Coco B’s is set to open on the roof of B Live (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
B Live, a live music and dining venue on Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy of B Live/Albert Ting)
Clarendon’s newest open-air hangout is aiming to start partying by October.
“Tropical glam” bar Coco B’s, the latest venture from local restaurateurs Christal and Mike Bramson, is looking to open on the roof of Whitlow’s former home at 2854 Wilson Blvd this fall, a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow.
The hope is to start serving in late September or early October. The initial plan was to start serving by late July or early August, but the opening has been pushed by about two months.
The bottom floor of 2854 Wilson Blvd is now the live music venue and restaurant B Live, also owned by the Bramsons.
Back in June, the couple shared with ARLnow what locals can expect from Coco B’s.
“I’d describe [the look and feel of Coco B’s] as ‘tropical glam.’ If you think of B Live as the male version of the two of us, then Coco B’s is the female version… the his and hers,” said Christal Bramson. “It’s definitely going to be more female-focused. There’s going to be a lot of pinks, velvets, feathers, and it’s going to attract the softer side of Arlington.”
The menu, while not yet set, will have “tropical-inspired” drinks. The plan was to do “some cosmetic changes” to the rooftop, open it this season, and do a more complete overhaul over the winter. Whitlow’s originally opened the rooftop deck in 2010, with a tiki bar theme and the name “Wilson’s on Whitlow’s,” a reference to Tom Hanks’ favorite volleyball in the movie Castaway.
Coco B’s will occupy the rooftop of the Wilson Blvd building while B Live, which opened in May, takes over the rest of the space that once housed Whitlow’s on Wilson. That one-time Arlington landmark has since moved to the District.
The Bramsons also own several other Clarendon food and drink destinations, including The Lot and Pamplona. ARLnow also reported yesterday that the couple has taken over management of the revamped Clarendon Ballroom from owner Michael Darby.
When Coco B’s opens later this year, the Bramsons will be operating five Clarendon businesses all within a half mile of each other.
Solar panels dot an Arlington home (photo courtesy of Arlington County Department of Environmental Services)
A county program has led to a large increase in solar panels being installed on homes over the last year.
The Arlington 2022 Solar and EV Charger Co-op is a seven-year-old partnership between the county and the non-profit Solar United Neighbors to purchase solar systems in bulk. The co-op, in turn, sells the systems to the customers at about a 20% discount, the program coordinator and a planner with the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) Helen Reinecke-Wilt explained to ARLnow.
The annual deadline to become a member is today (Aug. 31).
While the co-op is open to residents in Arlington, the City of Falls Church, and other surrounding Virginia localities, Arlingtonians comprise the majority of the membership.
And, since 2021, that has led to a substantial increase in solar panel systems being installed on Arlington homes.
Last year, 90 solar systems were installed in the county through the co-op. Add 17 from other localities, that’s 107 in total. That nearly doubled previous years’ numbers, Reinecke-Wilt said.
Last year’s record-breaking number will likely be exceeded in 2022 as well, the data suggests.
Reinecke-Wilt believes the reason for the uptick is that locals are looking to become more environmentally friendly as the county continues to tout its plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.
“I think it’s just a bigger awareness about climate action and the need to take action with more people thinking that they should be involved,” she said.
Locals are also recognizing the potential future savings due to being less dependent on the electrical grid. It’s estimated that households with solar panels save $600 to $1,100 a year on electrical costs, per the table on the co-op’s website.
While there are solar power systems being installed outside of the co-op, most installations in Arlington are through the co-op, we’re told. There are about 620 solar home systems in Arlington with 388 installed through the co-op, per data provided to ARLnow by the county’s Department of Environmental Services.
With nearly 120,000 residences in the county, that remains a small percentage. But the hope is that number will continue to increase due to the program’s growing popularity and the 30% tax credit now available thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act being signed earlier this month.
“The bump from 26% to 30% is [a big deal]. We are seeing a lot more members sign up in the past month and, certainly, I think it’s a reaction to that increase,” Reinecke-Wilt said.
There are reasons why most Arlington homes haven’t gone solar, including upfront costs — sometimes as much as $16,000 even with the tax credits. A roof’s lifespan is also a factor, with most vendors advising homeowners not to install solar panels on a roof older than seven years.
There’s also the still-vibrant (if slowly thinning) Arlington tree canopy, which shades many homes and can prevent sunshine from poking through to generate power. But that’s a good thing, Reinecke-Wilt said, since “it’s always better to have shade than solar because it provides natural cooling and helps the planet in other ways.”
Some residents also may not like the aesthetics of solar panels or hold the misguided belief that they bring down the value of the home.
But the sun seems to be rising on solar panels in Arlington.
At least by the metric of how many have signed up for the co-op, Arlington is outpacing nearly every other neighboring locality including those in D.C. and Maryland in terms of interest, Reinecke-Wilt said. She fully expects that more houses in Arlington will opt to go solar, prompted by the need to help with the climate crisis, federal incentives, and neighbor envy.
“I think it’s just getting to the point where people are starting to really notice it on a lot of homes and are asking their neighbors, ‘Why did you go solar? How did you do?'” said Reinecke-Wilt. “I think it will just continue to grow.”
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The large cement brick wall facing Wilson Blvd which is the backside of a new CVS (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driving west on Wilson Blvd from Clarendon, there’s a new addition to the landscape near Mario’s Pizza: a large cement block wall.
The wall is the rear of a new CVS going up along the 3330 block of Wilson Blvd, the former site of the Highlander Motor Inn. The nearly 20-foot-tall, windowless monolith is oriented so that it faces the street. The entrance to the new CVS is set for N. Kenmore Street.
The large blank wall has already attracted the ire of some residents. ARLnow recently received emails from several locals calling the structure an “eyesore,” a “failure,” and “The Great Wall of Clarendon.”
This all comes after a multi-year legal battle that included an unsuccessful appeal by Arlington County to the Virginia Supreme Court. It ended with the county being handcuffed in terms of regulating what’s built at the site.
“The design for this project shows a solid wall fronting on Wilson Blvd. The store frontage will be on N. Kenmore St,” a Department of Community, Planning and Housing Development spokesperson told ARLnow. “This project is occurring through by-right development; therefore there are no Zoning requirements for the orientation of buildings or structures. In addition, the County is limited in its overall regulation of by-right development projects.”
For more than five decades, the 3330 block of Wilson Blvd was the home of the Highlander motel, owned by the family of local businessman Billy Bayne.
In 2015, Bayne made the decision to lease the land to CVS, which planned to build a new store and pharmacy. However, there were complications to the deal, with the county balking at allowing the existing parking lot on N. Kenmore Street to be used again for parking.
Decisions were appealed several times before a circuit judge ruled that Bayne, as owner, was allowed to do what he wished with the property. The case was denied consideration by the state’s top court after a series of appeals.
Bayne, who also owns the Crystal City Gentlemen’s Club and Restaurant, claimed he lost nearly $2 million while the project stalled.
“It’s not okay to do this to somebody,” Bayne said in 2018. “There will be ramifications for this.”
He ended up suing the county for civil rights violations in 2019, but the suit was ultimately dismissed.
The project moved forward, with the motel closing early last year before being torn down. Before it shuttered, though, Arlington’s Dept. of Human Services rented out the hotel as a Covid quarantine location. While it probably didn’t resolve all animosity, the county thanked Bayne as someone who “really stepped up and helped” during a time of crisis.
But now it is neighbors in the Ashton Heights and Virginia Square area who are upset with what’s being done to the property.
“After the long court battle with the owner of the Highlander, CVS is throwing its ‘f you very much’ by placing a blank wall along Wilson Boulevard,” one resident told ARLnow. “Can’t wait for the future graffiti — I mean, community arts project!”
“There is no other commercial enterprise on Wilson Blvd in the area that presents so brazenly (or more likely thoughtlessly) a facade that is so grossly inconsistent with the urban ‘smart growth’ model,” another resident wrote, calling it “unfit… for this area.”
ARLnow reached out to CVS about the wall and received the following response.
“A new CVS Pharmacy store is currently under construction on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The wall that is currently facing Wilson Boulevard will be part of the permanent structure and is included in the overall construction and design plan approved by Arlington development officials,” a CVS spokesperson said.
So, the “Great Wall of Clarendon” is apparently here to stay and there isn’t much the county or residents can do at this point.
“It could be a major eyesore on the street for the next 30 to 40 years,” said a local resident.
Revamped entrance to the Clarendon Ballroom (staff photo)
The revamped and reopened Clarendon Ballroom (photo courtesy of Albert Ting/B Social Hospitality)
The revamped and reopened Clarendon Ballroom (photo courtesy of Albert Ting/B Social Hospitality)
The revamped and reopened Clarendon Ballroom (photo courtesy of Albert Ting/B Social Hospitality)
The revamped and reopened Clarendon Ballroom (photo courtesy of Albert Ting/B Social Hospitality)
The revamped and reopened Clarendon Ballroom (photo courtesy of Albert Ting/B Social Hospitality)
The revamped and reopened Clarendon Ballroom (photo courtesy of Albert Ting/B Social Hospitality)
(Updated 2:40 p.m.) The Clarendon Ballroom is back — but it never really left.
The local nightlife staple at 3185 Wilson Blvd opened its doors again earlier this month with a new interior, a renovated rooftop, and a pizza take-out window.
There’s a new 30-foot video wall, elevated VIP tables, and a renovated rooftop with redone floors and cabanas. The pizza take-out window, dubbed “Disco Pizza,” sells by the slice.
For the better part of the last two years, the Bramsons have run themed “pop-up” bars in the space as part of a short-term lease. While that particular lease has ended, the three have come to a new agreement for the couple to run the iconic venue for Darby.
“Michael Darby decided to reopen as Clarendon Ballroom and assumed the lease himself. In conversations between Darby and the Bramsons, it was determined that Mike and Christal Bramson of B Social Hospitality (also, behind B Live, Coco B’s, the Lot, Rebel Taco, Alias, and Pamplona) would be the best fit to handle the management and operations… based on their success and experience in the industry,” a spokesperson for B Social Hospitality told ARLnow via email.
This means no more rotating themes, but a commitment to a “Studio 54 all year vibe” says a press release.
On Jan. 1, 2020, Clarendon Ballroom closed — permanently, it was assumed — with the Washington Post dubbing it an “end of an era.” But a year later, Darby purchased the building at 3185 Wilson Blvd that housed the large, long-time venue. Then, he and the Bramsons signed a 21-month lease that was intended to be a temporary solution while Darby figured out what to do next.
“It’s a great way of holding the real estate until the pandemic issues are over,” Darby said at the time to the Washington Business Journal. “We’ll, during that time, take it to market and find the right user for it.”
As it turns out, the right arrangement was right there all along.
Darby applied for a building permit in March 2022 with the intent of renovating the space and running it himself, as ARLnow first reported. It was revealed to ARLnow a few months later that Darby was essentially bringing back Clarendon Ballroom after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus.
“Clarendon has really come of age. You’ve got all the great restaurants and bars,” Darby said to ARLnow. “And now with what we are doing with the Ballroom, that tops it off.”
He said the reason he was taking over the space himself was that he never got another offer that he liked. But that has changed somewhat, with Darby agreeing to a similar arrangement he had with the Bramsons initially back in December 2020.
Darby’s star turn on Bravo’s reality TV series with wife Ashley has seen a series of ups and downs, from the launch and then closure of their Clarendon restaurant Oz to his separation from Ashley earlier this year. It’s unclear whether Michael Darby or “CB” will make an appearance on the show in its upcoming season.
“1619 Project” author Nikole Hannah-Jones (photo courtesy of Arlington Public Library)
(Updated at 10:50 a.m.) Arlington Public Library is hosting Pulitzer Prize-winning “1619 Project” author Nikole Hannah-Jones as part of “Banned Books Week” next month.
“While this event is taking place at Washington-Liberty High School, Arlington Public Schools is not involved in the planning or hosting of this event,” notes the event page on the library website.
The event is “first-come, first-served until capacity is reached,” the page also notes. For those who can’t attend in person, the event will be live-streamed.
The “1619 Project” is an effort to better explain and contextualize slavery’s legacy, as well as Black Americans’ contributions, within the center of America’s history. It’s named as such after the date that the first enslaved African peoples arrived in Virginia.
The event at W-L is part of the nationwide “Banned Books Week,” an annual celebration by libraries and bookstores that highlights the value of “free and open access to information.”
The county’s library director Diane Kresh explained in a 2017 blog post that the reason Arlington Public Libraries celebrates Banned Books Week is that books are expressions of freedom.
“Books are change agents. They challenge our beliefs and biases. They expose us to different experiences and cultures. They help us learn to think for ourselves and not follow the crowd or cult of public opinion,” Kresh wrote.
The “1619 Project” has been both celebrated for its groundbreaking exploration of the topic and criticized for what some say are a series of historical inaccuracies and an emphasis on the significance of enslaved peoples in America’s history over other well-known dates, people, and events. It also sparked political controversy, with conservative members of Congress calling for measures to prevent it from being taught in K-12 schools.
Don Zientara poses for a portrait at the main console in Inner Ear Studio in Green Valley in October 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A look inside of Inner Ear Studio in the basement of founder Don Zientara’s home (photo courtesy of Inner Ear Studios)
The former home of Inner Ear Studios in May 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A look inside Inner Ear Studios in Green Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The legendary Inner Ear Studio has reopened in the founder’s Arlington Heights basement.
Last week, the recording studio’s founder Don Zientara spoke at length to the Embracing Arlington Arts podcast about what’s been happening since the studio moved from its home of three decades on S. Oakland Street last year.
The biggest change is that the studio is now back in Zientara’s basement in Arlington Heights where Inner Ear started in 1979.
“It isn’t gone, it’s still thriving,” he told host Janet Kopenhaver. “I’m back in my basement and realizing I can’t fit everything in here.”
He was able to bring over some of his favorite microphones, but much of his old equipment had to be sold or given away. Zientara said that he gave it to people that he “thought could use it the best.”
Much of the art, band posters, prints, drawings, and ephemera that lined the walls at Inner Ear Studio are now at D.C.’s Lost Origins Gallery. It’s set to be on a display soon as part of an exhibit about the famed recording studio.
“They took a lot… they were cutting walls out,” Zientara said. “Some posters there that I thought ‘Come on, this is going to go down with the ship,’ but they were cutting and sometimes took pieces of drywall.”
Zientara told Kopenhaver that he harbors no ill will towards Arlington County for making the studio vacate the building on S. Oakland Street it had called home since 1990.
In 2021, Arlington County purchased the building for more than $3 million, with the intention of demolishing it to make way for an arts and industry district.
As Arlington Cultural Affairs director Michelle Isabelle-Stark told the Washington Post at the time, the county saw this as saving the property from being bought by a private developer. The plan for the new district has some Green Valley community members concerned, though.
“There was no sense in trying to argue with anyone,” Zientara said about the move. “It was fine. A lot of businesses don’t last 32 years. I’m good with [it].”
Zientara said that the reason a lot of the indie punk bands came to his small Arlington studio was that they were often rejected from the more polished, bigger recording studios.
“I had equipment that was, let’s say, less than ideal. I had a space that was less than ideal,” he explained last week. “[The] bands were not welcomed at a lot of the studios, but I could record them.”
While the studio is now smaller than in its heyday, Zientara described the situation as going back to his roots.
While he could have fully retired or taught at one of the region’s universities — he said he had offers on the table — Zientara is currently in what he calls “semi-retirement.” That means he’s working when he wants and with who he wants.
In fact, when ARLnow reached him this morning for a brief conversation, he said that D.C. punk music icon Ian MacKaye was coming by the studio today to “mix some things.”
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.
(Updated, 8/31/22) Twenty-five Arlington-based companies are on this year’s Inc. 5000 list, an annual barometer of the country’s fastest-growing companies.
Among them are a Clarendon-based digital media company, a restaurant management software company on Fairfax Drive, and a food tech start-up in Ballston.
The highest-ranked Arlington company at No. 461 is Piedmont Global Language Solutions, which specializes in translation, interpretation, and language training. The company’s headquarters is located in Ballston on N. Glebe Road.
The median growth over the last year for the local companies is 256%.
The 23 companies with local ties on the latest Inc. 5000 list are fewer in number than in previous years. In 2021, 30 Arlington companies graced that year’s list while there were 30 in 2020 and 34 in 2019. Just under half of the companies (11) on the 2022 list were also on the 2021 list.
While looking through the list, a few trends emerge. Most of the local companies are headquartered in Clarendon or Ballston. Many are software or tech-based that count the federal government as a major client. At least a couple were founded by first-generation Americans and a few were at one time featured by ARLnow.
Here’s a list of all the Arlington-based companies included on this year’s Inc. 5000 list:
1,051, Margin Edge, 618% — A restaurant management software company on Fairfax Drive in Ballston.
1,218, HUNGRY, 534% — A food tech start-up that connects companies and consumers with local chefs, food trucks, and restaurants. It has a number of celebrity investors and is based in Ballston.
1,219, SweatWorks, 533% — A software company that helps engineer and design fitness products. It’s headquartered in Ballston.
1,294, Hyperion Technologies, 502% — A venture firm that works with government agencies.
1,321, Grey Market Labs, 494% — A software company with the “mission to protect life online.” The company is headquartered in Clarendon.
1,486, Kasma, 432% — A compensation software management system that provides employee pay data from across the globe.
1,544, C3 Integrated Solutions, 414% — An IT service that secures clients with cloud-based tech and is located on Wilson Blvd in Clarendon.
1,651, DonorBureau, 378% — A software analytics company helps organizations better fundraise and get donor support.
1,879, Blake Willson Group, 323% — A veteran-owned business that provides “technology solutions” to the federal government.
2,148, Competitive Innovations, 276% — A government service company that’s based on N. Glebe Road in Buckingham.
2,227, Axios, 264% — A Clarendon-based digital media company that covers national as well as local news often with short, punchy articles.
2,294, ITC Defense Corp., 256% — A tech-based global defense business that specializes in system engineering. It has an office in Crystal City.
2,296, Fors Marsh Group, 255% — Conducts market research to help companies with customer service. It’s in Ballston.
2,450, PhoenixTeam, 236% — A mortgage technology firm on N. Glebe Road in Ballston.
3,092, iTechAG, 174% — A tech firm that helps organizations “streamline their operations to achieve better, faster and more predictable results.” It’s in Clarendon.
3,094, Association Analytics, 174% — A data analytics company in Rosslyn that helps organizations operate more efficiently.
3,292, Web Development Group, 161% — An advertising and marketing company that builds websites. It’s based in Clarendon.
3,364, Ostendio, 156% — A digital platform company in Rosslyn that automates security.
3,422, Nuvitek, 153% — An engineering firm that provides automation and cloud services to government agencies. It was on last year’s list as well and based in Rosslyn.
3,541, Changeis, 146% — The Rosslyn-based company works with federal agencies in “emerging technologies.
4,020, 540.co, 120% — As the company describes itself on its website “we are a forward-thinking company that the Federal Government turns to in order to…#GetShitDone.” It’s based in Crystal City.
4,199, Quantum Search Partners, 111% — A recruiting company for cybersecurity, tech, data, and architecture sectors with an office in Clarendon.
4,353, DWBH, 103% — A veteran-owned company that offers subject matter expertise “in support of mission-critical functions.”
Coffee shop Slipstream set to move into Ballston early next year (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) D.C-based coffee shop Slipstream is looking to serve fresh cups of joe in Ballston next year.
Slipstream is opening its first location outside of the District on the ground floor of the Ballston Point building, at 4300 Wilson Blvd, down the street from Chipotle and near the intersection with N. Glebe Road.
While construction has yet to start, Slipstream co-owner Ryan Fleming told ARLnow, that the plan is to open in early 2023.
The coffee shop and cafe currently has three locations, all in D.C. It specializes in single-origin coffee, loose-leaf teas, breakfast sandwiches, toast, and rice bowls.
Fleming said they chose to expand Ballston because it’s a “great neighborhood that is growing and has a mix of business and residential buildings.”
The Ballston shop will be similar to the other locations, but “adapted slightly to fit the unique neighborhood.”
“With every location we open we strive to improve operations and service, and this location will hopefully continue that trend,” Fleming said. “We will have more details on the operational changes closer to opening.”
Slipstream will compete with a number of existing Ballston coffee shops, including Good Company, Dunkin, Compass Coffee, Philz, and multiple Starbucks locations.
Slipstream’s move to Ballston was noted on a retail leasing chart for the building viewed by ARLnow. Also included in the document is a new location for Japanese barbeque restaurant Gyu Shige, in the space formerly occupied by Bangkok Bistro, which looks to have closed sometime in the latter half of 2020.
However, Gyu Shige representatives told ARLnow that they are, in fact, not moving to Ballston and the only location they have and are currently planning to have in Virginia is in the Mosaic District.
The Ballston neighborhood has been in flux recently. Across from the new Slipstream, Silver Diner is finally set to open this fall five years after being first announced. Nearby, Buffalo Wild Wings is closing at the end of this month.
Paul Veneto with his airplane beverage cart that he’ll be pushing from Dulles Airport to the Pentagon (photo courtesy of Compel Pictures/Paulie’s Push)
Paul Veneto pushing the airplane beverage cart from Boston to New York last year (photo courtesy of Compel Pictures/Paulie’s Push)
Paul Veneto pushing the airplane beverage cart from Boston to New York last year (photo courtesy of Compel Pictures/Paulie’s Push)
A retired flight attendant will be pushing a beverage cart from Dulles airport to the Pentagon next month in honor of his colleagues who were killed on 9/11.
It was the evening of September 10, 2001, when Paul “Paulie” Veneto arrived back in Boston on Flight 175. He was working as a flight attendant for United Airlines at the time and the Los Angeles to Boston was his normal route. But his shift was up, so he and the rest of his crew switched.
“The next morning, September 11, the next crew went out the trip I had just finished,” he told ARLnow over the phone. “So, I knew all of those crew members.”
In remembrance of his former colleagues and all the crew on the four flights that were hijacked on that fateful day, Veneto will be pushing an airplane beverage cart 30 miles from Dulles International Airport to the Pentagon. That’s the path of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon and killed 184 people.
Veneto is set to begin the journey on Sept. 8 with his arrival set for Sept. 11, 21 years after Veneto himself narrowly avoided becoming a 9/11 victim. The cart will be adorned with the names of all those crew members that died that day attempting to save lives.
“You hear about all the police and fire and they all deserve credit, they did extraordinary things,” said Veneto. “But I knew people were suffering not hearing about the heroics of those crew members.”
Last year for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, he embarked on a similar, though much longer, journey. It took him 230 miles and about three weeks to push a beverage cart from Boston Logan International Airport to Ground Zero in New York.
He encountered numerous obstacles making that trip, including hurricane-like rain, hills, heat, and railroad tracks, but what he remembers by far the most are the people lining the route and cheering him on.
“It was unbelievable… there were whole towns, fire trucks, everyone waiting for me,” Veneto said. “It was crazy.”
He had military veterans, police, and those who lost people that day coming up to him to tell him their stories of how 9/11 impacted them.
That’s when he realized he needed to do the beverage cart push again, this time following the path of Flight 77 that ultimately went from Dulles to the Pentagon. He and his team have scouted the route already, which is mostly a bike path and “pretty flat.” He doesn’t foresee any major issues, though does caution he’s “expecting the unexpected.”
While a beverage cart can weigh a couple of hundred pounds, Veneto said that pushing one down the road has nothing on navigating one through the aisle of a full aircraft attempting to avoid legs, arms, and knees.
Veneto’s journey will start at about 8 a.m. on Sept. 8, when he will go down the ramp at Dulles, en route to the Pentagon. The plan is to arrive in Arlington in the afternoon of the 21st anniversary of the attacks.
For those who want to track Veneto or, even, cheer him along the way, a real-time map will be providing photo and updates on where he is.
Veneto, who struggled with drug addiction after 9/11, said he gets inspired to remain sober by remembering those colleagues and friends who lost their lives that day. He hopes others might as well find some strength in the memories of the crew members to battle whatever challenges they are facing.
“I get the strength from looking at [their pictures] and thinking of what they must have went through that morning,” he said. “They were the first responders.“
Food for Neighbors volunteers (photo courtesy of Food for Neighbors)
Food for Neighbors Red Bag Program (photo courtesy of Food for Neighbors)
A non-profit is teaming up with the county and schools to provide food assistance to students when classes start up again next week.
Food for Neighbors (FFN), the Department of Human Services (DHS), and Arlington Public Schools (APS) have announced a partnership where food, toiletries, and grocery gift cards will be collected and distributed to students in need on a weekly basis.
The Herndon-based Food for Neighbors has been partnering with Fairfax County and Loudoun County schools for the last five years, but the 2022-2023 school year will be the first working with APS.
FFN will work with students at three high schools initially — Wakefield High School, Arlington Community High School, and the Arlington Career Center — when classes start for the year this coming Monday (Aug. 29).
Renee Maxwell, Community Liaison for FFN, told ARLnow that a “rough estimate is that we’ll be providing consistent, regular support to 200-300 students” to start out. FFN works with the schools and staff to identify the students who are most in need.
The hope, though, is to expand to help more students at more schools soon.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the Arlington County Department of Human Services to bring our programming to Arlington Public Schools,” FFN founder and executive director Karen Joseph said in a press release. “Arlington is a highly diverse, vibrant area, and the expansion provides the opportunity for us to learn about and respond to the needs in the community, so that we may help even more students facing food insecurity.”
The main way FFN collects and distributes items is through its “Red Bag Program.”
That’s where volunteers shop for shelf-stable items, leave them in an FFN-supplied red bag on their doorstep, and other volunteers come pick it up, sort the food, and distribute it to local schools that same day.
The day-long collection event happens five times a school year. The first one to include Arlington is set to happen on October 29. Those who would like to volunteer to donate items are being asked to sign up “well ahead of time.”
Over 1,700 food donors and about 1,200 volunteers have signed up to help across Northern Virginia so far, per a press release.
FFN also provides shelving and cabinets to schools to store the extra food, as well as grocery gift cards and holiday meals.
During the 2021-2022 school year, FFN provided more than 88,000 pounds of food and toiletries to Fairfax and Loudoun County schools. Additionally, more than $105,000 in grocery gift cards were also donated so that students could have access to fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and other perishables.
Food insecurity continues to be a major challenge in Arlington and across the region. Nearly 8% of Arlingtonians experienced food security recently, according to a report that was released earlier this year.
The rates were particularly high in certain neighborhoods including Glencarlyn, Buckingham, Ashton Heights, Pentagon City, Crystal City, Forest Glen, and Arlington Mill. All three of these high schools that will be served by FFN this coming year have students from these neighborhoods.
The hope is that Food for Neighbors could help fill some of those gaps.
“Through my previous work in Fairfax County, I have seen how influential a partnership with Food For Neighbors can be to address food security for middle and high school students,” DHS Food Security Coordinator Stephanie Hopkins said in a press release. “I know that Arlington community members have a very giving spirit, and I’m confident that they will come through to support the Red Bag Program by donating food and hands-on support.”
A rescued beagle arriving to the Lucky Dog Animal Rescue on Langston Blvd (photo courtesy of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue)
A rescued beagle with a foster parent at Lucky Dog Animal Rescue on Langston Blvd (photo courtesy of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue)
A rescued beagle arriving to the Lucky Dog Animal Rescue on Langston Blvd (photo courtesy of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue)
A rescued beagle arriving to the Lucky Dog Animal Rescue on Langston Blvd (photo courtesy of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue)
There will be additional chances this weekend for locals to adopt rescued beagles.
Arlington-based Lucky Dog Animal Rescue is hosting two adoption events this weekend to help ten rescued beagles find forever homes. The nonprofit, which has a facility along Langston Blvd, rescues homeless and neglected animals while working to place them in safe, happy homes.
Earlier this week, Lucky Dog received ten more beagles rescued from the Envigo research and breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia where inspectors last year found dozens of animal welfare violations. After a medical evaluation and adapting a bit in a foster home, those dogs will be up for adoption this weekend.
The two adoption events are taking place this weekend, both outside of the county:
Saturday, August 27, from noon to 2 p.m., PetSmart at 3351 Richmond Highway (Potomac Yard) in Alexandria
Sunday, August 28, starting at noon, PetSmart at 12020 Cherry Hill Road in Silver Spring
For those who can’t make it to the adoption event this weekend, potential adoptees can fill out an application online.
“We operate under a first person to complete the adoption process that is a good fit [basis],” Emily Jagdmann, Lucky Dog’s communications manager, told ARLnow.
This is the second time that Lucky Dog has lent a paw to these beagles. Earlier this month the organization received ten dogs and was able to successfully place them in homes.
“We were amazed by the incredible outpouring of support for the first 10 beagles we brought to Arlington,” said Lucky Dog co-founder Mirah Horowitz said. “Seeing them take their first steps on a walk, play with toys for the first time, and even learn what treats are, has been exceptionally rewarding. We can’t wait for our next group of beagles to get their taste of freedom.”
A number of local organizations have also provided help in recent weeks with the rescue efforts. The Arlington Welfare League of Arlington and Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation welcomed a combined 66 beagles earlier this month while the Fairfax County Animal Shelter was looking for homes for 16 dogs.
While the dogs seem to be relatively healthy and with no major behavior challenges, organizations and experts have said that prospective caretakers need to have some patience.
Many things that other dogs love — like treats, running outside, and toys — these dogs are experiencing for the first time.
“The biggest thing we learned last time was how few ‘normal’ things these beagles had been exposed to,” Jagdmann said. “We knew they had been raised in this kennel environment, but nothing really prepares you for seeing them struggle to understand what a treat is, to see the ear tattoo which was their only identification for years, or to watch the pure joy they have in finally getting to enjoy a backyard.”
