Feature

Arts Focus: Resources for Artists and Performers Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

With a centuries-long tradition of bringing people together in groups large and small, the impact on the Arts has been seismic.

Arlington Arts continues to pro-actively look out for resources to assist arts organizations, arts administrators and individual artists impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Here is just a sample of resources available to performers and artists of all disciplines who have been impacted by the pandemic.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Arts Funding: Update and Action items from Grantmakers in the Arts.

  • Field-wide responses & calls to action
  • Racial equality & justice response
  • Webinars, articles & resources
  • Information hubs
  • Rapid Response & Emergency Funds

Coronavirus Resources for Artists, Creative Workers & Organizations from Springboard for the Arts, an economic and community development organization for artists and by artists.

Workforce Relief, Charitable Giving Incentives, and NEA Funding Included in Third COVID-19 Relief Package.

  • The Association of Performing Arts Professionals and League of American Orchestras have sourced key points and are providing an in-depth analysis of the relief package

Resources for COVID-19 Crisis from Embracing Arlington Arts.

For a full list of resources, visit and bookmark our web page. Updates will be provided as new resources become available.

Arlington Pet of the Week: Mango

By ARLnow.com
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Arlington’s newest Pet of the Week is Mango.

Here is what Mango has to say about how the house is being run now that the owners are around full-time:

It has been a few months and my two direct reports are finally working full-time hours, as I requested. My care is a full time job, and I will not tolerate slacking. They sit at the table together, staring into their machines for 8 hours a day – but at least they are able to take direct commands when I am hungry. They call me “Mango.” I am not sure why. I am not an orange colored fruit – I am not even orange! Perhaps this means “boss” or “leader” in their language

Our days are structured as follows: when the early morning light arrives I know it is time to eat. My direct reports need some extra motivation. I climb the clothing tower of doom, jumping off directly onto their backs. If this does not rouse them, I start on the dresser. One by one, things “fall” off, creating satisfying thumping noises when they hit the ground. Finally, one of them is up and we have breakfast together. Naps take up much of the day, and playtime arrives sooner than expected. Evenings are for zooming around the apartment and laying belly-up, ready to snap shut on unsuspecting hands.

Lately, the direct reports have been violating our office’s strict open door policy. They sometimes leave their desks to enter the room with the litter box and porcelain throne, shutting the door behind them. I find myself forced to awaken from my nap, and throw my small body against the door with all of my force until it opens. Once inside I do nothing but sit on the table where water comes out, asserting my dominance. They seem to be starting to understand that this is a non-negotiable part of their contract.

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Arlington Realty, Inc. Maximize your real estate investment with the team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6000 today!

Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.

We’re coming up on one of the most important days of the year: Memorial Day.

In case the online sales ads or the (likely) day off of work hasn’t caught your attention just yet, it is this Monday, May 25. Memorial Day is and should be about much more than just a day off. It’s a day to remember and thank the selfless souls that gave their lives fighting for our country.

To our military heroes that are no longer with us and their families, our endless gratitude and hearts go out to you today… and every day for that matter.

We live in a military region and, among the clients we’ve served throughout the decades, it’s been nothing but a pleasure assisting our military families. If and when we can help, we’re here for you, just as you have been here for us.

From the team at Arlington Realty, Inc., we hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day holiday.

As of May 18, there are 157 detached homes, 34 townhouses and 104 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 20 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week:

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 Arlington Realty, Inc.

Ask Eli: Guess How Many Agents Transacted in Arlington

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: How many real estate agents conducted business in Arlington last year?

Answer: There were 2,782 real estate transactions in Arlington that were recorded in the MLS in 2019, totaling $1.96B in sales volume. So how many different real estate agents do you think were involved in those transactions?

…2,217!

Now keep in mind that there’s usually two agents on each side of a deal, but that’s still a ton of agents involved within a relatively small (26 square mile) community. Below are some interesting takeaways:

  • 59.4% (1,316) of agents did one transaction in Arlington and just .6% (14) agents handled 20 or more transactions
  • 1,496 different agents represented Arlington buyers with 1.1% (17) of them representing 10 or more buyers
  • 1,258 different agents represented Arlington homeowners on the sale of their home with 2.1% (26) representing 10 or more homeowners
  • Of agents who conducted two or more transactions in Arlington, the average agent conducted 4.5 transactions in Arlington
  • Keri Shull and her team once again lead Arlington in total transactions and volume by a wide margin, representing 119 buyers and 76 homeowners/builders, for a total of just over $133M in total volume
  • Other than Keri Shull’s team, no other agent/team represented more than 1% of the buyer or seller market in Arlington

Most studies suggest that consumers are less concerned with measures like sales volume and more focused on the strength of communication and trustworthiness of the agent they’re working with, but market expertise and experience are still important factors for most people.

While some may see the low barrier to entry to real estate licensing and high volume of agents as a negative, it also means that you have a lot of choices as a consumer and, with some effort, can make sure that you’re working with somebody who provides the type and style of service you’re looking for.

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 RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. #10C Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 390-9460.

Rosslyn Startup Shifts to Helping Companies Coordinate Coronavirus Reopening

By Vernon Miles

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. Monday Properties remains firmly committed to the health, safety and well-being of its employees, tenants and community. This week, Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1000 and 1100 Wilson (The Rosslyn Towers).

A Rosslyn-based company that keeps those at on the job or at school in contact over security-related issues is pivoting the toward sharing COVID-19 information as localities start to reopen.

LiveSafe is a mobile and web-based platform that enables employees and students to communicate safety concerns with managers and administrators. The company has been around for six years, but with the economy starting to reopen CEO Carolyn Parent said they wanted to shift to using their platform to help companies and employees communicate about plans for reopening and employees’ health status.

“When COVID hit, all our customers wanted to update [their companies] with CDC links,” Parent said. “Now we’re seeing back to work safety as a major issue, from restaurants in Arlington to bigger businesses.”

Parent said companies are asking how they can bring employees back and assure them that they aren’t being put at risk. To that end, Parent said LiveSafe has created a new module called WorkSafe that’s specifically about COVID-19 and workplace safety.

“Businesses can license this and use it for that sole purpose,” Parent said. “WorkSafe gives you the ability for employees to conduct daily health checks back into their companies, with either an ‘I feel okay’ or ‘I don’t.'”

Parent said the new program is being offered free for restaurants with only one location. For chain locations, it’s $50 per month, per location.

“We’re making it free for smaller businesses with one location,” Parent said. “Main Street America does need to come back.”

Parent said WorkSafe can also utilize surveys to allow companies to get feedback on opening from employees, as well as offer links to health protocols.

“The approach to prevention that many companies are doing is that once these employees show up to work, they’re taking temperatures at the door,” Parent said. “But if you are sick, you shouldn’t do that. It should be done before you leave the house [as] part of a morning ritual. We really feel like that can be a helpful way to have an observable, verifiable way of encouraging the right kind of behavior.”

Parent said part of the idea came from LiveSafe’s work with Hungry, a separate Arlington startup whose founders also co-founded LiveSafe.

Parent said Hungry’s challenge was that their spread-out workforce meant they needed a reliable way to check in with a large network of people to see who is healthy and available to work.

For employees, WorkSafe allows them to report (anonymously, if they so choose) health concerns like a lack of personal protective equipment or other issues that could arise after the pandemic.

“There is a whole collective idea that we have a responsibility to each other to communicate these things,” Parent said.

Image via LiveSafe

Legal Insider: OPM Disability Retirement Issues for Federal Employees

By 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 Kimberly Berry

Our law firm handles many different types of federal retirement issues in our representation of federal employees.

One of the more common types of retirement cases that we often handle involves the representation of federal employees in the disability retirement process before various federal agencies and the Office of Personnel Management.

Federal employees filing for disability retirement are typically covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System or the Civil Service Retirement System.

Federal employees should consider the following questions before they pursue OPM disability retirement:

How serious are the federal employee’s medical issues and are they linked to the federal employee’s position description duties?

When making a disability retirement decision, keep in mind that OPM evaluates your continued ability to work with your medical condition in the context of the duties described in your position description. If the medical disability is not deemed serious enough, or not fully supported by medical documentation and evidence, and is not sufficiently linked to your inability to “usefully and efficiently” carry out your job duties, then OPM may deny the disability retirement application.

How long is the medical disability realistically expected to last?

OPM requires that a medical disability be expected to last at least one year in duration. When considering whether to file for disability retirement, it is important for you to consider the expected duration of your medical disability. Disabilities with known shorter duration could be problematic for you in the application process.

Can a federal employee survive on a reduced annuity?

If you are considering filing for OPM disability retirement, understand that this type of retirement usually provides you with a lower monthly retirement annuity in comparison to full retirement. As a result, we recommend that you obtain benefit estimates from your human resources representative and consult with a financial advisor about the impact of a potential reduced annuity prior to filing for disability retirement.

Are there modifications to a federal employee’s current position that can be made to allow the federal employee to continue to work?

Oftentimes a federal agency will work with you to provide you with a reasonable accommodation (i.e., change in duties, hours, telework or other adjustments) that can make your current position and medical condition workable. This can often be the best solution, even if it is only a short-term solution.

As a part of the disability retirement process, the federal agency is required to certify that it is unable to accommodate your disabling medical condition in your present position. The agency must also certify that it has considered you “for any vacant position in the same agency, at the same grade or pay level, and within the same commuting area, for which [you] qualified for reassignment.”

Do your medical professionals believe that you should not continue in your current position?

This is an important consideration when filing for disability retirement. In most cases, physicians will be open with their patients about whether it is a good idea to keep working in their current federal employment position.

There are at least two reasons to discuss a possible filing for OPM disability retirement with your treating medical provider(s). First, your health should be of primary importance and a consideration when determining whether continuing in a job hinders or impedes your recovery. Second, physicians and their medical opinions are necessary and, in fact, crucial in the disability retirement application process with OPM.

OPM will require a physician’s statement about your medical issues, and the physician’s statement can either make or break the outcome of your disability retirement application.

When considering OPM disability retirement, it is important to obtain the advice and representation of legal counsel. You can contact our law firm through www.retirementlaw.com, www.berrylegal.com, or by telephone at (703) 668-0070, to schedule a consultation to discuss your individual federal employment retirement matter. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

Rethink Energy: Solar Co-Op Interest Surges

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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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.

In a time of great change, Arlingtonians are empowered to plug into solar.

Over the past few weeks, 280 Arlingtonians have attended 3 info sessions on Arlington’s Solar and EV Charger Co-op. Forty one families have already had their roofs screened, verified as viable for solar, and they have joined the Co-op.

In the 5+ years of the Co-op we’ve never seen interest this strong nor had the Co-op launch so quickly. Thank you!

The Co-op is moving toward the next step, the Request-for-Proposal (RFP) process in which the solar vendors are selected.

Arlingtonians can still join the Co-op to have their roofs screened at no cost or obligation. There are 3 months left to join the co-op as it will close in August 2020.

You can also take advantage of one of the last big federal solar tax credits. This year the solar tax credit will be 26 percent. In 2021, it will be 22 percent and in 2022 and beyond, it won’t be available for homeowners at all.

Thank you Arlington for your interest and action. For others that are still interested, click below to learn more and join the co-op:

Join the co-op to have your roof screened

Thank You to Crystal City BID for Sponsoring ARLnow

By ARLnow.com

During the pandemic ARLnow has been thanking the small business that have stuck with us through these tough times.

We are also thanking some of the other types of organizations that sponsor the site. Today we’re spotlighting one of our longest running advertisers, the Crystal City (soon to be National Landing) Business Improvement District.

The BID has been sponsoring ARLnow so long that when it started doing so people were still writing articles asking if Crystal City would ever be a “hip place to live.” Well, now HQ2 is arriving and, pre-COVID, the 22202 zip code became one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation. So there.

We always believed in Crystal City, and we’re proud to have the BID as a sponsor.

The virus has unfortunately temporarily put the kibosh on the BID’s signature events — a 5K Friday followed by a trip to the pop-up beer and wine garden would be nice right about now — but there’s plenty more that they’re doing, from commissioning artwork for local storefronts to hosting a new weekly video series “featuring a different local business owner who will bring tutorials, how-tos and entertaining content directly to you at home.”

Crystal City is also home to a vibrant collection of local businesses, from Freddie’s Beach Bar (recently in the news) to an empanada stand that bravely opened in the middle of a pandemic. To see which local businesses in the community are currently open, the BID has a handy list.

Thank you, Crystal City BID, for supporting local journalism during this crisis.

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:

6537 36th Street N.
5 BD/5 BA, 2 half bath single-family home
Agent: McEnearney Associates, Inc
Listed: $1,995,000
Open: Sunday 2-3 p.m.

 

4925 Old Dominion Drive
6 BD/5 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Optime Realty
Listed: $1,600,00
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

4004 9th Street S.
4 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $1,149,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Saturday 1-4 p.m.

 

890 N. Jackson Street
3 BD/3 BA villa/townhome
Agent: Optime Realty
Listed: $884,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3409 Wilson Boulevard #504
2 BD/2 BA condo
Agent: Compass
Listed: $699,000
Open: Virtual Tour

 

1320 N. Wayne Street
2 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Century 21 Redwood Realty
Listed: $579,000
Open: Virtual Tour

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 Andors Real Estate Group.

Buyers and sellers both did their parts this week; new listings and ratified contracts are up!

We’re still way behind the numbers from this time last year, but this is a healthy pace for Arlington. We’re hanging just above 1 month of inventory, still an extremely strong seller’s market.

About half of new homes in Arlington go under contract within the first week of marketing. Nearly 25% of the homes go under contract the second week. After that, the market has passed you by and days on market are extremely likely to continue accumulating without a substantial price reduction. The market is specifically interested in new properties.

While Northern Virginia is taking a delayed approach to resuming normal business practices in relation to COVID-19, that has not slowed house-hungry buyers. We may be right around the corner where inventory will start to drop again, as soon as Northern Virginia starts to lift restrictions. This will be an interesting and unprecedented thing to observe in the real estate market. I look forward to keeping you closely informed as to how we see that playing out in the coming weeks.

PICK OF THE WEEK — The Andors Real Estate Group is proud to have JUST LISTED 1211 20th Street S., Arlington, VA 22202 — $795,000. This is a bright, unique home nestled on an oversized 8,463 sq. ft. lot in a treehouse-type setting just off Arlington Ridge Road. It has abundant privacy with 1,510 sq. ft. of above grade space, including 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 fireplaces, refinished hardwood floors, and plenty of room to expand!

There are currently 247 homes for sale in Arlington. 129 are detached homes, 35 are townhouses/semi-detached, and 83 are condos. Average days on market (DOM) is 57 and median DOM is 37. Average is down 1 day, median held steady from last week.

Sellers listed some 60 properties for sale this week — 18 more than last week! Buyers ratified 47 contracts, 28 of which were homes that had been on the market one week or less. The median list price of available properties is $996,500, while the average is $1,161,394.

Last year for the same week, sellers listed 82 homes and buyers ratified 86 contracts which was a record at that point into the year!

Click here to search currently available Arlington real estate. Call the Andors Real Estate Group today at (703) 203-1117 to talk more about buying or selling Arlington real estate. Below are eight homes that are new this week that I think you might like to check out.

Statutes of Liberty: Don’t Hire a Notary Public to Prepare Your Green Card Application

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This sponsored column is by James Montana, Esq. and Doran Shemin, Esq., practicing attorneys at Steelyard LLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Arlington, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact James for an appointment.

Times are tough, and law is expensive. But if you feel that you can’t afford an immigration lawyer on the private market, you have choices.

Comparison shop — rates differ widely. Ask for a payment plan; many lawyers offer them. If you’re truly hard up for cash, talk to one of the many good immigration charities in our area. Do not, under any circumstances, hire a notary to prepare your green card application.

Notaries who practice law without a license are pests. Many notaries use the term “notario publico,” which is a literal translation of “notary public,” to confuse victims. In many Spanish-speaking countries, a notario publico is an attorney.

Thus, the victims, who are unaware of how our legal system works, are deceived into believing that they are working with a real lawyer. Instead, they have hired a “notario” — literally, a notary, but, in this context, a thief.

Notarios frequently make clients believe that they are eligible for certain benefits when in fact, they’re not. Another common problem we see with clients who work with a notario is the notario charges a ton of money and then does not deliver on the services promised. When the bars reopen, you can bore attractive new acquaintances with the following fact: the statutory maximum fee for notarization, here in the Commonwealth, is $5. That’s how much it’s worth.

The DMV is no stranger to notarios, unfortunately. For example, a former leader of a Virginia immigrant organization posed as an attorney. The notario was prosecuted and sentenced to two years in prison after swindling two clients out of thousands of dollars. Our office has clients whose cases this notario formerly handled, and those cases required fixing.

We also recently highlighted another client’s story, that of Mr. M., who went to a non-attorney for his travel permit application. Because he did not have the backing of an attorney or other qualified person helping him, he did not have the support or expertise he needed when things went wrong until it was too late.

Some people make the mistake of working with a notario because they believe that all they are doing is filling out a bunch of forms. But what many clients, and probably many notarios, don’t realize is that the questions on the immigration forms have complex legal implications.

Sometimes checking the wrong box or stating the tiniest lie could have lasting consequences. All too often, we see cases that notarios have made much more difficult, and sometimes, impossible.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a notario, we recommend reporting the notario to the authorities, whether it be the relevant state bar association or consumer protection program.

But to avoid ever having this problem, you should always work with a licensed attorney, like the attorneys in our office, to make sure the job is done right. We are also here to try to right the wrongs of these notarios.

Oh, and if you want a document notarized, call us for an appointment. In our office, notarization is a courtesy. We’re happy to do it for clients and non-clients alike.

As always, we welcome any comments and will do our best to respond.

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