News

Clarendon Silver Diner set to close this week, ahead of Ballston location’s opening

By Matt Blitz
1/3

The Ballston Silver Diner is finally opening this month, which means the Clarendon location is closing after 26 years.

The new Silver Diner at N. Glebe Road and Wilson Blvd, next to Target, is planning to officially start serving on Wednesday, Dec. 14, a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow.

The planned diner was first announced more than five years ago. The locally-owned chain was originally supposed to open in Ballston in the summer, but the timeline slid later as many construction projects experienced delays due to supply chain and staffing issues.

The new 6,700-square-foot location will be a mile away from the existing Clarendon diner. It’s set to have a full bar plus 244 seats, including 191 indoors and 68 on its outdoor patio. The patio will be open “seasonally.”

There will be 100 parking spots, 40 spots more than the Clarendon location. Parking will be free with a 2-hour validation.

The restaurant will have roughly the same hours as the Clarendon location, opening at 7 a.m. seven days a week and closing between midnight and 3 a.m.

The opening also signals the closing of the Silver Diner in Clarendon, which has sat between Wilson Blvd and N. Irving Street for more than a quarter of a century. The closure has long been expected and will make way for a new development that’s set to include a hotel, gym, and a 286-unit residential building.

That Silver Diner will shutter on Sunday, Dec. 11, the spokesperson said. The purpose behind moving only a mile away was to “maintain [Silver Diner’s] neighborhood presence in Arlington.”

Clarendon’s staff will be moved over to Ballston, per the restaurant’s website.

“They literally expect to shut down one location, walk down the street and open the other location,” a spokesperson wrote ARLnow in August.

The restaurant is planning an auction of memorabilia to support a local charity, we’re told, but details are not yet available.

Two rescued after SUV nearly plunges into creek at Long Branch Nature Center

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Two people were rescued from a precarious situation in Glencarlyn Park on Friday.

The driver of an SUV reportedly mistook the gas for the brake in the parking lot of the Long Branch Nature Center, sending it over an embankment and nearly into the creek below.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene around 8:30 a.m. They stabilized the vehicle before helping the two people inside get safely back up to level ground. They were both taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Arlington County has seen several vehicles driven or nearly driven into creeks over the years, including in 2018 along Columbia Pike and in 2019 in Bluemont Park.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
An airplane flies over Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

I-66 Change Takes Effect Today — “Starting Monday, Dec. 5, vehicles on I-66 in Northern Virginia will need three or more occupants to qualify as a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV). This change from HOV-2+ to HOV-3+ applies across the entire I-66 corridor in Northern Virginia from Haymarket to the D.C. line, and is in line with regional policy and goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled and comply with federal Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990.” [Press Release]

Weight Restrictions Lifted on TR Bridge — “The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge reopened to all traffic Wednesday as the District lifted weight restrictions that had been in place since mid-February. The shift marks the completion of nearly 10 months of emergency closures and repairs at the span that carries Interstate 66 over the Potomac River. In February, the District Department of Transportation abruptly closed part of it to traffic after an inspection found steel support beams had continued to deteriorate.” [Washington Post]

Local Schools in Choir Competition — Updated at 11:10 a.m. — Washington-Liberty and Yorktown high school choirs are among the contestants for WASH-FM’s 2022 Christmas Choir Competition. Online voting ends tomorrow. [WASH-FM]

Abandoned Road to Be Removed from Books — “American troops were headed to Vietnam the last time anybody actually drove a car over what is now known as ‘original North Quincy Street’ across from the eastern edge of the Washington-Liberty High School campus. But until now, nobody has seen fit to formally declare that the abandoned roadway actually isn’t a roadway, but rather has been reclaimed by grass with some aging asphalt still holding off the advance of time. Arlington County Board members are slated to tidy up the records later this month.” [Sun Gazette]

Video: Shoulder Driver Pulled Over — From Dave Statter: “Where’s a cop when you need one? Sometimes they’re 3 cars ahead of you in the same traffic jam when you decide to ride the shoulder. Just before 6pm on backed up I-395N.” [Twitter]

GOP Hopes for Campaign Momentum — “Karina Lipsman, the Republican nominee in the 8th District, said the campaign was something the local GOP could use to build on in the future. ‘We’ve created an infrastructure – we’ve built so much momentum,’ Lipsman said at the Nov. 29 Arlington County Republican Committee’s volunteer-appreciation awards dinner… Lipsman garnered 25 percent of the vote in the Nov. 8 election” [Sun Gazette]

It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 49 and low of 31. Sunrise at 7:13 am and sunset at 4:48 pm. [Weather.gov]

Ten citations issued in an hour along deadly stretch of Little Falls Road

By ARLnow.com
Police officer talks with a driver during high-visibility enforcement along Little Falls Road (via ACPD)

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Police issued a traffic ticket every six minutes, on average, during an enforcement effort in front of Nottingham Elementary on Thursday afternoon.

The several block stretch of Little Falls Road near the school, in the Williamsburg neighborhood, has seen three fatal pedestrian crashes since 2014, including an elderly woman who was struck and killed by the driver of an SUV in October. That driver is not facing criminal charges.

Arlington County police conducted yesterday’s high-visibility enforcement as part of its Street Smart road safety campaign.

“During yesterday’s hour-long StreetSmart activation in the 5900 block of Little Falls Road, which coincided with school dismissal, officers issued 8 speeding citations and 2 citations for stop sign violations,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Drivers are reminded to slow down, be mindful of pedestrians and obey posted speed limits which change during school zone times and are indicated by flashing yellow lights.”

“Officers will continue to conduct periodic random, rotating enforcement in the area with the goal of compliance even when police are not present,” Savage noted. “Additionally, as part of our education efforts, police have deployed a variable message board on Little Falls Road with transportation safety messaging.”

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services added that safety improvements are in the works for the intersection where October’s crash happened.

“In response to the recent tragic crash fatality at the intersection of Little Falls Rd and John Marshall Dr, the Vision Zero Critical Crash team has developed short-term safety improvements and enhancements for this intersection,” the department said in a brief statement. “We plan to install these improvements by the end of the year, weather permitting.”

More on the fall Street Smart campaign in Arlington, below, via an ACPD video.

JUST IN: Foot chase in Rosslyn ends in arrest of alleged laundry detergent thief

By ARLnow.com
1/2

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Police swarmed the Rosslyn neighborhood after an alleged thief led an officer on a brief foot pursuit.

The incident happened just before 2 p.m. An officer chased a suspect who had stolen a large quantity of laundry detergent from a store in Rosslyn, according to scanner traffic, before finally detaining the person near the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Pierce Street.

An ambulance was dispatched to the scene to evaluate the officer for a possible minor injury.

“At approximately 1:56 p.m., an officer in the 1500 block of Wilson Boulevard observed a larceny in progress from a business and approached the suspect,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “The suspect fled the scene on foot and a foot pursuit was initiated. Near the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Pierce Street, the suspect assaulted the officer and resisted arrest. With the assistance of additional arriving units, the suspect was taken into custody.”

“The officer is receiving medical treatment for injuries sustained during the incident,” Savage continued. “Charges are pending against the suspect.”

Traffic on Wilson Blvd was at least partially blocked in the area immediately after the arrest, as numerous police units arrived on scene to assist the officer.

Lorcom Lane upgrades aimed at improving safety for kids walking to school

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

A stretch of Lorcom Lane on the northern edge of the Cherrydale neighborhood is slated to get pedestrian safety upgrades, particularly aimed at improving a school walking route for kids.

Between N. Quebec Street and Nelly Custis Drive, the county will install sidewalks where there are none, widen existing sidewalks and reduce pedestrian crossing distances. Kids walk this stretch of Lorcom Lane to get to Dorothy Hamm Middle School and Taylor Elementary School.

These changes, and others, “originated through community-reported transportation safety concerns, crash data, and the results of the Vision Zero Pilot Safety Project on the north side of this corridor,” per a project webpage.

This summer, a driver struck a woman pushing a stroller at the intersection of Military Road and Lorcom Lane, just west of the corridor slated for improvements. This area had previously been re-striped with the goal of reducing conflicts between drivers and cyclists.

The pilot project responded to safety concerns for the 40% of students who walk or bike to Dorothy Hamm and the 10% who bike to Taylor. Last spring, Arlington Public Schools encouraged kids to walk or bike to school, if they could, to reduce the number of students on the bus, and thus their risk for a Covid exposure.

For kids walking on the northern side of Lorcom Lane between N. Oakland and N. Quebec streets, that meant navigating vehicle and bicycle traffic without a sidewalk. So the county installed temporary parking restrictions to create a dedicated walking path for pedestrians.

Feedback was positive, according to a summary of survey results.

“About 70% of people walking or biking felt safer while traveling here than before the pilot project was implemented,” per the report. “Most respondents for each mode of transportation felt as safe or safer while traveling here than before.”

During a 20-hour period, staff observed about 60 people — nearly one-third of all pedestrians on Lorcom Lane — using the buffered walking path. Nine times out of 10, at least one vehicle drove by when a pedestrian was walking in the buffer area.

Based on that data and positive feedback, staff decided to make the pilot permanent.

Other planned changes include resolving “alignment issues” with the intersection of N. Quebec Street and Lorcom Lane and addressing safety issues at the intersection of Lorcom Lane and Nelly Custis Drive. This intersection is adjacent to a preschool run by Cherrydale United Methodist Church.

There are three other projects within a half-mile radius, including the controversial roundabout pilot project at Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive that could become permanent.

Arlington County also plans to fill in a missing sidewalk at 4100 Nelly Custis Drive and execute a “quick-build” project at N. Quincy Street and Nelly Custis Drive.

This southeast corner of the intersection will get a marked curb extension, while the pedestrian crossing over Nelly Custis Drive will be shortened and the entire intersection will get new, accessible curb ramps. These changes were identified via a safety audit conducted on the Fairfax Drive corridor in 2019.

The project, initially set to be completed this calendar year, won’t be ready until next spring or summer, as county staff are working on an easement there, says Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors.

Proposed transportation upgrades along and near Lorcom Lane (via Arlington County)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Clear skies over Ballston Quarter (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Hamm Middle School Closed — Updated at 11 a.m. — From Arlington Public Schools: “Closure Alert: Dorothy Hamm Middle School is closed today, Fri, Dec 2… The closure is due to impacts from a water leak that have affected both water and heating in the building.” [Twitter]

Gun Brandishing at Clarendon 7-Eleven — “3000 block of Washington Boulevard. At approximately 3:04 a.m. on December 1, police were dispatched to the report of a person with a gun. Upon arrival, it was determined the known male suspect entered the business and became involved in a verbal dispute with the clerk after being told he could not purchase alcohol after midnight. During the incident, the suspect lifted his shirt and displayed a handgun in his waistband before fleeing the scene on foot.” [ACPD]

Local Santa Summary — “Santa Claus will be back in Arlington this holiday season after a couple of years of COVID-19 restrictions that made it difficult for kids to crawl up on his lap and make their case that they’ve been good boys and girls over the last year… In the Arlington area, children have several chances.” [Patch]

Pike Work Continues After Celebration — “On Monday, November 14 at 11:00 a.m. Arlington County celebrated the completion of Segments H & I (from the Arlington County line to Four Mile Run Drive) of the Columbia Pike Multimodal Improvements Project and The Pike, a sculpture by artist Donald Lipski, located on the corner of Columbia Pike and South Jefferson Street.  The event represented the culmination of two years of construction to improve the pedestrian, transit, and driver safety… Segment F (from South Wakefield Street to South Oakland Street) is currently under construction and is expected to reach substantial completion in 2025.” [Arlington County]

Vision Zero Meeting Next Week — “Tuesday, December 06 [from] 07:00 PM to 08:30 PM… Please join us for the mid-year virtual meeting of the Vision Zero External Stakeholder Group as we discuss Arlington’s progress on the Vision Zero Action Plan. The public is welcome to attend – please bring your questions and feedback to the meeting.” [Arlington County]

Donation to Arlington Free Clinic — CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announced a nearly $8 million investment in 19 community-based organizations in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia. One of the organizations receiving a multi-year grant is the Arlington Free Clinic. This grants are part of CareFirst’s National Health Equity Strategy, with a focus on advancing behavioral health equity in the Mid-Atlantic region.

It’s Friday — Clear throughout the day. High of 49 and low of 30. Sunrise at 7:11 am and sunset at 4:48 pm. [Weather.gov]

New historic marker honors final resting place for early Halls Hill community

By Matt Blitz
1/3

(Updated at 8:50 p.m.) A new historic marker has gone up at the 138-year-old Mount Salvation Baptist Cemetery, honoring the final resting place for a number of early Halls Hill leaders.

The county installed a historic marker in October at Mount Salvation Baptist Cemetery on N. Culpepper Street in the Halls Hill neighborhood, also known as High View Park. A brief unveiling ceremony was held in late November and attended by Board Chair Katie Cristol, local historian Charlie Clark, Black Heritage Museum president Scott Edwin Taylor, and others.

The marker reads:

“The Mt. Salvation Baptist Church trustees have maintained this cemetery since June 7, 1884 when they bought the property for $80. Reverend Cyrus Carter cultivated the congregation which began at the nearby home of Isabella Washington and Moses Pelham, Sr. The cemetery contains 89 known burials from 1916 to 1974, although earlier burials were likely.

This is the final resting place of many community leaders, including those who were formerly enslaved and their descendants. Members of this church provided stability and social support throughout segregation and served as a pillar of Arlington’s African American community. The cemetery became an Arlington Historic District in 2021.”

The cemetery was designated as a local historic district last year and the marker was approved by the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) in April 2022.

“Being a Local Historic District (LHD) is not required to request a marker, but we thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our newest LHD and provide a small glimpse into the history for those enjoying the neighborhood,” county historic preservation planner Serena Bolliger wrote ARLnow in an email.

The cemetery is the final resting place for at least nearly 90 early residents of Halls Hill, a fact known thanks to a ground-penetrating probing survey that was done in October 2019 with permission from the church. The probing also revealed potential grave markers and borders.

Buried at Mount Salvation are a number of influential Arlingtonians including Lucretia M. Lewis, Moses Pelham, and Annie and Robert Spriggs.

Scott Edwin Taylor, president of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington, told ARLnow that what also makes Mount Salvation special is that it’s a great example of how traditional African American cemeteries were laid out and designed prior to the turn of the 20th century. Graves are often oriented east to west, with the head point westward. Burial plots tend to be shallow, no deeper than four feet, with plantings.

“Some anthropologists have suggested that marking graves with plants may have been rooted in the African belief in the living spirit,” reads the county’s report on the cemetery.

Some graves even have seashells.

“A lot of Black Americans, before the turn of the [20th] century, used seashells. It was… like asking angels to watch over the graves. A couple of the graves still have those seashells on there,” Taylor said.

Mount Salvation is one of two still-remaining, church-affiliated, historic African-American cemeteries in the Halls Hill neighborhood with the other being Calloway Cemetery on Langston Blvd.

It’s important to preserve these sites for generations to come, Taylor explained.

“The gentrification that’s going on in Arlington is moving at the speed of light,” Taylor said. “When we have landmarks like [this], we need to cherish them because it shows the real African-American experience.”

Free clinic this Saturday will help people who want their criminal record expunged

By Jo DeVoe
Gavel (Flickr photo by Joe Gratz)

This Saturday, Arlington County’s top prosecutor, its Circuit Court clerk and some attorneys will help people who want their criminal record expunged for free.

The clinic will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday (Dec. 3) at Arlington Presbyterian Church, located off Columbia Pike at 918 S. Lincoln Street. It will provide everything attendees need in one place to request arrests that did not result in convictions be removed from their record.

“Even if you’ve been arrested and not convicted, that arrest can follow you every time you apply for a job, school, or an apartment,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti tells ARLnow. “That harms people, their families, and the community. This clinic is one way we can mitigate that harm and give people a chance to live productive lives.”

She says this is the first time Arlington has offered an opportunity like this, but she hopes it isn’t the last.

“We wanted to do this for a long time but had to delay because of Covid,” she said. “Prince William has done it recently but I am not aware of any other jurisdictions in Virginia, though it is possible.”

Courts do not identify who is eligible to have their record expunged, so the aim of the clinic is to let people know what is available and what is possible, she says.

“The biggest difficulty is twofold: people don’t know they’re eligible and don’t apply, or others who are not eligible and apply are surprised to discover they are not,” she says. “So, one of our main goals is public education.”

https://twitter.com/parisa4justice/status/1597000459944091648

Ahead of the clinic, her office partnered with the public defender’s office, the defense bar, local churches, and other community organizations to reach people who may be eligible.

Attorneys will provide pro-bono assistance and clinic sponsors are covering the $86 filing fee on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Attendees need to bring the arrest warrant or final letter of disposition for each charge they would like to be expunged.

Currently, Virginia law limits expungement to narrow circumstances, Dehghani-Tafti says. The Virginia General Assembly passed a new law that would expand eligibility for record sealing, but the changes won’t take effect until July 1, 2025. Even so, there is still room for improvements, Dehghani-Tafti adds.

Clinic sponsors include the Arlington Branch of the NAACP, the Arlington Coalition of Black Clergy and Black Parents of Arlington, as well as local nonprofits Bridges to Independence, Offender Aid and Restoration, Arlington Thrive, Arlington for Justice and the D.C.-based Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, where Dehghani-Tafti used to serve as legal director.

OAR Associate Deputy Director Mustafa Saboor said in a statement that this clinic is an important first step in helping people overcome unjust barriers.

“Our criminal legal system is overly punitive, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the way arrest records destroy people’s ability to work and live,” Saboor said. “Because Black and Brown communities are overpoliced throughout this country, barriers to work because of arrest records fall disproportionately on those communities, further entrenching deeply racist lines in this country.”

Dehghani-Tafti’s former deputy prosecutor announced on Tuesday that he will be challenging her in the 2023 Democratic primary.

Flickr photo by Joe Gratz

Woman groped one block from police HQ in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com
1300 block of N. Troy Street (via Google Maps)

Arlington County police are investigating a sexual battery incident just a block from their headquarters in Courthouse.

It happened Monday night around 10:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of N. Troy Street, as a woman was walking her dog.

From an ACPD crime report:

SEXUAL BATTERY, 2022-11280277, 1300 block of N. Troy Street. At approximately 10:38 p.m. on November 28, police were dispatched to the report of a sexual battery. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was walking in the area when the unknown male suspect approached her from behind, lifted her jacket and touched her inappropriately. The victim screamed and the suspect fled the scene. The suspect is described as a younger, unknown race male, approximately 5’6″ – 5’7″ tall with a skinny build and wearing dark clothing. The investigation is ongoing.

The victim posted on Reddit about the incident to warn other women in the area and ask whether anyone got a better look at the suspect. She noted that “I’ve never felt scared to walk alone in Arlington before.”

From the post:

This is half PSA and half plea for information.

Last night at 10:35 I was walking my little 12 lb dog up North Troy street by the Palatine apartment building when a man came up behind me, lifted up my jacket, and grabbed my crotch and pulled at my pants. I immediately shrieked and he went running south back down Troy. It all happened so fast I didn’t get a good look at the guy. He had a black hoodie on with the hood up and black sweatpants. I didn’t see his face. My best guess is that he’s between 5’6″ and 5’8 and probably young-ish based on light build and his swift speed.

I called the police (the police station is literally half a block away from where this happened) and they were very kind and professional but I’m just so frustrated I couldn’t really give them any info about this guy. So, if you live in the area and think you saw anything (I screamed really [expletive] loud – maybe somebody looked out the window and saw what shoes he was wearing or something?), please let me know.

Also, ladies, please keep an eye out. This guy appeared out of nowhere – my best guess is he was hiding in some shrubs – and it seems like he’s done this before and I would guess will do it again. I usually do this walk with my husband but he’s sick right now so last night I was out by myself for the first time in a while. I’m so sad. I’ve never felt scared to walk alone in Arlington before.

Photo via Google Maps

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Holiday decorations at Ballston Exchange (staff photo)

Today: Road Closures in Shirlington — “The annual Light Up the Village at Shirlington will be held on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Set-up for the event will begin at approximately 12:00 p.m. and clean-up is expected to be completed by 9:00 p.m. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures to accommodate the event.” [ACPD]

Obit for Local Civic Figure — “Burt Bostwick was a man who believed the Arlington County government could simultaneously provide ample services while keeping spending in check. Active in a host of roles through the years with the Arlington County Civic Federation, Bostwick was a voice that acknowledged there could be benefits to an expansive local government, but that it needed to be achieved without breaking the bank – or the backs of local taxpayers. Bostwick died Nov. 23 after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 81 years old.” [Sun Gazette]

It’s December — Clear and chilly throughout the day. High of 45 and low of 33. Sunrise at 7:10 am and sunset at 4:48 pm. [Weather.gov]

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