News

Gardener group urges property owners to ‘leave the leaves’ to boost ecosystem

By Scott McCaffrey

With leaves falling along with autumn temperatures, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia is pleading with local property owners not to rake and remove all their leaves from yards.

“There are many ways you can use them rather than sending them to the landfill,” said Claudia Gerwin, who on Oct. 3 led an online program for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Arlington-Alexandria office.

Gerwin trained as Master Gardener in 2012 and currently serves as cochair of the organization’s public-education committee.

Leaves release valuable nutrients as they decompose, improving soil quality, Gerwin said, offering a number of opportunities:

  • Spreading a layer of leaves about 3 to 4 inches deep around trees — though not immediately adjacent to the trunk — will offer winter shelter for insects and animals while providing moisture for the trees themselves
  • At-home composting provides a carbon- and nitrogen-rich result that can be used to dress gardens and lawns

Gerwin said those who take the outlined steps are not just benefiting themselves. “Your yard plays an important role in the ecosystem,” she noted.

There were some concerns raised during the program about composting and leaf-leaving resulting in a proliferation of snakes and rodents, but generally that was not a problem, several said.

“They have their own [shelter] system already in place,” said Ginny McNair, one of the participants.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a joint effort of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. The Arlington office is located at the Fairlington Community Center, and speakers on a wide array of topics are available for presentations to community organizations.

The local Master Gardeners Help Desk is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fairlington Community Center, 3308 S. Stafford Street. In-person, phone and email inquiries are answered.

In addition, local residents can get answers to questions at the second annual Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia Fall Fest, slated for Saturday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Duncan Library in Alexandria.

Elaine Mills of Master Gardeners said the online Oct. 3 program was the last for the year, but 2026 will provide many more.

“Look for our class list for new programs in December,” she said.

Presentations from Master Gardener speakers are archived online. The recent “Leave the Leaves” program will be added in coming weeks, Mills said.

For those who do put some or all of their leaves out for collection, the Arlington government makes several sweeps through neighborhoods in November and December each year.

About 50,000 cubic yards of leaves are collected each year, being turned into mulch that is available to local residents without charge if picked up or with a fee if delivered.

Tree seedlings available from Dept. of Forestry

The Virginia Department of Forestry this month is offering a wide variety of trees and shrubs for purchase through its online seedling store.

Bred specifically for Virginia’s soils and climate, seedlings are grown and sold directly from the agency’s nurseries in Augusta and Sussex counties. The nurseries are financially self-supporting, and have been providing seedlings for more than a century.

Nearly 60 tree and shrub species are available this year. Additions include northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), as well as returning best sellers like eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and American hazelnut (Corylus americana).

Orders are accepted until April, but supplies are limited, and some species sell out quickly. Deliveries and pickups are scheduled for mid-February through late April.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Department of Forestry also is offering seedlings from some of the oldest white oaks in Virginia — many being as old as the country’s founding.

A brief description and photo of the parent white oak will be shipped along with the seedlings.

The Virginia Department of Forestry has offices throughout the commonwealth. Inquiries from Arlington residents are handled from the Fairfax office.

County boasts progress in Green Valley but public intoxication hasn’t gone away

By Daniel Egitto
1/5

The Arlington County Police Department has ramped up efforts to curb public intoxication and other illegal behavior near a Green Valley elementary school.

Despite these efforts, however, some of that behavior persists, according to some community members and ARLnow’s observations.

Police, true to their word, have increased foot patrols and community engagement in Drew Park and John Robinson, Jr. Town Square after the neighborhood heard shots fired and witnessed a shooting over one week in December. During an Arlington County Board meeting on Tuesday, County Manager Mark Schwartz said that authorities have “seen a difference in some of the behaviors,” including drinking in public, in the area near Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, and announced other forthcoming measures to curb this activity.

County Board member Matt de Ferranti applauded police on three arrests in connection with the incidents, along with outreach such as conducting security surveys and hosting a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“The residents who have sat there and said, ‘We want results’ — you have pulled through and so has ACPD,” de Ferranti said.

Around 1 p.m. Friday, however, at least one person on a sidewalk within eyesight of Drew Elementary was visibly drunk. He had an empty beer bottle in his hand and was dancing energetically to music.

From reiterating demands for public restrooms to calling for more investment in area businesses, some community members said Green Valley has a long way to go.

“I will say, the county has been very empathetic to the situation,” said Yordanos Woldai, co-founder of the public safety advocacy group Green Valley Matters. “But I want to judge by the action.”

Striking the right enforcement balance

Among the complexities of intervening in Green Valley is how to do so while being sensitive to the area’s strong hangout culture. The drunk person was dancing next to several other people who sat in lawn chairs outside The Shelton, an affordable housing building, who did not confront him.

  • A middle-aged woman enjoying the warm weather was dismissive when asked whether she has seen any changes in how the county approaches her neighborhood.
  • “Nope,” she said. “I’m keeping it real with you right now. All they do is talk.”
  • The woman, who declined to give her name, called the town square’s lack of restrooms, shade and functional water fountains “disrespectful” and scoffed at the suggestion that police have redoubled efforts to keep her community safe.

“If it wasn’t for these older guys that they complain about out here? They look out for us,” she said.

For Schwartz, the focus on Green Valley goes beyond the public nuisance crimes to more serious offenses. The neighborhood is among the “top three or four” in Arlington for firearms offenses and is in the top 12 neighborhoods for a category of offenses that includes weapon law violations, theft, assault and homicide, he noted.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that all civic associations are created equal. Some are in more urban areas; some are in less urban areas,” Schwartz said. “But the reason we’re focusing on Green Valley has to do with firearms crimes.”

One approach will be to improve tracking and public reporting of crimes at the neighborhood level. Schwartz announced last week that a new dashboard displaying crime numbers, broken down by civic association, should go live in the near future.

(more…)

Test Image

By aatkinson

Here is some post content including an image with updated padding:

Washington monument
Washington monument

Test paragraph

1/4

Test Block Editor post

By zhickson

SOme post content

Some more content

1/5

Save $100 on HVAC service from local Arlington company

By ARLnow.com
A cool photo

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.

From test

By ARLnow.com

1/7

Testing a new article here!

test test test

Some test CTA

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Test Video Cover

Lounging Lady Liberty outside of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, in Virginia Square (staff photo)

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]

Arlington couple turns to social media for answers after series of Pride flag thefts

By James Jarvis

Michelle Logan and Jenna Burnett’s dogs watch over their Pride flag from the second floor of their home in Penrose (courtesy of Michelle Logan)

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.

A flag mocking the cowboy hat-wearing Pride flag thief (courtesy of Michelle Logan)

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.

(more…)

ACPD: Teens armed with BB gun charged after carjacking attempt and robbery in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Police car speeding to a call at night (staff photo)

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.

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.

Two proposed 6-plexes in Alcova Heights clear a neighbor’s attempt to appeal them

By Jo DeVoe

1/2

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.

The ‘pipestem’ lots in Alcova Heights (via Arlington County)

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.”

(more…)

View More Stories