News

Arlington is phasing out EasyPark devices this month

By Jo DeVoe
An EasyPark device (photo via OTI)

Prolific parkers in Arlington will soon have to ditch their EasyPark devices.

The company that owns the battery-operated parking payment device — a precursor to app-based parking payment services — is ceasing operations in the U.S. and service will end in Arlington on Monday, Feb. 28, according to the County Treasurer’s Office.

“We sincerely regret to tell you that EasyPark has ceased operations in North America and terminated its contract with Arlington County,” the treasurer’s office said in an announcement yesterday (Monday). “This message is to let you know what this change may mean for you, if you continue to use your EasyPark device in the coming weeks.”

Locals can refill their devices in-person at the Treasurer’s Office until Feb. 28, after which time they can still use the device to pay for parking until the balance reaches $0. Refills will not be possible after the last day of this month.

Folks can also bring working devices to the Treasurer’s Office and receive a refund of the remaining balance until Feb. 28. Broken devices cannot be replaced and broken devices with money on them cannot be refunded.

The Treasurer’s Office warned that continuing to use the device after Feb. 28 may complicate contesting a parking ticket. Drivers can no longer rely on a technical support team to verify a proper device for use as proof in a ticket appeal.

Going forward, on-street parking payment options include the ParkMobile app, which launched here in 2014, and traditional parking meters.

Arlington County began offering the battery-operated devices in 2015 as an alternative to paying at a parking meter or with a phone. EasyPark succeeded the iPark devices, which Arlington stopped selling after the manufacturer declared bankruptcy in 2013.

It appears bankruptcy almost came for the company that owns EasyPark USA: On Track Innovations (OTI). The company lost significant revenue during the pandemic and filed for bankruptcy, but those proceedings ended when Nayax — an Israeli platform that provides digital, cashless purchasing options to retailers — acquired OTI for $4.5 million.

The announcement encourages people with questions to call the Treasurer’s Office Customer Service team at (703) 228-3702 or email [email protected].

‘Intense’ winter weather leaves county crews flooded with water main breaks

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

This winter’s storms and freezing temperatures have caused a spike in water main breaks.

Crews with the Department of Environmental Services’ Water, Sewer and Streets Bureau repaired 47 water mains in January, as of 6 p.m. Monday, with two repairs in progress and six planned, said DES spokesman Peter Golkin.

By comparison, January 2021 saw 30 main breaks, up from 19 in January 2020 and eight in January 2019, he noted.

Since Golkin provided those stats last night, two additional water main breaks have been publicly reported, in East Falls Church and Green Valley.

Golkin, who runs the DES Twitter feed, attributed the “above-average number of water main breaks” to “an unusually intense winter” in a recent tweet.

“Recent winters have been fairly mild,” Golkin tells ARLnow. “But we are seeing an upward trend for breaks over the past four years.”

Winter weather exacerbates the other reasons these mains break: age and materials used. Rehabilitating and replacing old water mains has been and continues to be a decades-long county effort.

Arlington has about 500 miles of pipes that bring water to homes and businesses. Of those, about 60% are cast iron pipes more than 50 years old — and thus prone to leaking.

“So age is a factor in the sense of which type of iron we’re dealing with,” he said. “Arlington’s cast iron pipes were not lined with a protective coating to prevent corrosion. While for the most part they’re in good condition, over time the inner and outer diameter thins. Then, factor in winter and the differences in temperature between pipe, water and surrounding soil and you get stresses on the pipes.”

When mains break, crews stop the flow of water, which can cause temporary service disruptions to some properties. Repairs can take six to eight hours from when leaks are reported but could take longer if they’re on a major water line and involve significant damage.

And right now, responding to leaks is a grueling job, Golkin says.

“Crew safety and health is always the preeminent concern in responding, especially with bitter temperatures, darkness and Covid protocols,” he said. “But our professionals know what’s required and can usually complete a job in 6-8 hours despite all sorts of conditions. And they have to be prepared around the clock, seven days a week.”

Per location data from the county’s online map of leaks and repairs, crews had to respond to the same address twice in a half-dozen recent cases. Golkin says that’s typical.

“Repairing a water main naturally generates stress on the line, which can lead to nearby follow-up breaks,” Golkin said. “So if a certain neighborhood has had a repair, then there’s an increased chance that another problem might soon develop on the same block.”

When multiple leaks happen concurrently, the bureau prioritizes repairs based on the number of residents impacted, he said.

“DES prioritizes by the impact of each break, so if there is a repair needed in a residential neighborhood, that would get first attention compared to a break next to office buildings closed for the night or a weekend,” Golkin said. “Sometimes a break doesn’t mean a loss of water service, possibly due to redundancy in the water main network. That can give the bureau flexibility in scheduling a repair.”

(more…)

Two arrested after assaults at Columbia Pike businesses over the weekend

By ARLnow.com

Police are investigating a pair of assaults in and across from Penrose Square along Columbia Pike.

The first happened around 8 p.m. Saturday at a Penrose Square business.

Police say a 34-year-old Silver Spring man was arrested and held without bond on Malicious Wounding charges after he broke a bottle and used it to cut someone, before fleeing the scene.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2022-01290213, 2500 block of 9th Road S. At approximately 8:01 p.m. on January 29, police were dispatched to the report of an assault just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the known male suspect entered a business, approached the victim and initiated a verbal dispute. During the dispute, the suspect allegedly broke a glass bottle, and began physically assaulting the victim and cut him with a piece of glass. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. The victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries considered serious but non-life threatening. Responding officers located the suspect nearby and took him into custody without incident.

The second incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, across the Pike from the first scene.

Police say a man was tossed out of a business by a security guard, suffering a serious injury after he was “allegedly shoved to the ground.” The employee, a 35-year-old Alexandria man, was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding.

Like the first incident, ACPD did not reveal which business was involved. That block of Columbia Pike is home to two bars with late hours: L.A. Bar and Grill and Celtic House Irish Pub.

From ACPD:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2022-01290246, 2500 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 11:25 p.m. on January 29, police were dispatched to Virginia Hospital Center to meet with the victim of a malicious wounding which occurred earlier in the evening. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 10:27 p.m., the victim was inside an establishment and asked to leave by staff. He refused to leave and was physically escorted by security staff towards the exit and allegedly shoved to the ground, causing injury. Medics transported to the victim to the hospital for treatment of injuries considered serious but non-life threatening.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A runner along Long Bridge Park in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local GOP Supports NAACP’s Caucus Call — “We agree with the NAACP Arlington Branch when they exclaim ‘holding a partisan caucus outside the general election schedule leads to voter confusion and thus undermines voter engagement… and candidate recruitment,’ and we support the NAACP’s strong recommendation that the ‘ACDC cease its School Board caucus and endorsement process…'” [Arlington GOP]

New Mahjong Speakeasy in Pentagon City — “Scott Chung, the restaurateur behind Bun’d Up, was chatting with fellow chef Andrew Lo not long ago about how to best make use of the back room of his Taiwanese gua bao eatery in Pentagon City. Chung had a vision for a dive bar. Lo suggested a hub for mahjong… The end result is Sparrow Room, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar and dim sum restaurant at Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) that opens Thursday, Jan. 27.” [Arlington Magazine]

ACFD Rolling Out Telehealth Pilot Program — “Hospitals and emergency crews are stretched thin across the region, which has Arlington County turning to telehealth to help. Paramedics will still respond to 911 calls, but the new pilot program will give patients with less serious emergencies the option of skipping the trip to the emergency room and seeing a doctor through a screen instead.” [Fox 5]

Arlington Church Gets Grand Organ — “St. George’s Episcopal Church is slated to formally present Northern Virginia with an extraordinary and lasting musical gift, a magnificent $1.2 million pipe organ designed by world-renowned organ builder Martin Pasi. The grand instrument, to be used in public concerts as well as for congregational services, is described by Pasi as ‘unique in the Northern Virginia area and comparable to the best in Europe.’ And potentially, it could be making music for the next three centuries.” [Sun Gazette]

Lunar New Year Celebration at Eden Center — “Through February 6th, Eden Center will celebrate the Lunar New Year (called Tet in Vietnamese) with traditional lion dances, music, special dishes, and other activities. Like Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Vietnam follows the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which assigns each year to an animal in the Chinese Zodiac. This year, the year of the Tiger, promises passion and tumult, according to astrologers.” [Arlington Magazine]

It’s February — Today, Feb. 1, will be mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Sunrise at 7:13 a.m. and sunset at 5:30 p.m. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, with a high near 47. [Weather.gov]

NEW: Covid case counts decline to pre-Christmas levels in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
Covid cases in Arlington as of Jan. 31, 2022 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)

For the first time since Dec. 15, fewer than 100 new Covid cases were reported in Arlington today.

Ninety new cases were reported today by the Virginia Dept. of Health. That brings the seven-day moving average down to 184 cases per day, the lowest point since Dec. 20.

Adding to the trend, the average test positivity rate in Arlington is now down to 13.1%, the lowest point since two days before Christmas. In terms of serious illness, about one Arlington resident is being hospitalized each day due to Covid, according to VDH, the lowest point since Dec. 27.

Covid test positivity rate in Arlington as of Jan. 31, 2022 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)

Despite the numbers trending down, case counts are still relatively high.

“The total number of COVID patients we’re diagnosing in a week now is about 3 times higher than our Delta peak and is about the peak of where we were during last winter’s surge,” wrote Virginia Hospital Center ER chief Mike Silverman in his weekly public Facebook post. “While the numbers are better than a month ago, I suspect we still have 4-6 weeks until we start to get back to low tide. Our overall percent positive has dropped from about 40% to 18% which is just a touch below last winter’s surge but twice as high as the Delta surge.”

The hospital remains busy with its treatment of Covid patients, Silverman wrote.

“The number of COVID patients hospitalized is also down about 20% from last week, yet still double the number we had just prior to Christmas,” he wrote. “Our hospitalist team is still so busy they’re requiring staffing with an extra physician.”

A community Facebook group helps Afghan refugees start a new life in America

By Matt Blitz
1/5

When the Taliban took over his native Afghanistan in August, Mir knew that he and his family needed to get out.

He was confident they would be a target because he was a contractor assisting the United Kingdom, United States, and NATO with communications and information technology.

“If I stayed in the country, the [Taliban] probably would have killed me,” he tells ARLnow (we are withholding his last name for privacy reasons).

After obtaining a visa, the family embarked on a harrowing journey that took them from the place they called home their entire lives to Northern Virginia. It was the first time that Mir had ever left Afghanistan.

While Mir, his wife, and his nine-month-old baby are now safe in America, they arrived here with nothing.

“I didn’t even have one dollar to buy a diaper for my son,” Mir says, speaking via Zoom from his Alexandria apartment.

That’s when Arlington Neighbors Welcoming Afghans (ANWA) got involved, a Facebook group created by military veteran Ryan Elizabeth Alvis to help Afghans resettle in the area.

“When Afghan families arrive, they [come] with nothing but the clothes on their back,” says Alvis, who lives in the Bluemont neighborhood. “We want to welcome these families in the way they deserve to our community. And that takes the involvement of the average citizen.”

This was all a grassroots effort. After seeing the images on television and knowing from her own experience serving in Afghanistan as a Marine in the early 2010s, Alvis knew she needed to help.

She reached out to other nonprofit groups that were organizing efforts. While waiting for a response back, Alvis created the Facebook group. Soon after, she got a tip about a newly arrived family in Reston who was looking for help and supplies. So, she organized an effort through the group to get the family what they needed.

Quickly, word spread.

“I got a phone call from another Afghan family who had been given my phone number,” she says. “And that’s how it grew… with cold calls.”

Since starting in October, about 500 ANWA members have helped 58 families resettle in Northern Virginia in ways big and small, everything from providing furniture to contributing money for food to navigating how to set up Wi-Fi.

In all, more than 4,000 Afghan refugees have resettled in Virginia over the last year, according to InsideNoVa.

When a new request comes in from a family, Alvis assigns “team leads” to help that family. In turn, those team leads post in the group asking for specific things the family needs. Alvis anticipates the group continuing to be active until at least April.

So far, the group has raised about $20,000 for food and household items and is raising more through GoFundMe.

It’s not simply dollars, though, that Arlington community members are contributing. It’s their time and effort.

Volunteers Karen Penn and Christy McIntyre are Mir and his family’s “team leads.” They make requests on the family’s behalf in the Facebook group for household items, organize drop-offs, and generally assist with anything that’s needed.

That includes helping to navigate the Metrobus system, which was understandably daunting for Mir.

Both Penn and McIntyre note how rewarding, humbling, and inspiring it is to spend time with the recent American arrivals.

“[Mir and his family] are really starting over. It’s just amazing how resilient they are,” says Penn, who lives in the Leeway-Overlee neighborhood.

McIntyre, who lives in Arlington Forest, says the experience has been eye-opening, realizing that something that may seem tiny can make a huge difference for someone.

“If everybody does something small, if a lot of people come together, we can do amazing things,” she says. “The Arlington community stepped up big, really big. And they continue to do so for other families. I’m just so proud of our community.”

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A dad gets pelted by snow in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Pole Finally Removed from Pike — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “That utility pole awkwardly lingering in the intersection of Columbia Pike and S Frederick Street has been removed. Good night for a cozy fire.” [Twitter]

Men at Memorial Still a Jan. 6 Mystery — “A few months after the Capitol attack, in March 2021, ARLnow published a story that featured several of Westcott’s photos with the faces of the men blurred out. Westcott was also in touch with some of the online sleuths investigating the Capitol attack, but nothing emerged that definitively identified the men or linked them to the broader Oath Keepers conspiracy, or figured out precisely how they fit into the puzzle.” [Huffpost]

Arlington-Founded Five Guys Takes Paris — “Scandal on the Left Bank: the legendary bookshop Gibert Jeune is being replaced by a Five Guys fast food outlet (apparently popular in the United States and Barack Obama’s favourite).” [Twitter]

It’s Monday — Today will be partly sunny, with a high near 38. Sunrise at 7:14 a.m. and sunset at 5:29 p.m. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, with a high near 41. [Weather.gov]

In Clarendon, Silver Diner project crystallizes as sector plan revisions enter home stretch

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

Plans and a possible construction timeline for the proposed Silver Diner redevelopment in Clarendon are crystallizing.

Late last month, property owner TCS Realty Associates and developer Donohoe Cos. filed their application materials for the “Bingham Center” project on a triangular parcel of land bounded by Wilson Blvd, 10th Street N. and N. Irving Street, across from Northside Social.

One half of the project would replace the Silver Diner and a retail building (3240 Wilson Blvd) with a 224-room hotel, featuring a rooftop bar, gym and terrace. The other half would see a 286-unit residential building with 16,000 square feet of retail replacing The Lot, two brick structures called “The Doctors Building,” an auto repair facility and surface parking.

The sites for the hotel and apartment buildings by TCS Realty Associates and The Donohoe Cos. (via Arlington County)

The review process for the project could take upward of seven months, TCS Realty Associates President Tom Shooltz tells ARLnow. Construction, which Donohoe will oversee as general contractor, could start in the first or second quarter of 2023 and wrap up about two years later.

“We’re getting to the goal line now,” he said.

The filings come as revisions to the Clarendon Sector Plan are set to be finalized in the next four months. In response to a bevy of expected near-term projects in Clarendon, Arlington County embarked on a review of the 2006 plan last year.

This includes the Silver Diner/The Lot site on Clarendon Circle, as well as the Joyce Motors and Wells Fargo/Verizon sites and redevelopment projects by St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, the YMCA and George Mason University.

“Currently, staff is preparing the draft Clarendon Sector Plan Update document,” Arlington County Planner Brett Wallace told ARLnow in a statement. “Staff posted materials online in early December that include draft recommendations, updated sector plan text and maps, and potential land use scenarios for the 10th Street County-owned properties.”

Staff will next meet with the Zoning Committee in two weeks to review proposed zoning amendments before Planning Commission and County Board public hearing dates are set.

Progress on the Silver Diner redevelopment project hinged on sector plan revisions.

“The Clarendon Sector Plan is very important to the whole development of Clarendon,” Shooltz said. “There are a few other projects in the pipeline for that immediate part of Clarendon, so it only made sense that the county and stakeholders stepped back to make sure the Sector Plan reflects what we want to see for Clarendon.”

Despite COVID-19 delays and a timeline dictated by the sector plan, Shooltz says getting to this point has been smooth.

“We’ve got a very sophisticated citizen group who has been through this process many times,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with them and Clarendon is going to be a beneficiary of the review process.” (more…)

Arlington County ups number of allowed Bird e-scooters, bikes

By Brandi Bottalico

Arlingtonians may be more likely to travel on a Bird than any other brand of scooter and this year will have the option of using its e-bikes.

The number of Bird e-scooters in Arlington is increasing to a maximum of 667. The company was also selected to launch a fleet of 150 e-bikes here this year.

“This combined multimodal service will allow us to better serve the sustainable mobility needs of even more riders in the city,” according to Bird.

In a 2022 county evaluation of e-scooter and bike permit applications, Bird was allocated the most, followed by Spin with 650, LINK with 333, Lime with 245 and Helbiz with 105. There is a cap of 2,000 e-scooters and 1,000 e-bikes in the county.

Lime is also permitted to operate 200 e-bikes in Arlington.

Bird can deploy the most e-scooters because it ranked highest on meeting county goals, including to provide high-quality transportation services, advance environmental sustainability, promote safety and establish equity.

Bird was the first e-scooter to launch in the county in 2018 — prompting Arlington to figure out how to regulate two-wheeled electric transportation. Since then, it helped pilot e-scooters in Arlington and survived the whittling down of permitted providers in 2020. In 2021, Arlington was one of the first cities in the region to get a new model of its scooter.

Since 2018, nearly a million miles have been traveled on Bird e-scooters in the county, Bird says. Based on a study calculating the economic impact of the vehicles to small businesses, Bird estimated there was $750,000 in additional spending in 2021 in Arlington.

EXCLUSIVE: Video shows attack at Bluemont McDonald’s

By ARLnow.com
McDonald’s in Bluemont (file photo)

A video purporting to show two people attacking an employee inside the Bluemont McDonald’s has been obtained by ARLnow.

The attack happened around 11 p.m. Monday, at the restaurant on the 5000 block of Wilson Blvd. Police say two suspects, a man and a woman, were “involved in a verbal dispute with an employee after receiving an incorrect order through the drive-thru.” The incident then allegedly turned violent.

“Suspect One allegedly threw a water bottle through the window, before parking the vehicle and entering the business,” said the Arlington County Police Department. “Suspect One continued the dispute with the employee before the two suspects began physically assaulting and striking the employee.”

The grainy video, below, shows two people holding down the victim, who’s lying on the floor next to the drive-thru window.

“Call the police,” employees could be heard saying.

“Get off her head,” another says.

“What the [expletive] is wrong with you,” an unidentified person says, before the pair leave the restaurant.

The person who sent the video said the incident started when “the woman wanted free food” and the employee refused. The victim closed the drive-thru window after being splashed with water, but the suspects then went inside, according to the person.

The person alleged that the suspects made negative remarks about the victim being Latina.

The allegations could not be immediately confirmed by police. ACPD also declined to say whether they had the video below in their possession.

“As a result of the investigation, two individuals have been arrested and charged and the case will be processed through the court system where evidence and facts will be presented,” said police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “To ensure the integrity of the ongoing prosecution, there are no additional details to provide at this time.”

Two suspects were taken into custody after police say they initially ran several red lights in the Ballston area before pulling over. A search of their vehicle turned up a gun, according to ACPD.

“Justice Bridges, 26, of Washington D.C., was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding and Eluding Police,” said an ACPD crime report. “Michael Ritch, 24 of Capitol Heights, Md., was arrested and charged with Assault & Battery and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.”

The person who sent the video said the victim suffered injuries to her torso and her face but is feeling better.

Note: the following video contains strong language and is not safe for work.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A group of birds sits on power lines along Langston Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local Leaders Push for More Boosters — “A good number of Arlington residents seem to be turning a blind eye and/or deaf ear to governmental drumbeats for COVID booster shots. Only one in three adults in the county has receive the extra shots, County Manager Mark Schwartz told County Board members on Jan. 25. ‘We need to do better,’ the manager said.” [Sun Gazette]

New Trail Proposed — From Arlington Transportation Commission Chair Chris Slatt: “Kenmore Middle School and Carlin Springs Elementary school have a sustainable access problem… One project that could start improving this situation is what Sustainable Mobility for Arlington County calls the ‘Kenmore Connector Trail’ — a walking & biking trail on the west side of Carlin Springs Road that could connect Kenmore & Carlin Springs across Arlington Blvd to the W&OD Trail.” [Chris Slatt]

APS Trying Out New Menu Items — “Despite ongoing concerns about supply-chain problems, the Arlington school system is getting creative in providing new meal options for students. New on the menu for the winter cycle are fruit smoothies for breakfast and spinach-and-chicken empanadas, chicken-and-vegetable dumplings and cheesy chicken pasta for lunch.” [Sun Gazette]

New ATMs at DCA — From Reagan National Airport: “We are in the process of transitioning to a new ATM provider and all ATMs have been removed from the airport. We are working with the new provider to install new ATMs as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience during this transition!” [Twitter]

Early Closure for ANC — “Due to incoming inclement weather, Arlington National Cemetery will close early on Friday, January 28, at 3 pm and will have a delayed opening on Saturday, January 29, until 10 am. Funeral services will not be impacted and will continue as scheduled.” [Twitter]

It’s Friday — On today’s snow threat: “Evening computer models have bumped up snowfall totals in the immediate area and now suggest 1 to 3 inches may be more likely than a coating to 2 inches. Of particular note, they suggest we may have a period of steadier snow around the Friday evening commute as temperatures fall back toward freezing. This could mean slick roads. You may want to think about coming home early (by 3 or 4 p.m.) on Friday or working at home if possible.” [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter]

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