Author: ARLnow.com Sponsor

Legal Insider: New Universal Paid Leave Law Affects Virginia Residents

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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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 Berry

The recently enacted D.C. Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act could affect residents in Northern Virginia and other states who work in the District of Columbia. The act was made applicable to most employers that are required to pay for D.C. unemployment insurance. The Act, however, does not apply to federal or D.C. public employers.

Under the new Act, employees who live in Virginia or Maryland but work in Washington, D.C. will be entitled to the following additional forms of leave:

  1. Up to 8 weeks of parental leave;
  2. Up to 6 weeks of family leave to care for a family member; and
  3. Up to 2 weeks of medical leave for a serious health condition.

An employee is restricted from taking more than eight weeks of the above-mentioned combined leave in a 52-week period. During such paid leave, an employee will receive up to a maximum of $1,000 per week during the leave period. Under the act, an employee has an obligation to notify an employer at least 10 days in advance of the leave (where foreseeable).

To receive such leave, an employee is required to submit claims to the D.C. government, which will then notify the employer. The leave benefits above are in addition to, not in lieu of, any currently paid leave benefits by the employer.

Starting July 1, 2019, D.C. employers will begin paying a new payroll tax to fund the program. Employees working in D.C. will be able to access these new benefits beginning July 1, 2020. There has been some discussion of potential amendments or future changes to the act, but the provisions have been passed into law.

Employers are prohibited from interfering with eligible individuals’ rights for leave under the act. Additionally, it is unlawful for employers to retaliate against employees for exercising or attempting to exercise their rights under the new act.

If you need assistance with employment law matters in Virginia or the District of Columbia, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or at www.berrylegal.com to schedule a consultation. Please also like and visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BerryBerryPllc.

Listing of the Day: 2908 N. Edison Street

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2908 N. Edison Street
Neighborhood: Yorktown
List Price: $1,739,000
Open Houses: Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7 from 1-4 p.m.

This gorgeous custom home is on one of the prettiest streets in North Arlington and ideally located within short walking distance to Discovery, Williamsburg and Yorktown schools and athletic facilities, plus neighborhood parks, shops and restaurants.

Enjoy the high quality 2003 construction of a Keswick Home on a mature 12,000+ square foot lot. This home shows like new, has an open floor plan including a gourmet kitchen with granite island, 2016 appliances, two home offices on the main level, great room with stone fireplace overlooking a private backyard.

All 5 bedrooms (including 2 suites) and 4 full bathrooms on upper level. The master suite has a tray ceiling, two walk-in closets and spacious master bath with spa-tub, two vanities, separate shower and water closet. The second suite has it own private staircase that is ideal for guests or au pair. Fully finished basement offers high ceilings, enormous recreation room, hobby room (that has potential to be 6th bedroom), full bath and rough-in for lower level wet bar/kitchen area.

The attached two car garage, mudroom and storage make daily life a breeze. The large and welcoming stone front porch is a storybook gathering place but also useful for people with muddy feet to enter from into the well thought out mudroom. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to live in a greatly admired home in an ideal North Arlington location. You’re not just buying a house, you’re buying a lifestyle!

WWBG: Cinco de Mayo With Commonwealth Brewing Co. and Dominion Wine & Beer

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Cicerone Program Certified Beer Server.

Hey, that’s today! From 5-8 p.m., join Virginia Beach’s Commonwealth Brewing Co. at Dominion Wine & Beer for a Cinco de Mayo party and beer tasting. Check out the beers that will be on tap tonight:

  • Mano Del Puma Blonde Mexican Lager
  • Wapatoolie Tropical IPA
  • Big Papi Double IPA

Those three beers, Papi Chulo IPA and Marvolo Imperial Chocolate Stout will be available in tall boy cans (see the photos below.) Stop by and taste all five beers and take some home.

Below are my thoughts on the five beers that Commonwealth has to offer tonight. Each beer is a fantastic example of its style — and they’re beautiful to look at. Check out my thoughts, then grab some cans or crowlers for yourself.

Mano Del Puma Blonde Mexican Lager (4.8% ABV)

It’s corn that makes a lager a Mexican one. Adding corn to the grain bill adds a sweetness and contributes to the crispness that you’d expect from a Mexican lager like Corona or Dos Equis. Mano Del Puma is a simple, but delicious brew. Inhaling, I get fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro bracketed by clean, white flour. The sip is crisp soda cracker with a subtle sweetness. It’s all on point. At only 4.8% ABV this is great for a hot summer day after mowing the lawn or grilling. This isn’t just crushable, it’s totally poundable.

Wapatoolie Tropical IPA (7.3% ABV)

Often I pour so-called tropical IPAs and I find only the typical aroma of passion fruit, while not entirely unwelcome, it’s kind of plain. Wapatoolie is anything but plain. This is the first time I’ve poured a tropical IPA and done a double take to make sure that I’m pouring a beer. Hazy and straw-colored, Wapatoolie smells like a piña colada — all pineapple and coconut. Lest you think that this is going to be a frou-frou cocktail of a beer, pineapple essence blends with creamy coconut milk, there is little sweetness. This is a serious beer that hits all the right “tropical” notes in a way that I was not expecting. It was delicious and made me smile the whole time I sipped it.

Papi Chulo IPA (6.5% ABV)

Do you remember the frozen concentrate juice blend, 5 Alive? It blended orange, lemon, grapefruit, tangerine and lime. Papi Chulo is a juice bomb that took me back to the days of standing on a stool with a big wooden spoon stirring a pitcher of 5 Alive. While the aroma suggests sweet mandarin orange and dank pine, the flavor is nearly as complex as the juice it reminds me of. Rather than just candied mandarin, Papi Chulo is a delightful blend of citrus flavors with just a hint of the dankness that I smelled. The result is a seriously fruity and crushable hazy IPA.

Big Papi Double IPA (8.0% ABV)

If Papi Chulo is like a glass of 5 Alive, it’s big brother, Big Papi is like the Hawaiian juice blend POG. Passion fruit, orange and guava are the juices in POG — get it? Just like the beers above, the very specific aromas — POG in this case — carry through amazingly into the flavor. At 8% ABV, this beer is slightly sweet with a bit of astringency, imagine if you spiked glass of the Hawaiian juice. Even hazier than its little brother, Big Papi has a velvety mouthfeel. This is a special beer — it’s big and delicious — that’s perfect for sipping and savoring.

Marvolo Imperial Chocolate Stout (8.7% ABV)

After all the bright and hazy lagers and IPAs from Commonwealth, this strong and sweet stout made a wonderful dessert. Pouring pitch black with a fine, tan head, Marvolo has a smooth body with fine carbonation. Flavors of sorghum molasses and cocoa combine to give this stout it’s namesake chocolatey-ness. There’s just enough bitterness from the black malt to keep this otherwise sweet beer from being cloying. Sip this at the very end of the day when the air begins to cool, but be careful — it’s so smooth that you might overdo it!

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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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 got the biggest boost in inventory for the year this week with 95 fresh new listings. And buyers were almost as quick to snatch them up with 90 ratified contracts, many of those transactions with multiple offers. The “days on market” dropped significantly to just 22 days, the lowest so far this year. Nearly all homes sold this week had been on the market under 100 days, and about 38% sold within a week.

Mortgage markets were stable this week with virtually no change in rates. The 30-year fixed rate remains at about 4.125%. The Fed met this week for two days and emerged without raising short term bank rates. Economists still expect the Fed to raise rates twice later this year on consumer debt.

Listing of the week: 921 N. Danville Street, a darling home in Clarendon.

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

Healthy Paws: Euthanasia & Saying Goodbye

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Healthy Paws

Editor’s Note: Healthy Paws is a column sponsored and written by the owners of Clarendon Animal Care, a full-service, general practice veterinary clinic and winner of a 2017 Arlington Chamber of Commerce Best Business Award. The clinic is located 3000 10th Street N., Suite B. and can be reached at 703-997-9776.

Perhaps not the Healthiest of Paws this week – but the topic of Euthanasia and Saying Goodbye is not one to take lightly. Often letting a pet go is akin to having a family member die, which can affect everyone (other pets included) differently, and sometimes profoundly.

Making the Decision

This decision is never easy, and nor should it be. Our general thought is that if we wait until the decision to let our pet go becomes very easy we have likely waited too long and for the wrong reasons. When working through this decision, especially with chronic illnesses and geriatric patients, we do like to use a Quality of Life scoring sheet, and recommend multiple people close to the pet fill it out independently and see where everyone is on the same page and where they’re not.

This looks at hurt, hunger, hydration, hydration, hygiene, happiness, mobility and more good days than bad and is sometimes called the hhhhhhmm scale. These qualities of life are all scored 0-10 and added up. A score of greater than 35 indicates the pet has an acceptable quality of life to continue with pet hospice.

We always need to keep in mind that when addressing quality of life the most important factor is our pet’s quality of life, and that trumps how much we may miss them.

What is Euthanasia?

The word euthanasia itself is derived from Greek roots: eu ‘well’ or ‘good’ + thanatos ‘death’. And in veterinary medicine we tend to look at it as the intentional ending of a pet’s life to relieve pain and suffering.

The process of the euthanasia is going to be a little different between individual veterinarians and veterinary clinics. It may involve sedation, and/or placement of an intravenous catheter and by far most common method is with the overdose of a euthanasia solution that slows and then stops the heart. Depending on the circumstances around the euthanasia – it may be performed at the veterinary clinic or in your home.

Coping with the Loss

Below are some excellent resources/hotlines/groups for coping with the loss of a beloved pet:

Bereavement Groups:

  • Arlington Animal Welfare League: The support group will meet quarterly at 7:00 pm on the second Wednesday of the month at the shelter. There is no charge to attend these meetings, and all are welcome. No reservations are required.
  • Alexandria Animal Welfare League: Meets The First Wednesday of Each Month at 7:00pm at the shelter at 4101 Eisenhower Ave. No fee and everyone welcome.

Grand Opening Event At Heritage Brewing Co. Clarendon On May 13

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A beer release of epic proportions is coming to Arlington.

In celebration of the opening of their new Clarendon location, the Heritage Brewing Co. team is releasing four new packaged beers, and 10 draft only releases on May 13 at their Market Common Brewpub & Roastery.

The primary release for Heritage Brewing’s Grand Opening event will be their three-year anniversary ale. A massive beer, and yet another rich entry into Heritage Brewing Co.’s barrel series. This beer is the product of the time and patience of

master blenders, taking an artful approach to combining seven different barrel series beers aged up to 33 months. It consumes the palate with flavors of deep molasses, dark cherries, and toasted oak, finishing with tart citrus notes. The result is an extremely complex beer that drinks more like a fine spirit than an ale. Only 600 22-ounce bottles will available in the Arlington brewpub on the day of the release.

Heritage Brewing Co. will also be kicking off its new Lincoln’s Hat beer series with

two packaged releases: Double Taxation, a double India Pale Ale, and Sovereign Stout, a nitro imperial stout. Double Taxation is a complex and unfiltered imperial IPA that is juicy, resinous, and loaded with tropical citrus notes from its generous hop additions. Sovereign Stout is a dangerously smooth and velvety imperial stout with bold flavors of honey, chocolate, and dark-roasted coffee. Heritage will be releasing 150 four-packs of 16-ounce cans of each Lincoln’s Hat beer during the Grand Opening. Supplies aren’t anticipated to last long.

The third and final packaged beer release available on May 13 will be Heritage Brewing Co.’s first ever wild fermented beer release and the start of their new Wilderness Series bottle releases. A collection of rare and wild aged beers that take on sour and tart flavors from their naturally occurring fermentation. Each beer is aged in a mix of barrels from vineyards and distilleries. This first Wilderness Series release is a wild-fermented Belgian strong ale; only a few hundred of these will be available in 375 ml bottles. This ale features a mix of spices, giving it a refreshing tart fruit flavor like no other beer in their lineup to date.

The doors at Heritage Brewing Co. Market Common Brewpub & Roastery will open at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, and the releases will kick off immediately. Guests can also dine-in at their location and enjoy their chef-driven, locally sourced menu, created to pair perfectly with their long lineup of brews. Simultaneously, the main production brewery in Manassas will also be selling the new releases upon opening at 12:00 p.m.

For additional information on the grand opening event to include draft beer release descriptions and information as well as package photography and merchandise photography, visit the event page.

Just Reduced Properties In Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he is not the listing agent of these homes.

According to Consumer Reports, May is a stellar time to buy a number of household items on deep discount.

Among the best bargains to be found this month for enhancing your home are: Mattresses, grills, air conditioners, vacuums, roofing materials as well as exterior paint and stains. If you own a home here in Arlington County and have been waiting for a deal, it’s the perfect month to start sprucing up your abode.

And, if you don’t own an Arlington County home, it’s time to start exploring. More and more options are becoming available, especially as the temps warm up and sellers wrap up their spring-cleaning.

So, let’s get rolling… and let’s GET MORE out of the most important purchase you’ll make. Whether we find a home on “deep discount” or need to hit the negotiating table, my team and I are here for you!

As of May 3 there are 225 detached homes, 47 townhouses and 246 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 52 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week.

Here is this week’s selection of Just Reduced properties:

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Aaron Seekford.

Ask Eli: How Fast Do Arlington Homes Sell?

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

Question: I’m getting ready to purchase a home and have been watching the market over the last few months. I find that most homes I like go under contract quickly. How long are most homes on the market in Arlington and do you have guidance regarding offer price based on how long a home has been on the market?

Answer: Good properties move quickly in Arlington, so if you’re in the market you need to prepare to act fast when the right home hits the market. I pulled some helpful data to highlight how quickly most homes go under contract and how much they sell for relative to asking price.

Description Of Data

The following data represents all 15,200+ home sales in Arlington since January 1, 2012, broken out by the percentage of homes that sell within a range of days on the market (number of days from listing to going under contract). Within each range, I provide the average net sold price as a percentage of the original asking price (100 percent means the seller got the full ask). Not included are homes sold with zero days on market (6-7 percent of total sales) because most of those are off-market deals.

Key Findings

  • About 20 percent of homes in Arlington sell in the first five days
  • About 50 percent of homes in Arlington sell in the first 30 days
  • Be prepared to pay full price if you’re making an offer in the first 10 days of a listing
  • There is a consistent, direct correlation between days on market and how much of a discount buyers negotiate from the original asking price
  • Q1 is generally the slowest time for real estate but Q1 2017 shows a high percentage of homes being sold in the first five and 10 days. Expect these percentages to increase as the year continues.
  • Not shown: about 60 percent of homes sold in the first five days are sold on the fourth or fifth day
  • Most homes are listed on Thursday, so odds are that even a hot home will make it through the weekend

In a hot market, preparation is the most important thing buyers can do to position themselves to land a contract on the home they want. If you’re considering a purchase and would like to discuss the best ways to prepare, feel free to reach out to set-up a meeting with me. You can reach me directly at [email protected] or (703) 539-2529.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

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

The Chew: Doggy Daycare Evaluation

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

The following bi-weekly column is written and sponsored by Bark & Boarding, which provides a heart-centered and safe environment for your pets. Conveniently located at 5818-C Seminary Road in Bailey’s Crossroads, Bark & Boarding offers doggy daycare, boarding, grooming, walking and training services, plus in-home pet care.

At Bark + Boarding, we’ve established a daycare evaluation process that works effectively. It’s a color-coded grading system to evaluate dogs on their first day of daycare. Green dogs are easy passes, while yellow dogs are those attendants need to watch more closely. Red is a dog that is currently not a good fit for our daycare environment.

What kinds of behaviors are we looking for and what does this grading system focus on?

Questions Before the Evaluation

Before we take your dog to the daycare area to begin the evaluation, we ask each client a series of questions. What are your reasons for daycare? Does your dog have off-leash social history? How old are they? Does your dog have resource guarding issues when sharing toys or food? Although we don’t allow food or toys in daycare, it tells us your dog could possibly become aggressive in other situations.

Does your dog have a strong prey drive? Most dogs see a squirrel or bunny and want to take chase. We want to make sure your dog knows the difference between a small dog and other small animals.

When they are upset, do they whine, bark or growl? It tells us if they listen when they’re being corrected on behaviors such as humping,  rough-housing, resource guarding or barking. If your dog listens to daycare attendants when being corrected on a certain behavior or moves on to another dog if the dog they first approach for play doesn’t wish to join in the fun, these are signs of a submissive dog. The more submissive the dog, the higher the score.

Green Dog

Green dogs are characterized as being easygoing, friendly, balanced, playful, and responsive to social cues with humans and other dogs. Generally speaking, the younger the dog, the more “green” they will be.  If you adopt a puppy and plan on using daycare, the sooner you bring them in, the more likely they will be successful in daycare. Puppies learn behavior from watching other dogs and daycare is the perfect puppy preschool.

Yellow Dog

Yellow dogs will exhibit behaviors like rough playing, humping, snapping, occasionally challenging authority, excessive barking, and/or door guarding. These are the dogs our attendants watch closely. Frequently, a yellow dog can become a green dog just by going to daycare on a regular basis.

Like puppies, they learn from observing the dogs who listen, are friendly, don’t get corrected as often and in return, gain more rewards with affection and attention from daycare staff. We encourage yellow dog owners to work on certain behaviors at home as well as making the commitment of frequent visits to daycare and dog parks.

Red Dog

This is a dog that isn’t right for a daycare environment at the time of evaluation. They growl, snap, bite and lunge at other dogs or humans. Raised haunches are another sign of aggression.

The first thing you should know, there is nothing wrong with your dog. Not all dogs are good daycare candidates. We give clients advice on how to change negative behavior, including suggestions on training classes. As an alternative to daycare, we offer in-home visits or recurring mid-day visits.

Our staff takes pride in working with dogs that need extra time or training. And won’t give up on dogs we believe can improve.

“If I have the slightest inkling that a dog can be molded into daycare material, I will take the time to work with them one-on-one as well as in the pack,” says Bark + Boarding daycare manager John Kasinger. “No dog is a hopeless case. They just need extra attention.”

In fact, we love dogs that need extra help. The work we do with dogs and their owners always seems to pay off and these dogs often become staff favorites. Daycare would not be the same without them.

By Sara Schabach, In-Home Pet Sitting Manager and Company Writer

If you have a question about your pet’s behavior, feel free to email [email protected]. If you, your pet, and behavior are featured in an article, you will receive $10 off any of our services.

Rethink Energy: New Arlington Solar Co-Op

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A 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. This post focuses on the Greater Arlington Solar Co-op, currently open for Arlington and other Northern Virginia residents interested in purchasing solar at a discount.  Got a question? Email us at [email protected]!

Most of us have probably thought, or dreamed, about going solar. It’s a great way to slash your energy bill, your carbon footprint and your dependence on the electric grid. But like any major purchase it’s hard to know if you’re getting a good price or what questions to ask.

If that sounds like your experience, you’re in luck! For a limited time, you can go solar at a 20 percent discount through the Greater Arlington Solar Co-op. You’ll also have the support of the solar community to guide you through the process.

Solar has never been cheaper. Systems cost less than half of what they would have just five years ago and the federal tax credit offers an 30 percent discount in addition to the co-op discount.

Over 80 Arlingtonians have already gone solar using co-ops like this. To get started, visit the co-op website for a no-obligation roof screening (you’ll provide your information using a form near the bottom of the site), and/or attend an information session to learn more:

  • First info session: Wednesday, May 10, 7 p.m., Navy League Building, 2300 Wilson Blvd, Arlington. RSVP here.
  • Second info session: Thursday, May 11, 7 p.m., The Pavilion at Mark Center, 5708 Merton Court, Alexandria. RSVP here.

Flying Colors: Challenges of Spring

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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Flying Colors is a sponsored column on the hobby of backyard bird feeding written by Michael Zuiker, owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited store at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center. Visit the store at 2437 N. Harrison Street or call 703-241-3988.

Most of us welcome the coming of spring with warmer weather, longer days and the colorful beauty of flowers and plants. With this change of seasons, we often have customers who come in and tell us this will be the last bag of food they will purchase until the fall. They tell me that the birds have plenty to eat and do not need the feeders anymore. Yet for those who feed the wild birds in their yards, this is exactly the opposite time you should stop feeding.

Most of our local birds who reside in our yards are seed, nut, fruit and insect eaters. Of those four foods, there is really only one that is in abundance naturally. As you swat your arm, you know which one that is. There are very few seeds, nuts or fruits out in the natural world in the spring.

In my front yard, which has been turned into a flower garden, all the plants are just coming up. There is no food on these green and flowering plants. Holly tree berries have been eaten during the winter. Large trees, such as oaks will not produce acorns until the Fall.

Now combine this with the fact that the wild birds in your backyard are much more active in the Spring. They are fighting for territory. They are finding mates. They are building nests. They are raising the young chicks. They are much more active during these longer days. The bird’s nutritional needs are greater with a reduce source of food to forage.

Even my perennial hummingbird plants are just coming up and will not be in flowering stage for another three to four weeks. But the hummingbirds are already here. You can be sure they are looking for a source of high energy food, i.e. sugar water, which will help them whether they stay here all summer of migrate north.

With the spring nesting season upon us, offering seed blends and suets with calcium is highly recommended. This added calcium will help with egg production and nestling growth. You can find the extra calcium in many seed blend mixes and suets. Another great source of protein is mealworms. Why give them bugs when so many insects are flying around? Giving the adult birds an easy source of high protein for their young, in the form of a juicy mealworm, can help the chicks and the parents. In addition, many migrating, insect eating birds, will come to a mealworm feeder. This may include warblers, thrushes and vireos.

Even if you do not see these birds up in the newly leafed tree canopy, you can hear their varied songs at the break of dawn. This free concert, in the spring mornings, is one of the bonuses of spring.  That brings us to another bonus of continued feeding.  During the winter, we are closed inside our homes looking out at the birds.

With the springtime, we are now free from the shackles of the cold wind and actually outside with the birds. The colors, the songs, the activities; we are right there in their midst to observe and enjoy. This is one of the hidden joys that I get from feeding birds in the warmer months. Not only do they need the source of food, but my presence outside makes me feel like a part of the environment.

Springtime for many of us is a more leisurely pace with less layers of clothing and more outdoor activities. Springtime for the birds is a more hectic pace with migration, breeding and raising their young. Feeding the birds now will help to ensure you have beautiful songbirds in your yard all year long.

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