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Getting your heating and cooling system ready for fall? Ballston Heating & Air is offering ARLnow readers $100 off their first service call – that’s a complete system inspection, maintenance tune-up, and safety check for new customers.
With Arlington’s unpredictable weather putting extra strain on HVAC systems, now’s the perfect time to ensure your home stays comfortable and your energy bills stay low. Ballston Heating & Air has been serving Northern Virginia for over 15 years with transparent pricing and quality service.
The deal includes:
- Complete system inspection and diagnostic testing
- Filter replacement and cleaning
- Safety checks and efficiency recommendations
- Written maintenance report
New customers only. Must be used within 30 days.
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Murder Case Has Arlington Connection — “A Prince George’s County, Maryland, man learned Wednesday he’ll serve nearly 50 years behind bars for murdering a transgender woman… Police arrested Price after he ran onto the tracks inside a Metrorail tunnel in Arlington, Virginia, the day after Ashton’s body was found inside her Suitland apartment. The gun that police said was used in the killing was also found inside the tunnel, which was near the Pentagon City station.” [WTOP]
Quincy Site Considered for Electric Buses — “Speaking at a Jan. 20 hearing on the parcel’s continued use for storing more than two dozen transit buses over the next year, Schwartz dropped a bombshell. The county government’s new operations facility in South Arlington will not be able to house all ART buses if the system converts to an electric fleet, he said. ‘We will have to be looking at other places in the county,’ Schwartz said. ‘This site [on North Quincy Street] could be a potential location.'” [Gazette Leader]
Route 50 Crash on Camera — From Dave Statter: “A crash just after 3 p.m. at Route 50 & Highland. Maybe I’m a gutless chicken, but in 40-plus years of living in Northern Virginia — half of it in Arlington — I don’t ever recall crossing six lanes of Route 50 to get to the street on the other side, unless it was an intersection with a traffic signal. No indication of serious injuries in this collision.” [Twitter]
Local Schools Notch Wrestling Wins — “All three Arlington teams had individual champions at the first Liberty District girls wrestling championships. For the Wakefield Warriors, Nicole Barahona won the title at 107 pounds. She won by pin in the title match of the event at McLean High School. For the Washington-Liberty Generals, Skyla Rene was the champion at the 132 weight class. She won by a major decision in the final. For the Yorktown Patriots, Charlotte Bowman defeated previously undefeated Cameron Millsapps of Wakefield in the 152 championship match by a 3-2 score.” [Gazette Leader]
Rosslyn Retail Space Reconsidered — “In local zoning, urban planners have their concepts in place – until the public has the final say. And apparently the public decided it didn’t want as much retail space at the massive Central Place development in Rosslyn as county officials had imposed. As a result, Arlington County Board members on Jan. 20 approved zoning changes to allow owners of the two-building complex to use spaces on the ground, first and second floors currently designated for retail use for a wider array of options.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 44, accompanied by light and variable wind, which will become southeast at 5 to 7 mph during the morning. On Tuesday night, there’s potential for rain and snow between 1am and 4am, followed by a possibility of rain after 4am. The night will be cloudy with a low around 36, and a southeast wind at approximately 6 mph. The chance of precipitation is 30%. [Weather.gov]
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Michelle Logan and her partner Jenna Burnett celebrated their moving in together and the end of Pride month last July by displaying a rainbow flag in front of their house.
But two months later, while looking out the window of their Penrose home one morning, the couple noticed the flag had vanished. All that remained was a mangled flag pole.
Upon reviewing footage from their Ring camera, the couple observed a man dressed in a cowboy hat forcefully remove the flag from its resting place around 2:35 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2023. He can then be seen fleeing with two other people on foot, heading north along S. Courthouse Road.
After that night, the couple would have their Pride flag stolen from their porch four more times. Logan has posted four of the five incidents to the social media site X, formerly Twitter, and provided regular updates on Reddit.
“To us, this isn’t just about a flag being stolen. Each time this happens is really violating and scary,” Logan told ARLnow in an email. “It’s a reminder that a lot of work still needs to be done for LGBTQ+ communities to feel comfortable and supported being their full selves, and loving who they want to love.”
https://twitter.com/mlogs93/status/1751241516591268341
Although the footage didn’t provide a clear view of the culprit, Logan and Burnett said they filed a police report.
In defiance of the vandal, the couple purchased a new flag pole, and several friends, along with the Arlington-based community organization The Kindness Activist, donated flags.
Two weeks later, they again faced the theft of their Pride flag by a man in a cowboy hat. This time, in addition to reporting the incident to Arlington County police, Logan and Burnett shared the footage on Nextdoor, hoping the community could help identify the individual.
“Our friend even made a funny ‘Have you seen this anti-LGBTQ+ cowboy?’ flag and we hung it up to make light of the situation,” Logan said.
After a third flag was stolen on Dec. 16, Logan and Burnett appeared on WUSA9 to raise awareness about the multiple incidents. They pledged to donate $100 to the Trevor Project, an international suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ youth, for each previous and subsequent theft of their flag, for a total of $300.
“We then put another flag up because we didn’t want to let him stop us from being ourselves and sharing who we are,” Logan said.
The fourth theft took place last Sunday, Jan. 21, at 2:14 a.m. This time, the thief’s face was captured on camera but it is unclear whether this individual was the same person seen wearing a cowboy hat during the initial two thefts.
Six juvenile suspects are facing charges after an alleged mini crime spree in the Pentagon City area Saturday evening.
The first incident happened around 5:30 p.m., near the Whole Foods store on 12th Street S., when a group of teen boys approached a woman and “demanded her property.” She ran away and nothing was taken, according to police.
A second incident happened about ten minutes later on the 1600 block of S. Eads Street, as the group approached a woman and brandished a gun, ultimately stealing her phone, police said.
Six suspects were subsequently detained at the Pentagon City Metro station and a BB gun — along with the stolen phone — was recovered, according to Arlington County police.
The second one happened right by my apartment. Saw a woman 60+ fleeing into her apartment crying while 2 young kids ran down the street. This happened at 6pm! Absolutely tragic.
— ZH (@ZestHockey) January 28, 2024
More, below, from today’s ACPD crime report.
ATTEMPTED CARJACKING, 2024-01270180, 500 block of 12th Street S. At approximately 5:39 p.m. on January 27, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was outside her parked vehicle when she was approached by several male suspects who demanded her property. The female victim ran from the scene and sought assistance. No items were reported stolen. At approximately 5:50 p.m., police were dispatched to the 1600 block of S. Eads Street for the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined a separate female victim was walking in the area when she was approached from behind by several male suspects. One suspect brandished what appeared to be a firearm, during which the victim threw her cell phone. The suspects picked up her cell phone before fleeing the scene. A lookout was broadcast and officers located the six juvenile suspects entering the metro and detained them. A BB gun and the victim’s cell phone were recovered by officers. Various petitions were obtained for the six juvenile suspects including the offenses of Attempted Carjacking, Robbery, Conspiracy to Commit Felony and Use/Display Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
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Arlington’s Board of Zoning Appeals has rejected a neighbor’s attempt to stop two proposed Expanded Housing Option developments in the Alcova Heights neighborhood.
An affiliate of local homebuilder Classic Cottages proposes building two side-by-side six-plexes at 4015 and 4019 7th Street S., bordering Alcova Heights Park and a couple of blocks north of Columbia Pike.
A neighbor fought back, filing an appeal with the BZA, which takes up appeals to any decisions or determinations made by the county’s Zoning Administrator.
Normally, residents go to the BZA to appeal decisions related to plans to build additions or add front porches; this appears to be one of the first appeals related to new Missing Middle developments.
In February 2023, before the Missing Middle ordinances were approved, Classic Cottages submitted a request to re-subdivide two properties in a “pipestem” configuration, where the boundaries of one property form a “pipe” around the other. After the Missing Middle or Expanded Housing Option (EHO) ordinances went into effect in July, Classic Cottages submitted permits to replace the current single-family home and circular driveway spread across the two lots with a pair of 6-plexes.
“Pipestem” lots are a rarity now because many years ago, they were so hated by the community that the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee got the county zoning ordinance amended to make pipe-stem developments more difficult, says Barnes Lawson, the attorney for Classic Cottages.
“The reason is that you had problems with driveways. You had houses behind houses. It was just not the ideal way in which to provide housing for our community,” he said.
In her appeal, neighbor Kelley Reed argued that the permits were illegally issued. She contends the lots, created via subdivision, did not yet exist in county land records when the permits were issued. Also, she said, they do not conform with the 60-feet minimum width required for EHO developments and the EHOs would have to be put on portions of the lot that cannot be built on.
“This is not a pro- or anti-EHO case,” said Reed. “This case has ramifications far beyond EHO and regardless of use, as this case is about getting the math right. It’s about following the rules. It’s about not cherry-picking definitions. Please correct the staffs’ errors and reject the wrongly approved permits.”
Several neighbors joined the chorus, dwelling less on the math and more on how the project does not fit with the surrounding houses and would hurt the neighborhood.
Jamshid Kooros, who identified himself as a Missing Middle supporter, argued that building multifamily buildings on narrow, deep lots would make this project “the poster child of those who oppose the changes.” That has already come to pass, however, as the project figured into a recent presentation by Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future, a local group that has argued against the policy changes.
Others, including the president of Classic Cottages, came to its defense, arguing that residents are hijacking the purpose of BZA appeals to relitigate Missing Middle.
“In all the years we’ve been doing this — building houses all over the county — it never occurred to me that adjacent property owners could file BZA cases against one of our projects. It’s never happened before,” David Tracy, the president of Classic Cottages said. “This particular case seems to be more about the EHO policy itself and I would respectfully ask that, to the extent that it is the policy that’s being challenged, that there’s a proper venue — a larger court case that’s being handled right now.”
Several measures designed to combat Arlington’s persistently high office vacancy rate are slated for discussion next month.
On the table are expanded opportunities for shared and offsite parking, as well as more lenient parking requirements for fitness centers. Officials are also set to consider whether to allow large media screens for outdoor entertainment in some business districts.
The Arlington County Board is scheduled to vote next month on whether to advertise requests to amend Arlington’s zoning ordinance to make these changes. County Manager Mark Schwartz told the Board last week he hopes that these and other ordinance changes can make it easier for Arlington businesses to get started and grow.
“Very often you’ll have a business that, if it could take advantage of parking very near to it, would be able to move ahead,” he said on Tuesday.
Schwartz noted that fitness centers have particularly strict parking requirements.
Large media screens, meanwhile, could assist with “placemaking” in certain commercial business districts. Currently, it’s an exceptionally arduous process to get large outdoor displays approved.
The county also plans to pursue bigger-picture ordinance changes, Schwartz said. Later this year, the Board is expected to discuss guidance on office-to-apartment conversions as well as potentially simplifying the major and minor site plan amendment process, which landowners must navigate when repurposing or renovating large development projects.
Within the next six months, Board members are also expected to consider plans to facilitate change of use within existing buildings and adopt a more flexible ordinance around signage.
Other possible ordinance changes concern storage uses at office buildings as well as the process for converting underutilized parking spaces.
“We promised we’d be coming to you with sort of a regular rhythm of items, and starting next month we will do that,” Schwartz told officials.
Arlington’s office vacancy rate is currently just over 22%, the county manager said — up from 21.5% in October. Arlington Economic Development predicted in October that this number would continue to rise, as about a quarter of Arlington office space is at risk of sustained vacancies.
The county has scrambled to find uses for its office buildings since the pandemic, passing several zoning changes on a compressed community engagement timeline. Recent adjustments allow urban farms, breweries and podcast studios to move into older office buildings without seeking special permissions.
Despite these efforts, a shrinking commercial base has left Arlington residents shouldering a growing portion of the county’s budget. Historically, the commercial and residential tax base split the budget 50-50 but in recent years, this has shifted to a 55-45 split.
Board member Matt de Ferranti last week called office vacancies “a huge challenge” and praised ongoing efforts by county staff.
“I think it is important to reiterate strong support for the direction we are going in,” he said.
Photo via Google Maps
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Del. Adele McClure is quickly making her mark in the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature, just weeks after taking office.
The 2nd District representative’s first legislative success of her tenure came last week when the House of Delegates narrowly approved her bill to broaden the state’s minimum wage protections to include farm and temporary foreign workers.
“I had so many candid conversations with farmers who expressed that they are already paying their workers at or above the minimum wage,” McClure said in a press release. “My bill specifically addresses those outliers who, on the contrary, continue to pay workers lower wages while still demanding higher and higher output–which undercuts farmers who are doing the right thing and paying their workers fair wages.”
HB 157, which narrowly passed with a 50-49 vote, is now proceeding to the Senate, also controlled by Democrats.
Del. Jeion Ward, chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee, initially introduced this bill in 2021, arguing the farmworker exemption stems from Jim Crow-era discriminatory laws. At the time of its adoption in 1938, some lawmakers opposed paying farmworkers, many of whom were Black, the same rates as white laborers.
Ward’s bill failed in the Senate following opposition from agribusiness lobbyists who claimed farmers were already adequately compensated.
Inspired by Ward’s efforts, McClure told ARLnow that she wanted to continue where Ward left off.
“She has made valiant efforts to move that forward and ensure that the farmworkers are part of the conversation,” McClure said.
I presented my first bill, HB157, on the Floor of the House of Delegates this week, and I'm proud to report that it passed by a vote of 50-49. pic.twitter.com/d1XTtOlRFo
— Delegate Adele McClure (she/her) (@AdeleMcClure_) January 24, 2024
McClure claims the bill would only impact a small portion of farmers paying well below that minimum wage, which she says undercuts those who “pay their fair share.”
“These workers are just super hardworking… and they deserve to be protected under the minimum wage act like everybody else,” McClure said.
Over the last few years, Virginia’s minimum wage has risen from $7.25 to $12 per hour, a result of Democrat-endorsed legislation enacted in 2020. This law also sets out future increases, proposing a rise to $13.50 per hour in 2025 and $15 per hour in 2026. However, these planned hikes are contingent on further approval from the General Assembly.
Several other bills sponsored by McClure have also passed committee and are scheduled to be introduced on the House floor in the upcoming weeks.
These include a bill mandating firearm locking devices during the sale or transfer of firearms, a requirement for landlords to provide alternative housing options when a tenant’s unit is damaged, and a bill calling for law enforcement training standards to aid in preventing drug overdoses.
“I feel very privileged and honored to be in a position where I can effect so much change and so much change so quickly,” she said.
McClure admits she is unsure if her bills will make it past Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk, but she emphasized that each of the bills she has introduced has strong support from her constituents, which boosts her optimism.
“A lot of these things we’re passing are to help improve the lives of our fellow Virginians, so hopefully, he’ll take that into consideration when he’s wielding that pen,” she said.