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Arlington Voters Favor Establishment Democrats in Primary

By ARLnow.com
County Board members Takis Karantonis (left) and Matt de Ferranti (right) at the Madison Community Center polling place on June 8, 2021 (photo via Takis Karantonis/Twitter)

Primary day was a good day to be an establishment Democrat in Arlington, though not necessarily so for every incumbent.

A primary challenge to incumbent County Board member Takis Karantonis was soundly rejected by voters, who gave Karantonis just over two-thirds of the vote. He defeats Chanda Choun, who ran on a platform of responsive government, technological advancement, and lower taxes, among other things.

Karantonis, who was first elected in a special election and is running for his first full term, will now face a trio of independent candidates in the fall: Audrey Clement, Mike Cantwell and Adam Theo. He thanked his volunteers and Choun for “a positive, well-fought campaign.”

In the 49th House of Delegates district, which runs along Columbia Pike, voters said yes to one of the most liberal state lawmakers in the Commonwealth and said no to a candidate running to his left. Del. Alfonso Lopez, who was first elected in 2012, cruised to another Democratic nomination over Karishma Mehta, by a vote of around 70% to 30%.

Mehta, a Pentagon City resident, was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, the Sunrise Movement and local activist group Our Revolution Arlington. She was openly critical of her new corporate neighbor, Amazon, which is building its HQ2 within the district and will eventually be Arlington’s second largest employer — second only to the Department of Defense.

Lopez thanked voters tonight for their “resounding support.”

The other contested local primary was in the 45th House of Delegates district, which includes portions of South Arlington, Alexandria and southern Fairfax County. In it, incumbent Del. Mark Levine simultaneously lost his reelection bid in the 45th district while also falling short in his run for lieutenant governor.

Emerging victorious is Alexandria Vice-Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, who is garnering nearly 60% of the vote district-wide to 40% for Levine. The margin in Arlington was closer — 53% to 47% — but nonetheless a defeat for Levine, who loaned his campaign nearly $1 million in his unsuccessful statewide run.

Bennett-Parker was endorsed by state Sen. Adam Ebbin, Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti, and County Board Vice-Chair Katie Cristol, among others. In declaring victory via social media, she also thanked her campaign volunteers.

In statewide races, Arlington voted the same way as Virginia as a whole.

Former Governor Terry McAuliffe is again the Democratic nominee for governor, with 60% of the vote in Arlington and 62% statewide.

Hala Ayala is the Democratic lieutenant governor nominee, despite a last-minute controversy over a political donation from Dominion, with 35% of the vote in Arlington and 36% statewide.

Incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring, meanwhile, is also advancing to the November general election after garnering 68.5% of the vote in Arlington and 56% statewide in his race against Jay Jones, who was endorsed by Gov. Ralph Northam.

Nonprofit Hospice Facility in Arlington to Close For Renovations

By Jo DeVoe

Falls Church-based nonprofit Capital Caring Health will be temporarily closing its Arlington clinic, the Halquist Memorial Inpatient Center, after 40 years of operating.

The 15-bed Halquist Center at 4715 15th Street N., one street over from Virginia Hospital Center, provides hospice and palliative care and is run by professional clinicians and volunteers. The facility, known for its calm atmosphere and volunteer-maintained gardens, is one of many that Capital Caring Health operates in D.C., Virginia and Maryland.

According to Steve Cone, a spokesman for the nonprofit, the center — which opened in 1982 in the former Woodlawn Elementary School — needs some upgrades. The nonprofit will be launching a capital campaign to raise $10 million for renovations and expects Halquist to reopen in late 2023, he said.

“The facility needs an extensive renovation so we can offer the surrounding community the same state of the art hospice care, such as private patient rooms, that is expected by families today and is available at our other inpatient centers across the region,” he said. “Planning is underway for the New Halquist which will be the very best facility of its kind anywhere when it reopens.”

A letter to staff and volunteers from CEO Tom Koutsoumpas, however, opened with the financial reasons that contributed to the decision to close Halquist, noting that the facility also needed renovations.

“What has happened here at Capital Caring Health is we have experienced increased expenses due to COVID protocols and related operational issues while at the same time experiencing Medicare repayment challenges and reduced patient referrals over a period of many months,” wrote Koutsoumpas in the letter, shared with ARLnow.

A volunteer explained that pre-pandemic, terminal patients would get referred to hospice care options if, after going to the hospital, they opted to live at home — with in-home hospice visits and later a stay at the center — rather than pursue treatment options. With the virus spreading, people visited doctors less, resulting in fewer referrals.

“There is a general concern that last year they weren’t getting care, so then doctors were not putting them in hospice,” the volunteer said.

And nearly 90% of the nonprofit’s revenue comes from insurance reimbursements, according to its most recent annual report. Charitable contributions, meanwhile, make up 6.6%.

The volunteer said she was confident the $10 million will get raised because Capital Caring, and Halquist specifically, has a very loyal donor and volunteer base.

“If anyone has used it and gotten the services, they’re so grateful — the service is so good and people are so compassionate — that they continue to donate, in particular to Halquist, which is part of Arlington community,” she said.

To get back on track, Koutsoumpas said, the nonprofit had to reduce staffing levels and expenses and close the Arlington facility, as well as an assisted living and dementia care facility in Maryland called Arbor Terrace. Staff who could not be relocated were furloughed but could return if the nonprofit’s financial situation improves, the CEO wrote.

“These decisions were not taken lightly and [were] very difficult to make,” he said.

While Cone could not comment on staffing decisions, he affirmed that Halquist’s cadre of volunteers will be able to support patients and will continue maintaining the building and grounds “as if patients were still being cared for there.”

He said the Arbor Terrace facility, meanwhile, is closing because it “did not lend itself to the care surroundings we have high standards for.”

The nonprofit instead intends to staff a new inpatient center that the University of Maryland Medical Complex is planning to build on its campus.

Cone did not confirm the financial considerations Koutsoumpas mentioned but instead highlighted a number of expansions, including more opportunities to provide care across new facilities opening at D.C.’s Sibley Memorial Hospital in August, and in Northern Virginia in November and through an increased presence in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Still, the volunteer said the Halquist closure came as a surprise.

“I was stunned,” she said. “We [the other volunteers] had not heard anything about this.”

The nonprofit will keep the facility in Arlington open until the last patient leaves, according to communications with staff.

(more…)

Still No Set Date for Full Reopening of Arlington Libraries

By Matt Blitz

While more Arlington County libraries are re-opening for express service next month, there’s still no set date for a full reopening.

This is due to staff shortages and the lingering effects of the hiring freeze enacted last March, library spokesperson Henrik Sundqvist tells ARLnow. The library system is having trouble hiring amid a “very competitive job market,” which just today set a new record for job openings in the U.S.

“About 20 percent of permanent public service jobs are vacant and in the process of being filled,” Sundqvist said this morning. “The recruiting, hiring and training process takes time.”

“Only 38 percent of temporary employees employed by the library last year have returned or plan to return for the [re-opening],” he added.

The Aurora Hills branch and the newly-renovated Columbia Pike library branch are both re-opening for the first time since March 2020, offering express service starting on Tuesday, July 6. Central Library will expand from holds pick-up only to express as well. The Shirlington and Westover branches reopened for express service back in March.

While express service allows browsing of up to 30 minutes, meeting rooms, seating, and public PCs will remain off-limits. Operating hours, which have yet to be announced, will also continue to be limited.

The Cherrydale and Glencarlyn library branches are currently expected to reopen for express service in the fall.

By contrast, neighboring jurisdictions like Fairfax County and Alexandria recently announced a resumption of most pre-pandemic services and operations.

Arlington’s more gradual reopening, officials insist, is related to “an unprecedented staff shortage” rather than COVID-related restrictions.

The lack of available labor is affecting other aspects of library operations, according to a press release.

“The Library is no longer quarantining returned items. However, due to staffing shortage, items may not get checked in for several days after they have been returned in a book drop,” the press release says. “If over 7 days have passed since you returned your library items and they remain on your account, please contact the Library to update your account.”

All branches will stick with express library service until the system “is closer to normal staffing levels,” notes the release.

There’s also no set date yet for the resumption of indoor storytime, though there’s a new outdoor storytime series at Central Library. Additionally, the Center for Local History at Central Library will be by appointment-only starting later this summer.

A number of services and resources that the library normally provides will remain closed.

This includes the Shed — the library’s seasonal garden-tool lending service — which will remain so for the entirety of the 2021 season, but plans to reopen in 2022. Arlington Public Library’s “makerspace” will also remain unavailable until staffing increases.

The Plaza branch remains shuttered due to ongoing renovations and its expansion, making it the only library location out of eight that will not offer express service by this fall.

Low Turnout So Far in Democratic Primary

By ARLnow.com
1/7

(Updated at noon) After relatively robust early voting, day-of voting in today’s Democratic primary in Arlington is off to a very slow start.

As of 9 a.m., only about 0.5% of active local voters cast ballots during the first three hours of voting this morning, according to the county elections office.

“It’s a slow one,” the office said via Twitter.

The highest turnout — 1% — was seen in the 45th House of Delegates district, which features a competitive race between Alexandria City Vice-Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and incumbent Mark Levine, who is also running for Lieutenant Governor.

Arlington is not alone in seeing low turnout. The neighboring City of Falls Church had only recorded 132 voters as of 9 a.m. Across the state, in fact, low turnout is being reported and is causing some concern among Democrats about a potential lack of voter enthusiasm.

One exception to the low turnout trend today: Alexandria, where competitive citywide races have drawn more a turnout of more than 10% as of 10 a.m.

Polls in Virginia are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m.

The contested races on the ballot in Arlington — all Democratic primaries — are below.

A number of non-Democrats will be on the ballot this fall, facing off against the primary winners in the November general election.

Teens Arrested After Armed Carjacking in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

An armed carjacking and a police chase led to the arrest of four suspects — all under the age of 18 — over the weekend.

The incident happened around 8 p.m. on Sunday. Police say a victim was sitting in his car in a parking garage near the Pentagon City mall when the suspects approached and one drew a gun.

They allegedly ordered the victim out of the car, stole some cash, and then drove off, crashing through a fence in the parking garage. The suspects made it a few blocks away before being spotted by officers on S. Eads Street, according to Arlington County police. A brief chase ensued until the suspects crashed along Army Navy Drive, just west of Pentagon City, and all four were taken into custody.

This was just the latest carjacking in the Pentagon City area, which has seen numerous carjackings and vehicle thefts, as well as some arrests.

More details from an ACPD press release, below.

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is announcing the arrest of four juvenile suspects following an armed carjacking. All four juveniles have been arrested and charged with Carjacking, Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. The juvenile who was determined to be the driver of the stolen vehicle faces additional charges of Eluding and Destruction of Property.

At approximately 7:55 p.m. on June 6, police were dispatched to the 1200 block of S. Hayes Street for the report of an armed carjacking that just occurred. Arriving officers were flagged down by witnesses who provided a direction of travel for the vehicle. An officer, with emergency equipment activated, located the vehicle on S. Eads Street and attempted a traffic stop. The driver failed to comply, proceeded through red lights and eluded police. A vehicle pursuit was then initiated. The driver continued to make evasive moves and struck the curb in the 1300 block of Army Navy Drive causing the vehicle to come to a stop. All four suspects were then taken into custody.

The investigation determined that the victim was sitting inside his vehicle in a parking garage in the 1200 block of S. Hayes Street when the four suspects approached. One suspect brandished a firearm and demanded the victim open the door to the vehicle. The suspects then took an undisclosed amount of cash from the victim before fleeing the scene in his vehicle and driving through a fence that was blocking part of the garage.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Guilty Plea in Good Samaritan Killing — “An Arlington man will spend up to 45 years in prison for killing a good Samaritan who intervened in a violent domestic dispute in October 2018. Michael Nash, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Monday — the morning he was set to go to trial… Nash had intended to argue that he was not in his right mind when he killed Julio Patricio Salazar, 54, a Bolivian immigrant described by family and witnesses as a hero who tried to help a woman in distress.” [Washington Post, NBC 4]

New Workforce Training Initiative — “The local workforce development board and the Arlington Employment Center (AEC) are rolling out new initiatives to increase access to online training and assist 1,000 adults and graduating students to prepare for post-pandemic jobs, especially those requiring digital skills. The Virginia Career Works-Alexandria/Arlington Region Workforce Council and AEC have partnered with LinkedIn Learning to provide short-term training in pre-designed career pathways that lead to skills local businesses need.” [Arlington County]

Local Catering Options — “Virginia’s Covid restrictions have lifted and gatherings have been deemed safe for the vaccinated. Ready to party? If you’d rather focus on hugging family and friends and leave the cooking to someone else, many area restaurants offer catering services, and some only need 24 hours’ notice (or less) to whip up a feast for your hungry crowd.” [Arlington Magazine]

Covid Brings Polyamorous Trio Together — A not-safe-for-work story about an unusual local living arrangement during Covid times: “My partner and his wife are in their fifties. I was coming apart. He was like, ‘Well, you could test, quarantine, and move in here for a couple weeks.’ We talked about the logistics for about a month. How will we do laundry, together or separate? How will we sleep?” [Washingtonian]

Polls Open Tomorrow in Arlington for Democratic Primary

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

(Updated 5:40 p.m.) Arlington has seen significantly higher early voting turnout than usual, ahead of the Democratic primary tomorrow.

Neighborhood polling places will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for those who have not voted early or absentee. Voters will see a full slate of Democratic candidates for local and state elections. Primary winners will face non-Democratic candidates in November.

Arlingtonians have been taking advantage of early voting opportunities since April 23. According to the Arlington County elections office, 2,803 people voted early and in-person before that option closed last week — a 140% increase over the last Virginia gubernatorial election cycle in 2017.

Meanwhile, more than 3,900 mail ballots for the Democratic primary were distributed before the May 28 deadline to request a ballot, the office said in a tweet. These can still be returned by mail but must be postmarked by tomorrow (June 8) and received by the local voter registration office by noon on Friday.

On the ballot in Arlington are three statewide elections, two contested House of Delegates elections, and the Democratic race for County Board.

Democrats have a number of potential replacements for Gov. Ralph Northam, including former governor Terry McAuliffe and Jennifer Carroll Foy — both of whom visited Arlington last week — as well as Jennifer McClellan, Lee Carter and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

The winner of the gubernatorial primary will face off Glenn Youngkin, who beat out a half-dozen other Republican candidates to win the GOP nomination.

Meanwhile, seven Democrats are competing for Fairfax’s current role as Lieutenant Governor. They are Del. Hala Ayala, Del. Sam Rasoul, Norfolk Council Member Andria McClellan, Fairfax County NAACP President Sean Perryman, Del. Mark Levine and Arlington businessman Xavier Warren.

Voters can also choose between incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring or his Democratic challenger Jay Jones.

Challenging Del. Alfonso Lopez for the 49th District is Karishma Mehta, while Alexandria City Vice-Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker is going up against Levine (who is also running for Lieutenant Governor) in the 45th District.

The 47th and 48th districts are not facing primary challenges on the ballot this year. Incumbent Del. Rip Sullivan (D-48th) faces no challenger and Matt Rogers, who launched a bid to unseat incumbent Del. Patrick Hope (D-47th), is not on the ballot due to a paperwork snafu. He contested a decision by the State Board of Elections not to grant him and two other candidates a filing deadline.

Meanwhile, locals can choose to keep incumbent Democrat Takis Karantonis in his County Board seat or select his opponent, Chanda Choun. In November, the winner will face off a trio of independents: Audrey Clement, Mike Cantwell and now, Adam Theo.

Theo describes himself as a patriotic Libertarian Buddhist. He is the chair of the Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia, which operates in the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church as well as Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

Tomorrow also is the deadline for candidates to file the forms needed to have their names printed on the ballot in the November general election.

There is no Republican primary, as “the Republican party did not call for any primary elections in Arlington,” the county elections office noted. Any voter can cast a ballot in the Democratic primary, regardless of party affiliation, as Virginia is an open primary state.

Registered voters can find their polling place on the Virginia Department of Elections website. A pocket guide from the department includes a list of acceptable IDs that voters can use to prove their identity when they arrive at the polls.

Large Restaurant and Art Gallery Space Opening Soon in Ballston

By Matt Blitz
1/9

WHINO, a 6,200-square-foot combination restaurant and art gallery, is set to open its doors at Ballston Quarter next week.

First announced in August 2018, the venue will combine a 150-seat restaurant and craft cocktail bar serving dishes that “meld American and international flavors” with a pop-art gallery that invites patrons to “inhabit large-scale mural installations.”

WHINO is located on the second floor of the shopping center, at 4238 Wilson Boulevard. It is set to open on Friday, June 18.

It comes from Shane Pomajambo, the D.C.-based art curator who ran Blind Whino and other prominent galleries in the region. Arlingtonians may know him as the person behind the massive street art show in Crystal City a decade ago.

Pomajambo tells ARLnow he picked Ballston as the location for his next venture because of the “great foot traffic” and the neighborhood’s residents are its “core demographic.”

It will serve a late night crowd, at least during the latter half of the week. Thursday through Saturday, WHINO will stay open until 2 a.m.

The venue’s murals encompass a dozen different genres and focus on a new art movement known as “lowbrow/pop surrealist,” according to a press release.

A number of the murals will be rotated out regularly with new art coming in every month creating a “living art gallery,” as Washingtonian reports. The current roster of muralists includes an artist, Dragon76, who just finished a massive mural in Houston in conjunction with a United Nations project.

There will also be a retail component to the venue, with a number of limited-edition sculptures from artists across the world on sale, with prices ranging from $50 to $300.

The restaurant is set to hold 152 diners in an open floor plan that will have six different areas, including a 25-seat kitchen bar, a 51-foot craft cocktail bar, and a 11-seat beverage tasting bar.

The small plate menu comes from executive chef Eleftherios (Terry) Natas, a New Jersey-born Greek American who previously worked for El Centro in D.C. and Mike Isabella’s Graffino. A number of items are influenced by Natas’s Greek background, including smoked octopus and gyro meat wrapped in phyllo dough. There will also be handmade ricotta gnocchi, porchetta sliders and scallop aguachile.

“The menu is designed to encourage exploration as small plates afford guests the opportunity to experience more flavor profiles,” Pomajambo says.

A number of other much-anticipated businesses are planning to open in Ballston in the coming months, including The Salt Line, looking at a summer debut. The popular plant shop REWILD is planning a July opening while chicken restaurant Farmbird is starting to serve this week.

Other recent restaurant openings and anticipated openings in Ballston include Ballston Local, El Rey, Hawkers Asian Street Fare, and Quincy Hall.

Heart + Paw, a combination veterinarian, pet groomer and dog daycare, just opened last month as well.

“Langston Boulevard” Proposed as New Name for Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com
1/5

“Loving Avenue” is out and “Langston Boulevard” is in as the likely new name for Lee Highway in Arlington.

The renaming is on the Arlington County Board agenda for this Saturday, but County Manager Mark Schwartz is recommending it be deferred until the Board’s July 17 meeting, to allow additional time for public feedback and for more precise cost estimates.

County staff have selected “Langston Boulevard” from the finalists submitted by a task force, which was charged with replacing both “Lee” and “Highway.” Currently, Route 29 in the county is named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, whose name was removed from one of Arlington’s high schools and whose house is being removed from the county logo.

Previously, the task force recommended Loving Avenue as the name, in honor of the interracial couple whose landmark U.S. Supreme Court case inspired the film that bears their name. That was nixed after the couple’s descendants objected.

The new name honors John M. Langston, an abolitionist, attorney and member of Congress whose name is also on an Arlington school, community center and civic association.

From a county staff report:

With the Arlington County Board’s support in July 2020, the Lee Highway Alliance (LHA) embarked on an extensive planning and public engagement effort to recommend a new name for Lee Highway in Arlington. This process culminated with a final report in December 2020. At that time, the selected choice for the renaming was “Mildred & Richard Loving Avenue.” However, in vetting the selection by way of conversations with direct descendants, it was determined that the family was not in support of the name’s use. With foresight, the LHA Working Group process included a list of other top choices for renaming. The second ranked choice, and current recommendation, is John M. Langston Boulevard.

The recommendation is being further abbreviated, to “Langston Boulevard,” to assist with operational considerations including wayfinding; character limitations on existing signage; and to avoid undue financial costs which would be incurred if the entire name were to be included as part of the existing sign portfolio managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). If the name is longer, VDOT has indicated larger signs would be needed to accommodate all the letters, and the sign structures will need to be redesigned and constructed.

The current estimate for new “Langston Boulevard” signage along Route 29 is about $300,000.

Hat tip to Ginger Brown

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Hopes to Open in Crystal City Next Spring

By Matt Blitz
1/1

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is planning to open its Crystal City location about a year from now.

Set to be located at 1660 Crystal Drive, the nine-screen, 50,000-square-foot Alamo Drafthouse National Landing will be near a new CVS, Solidcore, and likely linked to a specialty grocery store (perhaps Amazon Fresh).

Just last week, the Texas-based movie theater chain announced it was emerging from bankruptcy and poised to open a number of new theaters, including two in the D.C-area. The Crystal City location is currently expected to open in May or June 2022, theater representatives confirm to ARLnow.

The other new theater will be in Northeast D.C.’s Edgewood neighborhood. That one is planning a November 2021 opening.

Founded in 1997, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has nearly 40 locations while marketing itself as a movie-lover’s oasis, complete with craft beers and locally-sourced snacks.

The theater in Crystal City will be operated by a franchisee, Cojeaux Cinemas. The company operates three other Alamo Drafthouse franchises in Virginia as well as the new D.C. location.

Cojeaux Cinemas has had an eye on the Arlington market for the better part of a decade, but jumped at a deal a few years ago amid an opportunity presented itself.

“We signed this deal in 2017 when JBG Smith gained control of Crystal City,” Joseph Edwards, co-owner Cojeaux Cinemas, tells ARLnow. “We had confidence in their vision and their people to transition the market by bringing tenants like us in to rebalance the overall mix of office, residential, retail and entertainment, creating a more modernized urban area that will draw from all the surrounding areas.”

Just last week, JBG Smith released an investor relations video detailing its ambitious plans for National Landing.

JBG Smith has nearly finished its portion of the work on the building that will house the movie theater, and Cojeaux Cinemas will start the interior build-out within the next couple of months, Edwards said. The theaters will all have laser projectors, large recliners with individual tables, and call buttons to request service (“quietly and seamlessly during the show”).

There will also be a themed bar with the exact concept still in development.

As the operator of other Virginia theaters, the last year has been an immense challenge, Cojeaux co-owner Anthony Coco concedes. But they are confident that folks are ready to go back to the movies.

“Having seen some fantastic box office numbers, like we saw last weekend, it is clear that movie goers are ready to get back in cinemas,” writes Coco. “And enjoy the craveable, one of a kind experience that Alamo Drafthouse provides its guests.”

Police Investigating Mysterious Pool of Blood Found at Local Park

By ARLnow.com

Police are investigating blood found at a North Arlington park.

Crime scene tape was placed around Woodstock Park in Waverly Hills, a park and playground popular with children, this morning shortly after 8 a.m. One local resident described a “pool of blood” being found at the park.

So far, however, police haven’t determined where the blood came from.

“At approximately 8:01 a.m., police were dispatched to the 2000 block of N. Woodstock Street for the report of blood located in the park,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage said. “At this time, no victims or crime have been determined. ACPD remains on scene investigating and will canvas the area for additional information related to the incident.”

The crime scene caused concern among neighbors, who took to social media to ask about what happened.

Map via Google Maps

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