News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

NY Man Arrested for NYE Gunfire — “The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating the discharge of a firearm which occurred in the Rosslyn area on the morning of January 1, 2021. At approximately 1:48 a.m., police were dispatched to the report of a person with a gun in the 1500 block of Clarendon Boulevard… officers observed the suspect on the sidewalk holding a firearm as they arrived on scene. The suspect was compliant and taken into custody without incident.” [ACPD]

First Arlington Baby of 2021 — “What a way to ring in the #newyear! Welcome to the world, Mohamed! Our first [Virginia Hospital Center] #newborn of #2021 was born at 1:18 am this morning. Congratulations to the family, and thank you for letting us celebrate the new year with your bundle of joy!” [Twitter]

Parent Files Suit Against APS — “An Arlington Public Schools parent wants his daughter back in class so badly, he plans to file a lawsuit against the district. ‘We started the fundraising today, and we’ve already gotten a lot of great contributions from fellow parents,’ Russell Laird told Fox 5 Wednesday, referring to a GoFundMe campaign launched in an effort to raise $10,000 that would be used to sue Arlington Public Schools.” [Fox 5]

Nat’l Landing Touts Transpo Projects — “National Landing, the renamed neighborhood of Crystal City-Pentagon City-Potomac Yards in Arlington and Alexandria, will become the country’s most connected urban center sometime in the next decade, its business boosters say. Eight major transportation projects are underway in the area, with the aim of turning what is often seen as a busy pass-through into a truly urban neighborhood where residents, office workers and visitors have easy access to local and regional amenities as well as long-distance travel.” [Washington Post]

Local Nonprofit Sees Surge in Aid — “The financial assistance nonprofit Arlington Thrive is helping four times as many people as families are devastated by COVID-19. ‘I was never thinking this would happen in America. I was working hard. I was working three jobs. I lost all three jobs,’ one client, a cook, waiter and ride-share driver, told News4’s Pat Collins.” [NBC 4]

Bikeshare Station Work — “Pardon our dust! In Jan & Feb, some @bikeshare stations in Crystal City, Pentagon City, & Potomac Yard will be replaced, expanded, moved, or removed and may be OFFLINE for a few hours or days.” [Twitter]

Reminder: Bus Changes in Effect — “Riders on the Arlington, Virginia, bus system will once again have to pay fares and enter the bus through the front door starting on Sunday. Arlington County said that both practices were suspended by Arlington Transit (ART) last March, but fares can now be paid by either using the SmarTrip card, SmarTrip app or by exact change at the fare box, while plastic glass barriers have been installed to protect the drivers at the front of the bus.” [WTOP]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

DCA Expansion to Open Mid-2021 — “The 230,000-square-foot concourse on the north side of Reagan National Airport looks ready for passengers. The exterior walls are up. The roof is on. The terrazzo floor is almost in. And 11 of the 14 new jet bridges are being installed… The concourse is slated to open in July, but plans are in the works to do a ‘soft opening’ ahead of that date. An announcement is expected early next year.” [Washington Post]

Local Homeless Org Seeking Donations — “An organization in Arlington who helps the homeless now needs your help. Bridges to Independence in Arlington is a family shelter that has had to reduce the number of people they help due to COVID, but the need for help remains high. ‘We’ve served at least 22 new families since the pandemic and we are expecting an increase going into the new year,’ Whitfield said. [WJLA]

County Board to Meet with CivFed — “Immediately following the Jan. 4 organizational meeting of the Arlington County Board, the five members will hold an online gathering with the Arlington County Civic Federation. The 90-minute confab is designed as the opportunity for elected officials to expound on their priorities for the coming year, and for Civic Federation delegates to give feedback to pre-screened questions and, if time is available, questions from the floor.” [InsideNova]

Missing Woman Found — An Arlington woman reported as missing by county police a few days ago had been found, the department says. [Twitter]

It’s New Year’s Eve — ARLnow hopes you and yours have a happy new year. We are on a limited publishing schedule today; our news coverage will return in full on Monday. County offices and facilities, meanwhile, will be closed tomorrow, on New Year’s Day.

Arlington Has Averaged One COVID Death Per Day Over the Past Week

By ARLnow.com

Seven Arlington residents have died of COVID-19 complications since last Wednesday, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.

As of this morning, VDH reported 181 cumulative COVID-related fatalities, up from 174 on Dec. 23 — an average of one per day. Sixteen new hospitalizations were also reported during that time.

Arlington’s seven-day trailing average of new coronavirus cases currently stands at 80.6 cases per day, after reaching a pandemic record of just over 100 cases per day on Christmas day. The cumulative total of local cases since early March is now 8,786, according to VDH.

With many people planning New Year’s Eve get togethers despite the pandemic, Arlington County this week encouraged residents to take precautions.

“If you are celebrating the New Year with people outside your household, make sure you follow steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19: Wear a mask; Stay at least 6 feet apart; Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces; Wash your hands; Stay home if you are sick,” the county said, echoing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“Consider other activities to celebrate New Year’s, including virtual celebrations with loved ones, a New Year’s party for the people you live with or picking up a special meal from a local restaurant to share with your household,” the county said.

Top 30 Arlington Stories of 2020: #6-10

By Jo DeVoe
1/5

The countdown to 2021 with ARLnow’s top stories of 2020 continues today with Nos. 6-10.

The following were among our most-read articles of the year. Nos. 1-5 will be revealed tomorrow.

10. JUST IN: Distance Learning to Start School Year ‘Very Probable,’ APS Says (May 22 | 40,495 views)

In May, interim Superintendent Cintia Johnson braced parents for the possibility of distance learning, a decision that would come over the summer. Although Arlington Public Schools eyed a hybrid model, the system ultimately decided on a fully remote model, with plans to return high-needs students over time.

9. BREAKING: Man’s Death in Ballston Ruled a Homicide (Jan. 21 | 42,268 views)

A 24-year-old man dead was found dead in his apartment, which reportedly smelled strongly of bleach. His death — which police said was a result of “trauma to the upper body” — was declared a homicide. It was Arlington’s first homicide of the year. Police have not provided any recent updates about the case; at last check no arrests have been made.

8. Police: Man Threw Dogs from Apartment Balcony (April 28 | 45,534 views)

A 26-year-old man was arrested without bond for tossing two dogs — one of which was his — to their deaths from his fifth-story apartment at the Meridian apartment building at 1401 N. Taft Street. The suspect, Zachary Hanson, entered an Alford plea earlier this month and is set to be sentenced in February.

7. JUST IN: Arlington Opening Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing Site (Mar. 17 | 46,482 views)

In mid-March, Arlington County and Virginia Hospital Center partnered to set up a drive-through coronavirus testing site in a county-owned property across from Washington-Liberty High School. At the time, Arlington had 13 cases, the highest of any Virginia locality.

6. JUST IN: Northern Virginia to Enter ‘Phase 2’ Reopening on Friday (June 9 | 51,034 views)

Readers eagerly awaited the news that came in early June: Gov. Ralph Northam would be reopening restaurant dining rooms, indoor gyms, and some entertainment and recreation spaces, on June 12. Since then, Virginia has reinstated some restrictions as cases climb and surpass the peaks seen this spring.

Police Investigating Carjacking in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Another carjacking has been reported in Arlington.

The crime happened around 2:30 a.m. Monday in Pentagon City. Police say a group of five suspects jumped a man who was standing outside his vehicle, then started to drive off with it, dragging him for “a short distance” in the process.

The victim suffered minor injuries, police said.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

CARJACKING, 2020-12280012, 1400 block of S. Joyce Street. At approximately 2:34 a.m. on December 28, police were dispatched to the report of a fight. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was outside of his vehicle when a group of five suspects approached him and began asking for a ride. The suspects surrounded the victim, at which point they grabbed the keys to the vehicle from the victim and assaulted him. The suspects entered the vehicle and the victim attempted to pull one suspect out of the driver’s seat unsuccessfully. The suspects then began to drive away, dragging the victim a short distance and fled the area prior to police arrival. The victim sustained minor injuries during the incident and was transported to an area hospital. The vehicle is described as a red 2020 Kia Optima with Florida license plate LKUP10. Suspect One is described as a Black male, wearing a black balaclava, red jacket, black shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots. Suspect Two is described as a Black male, wearing a black jacket, black pants, and brown boots. Suspect Three is described as a Black male, wearing a black jacket, dark jeans, sneakers and a black hoodie. Suspect Four is described as a Black male wearing a black hoodie, dark jeans, and red sneakers. Suspect Five is described as a male wearing a black jacket, black pants and black shoes. The investigation is ongoing.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Hands-Free: Distracted Driving Law Goes into Effect Jan. 1

By James Cullum

Virginia’s hands-free law takes effect on January 1, and that means it will be illegal to drive holding any personal communications device in Arlington or elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

The law was signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam during the summer. Police will now be able to pull over drivers if they are seen to be holding cell phones.

Previously, only texting or emailing while driving was against the law.

Last year, there were 23,000 crashes in Virginia attributed to distracted driving, resulting in 120 deaths, Northam said in a news conference earlier this month.

Drivers can talk hands-free, but if caught holding a phone they face fines of $125 for a first offense, and $250 for a second offense or if drivers are holding phones in a construction zone.

There are some exceptions:

  • Drivers of emergency vehicles can use handheld devices
  • Drivers can hold devices while stopped or parked
  • Drivers can hold devices when reporting emergencies
  • Virginia Department of Transportation vehicle drivers can use handheld devices while performing traffic incident management services

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Free T-Ball This Spring — “Arlington Babe Ruth (ABR) is now offering free T-Ball to boys and girls ages 4-6. ABR recognizes that young players will try multiple sports in order to see what sticks, so we’ve eliminated registration fees for the youngest players. The free ABR Blastball and T-Ball programs are excellent ways to introduce boys and girls to baseball, using simple drills, a soft ball and lightweight bats, and a fun-oriented approach that teaches the rules while building enjoyment for the game.” [Arlington Babe Ruth]

Most-Read Arlington Library Books — “These are the books Arlington readers turned to the most in 2020. Unsurprisingly, many top fiction titles were part of a series, and many top nonfiction titles reflect a yearning for social justice and a desire for human connection.” [Arlington Public Library]

Virtual Meetings Lead to More Participation — “The Electoral Board was actually in the midst of conducting a meeting in March when the county government began battening the hatches and closing facilities while the COVID crisis was taking hold. Its meetings since then have been conducted on an electronic platform. There is a plus side to that. ‘Attendance has certainly increased – it has more than tripled,’ county elections chief Gretchen Reinemeyer said.” [InsideNova]

GW Parkway Lane Change — “Years of side-swiping, rear-ending and near misses have prompted traffic pattern changes to crash-prone sections of the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Interstate 395. Northbound traffic on the George Washington Parkway is permanently narrowed into a single lane at the crosswalk near Memorial Bridge.” [WTOP]

New Year Video from Arlington Children’s Chorus — “Watch this video of a song we wrote and performed that we did to bring some good cheer to the local community this holiday season… After all our festive activities were cancelled, writing a song trying to capture a little bit of the spirit of the season was a way to let our children’s voices be heard. It’s been amazing how much joy has blossomed from such a difficult situation!” [YouTube]

Distinction for Arlington Biotech Firm — “[Arlington-based] Kerecis is the fastest growing company in the regenerative-tissue market in the United States according to SmartTRAK Business Intelligence, which compared industry-sales and market-share data for 3Q 2020 to 3Q 2019.” [Kerecis]

Freddie’s Beach Bar Gets Support from Barstool Sports COVID-19 Relief Fund

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

Barstool Sports’ COVID-19 relief fund is helping keep long-time Crystal City hangout Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant afloat.

The LGBTQ-friendly bar at 555 23rd Street S., known for its Sunday brunches and drag queen shows, is one of nearly 40 businesses so far to receive relief from the jocular online media company. The fund has raised more than $9 million from about 78,000 supporters since Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy officially launched it on Dec. 17.

“Dave, you are a godsend,” co-owner Rich Lutz told Portnoy in a FaceTime call today (Tuesday). “This is really, really special to see your face in my kitchen right now.”

Portnoy appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show last week to talk about The Barstool Fund, which is how Lutz says he learned about the program. Staff “scrambled” to put together a video telling the bar’s story, he told Barstool in an email.

Since opening in March 2001, Freddie’s continues to be Northern Virginia’s only gay bar, co-owner Freddie Lutz told the Barstool Fund in his funding pitch. The community gathering spot is known as a safe space for gay military personnel and also attracts families for post-church Sunday brunch.

“I don’t know of any bar that is more diverse and welcoming than Freddie’s,” he said.

The brothers keep the restaurant open every holiday to ensure everyone has “a family meal,” and they host a yearly toy drive.

So far, the brothers have managed to keep the lights on and its 25 employees on payroll. At one point, Amazon purchased 1,753 meals from the restaurant, which were donated to Virginia Hospital Center. Rather than try to fill the entire order himself, Freddie spread it out to a dozen nearby restaurants — an act that “breathed life, energy, and activity into the independent restaurants that make up the core of 23rd Street.”

Still, Freddie’s was recently on the brink of closure.

“Like so many others, Freddie’s is struggling and on the verge of shutting down,” Freddie told Barstool.

During his call with Rich, Portnoy praised the bar and restaurant’s story.

“It was a no-brainer,” he said. “We saw the video and we knew instantly that we wanted to help.”

Rich could not thank the Barstool Sports founder and media personality enough.

“With all the terrible things going on in the world right now, having a breath of fresh air like you is just absolutely wonderful,” he said. “I only hope that when everything opens, you will come visit us.”

Barstool Sports did not disclose the amount of money Freddie’s would be getting, and the Lutzes were not immediately available to comment.

Writer and Barstool Sports show host Pat McAuliffe praised Portnoy’s pick in a blog post about Freddie’s.

“I could go on and on about how important bars like Freddie’s are to the LGBTQ community, but I won’t,” he said. “Instead I’m going to give you THIS LINK to donate to help more businesses like Freddie’s across the country.”

The Barstool Fund started with $500,000 of the media company’s funds and has since raised nearly 20 times that amount through donations and merchandise sales.

Businesses qualify if owners are continuing to pay their staff despite struggling to stay open. Portnoy pledged recurring relief for the businesses that are selected, so that rather than delaying an inevitable closure, the businesses have a chance at surviving post-pandemic.

“We’ll do it through the life of this thing,” Portnoy said on Carlson’s show.

Rosslyn-Based Online University Donates $50K to Help Local Businesses

By Jo DeVoe

Longtime Arlington residents who founded a Rosslyn-based online university are donating $50,000 to help local small businesses.

In 1998, Yanping Chen and J. Davidson Frame established the University of Management and Technology, a fully online school enrolling national and international students, located at 1901 Fort Myer Drive. Their $50,000 donation comes from the Chen Frame Foundation, which they started to support educational causes across the world.

But now, they are thinking closer to home.

“COVID-19 brought to mind that we’re not focused enough on our own backyard,” Frame said.

Arlington Economic Development will use the money to help pay for new initiatives, such as educational programming and online services, to help small businesses through the pandemic.

Together with a second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding, AED is expecting about $250,000 in new funding for its pandemic-focused programs, AED Director Telly Tucker said. The department will release more information on the new efforts the money will be funding in the next few weeks, he said.

Arlington County has about 6,000 enterprises that employ fewer than 50 people, which is AED’s definition of a small business, Tucker said.

Pre-pandemic, about three staff members from AED handled outreach to these small businesses. When businesses were forced to shut down or change their operations, the three-person staff was swamped with questions on everything from how to apply for federal assistance programs to how to set up temporary outdoor seating areas to how to keep employees safe.

“It was all hands on deck: We were working together to do what we could to support businesses,” Tucker said. “The overall takeaway for me was that there was no playbook for us to go by on how to navigate during a pandemic.”

But existing business owners were not the only ones with questions. Many who had lost their job or were furloughed saw the pandemic and their new-found extra time as an opportunity to pursue their goals of owning a business, and needed help getting started, he said.

“I ran the entrepreneurship program at George Washington University for several years,” Frame said. “All the time, people would come off the street and describe some new, really weird idea. They would pick my brain. I understand some of the challenges they face — they have lots of questions.”

After listening to business owners, AED came up with a list of efforts that could help, including retaining a few experts who could answer questions “on everything from finances to business-legal services,” Tucker said.

With the influx of cash, AED is also looking to launch an e-commerce platform for small-scale retail stores in the County, in addition to spending more on marketing campaigns to encourage people to shop local.

The County Board heard the news about the donation during its recessed meeting on Dec. 15. It is the first donation of its kind since the Board authorized County Manager Mark Schwartz this year to accept donations of $50,000 or less.

“I wanted to say a hearty thank you,” Schwartz said of the donation. “I hope that when the pandemic is over, I can meet both these [people] in person and give them the commendation that they deserve.”

Schwartz will ask the Board in January to appropriate the money.

Photo courtesy University of Management and Technology

Police: Woman Punched, Robbed in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

A woman who was sitting in her car the day after Christmas in Pentagon City was attacked and robbed by a pair of teens, according to Arlington County police.

The victim was in her car, on her phone — on the 1100 block of S. Hayes Street, near the Pentagon City mall — when one of the suspects allegedly climbed in the back of the car, punched her, and stole her phone. The suspect also tried unsuccessfully to steal the woman’s purse, police said.

The teens ran off before officers arrived. The woman suffered what police described as minor injuries.

More from an ACPD crime report:

ROBBERY, 2020-12260096, 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 5:47 p.m. on December 26, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery by force. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was inside her vehicle using her cell phone when she was approached by two suspects, who opened the rear doors to her vehicle. Suspect One struck her with a closed fist and stole her phone and attempted to steal her purse unsuccessfully, while Suspect Two tampered with items in the vehicle. The victim yelled for assistance, at which point the suspects fled prior to police arrival. The victim sustained minor injuries. Suspect One is described as a Black male in his teens, approximately 5’6″, with a slim build,  wearing a dark colored hoodie, blue jeans, and a black mask. Suspect Two is described as a white male in his teens, approximately 5’6″, with a slim build, wearing a dark colored hoodie, jeans, and a mask. The investigation is ongoing.

Animal Welfare League Warns of Rabid Raccoon

By ARLnow.com

A potentially rabid raccoon with a taste for human flesh is on the loose in the Donaldson Run neighborhood.

The raccoon bit a person last week on the 4200 block of 25th Street N., two blocks from Taylor Elementary School, according to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. It ran off and “has not been located.”

Two other raccoons with rabies-like symptoms have been removed from the neighborhood by animal control officers over the past month, AWLA said.

Arlington residents, particularly those in the Donaldson Run area, are being encouraged to remain vigilant.

“If you or your pet may have come into contact with any wild animals including bats or raccoons, please call Arlington County Animal Control at 703-931-9241 immediately, after hours please stay on the line to speak with the answering service who will alert an officer,” the organization said last night in a statement.

“If you see a raccoon that appears sick, lethargic, disoriented, or aggressive, do NOT approach the animal and please call Animal Control immediately: 703-931-9241.”

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

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