Around Town

Local teen wins $250k toward his burgeoning career as a race car driver

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

(Updated at 4:50 p.m.) Arlington teen Hudson Schwartz was four years old when he took the wheel of his first go-kart and was quickly hooked.

Ten years later, and behind the wheel of a real race car, he won a 15-race series and a $250,000 scholarship. He will put the money toward realizing his dream of becoming a professional auto racer.

“It was an amazing race,” Schwartz, the son of Axios co-founder Roy Schwartz, told ARLnow. “It was down to the line.”

He passed a driver with whom he was neck-and-neck, rounded the last corner and finished first in the final race of the Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series, a stepping stone for racers intent on reaching the IndyCar Series.

“A huge weight lifted from my shoulders,” he said. “I was just so happy.”

Hudson, who lives in Arlington and attends McLean School in Potomac, Maryland, caught the racing bug from Roy, who once raced Spec Miata cars and still takes them to the track for fun.

The younger Schwartz raced go-karts regionally and then nationally before switching to cars at age 12. Since then, he has worked to complete the Lucas Oil School of Racing Formula Car Series, where drivers learn the ropes in basic and advanced schools while racing cars at slower speeds.

“It’s the perfect first step in a race car career,” he said, praising the coaches.

Now he ascends to the next rung of the Indycar Ladder system, dubbed USF2000, where the cars are faster and the drivers more experienced.

The 9th grader sees his youth — he says he is the youngest in the Indycar Ladder system and has been out-racing drivers two to five years his senior — as an asset.

“I get a lot more time to develop myself,” he said. “Also, it helps me because it does stir a lot of attention. Ultimately, I’m just going to try and do my best, age does help that a lot.”

The $250,000 scholarship will offset the next year of races, which will occur across the country. While those will not start for a few months, he and other USF2000 racers made their debut during an unofficial race in Indianapolis.

“It’s so amazing to be racing in such a historic place,” Schwartz said from Indianapolis last week, while waiting to get his seat fitted for his car.

(more…)

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Oct 20, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Friday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 20, 2023.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. Tesla smashes into Columbia Pike playground (21502 views)
  2. Morning Poll: Best tacos in Arlington? (16727 views)
  3. Arlington seeks input on Wilson Blvd intersection changes (9997 views)
  4. Reston man faces charges in Arlington sex crimes investigation (6959 views)
  5. Japanese restaurant Ryu Izakaya opens on Columbia Pike (6953 views)
  6. County buys another home for flood mitigation as first purchase is teed up for demolition (6796 views)
  7. Two nabbed in foot chases after vehicle theft attempt from Amazon HQ2 garage (4900 views)
  8. APS middle and high schools to beef up security, attendance with e-hall pass system (4836 views)
  9. Peruvian Brothers opens new restaurant at Amazon HQ2 in Pentagon City (4679 views)
  10. VDOT to replace bridge over N. Glebe Road (4567 views)
  11. Police investigating hammer and knife attack in Lyon Village (4327 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

🌥️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 65 and breezy conditions as west winds reach 10-15 mph, increasing to 17-22 mph in the afternoon, with gusts up to 33 mph. On Saturday night, showers are likely after 5am, with a low around 49 and lighter west wind at 5-8 mph. Precipitation chances stand at 60%, with new amounts under a tenth of an inch possible. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
– John Wooden

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

Most and least expensive townhouses sold in Arlington (September 2023)

By ARLnow.com

Here in Arlington, real estate is a spectator sport. Let’s take a look at some of the most and least expensive townhouses sold last month (September 2023).

Most expensive townhouses sold

  1. 1311 14th St N — Rosslyn — $2,300,000 (3 beds | 5 baths | 3,740 sq. ft.)
  2. 1539 22nd St N — North Highland — $1,675,000 (3 beds | 4.5 baths | 2,962 sq. ft.)
  3. 1335 14th St N — Rosslyn — $1,450,000 (3 beds | 4.5 baths | 3,590 sq. ft.)

Least expensive townhouses sold*

  1. 2836 S Wakefield St Unit B — Fairlington — $395,000 (2 beds | 1 baths | 875 sq. ft.)
  2. 2826 A S Wakfield St Unit A — Fairlington — $395,000 (2 beds | 1 bath | 810 sq. ft.)
  3. 4931 7th Rd S Unit 4931 — Arlington Mill — $450,000 (2 beds | 2 baths | 1,120 sq. ft.)

*Minimum home value of $200,000 set to exclude certain land sales, retirement condos, properties with expiring ground leases, etc.

Adoptable Pet of the Week: Jill

By ARLnow.com
1/3

Meet Jill, the newest Adoptable Pet of the Week!

Jill is a sweet black and white female cat up for adoption at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. She is currently in foster.

This is what her friends had to say about her:

This sweet girl should be named love bug, super snuggler, sweetie pie… she is such a love!

If you are ready to both give and receive a lot of love, this kitty is for you. She is on your lap, snuggling in your neck, licking your earlobe or nose or eyebrow, curled up next to you, and following you around.

Loves to be pet on her head, chin, chest and down her back. She even likes her cute little black pads to be rubbed. Only her belly is super sensitive.

Have you found a new companion in Jill? Read her entire profile to learn more and don’t forget to schedule a virtual meet & greet!

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with 2-3 paragraphs about your pet and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos.

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Oct 18, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 18, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

🌥️ Thursday’s forecast

Clouds will increase throughout the day, reaching a high temperature of approximately 69 degrees. The south wind will blow at 6 to 11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. Tonight, expect a cloudy sky with the temperature dropping to around 55 degrees while the south wind continues at 7 to 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows.”
– Aristotle Onassis

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Japanese restaurant Ryu Izakaya opens on Columbia Pike

By James Jarvis
1/9

A new restaurant specializing in Japanese street food opened last week on Columbia Pike.

Ryu Izakaya, located at 3030 Columbia Pike, on the ground floor of the Days Inn hotel, celebrated its soft opening last Thursday after almost a year of renovations. It moved into the former home of Rincome Thai, a Pike mainstay.

The restaurant serves both lunch and dinner but the owners may adjust the hours a grand opening set for later this month, Panni Satayayuk, the restaurant’s marketing director, told ARLnow.

Satayayuk noted the owners are keen on gathering customer feedback before the grand opening.

“We still try to get feedback from our customers and how they like the soup. How do you like the fish, or is it too sweet? Is it too salty too sour?” she said. “So we are like in a learning process on this our first few days.”

The restaurant is co-owned by two couples, Ben and Bow Jaypakdee and Tony and Jenny Seesiadkhaall, who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand more than a decade ago, Satayayuk said.

While none of the owners are of Japanese descent, Satayayuk said Ben and Bow have spent the past decade working in Japanese restaurants in D.C. Tony and Jenny, who co-own Absolute Noodle and Sushi Bar in D.C.’s Chinatown, also have backgrounds in Japanese cuisine, specifically making sushi.

The four friends started talking about opening a new restaurant in 2020 when Absolute Noodle started making a profit in 2018, according to Satayayuk. The idea was to have a more casual Japanese restaurant dining experience with smaller plates and a bar that is open late.

“Right now in Japan, they started doing this trend called izakaya,” said Satayayuk. “It’s like street food. People drink at night having like… tapas, but the Japanese version.”

A few highlights from the menu include the Mt. Fuji Roll — spicy tuna, salmon, crunchy tempura and eel sauce — and yakitori assortment.

Satayayuk noted part of the restaurant’s mission was to expose more people to Japanese street food like   yakitori and donburi, in addition to more mainstream staples like ramen and sushi. The other motive was to appeal to a younger crowd.

“In this Arlington area, there’s not many [options for a] younger vibe for Japanese food,” Satayayuk said.

The owners also chose the Columbia Pike location, in part, because it was less expensive to open a restaurant in Arlington than D.C. and there is a lot of new growth nearby.

“The food price would have to be higher to pay for the market rent everything [in D.C.]. So, here is still not easy, but it’s less challenging,” she said.

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Oct 17, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 17, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Wednesday’s forecast

The weather will be mostly sunny with a high temperature of around 65 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind at 3 to 5 mph. In the evening, it will turn partly cloudy and the temperature will drop to approximately 49 degrees, with a south wind at the same speed of 3 to 5 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Peruvian Brothers opens new restaurant at Amazon HQ2 in Pentagon City

By James Jarvis
1/8

Peruvian Brothers is officially open on the ground floor of Amazon’s second headquarters in Pentagon City.

The D.C.-based Peruvian food truck and fast-casual eatery officially opened its second brick-and-mortar restaurant this past Friday. The location at 1450 S. Eads Street is only open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. but “dinner and brunch services will launch in a few weeks,” according to a press release.

“We are so honored and excited to bring a large piece of our beloved Perú right to Amazon’s doorstep in Arlington,” co-owner Giuseppe Lanzone said in the release. “After years of perfecting our craft, we’re excited to have a space large enough to share the full experience of our culture, heritage, and flavorful Peruvian cuisine with our community.”

Amazon announced in July 2022 that the restaurant would move into a 2,000-square-foot space within its HQ2, among several eateries, including Makers Union and Good Company Doughnuts & Cafe.

The restaurant planned to open its first phase over the summer in April, however, the opening was pushed back “to ensure everything was 100% ready,” a spokesperson told ARLnow.

This marks a return to the area for Peruvian Brothers, which previously occupied a stand at the Crystal City Water Park before the park underwent renovations to add new food and drink kiosks. The water park re-opened earlier this month.

Co-owners Giuseppe Lanzone and his brother Mario relocated with their family from Peru to McLean in 1997. Before becoming a restaurateur, Giuseppe was a two-time Olympic rower for Team USA.

In 2012, the duo launched their Alexandria-based food truck and catering business. Nearly a decade later, the brothers opened their first brick-and-mortar spot in La Cosecha, a Latin American market in D.C.

Giuseppe and Mario say the cuisine, which includes sandwiches, empanadas, ceviches, rotisserie chicken and a Peruvian stir fry called saltado, is inspired by their upbringing in a port city within the sprawling metropolitan area of Lima.

Some noteworthy dishes at the HQ2 outpost include the pan con chicharrón sandwich — fried pork tenderloin on a French roll with sweet potato slices and a Peruvian salsa called criolla — and lomo saltado, a savory beef stir-fry with tomatoes, onions and fries.

The new space has both indoor and outdoor seating. Inside, a mural evokes scenes of La Punta, Perú, where the brothers grew up, and pays homage to Inti, the ancient Inca god of the sun.

The restaurant also has a bar that serves Peruvian beers, wines, liquor and a frozen cocktail formulated by the brothers: the Pisco Sour Slush.

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Oct 16, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Monday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 16, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Tuesday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

🌤️ Tuesday’s forecast

The weather forecast predicts a partly sunny day with a high temperature of about 63°F accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 6 to 8 mph. At night, the skies will be partly cloudy with a low temperature of around 47°F and a gentle northwest breeze of 3 to 5 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure.”
– Stanley McChrystal

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Oct 13, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Friday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 13, 2023.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. NOW: Police searching for suspect after slashing in Rosslyn (11660 views)
  2. New apartments, church and daycare to open next year in Ballston (7997 views)
  3. Video: Woman, 22, leads police on wild chase around Pentagon grounds (5679 views)
  4. Arlington police offering $20k for identity of person sending harassing emails to female ACFD personnel (5659 views)
  5. Padaek now open at Arlington Ridge Shopping Center (5354 views)
  6. Amazon delivery driver arrested for alleged assault in Penrose (5129 views)
  7. Early morning armed carjacking pushes Arlington past 2022 total (3945 views)
  8. Proposed senior living facility in Alcova Heights heads to County Board amid affordability, sustainability concerns (3892 views)
  9. Swiftie Soirée offers fans a night of Taylor Swift-themed festivities in Arlington (3547 views)
  10. County changes course on HOV and bus-only lane on Langston Blvd through Rosslyn (3441 views)
  11. Arlington startup raises nearly $1 million with help of local tech accelerator (3113 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

⛈️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect showers and possible thunderstorms after 5pm today, with patchy fog between 1-2pm and a high near 63. South winds will be between 6-9 mph, and there’s an 80% chance of precipitation with rainfall amounts up to half an inch. Tonight, there will be showers and possibly a thunderstorm, with a low around 50. East winds will shift to north and may gust up to 18 mph, with a 90% chance of precipitation and similar rainfall amounts as during the day. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
– Harper Lee

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Oct 12, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Oct 12, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

☀️ Friday’s forecast

The forecast predicts a sunny day with a comfortable high temperature near 70 degrees and a gentle north wind at 5 to 7 mph. As the evening approaches, expect an increase in cloud coverage and a low temperature around 51 degrees, with a light east wind blowing throughout the night. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”
– Aldous Huxley

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

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