News

Water Main Break Closes Road in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Several hundred people in Crystal City are without water service after a water main break.

Emergency water main repairs are taking place near the Buchanan House apartments at 320 23rd Street S., according to Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Service.

DES says 23rd Street S. is being closed between Clark Street and Crystal Drive during the repairs, which are expected to wrap up this evening.

Photo via Google Maps

More Arlington Businesses Burglarized Amid Continued Wave of Break-Ins

By Matt Blitz
1/2

More local business were broken into this week, in a similar manner to others over the past several months.

Two men broke into Olive Lebanese Eatery at 1100 N. Glebe Road in Ballston early Wednesday morning and stole hundreds of dollars in cash, restaurant owner Yvonne Risheq tells ARLnow.

An Arlington County police report says that two suspects smashed their way into the restaurant and fled with stolen cash registers in a Ford F-150 pickup truck.

Around the same time, a similar burglary happened on the 4700 block of Lee Highway. From the crime report:

BURGLARY, 2021-03170043, 4700 block of Lee Highway. At approximately 9:00 a.m. on March 17, police were dispatched to the late report of a commercial burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined that between 6:00 p.m. on March 16 and 9:00 a.m. on March 17, an unknown suspect(s) forced entry into the business and stole a cash register and an undisclosed amount of cash.

These are just two in a rash of burglaries targeting cash-based local businesses that have the Arlington County Police Department concerned.

On February 22, ACPD released a statement that said the department had investigated 21 commercial burglaries so far in 2021. Since then, spokesperson Ashley Savage confirms that four more business burglaries, including the two this week, have occurred — for a total of 25. Savage also noted a recent attempted theft.

Many of the burglaries follow a similar pattern: suspects arriving in the middle of the night, forcing entry by smashing a glass door or window, removing registers or safes with cash, and fleeing in a waiting vehicle.

The entire crime takes mere minutes.

This is exactly what happened at Olive Lebanese Eatery, says Risheq.

At 2:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, security cameras captured two men throwing a boulder through a glass window, entering the building, and stealing the cash registers.

“They were in and out within one minute,” she says. “They knew what they were doing and exactly what to get.”

She says that two cash registers were stolen, each holding between $250 and $350.

Risheq believes it was pre-planned due to their precision and the fact that, when looking back at the surveillance video from earlier in the day, there was a man who had come into the restaurant and looked around for five minutes before exiting.

“He didn’t order anything, didn’t pick anything up. He was inside… just really looking at how things flowed,” she says. “To me, that’s very suspicious.”

In the end, the damages caused by the break-in will probably cost more than the $500 to $700 stolen, she says. They have to fix the glass window, the door, repair their sign, change all the keys and locks, and replace a few other items in the restaurant.

“No one was here and nobody got hurt,” says Risheq. “That’s the most important thing.”

The restaurant closed on Wednesday for repairs and re-opened on Thursday.

Olive Express Mediterranean Café opened in Ballston in October 2019, joining locations in Reston and Herndon. Later, the restaurant changed its name to Olive Lebanese Eatery.

Risheq says that they initially suffered a 90% drop in sales due to the pandemic, but catering has picked back up somewhat in recent weeks. The hope is that when people begin to return to the office — potentially this summer — business will slowly return to normal.

As for dishes she recommends to new customers, Risheq says the Lebanese kabobs or the falafel are the way to go.

“We make our falafel from scratch,” she says. “We’ve won awards for our falafel and humus.”

Due to their location in an office-heavy portion of Ballston, near a busy road, they’ve always felt safe. With the break-in, that illusion of safety is now shattered — but it won’t deter her from continuing to do business in Arlington.

“I was really surprised by the outpouring of support yesterday from residents and the community,” Risheq says. “I’m glad we made the move [to Arlington]. We do love it here.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Alleged Carjacking Crew Busted in Arlington — “The audacious spree, police officials said Thursday, accounted for five of 21 armed robberies and armed carjackings in the D.C. region linked to the same four-person crew in January and February… Two were arrested Feb. 5 and Feb. 19. The other two were apprehended a week later after a SWAT team converged on them in a hotel in Arlington.” [Washington Post]

Va. Expands Eligibility for Retail Vaccinations — “The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced today that Federal Retail Pharmacy partners will expand within Phase 1b to offer vaccines to individuals who are 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions, as well as frontline essential workers.” [Virginia Dept. of Health]

Still a Thing: Homes with Septic Tanks — From Chris Slatt on Twitter: “I was today years old when I learned that there are 38 residences in Arlington County with septic tanks.” [Twitter, Arlington County]

Maintenance Worker Exposes Himself — “5300 block of N. Carlin Springs Road. On March 16, police received a message on the Telephone Reporting Unit phone line regarding an indecent exposure. The victim stated that at approximately 3:30 p.m. on March 15, while having maintenance completed inside her residence, the suspect exposed his genitals to her.” [ACPD]

Rosslyn-Based Rosetta Stone Acquired — “IXL Learning, developer of personalized learning products used by more than 12 million students, announced that it has acquired Rosetta Stone, the leader in technology-based language education.” [PRNewswire]

Origin Coffee Lab Profiled — “For the coffee, Mekonnen relies on a 5-kilo-capacity Probat P5-2 roaster to turn out fresh roasts. The machine also serves as an industrial centerpiece and natural focal point, one the company plans to highlight more through educational events and tastings as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.” [Daily Coffee News]

UPDATED: Wakefield HS Football Players Called Racial Slurs During Recent Game, APS Says

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) Players on the Wakefield High School varsity football team were called racial slurs during a recent game against Marshall High School, an Arlington Public Schools spokesman confirms.

Students Lukai Hatcher and Izaiah Lang took to social media last night (Wednesday) to post about the events they say transpired during the away game on Friday, March 5.

“Me and my teammates were called racial slurs, taunted, and even spit on by Marshall players,” they said in a widely-shared joint statement posted on Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere. “We also experienced unfair treatment by each of the refs and were harassed from the sidelines by coaches and Marshall parents.”

Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia confirmed a portion of the allegations.

“An incident did occur between Marshall and Wakefield high schools where Marshall players used racial slurs at the Wakefield football team,” Bellavia tells ARLnow.

“The Wakefield administration as well as other APS officials have been in contact with Marshall High School, VHSL officials and the referee association about this incident,” Bellavia said. “APS administrators have been meeting regularly with the Wakefield team and parents to provide support since the incident occurred.”

Game footage shows a fight breaking out between the teams. APS confirmed that three Wakefield students were given three-game suspensions as a result of the fights, but the sanctions have since been knocked down to one-game suspensions per Virginia High School League guidelines.

Wakefield ended up losing the game to Marshall, 19-18.

https://twitter.com/JavellEdge/status/1372363087626506247

Hatcher and Lang alleged in their statement that what happened on March 5 has happened before.

“Marshall High School’s athletic teams have been known to demonstrate a culture of racism and unsportsmanlike behavior,” including foul play on the basketball court, they said. “We are shining the light on the continuing culture of tolerance for unjust and discriminatory practices in sports for minority athletes and seeking accountability in support of change.”

“We as a team complained to the refs all game about the way that we were being treated yet the flags were consistently thrown on us and even our coaches,” Hatcher and Lang added. “We should not be punished for defending ourselves and each other especially because during the entire game the refs, [whose] job it is to ensure each game is fair and who were supposed to protect and defend us, did not.”

Principal Chris Willmore said in a letter to families Thursday afternoon that “the adults who were responsible failed” the Wakefield players.

“The administrative team and I are outraged by the blatant acts of racism our players were subjected to during the game and that the officials did nothing to intervene despite our urging and even after our coaches signaled them to the behavior multiple times during the contest, allowing the situation to escalate,” he wrote. “This is unacceptable.”

“All coaches have been instructed to leave the field/court immediately if our student-athletes are subject to racist, bigoted behaviors. Our student-athletes will not be put into a position like this again,” Willmore continued, adding that there have been “other incidents that we’ve have experienced in the past.”

APS Superintendent Francisco Durán also issued a statement Thursday afternoon.

“Our leadership and School Board are calling on VHSL and all parties involved in extracurricular activities to reform and change their practices to ensure our schools and athletic events are free of racism, bigotry, hate speech and unsportsmanlike conduct,” he said, in part. “APS encourages all students and staff to continue to stand up and call out acts of racism, hate speech and other forms of discrimination when they see them.”

In a statement, Fairfax County Public Schools said it “does not accept acts of intolerance” and has “expectations of behavior in our students and staff.”

“At FCPS, our primary responsibility is the safety and well-being of our students and staff. Every student must understand the value of appreciating each other’s differences, extending common courtesy, and treating each other with respect,” the statement said. “We must all be committed to do better.”

The administration conducted a thorough investigation involving VHSL, officials, staff, players and families from both teams, according to the statement. The school system said it is working with the school, FCPS leadership and coaches from both teams to develop a plan for restorative justice.

In speaking out publicly, Hatcher and Lang said they were pressing for change.

“This isn’t new and enough is enough!” they wrote.

The full statement from Wakefield High School’s principal is below.

(more…)

Donaldson Run Restoration Project Set for County Board Review

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

The Arlington County Board is slated to review a restoration project for Donaldson Run Tributary B next week.

The Board is scheduled to vote at its Tuesday meeting on whether to award a $1.5 million contract to restore a segment of the stream beginning at N. Upton Street and extending about 1,400 feet downstream to where it meets with Donaldson Run Tributary A in Zachary Taylor Park, according to a county report.

The project will address “critical infrastructure, public safety and environmental threats,” the county said. It “will stabilize the stream’s eroding banks to protect existing stream valley infrastructure, including the threatened water main and sanitary sewer, which crosses the stream and runs parallel to it.”

This restoration project has been in the works since 2004 when the Donaldson Run Civic Association designated it a priority Neighborhood Conservation project, according to a county website. The project received funding in 2007 and the county completed its plans for restoration in February 2020 after a lengthy design and public engagement process.

In the intervening years, erosion and storm damage, including the July 2019 flash flood, have gouged out the banks, uncovering a 30″ water main and sanitary sewer line, which triggered emergency repairs. The two forces have also felled about 20 trees along the tributary since 2017.

This erosion “threatens the Zachary Taylor hike-bike trail and public safety and is undermining streambank trees,” the staff report said. “Sediment eroded from the stream has accumulated downstream, compromising the integrity of a prior stream project, the Donaldson Run Tributary A project completed in 2006.”

According to the county website, the project also aims to help the reduce pollution, protect the multi-use trail and restore native vegetation to the area, described as “overrun” with invasive plants such as kudzu and English ivy.

About 83 trees will be removed during the project. In their place, 332 native trees, 180 shrubs, 200 live stakes — cuttings that will grow into trees — and more than 4,000 herbaceous plants will be planted, a county spokeswoman said.

The county says it will use a technique called “natural stream channel design” to create a new stream channel that can better manage the runoff it receives from the surrounding land.

Some critics, however, oppose the chosen restoration method as well as the resultant tree removal. The Arlington Tree Action Group said the project has not been updated to account for climate change and new sustainability goals. Over the last few years, the group has voiced its opposition to the number of trees that could be axed.

(more…)

ACPD: No Carjackings Since Stepped-Up Crystal City Patrols

By ARLnow.com

A month ago, Arlington County police announced stepped-up patrols in and around Crystal City, following a string of carjackings.

Since then no new carjackings have been reported, and ACPD says it has taken five guns off the streets via proactive enforcement.

More from a press release:

In February, the Arlington County Police Department launched a criminal patrol detail to address recent violent crime trends in Crystal City and the surrounding neighborhoods. The detail takes a two-pronged approach to reducing criminal activity in the area: education and enforcement. Officers conduct high-visibility enforcement patrols while engaging community members and business stakeholders about important crime and safety information.

As a result of the proactive investigative efforts of officers working the detail, 6 weapons have been recovered including 5 firearms and 1 pair of brass knuckles. Additionally, there have been zero carjackings or thefts of idling vehicles in the Crystal City area since the detail began. Officers are committed to maintaining public safety through dedicated crime prevention strategies and initiatives. Our efforts to prevent and reduce crime in Arlington County are enhanced by the active involvement of the community and members of the public are encouraged to continue following these safety tips for preventing motor vehicle thefts.

There have been 18 carjackings in Arlington since the start of 2020, including 13 along the Route 1 corridor. By contrast, there were three carjackings from 2018-2019.

The police department provided the following list of arrests and incidents that have occurred since the high-visibility patrols started.

(more…)

Portion of GW Parkway to Close This Weekend for Removal of Crashed Cars

By ARLnow.com
1/2

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) A portion of the northbound GW Parkway will be closed for most of the day Saturday, as crews remove two vehicles that ran down embankments and crashed near the river.

From a National Park Service press release:

On Saturday, March 20, 2021, the National Park Service (NPS) will close both northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway to remove two abandoned vehicles that are below the road near the Potomac River. The NPS expects to close the lanes between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Spout Run Parkway to Chain Bridge Road, VA 123.  The southbound lanes will remain open.  The NPS will also temporarily close parts of the Potomac Heritage Trail near the vehicles for up to half an hour at a time while the work is happening.

The first crash happened on June 7, 2020, when a sedan ended up near the banks of the Potomac after running down an embankment north of Windy Run. The driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries; he was able to get out of the smashed car and was transported to an ambulance via D.C. fire boat.

The sedan has remained where it came to rest, along the Potomac Heritage Trail, since then while officials mulled how to remove it.

The second crash, according to NPS, happened on January 25 near the first scenic overlook in Arlington. The driver of that car was also not seriously injured.

“Both accidents were unusual,” the Park Service said, though there have been other recent incidents involving vehicles that ran far off the Parkway.

On Jan. 12 two people were rescued after a crash in which two vehicles careened off the Parkway near I-395 and ended up in the Potomac. Three days later, another car ran off the road and over an embankment near the second scenic overlook in Arlington. Inside, first responders found the body of D.C. police officer Jeffrey Smith, who was hurt while clashing with rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6; he was driving to work on Jan. 15 when he took his own life.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Police Searching for Missing Girl — “ACPD is seeking the public’s assistance locating 15 year old Javon… Described as a B/F, 5’7″, 195 lbs with long black and dark blue braids. She was wearing a tie-dye sweatshirt with ‘Myrtle Beach’ on the front, black joggers, crocs, and a white mask.” [Twitter]

MU Returning to ‘Fully In-Person’ in Fall — “Following multiple semesters of modified instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marymount University is pleased to announce its plans to reinstate a fully in-person academic delivery model starting in August for the upcoming fall semester, along with a return to a more ‘normal’ college experience for students in regards to resident life, athletics, campus activities and more.” [Press Release]

New Pike Restaurant Features Colorful Murals — “In late October, he did just that with the debut of Supreme Hot Pot in Arlington’s Columbia Heights neighborhood. He enlisted a group of friends to decorate the walls with murals of soup, dragons, fish and a zaftig lucky cat. Even from the street, the art attracts diners with its red and gold tones.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Middle School Sports Could Be Cut — “First, high-school sports in Arlington were shut down for months because of the pandemic, and now there is a chance middle-school athletics in the county could be eliminated because of budget cuts. A proposal included in Superintendent Francisco Durán’s 2021-22 school budget calls for the elimination of teacher stipends for extracurricular activities and athletics at the middle-school level.” [Sun Gazette]

Project Takes Local Couple Across U.S. — “Two Arlington County residents set out on a year long journey to see all 50 states and document it through art, photography via the 50 states project. That was before the pandemic temporarily stopped their plans in March 2020… what began as a project to see all 50 states turned into a study of before and after the impacts of 2020.” [WJLA]

Another Local Endorsement for McAuliffe — “Arlington County Board Chairman Matt de Ferranti has become one of the latest county elected officials endorsing Terry McAuliffe’s bid for governor. McAuliffe ‘has laid out clear plans to create a better future for all Virginians,’ de Ferranti said in a statement.” [Sun Gazette]

Responses to Violence in Atlanta — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam released a statement yesterday, saying: “We are grieving with the Asian American community and all of the victims of the horrific shootings in Atlanta last night that took eight lives, six of whom were women of Asian descent. This is the latest in a series of heinous attacks against Asian Americans across this nation, but sadly these are not isolated events.” Arlington police, meanwhile, said there are “no known threats” in the county associated with the shooting. [Commonwealth of Virginia, Twitter]

Comedian Amy Schumer’s Home Decor Includes Depiction of Desegregation Fight in Arlington

By Vernon Miles
Lunch-In (Man at Segregated Diner) on the wall of Amy Schumer’s home (photo via Amy Schumer/Instagram)

The struggle to desegregate Arlington occupies not only local historical significance, but apparently a place of honor in the foyer of comedian Amy Schumer.

As noted by the Twitter account of Arlington’s planning office, Schumer recently posted posted a photo on Instagram yesterday that highlights a painting hanging on her wall.

The painting is by artist Julian Joseph Kyle — who specializes in work related to slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement — and based on a photo by Washington Star photographer Gus Chinn.

It shows a Black protestor, Dion Diamond, sitting at a segregated lunch counter at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington on June 10, 1960. The protester, who was part of an integrated group called the Non-Violent Action Group, is being harassed by white patrons.

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of a series of lunch counter sit-ins in Arlington, during which demonstrators endured harassment from white students, police officers, and Neo-Nazis.

The demonstrations continued through the summer and eventually some stores that had discriminated against Black customers changed their policies and integrating their lunch counters.

Schumer, who has previously faced controversy for making racist caricatures, said in a social media post that the painting hangs by her front door as a constant reminder.

“It’s called Lunch-In (Man At Segregated Diner) it’s by our front door so I see it before I go out into the world,” Schumer wrote.

Image via Amy Schumer/Instagram

As Va. Transitions to Next Vaccination Phase, Arlington Still Working Through Current Group

By ARLnow.com

Virginia health districts have the option of transitioning to the next vaccination phase this week, but Arlington will not be among those doing so.

The county is still working to vaccinate those in the Phase 1b group, a spokeswoman said, and it’s unclear when it will be able to join other health districts in Phase 1c.

Arlington — where demand for the vaccine is proportionally higher than in more rural parts of the state and, in fact, higher than almost anywhere else in the country — is not alone in being unable to move to Phase 1c quite yet. DCist reports that other Northern Virginia localities will also not be making the transition this week.

“Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William counties, and the city of Alexandria, are among the D.C.-area localities still moving through Phase 1B, and not moving into Phase 1C this week,” the site reported.

The Virginia Dept. of Health announced Tuesday that Phase 1c will be starting in some parts of the state within days. From the announcement:

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced today that some health districts will begin the transition to Phase 1c vaccinations this week, and that all communities across Virginia should be able to open to this group of essential workers within weeks.

The decision to move from one phase to the next is made in coordination with local and state health officials and is dependent upon a variety of factors. Before moving to 1c, local health departments must have made strong efforts to reach all those eligible in 1a and 1b populations, particularly communities that have been disproportionately impacted, such as communities of color. Local health departments also must consider whether demand for vaccine has decreased among 1a and 1b populations.

“Finally, the light at the end of this long journey seems to be coming into view,” said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, M.D., M.A. “Vaccine is our best hope of ending the pandemic. My heartfelt thanks to the many Virginians who are signing up and getting vaccinated and for the health care workers and volunteers who are administering vaccines.”

Cara O’Donnell, acting spokeswoman for Arlington’s health department, said the county does not have statistics for how many people are currently in line to be vaccinated under Phase 1b, nor is there an estimate for when Phase 1c would start.

“We’re still working our way through 1b priority groups – both resident eligibility and essential employees,” O’Donnell told ARLnow Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll move into 1c after those eligible in 1b are notified to schedule – I can’t really speculate on a timeline.”

Arlington’s smaller neighbor to the south, the City of Alexandria, said last night in a press release that it had 20,000 people still on its 1b waitlist.

Alexandria continues to make strides in vaccinating residents and essential workers, but AHD has nearly 20,000 pre-registrants in Phase 1b on the waitlist, who have not yet been contacted or vaccinated. Vaccine supply has been slowly increasing, from less than 2,000 total doses per week to the current approximately 5,000 doses, which are a mix of first and second doses. VDH and AHD anticipate these numbers to increase considerably in the coming weeks. AHD anticipates moving into Phase 1c in the next 3-4 weeks depending on an adequate supply of vaccine.

(more…)

NEW: Baltimore Ravens Player Arrested in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:15 p.m.) A Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman was arrested in Arlington over the weekend.

Broderick Washington, a second-year player on the Ravens, allegedly damaged five vehicles with a metal object at the Dolley Madison Towers apartment complex (2300 24th Road S.) early Sunday morning. He’s also accused of damaging an apartment door and window.

“At approximately 4:20 a.m. on March 14, police were dispatched to multiple reports of a male suspect breaking into vehicles with a metal object,” Arlington County police said in a crime report Monday. “Upon arrival, officers located a suspect matching the description provided by the reporting parties and took him into custody without incident.”

“The investigation determined the suspect allegedly damaged five vehicles and destroyed the entry door and window to a residential building,” the crime report continues. “Broderick Washington, 24, of Baltimore, MD, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor Destruction of Property (x5), felony Destruction of Property, and Tampering with a Vehicle.”

An ACPD spokeswoman declined to provide more information on the incident.

“To ensure the integrity of the prosecution, there are no additional details to release at this time beyond what is included in the daily crime report,” ACPD’s Ashley Savage told ARLnow.

Washington was released on bail and is set for a court hearing on Wednesday, March 31, according to court records.

The 24-year-old defensive tackle was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft, after a standout college career at Texas Tech. Washington was not a major presence on Ravens’ defensive line last year, but is being mentioned as a breakout candidate for the 2021 season.

The team issued a brief statement about the arrest around noon today: “We are aware of the matter involving Broderick Washington. We have spoken with Broderick about this matter and will continue to monitor the situation.”

Photo courtesy ACPD

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