is just off I-95 and I-495 in Springfield.

On Saturday, the 20-acre facility opens its doors in a Homecoming celebration, with field-day games, live music, swag giveaways and meet-and-greet appearances by Washington Redskins players Derrius Guice and Dwayne Haskins. Activities include Zorb soccer, life-size foozball and freeze tag; the Squash & Golf House will be the scene of simulated closest-to-the-pin and longest-drive contests; “halftime” sees a performance by a local marching band.

Energizing Grab-and-Go Bites, prepared by Chef Spike Mendelsohn’s Vim & Victor, and beverages will be on hand.

As a bonus, complimentary admission to the water park runs from 5-8 p.m.

Register for the Homecoming here!

The St. James is located at 6805 Industrial Road, Springfield. For information, call 703-239-6870 or visit thestjames.com. Stay up to date on Facebook and Twitter.

Back to School, Back to Work for Healthy Kids!

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/7

As parents, we all want our kids to meet their full potential, today and as they grow into adults.

One of the most effective ways to realize that goal is to make sure that every child in every school has access to healthy, high-quality food.

At its best, school food not only combats hunger and obesity, it improves academic and athletic performance, reduces disciplinary problems, and teaches kids a life skill as fundamental as math and reading.

Since 2010, local nonprofit Real Food for Kids has championed healthy food and nutrition education in Arlington, Fairfax and other D.C. area school districts. Real Food for Kids has engaged thousands of area students in its educational programs, and successfully advocated for new salad bars, healthy entrees and elimination of sodas in vending machines in Fairfax County schools.

To kick-off the new year, we’re throwing a Back to School celebration and you’re invited!

Join Real Food for Kids Executive Director Jenn Yates and TV-personality/Chef David Guas at his award-winning Bayou Bakery in Courthouse on Thursday, October 3, 5-7 p.m. for a fun evening of apps, drinks and a dash of southern charm!

This event supports Real Food for Kids’ efforts to fight childhood hunger and obesity, and to ensure access to healthy foods and nutrition education in schools.

Real Food for Kids pursues this mission by:

  • Working with school leaders to identify and overcome challenges faced by food service departments
  • Teaching Pre-K through high school students healthy eating habits through fun activities and events
  • Uniting parents, school and elected officials to prioritize our kids’ health

Come raise a glass with parents, elected officials and other community leaders from across the region, and learn more about Real Food for Kids’ advocacy for healthy kids.

For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/2lNcBeF.

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