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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Lauded for LGBTQ Inclusiveness — “Arlington scored 100 points out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 9th annual Municipal Equality Index for its high standards of inclusiveness and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. While Arlington has been a top-ranked community in the past, this year it was recognized for adding gender identity/expression protections to its Human Rights ordinance and providing all-gender bathrooms in County-owned offices and facilities.” [Arlington County]

Traffic Cam Feeds Back On — After a few weeks of Arlington’s web-based traffic camera feeds being off due to technical issues, the feeds are back on. The traffic cameras can also now be viewed on the My Arlington mobile app. [Twitter]

Traffic Cam Policy Still in Place? — Some cold water on the traffic camera news, from local public safety watchdog Dave Statter: “Cutting cameras during @ArlingtonVaPD incidents is a bad look for the department… Giving a government employee the power to censor what’s in public view based on their own whims and/or a vague county standard sure gives the impression that 1A is not that important to @ArlingtonVA.” [Twitter]

CivFed to Get Aircraft Noise Briefing — “Arlington County government officials and their consultants will update delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation on the ongoing noise study related to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at the federation’s Dec. 15 meeting.” [InsideNova]

Audit Committee Seeking Members — “The Audit Committee is seeking new member applications for a two-year term beginning February 1, 2021. The committee advises the County Board on County government’s exposure to financial, operational, and reputational risks.” [Arlington County]

Nearby: School Names to Change in F.C. — “After six months of a lengthy and often contentious debate involving the entire City of Falls Church community, the Falls Church School Board voted unanimously tonight to change the names of two of its five schools, ones named for U.S. founding fathers who famously owned slaves, George Mason and Thomas Jefferson.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Henry Clay Park Set to Be Renamed for Indigenous Activist Who Lived Nearby

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

A park that’s under construction a few blocks south of Clarendon is expected to get a new name.

Arlington’s Park and Recreation Commission is recommending Henry Clay Park be renamed Zitkala-Ša Park, after a prominent Indigenous activist and author who lived in Lyon Park. The County Board is set to consider the name change at its Saturday meeting.

The park at 3011 7th Street N. remains closed while it undergoes extensive renovations. It is slated to reopen in early 2021 with the new name.

The Lyon Park Citizens Association presented the idea to the Park and Recreation Commission this summer. In October, the change received unanimous support from the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board and majority support from the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee, per a county staff report.

“This proposed name change comports with the County’s naming guidelines and will add significantly to the diversity of park names,” the Lyon Park Civic Association said.

Only a handful of individuals provided public testimony, mostly in favor of the change, though at least one person spoke out against it. The Commission voted for the change in late October.

According to the Department of Parks and Recreation, the park is where the original Lyon Park School stood. The building was renamed Henry Clay School in 1927 after Clay, a slave-owning Kentucky lawmaker and Secretary of State who fought a duel near Chain Bridge.

“It is believed that Henry Clay Park was created in the early 1980s and retained the name of the school previously located on the site,” the park website said.

Clay held abolitionist views but kept the slaves he inherited as a child, freeing them upon his death.

Zitkala-Ša (“Red Bird,” or Cardinal bird) and her husband, Captain Raymond Talefase Bonnin, moved to Lyon Park in 1925 and lived there until their respective deaths in 1938 and 1942. Both are buried in Arlington National Cemetery and their home still stands at the corner of 3rd Street N. and Barton Street.

Born in South Dakota in 1876, Zitkala-Ša was eight when Quaker missionaries recruited her to leave the reservation and attend a manual labor school. There, she was given the name Gertrude Simmons, her long hair was cut and she was forbidden from speaking her native language.

“Although she enjoyed learning to read and write, she experienced first-hand the damage of having her heritage stripped away,” Arlington Public Library wrote about her. “Feeling torn between her life on the reservation and her forced assimilation into white mainstream culture, Zitkála-Šá pursued higher education and distinguished herself as a public speaker on social and political issues.”

From 1911 to her death, she was politically active. She joined the Society for American Indians, speaking nationally on its behalf. She and her husband founded the National Council of American Indians and advocated for voting rights, healthcare, legal standing and land rights, the library said.

She also created the Indian Welfare Committee of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, speaking in Washington, D.C., Arlington, and Fairfax.

She spent the rest of her life in as president of the Council of American Indians, “speaking and writing about the continuing political and social mistreatment of Native Americans,” the library said.

A county staff report recommends the County Board endorse the name change proposal.

County Board Considering Major Stormwater Project at Reed School Site in Westover

By James Cullum

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) A project that could help the Westover area with its flooding problem is on the Arlington County Board agenda this weekend.

The Board on Saturday is slated to consider an agreement with Arlington Public Schools to build a stormwater detention vault under the athletic fields of the Reed Elementary School site in Westover.

The project is part of the county’s Flood Resilient Arlington stormwater strategy, which was created in response to significant floods that affected the Westover neighborhood in July 2019. The project is not expected to impact the planned opening of the new school, at 1644 N. McKinley Road, in August 2021.

County Board Chair Libby Garvey said that the project maximizes public land for the benefit of the community.

“The Westover Commercial District is a vital component of the economic, cultural and social core of the neighborhood, and it has suffered repeated flooding losses from increasingly volatile storms,” Garvey said in a statement. “This type of investment is part of a larger effort to achieve a Flood Resilient Arlington in a time of climate change.  It will help prevent further devastation and enhance public safety when major rain events occur.”

The school is located in the Torreyson Run watershed, which is one of five Arlington watersheds singled out for improvements.

The project includes designing and building a large underground vault that will “form a cornerstone to a watershed-scale solution in the Torreyson Run watershed,” according to Arlington County.

The work will be broken up into two phases.

“Phase 1 of the project consists of new underground pipe and junction fixtures and is funded by the County and will cost $1.54M,” the county said in a press release. “Phase 2 includes the stormwater detention structure itself and is still under design. Both phase 1 and phase 2 are specifically being designed and scheduled to not impact school opening or operations.”

“The preliminary cost estimate for both phases is between $14.1M – $16.0M for design and construction,” the press release adds. “The length of construction will be determined during the design process.”

Arlington voters approved a $50.4 million stormwater bond last month, which will be used to pay for the second phase.

APS Superintendent Francisco Durán told Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz in a letter that time is of the essence in approving the agreement to reimburse APS for the project upon completion.

“In order for the work of Phase 1 to be completed in time for the school to open as scheduled, this funding agreement is required promptly,” Durán wrote. “Our APS team, APS consultants and County staff have been working diligently to find the best way to achieve the County’s stormwater storage goals and open the new school on schedule.”

The County is working with APS on a Memorandum of Agreement for the school system’s construction contractor, and plans a public engagement effort with impacted communities about the design of the vault early next year.

Image via APS

UPDATED: Police Find Missing Senior Near Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Update at 1:50 p.m. — The missing man has been found along Army Navy Drive, near 28th Street S., according to police radio traffic. He was located as a result of ACPD’s Project Lifesaver technology.

Earlier: Arlington County police are looking for a missing senior in Crystal City, Pentagon City and other surrounding neighborhoods.

Police are using Project Lifesaver equipment in the search and are being assisted by the Fairfax County Police Department helicopter, according to scanner traffic. The Del Ray area of Alexandria is also being searched.

The man — who’s 5’10”, Hispanic and in his late 70s — went missing around noon, and is considered to be endangered.

He was “last seen wearing a black long sleeved shirt and a burgundy polo, khaki pants and a brown hat with a black rim… in the area of the 800 block of 23rd Street S.,” said an Arlington Alert text. “Anyone with any information please contact the Arlington County Emergency Communication Center at 703-558-2222.”

More from an Arlington County Police Department social media post:

File photo

Arlington County to Launch Variable Parking Pricing Along Metro Corridors

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington County is expected to pilot a program that prices parking by demand along Metro corridors.

The proposed $5.4 million program, funded by VDOT, is slated to be considered by the County Board this weekend.

Staff recommend that the Board accepts the state funding and approve the pilot that would alter parking prices based on the day, time and number of people competing for a spot. It would also give drivers real-time information on spot availability and price.

The grant has been approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board and staff included the project in the 2021 fiscal year capital improvements plan, a county staff report says. The County will not have to match state funds.

“The Commonwealth’s recognition of the innovative nature of the project… serves not only as a recognition of the relative level of risk, when compared with a traditional highway or transit project, but also of the project’s promise and potential transferability to other locations in the Commonwealth,” said the county staff report.

In other words, the state is willing to take a chance on the system in Arlington, and should it succeed other communties follow Arlington’s lead.

Demand-based parking, which county staff call “performance parking,” is being piloted in a few cities across the country, including D.C.

The District Department of Transportation said this program, which was tested over the course of four years in Penn Quarter/Chinatown, “was largely successful.” It provided real-time information on spot availability and was able to lower or raise prices, which encouraged turnover and, as a result, increased the number of available spots.

Proponents say surge price parking reduces the number of cars on the road and lightens congestion caused by people circling blocks looking for spaces. At the time, critics said that D.C.’s surge-price parking would hurt low-income people looking to visit popular destinations.

The County Board last reviewed the idea for this system two years ago, when the board gave staff the green light to apply for “SMART SCALE” funding — to the tune of $6.1 million — to pilot the project.

If Arlington was chosen, those funds would not have been available until July 1, 2024. But the reason staff included the project in this year’s capital improvement plan is because the state gave the county a new offer.

“In the fall of 2018, during the application evaluation process for SMART SCALE, the Commonwealth, through one of the Deputy Secretaries of Transportation, approached Arlington County and asked if it would accept funding from [VDOT’s Innovation and Technology Transportation Fund] instead of SMART SCALE,” the county staff report says. “ITTF was designed specifically for cutting-edge projects like Performance Parking that advance the state of the practice in transportation.”

Work on the new system along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and Crystal City-Pentagon City corridor is expected to start kick off during the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30.

“A total of $700,000 is anticipated to be used for FY 2021,” the staff report says. “The balance of funding will be used in FY 2022 and FY 2023… These funds will be used for design, installation, testing, and deployment of a pilot hardware and software system.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Unemployment Rate Improves — “Arlington’s jobless rate continued to improve in October… the county’s unemployment rate of 4.1 percent in October represented a decline from 4.5 percent in September, according to data reported Dec. 3 by the Virginia Employment Commission. Despite the improvement, the county’s jobless picture has significant more room for recovery. A year ago, the jobless rate stood at a rock-bottom 1.7 percent.” [InsideNova]

Custis Trail Roundabout ‘Fully Open’ — “The Custis Trail has reopened under I-66 near Arlington’s Bon Air Park as overhead work on I-66 progresses for VDOT’s Transform 66 Inside the Beltway Eastbound Widening Project. With the underpass re-opened, the new trail roundabout is fully open and the detour is no longer needed… Lighting is planned to be installed in early 2021.” [VDOT]

New Pedestrian Beacons in Bluemont — “Happy to see this safety improvement in the Bluemont neighborhood… rectangular rapid flash beacons have been added on Wilson near Safeway. So, a light now flashes when you’re trying to cross. Makes a big difference!” [Twitter]

Tiny Glass Houses at Ambar — At Ambar (2901 Wilson Blvd) in Clarendon, “guests can now reserve one of the 10 fully enclosed new glass tiny houses, that can seat up to six people for dining in warmth, safety, and privacy. They are totally self-contained, with heat, lighting elements and music selections for each host’s personal preference while dining at Ambar.” [Press Release]

Man in ‘Jabbawockeez’-Style Mask Robs Couple at Gunpoint

By ARLnow.com

A couple was robbed in Arlington’s Ashton Heights neighborhood over the weekend by a gun-toting man in a distinctive white mask.

The robbery happened around 1 a.m., according to a police report and an account of the robbery by the victim, which was obtained by ARLnow after being posted on Nextdoor.

“Around 1 a.m. on Saturday morning, my boyfriend and I had just parked… when we were robbed at gunpoint,” the victim wrote. “The car pulled up quickly, blocking our car from moving, and he ran up to the driver side where I was, threw open the door, pointed the gun in my face and told me to stop screaming or he’d kill us.”

“He took everything we had an said ‘Y’all have a blessed day’ before driving off and taking a right down Irving toward Arlington Blvd,” the victim continued. “Through Find my iPhone we were able to track him into DC, into Maryland where he stopped for gas, and back into the city before my phone was erased. He has not been caught, but I have reported all this information to the police.”

The victim added that the man was wearing a “full white mask” similar to those worn by the Jabbawockeez, a well-known dance group. He was driving a Toyota RAV4 with what appeared to be temporary paper tags, she said.

More from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

ARMED ROBBERY, 2020-12050007, 3200 block of 1st Place N. At approximately 12:56 a.m. on December 5, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victims were inside their parked vehicle when they observed the suspect vehicle pass them and stop in the middle of the street. The suspect exited his vehicle, approached the victims and forcefully opened the door to their vehicle. He displayed a firearm, threatened one of the victims and demanded items of value. The suspect stole personal belongings from both victims, then fled in his vehicle prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a Black male in his 20’s, average height, medium build, wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood up, and a white face mask. The suspect vehicle is described as a black or dark colored, newer model Toyota Rav4. The investigation is ongoing.

Also in today’s crime report, a driver in Pentagon City allegedly spat on a pedestrian he nearly ran over, before deliberately backing in to him. More from ACPD:

ATTEMPTED MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2020-12050091, 1000 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 1:46 p.m. on December 5, police were dispatched to the report of a hit and run just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was crossing the street in a crosswalk when the driver of the suspect vehicle turned and almost struck him. The suspect then turned his vehicle around, parked, and approached the victim. A verbal dispute ensued, during which the suspect spit on the victim. The suspect returned to his vehicle, and, as the victim attempted to take a photo, began to reverse towards him. The victim attempted to back away, however he was pushed by the vehicle into oncoming traffic. The suspect vehicle then fled prior to police arrival. The victim was not injured. The suspect is described as a young Black male, 20-25 years old, with a slim build, short hair, and approximately 5’7″. The vehicle is described as a white, four door sedan. The investigation is ongoing.

Additional weekend crime report items, including a series of car thefts, are below.

(more…)

Implosion to Fell Rosslyn Hotel Tower This Weekend

By ARLnow.com
1/22

(Updated on 12/9/20) The former Rosslyn Holiday Inn is set to be demolished via a planned implosion this weekend.

The 18-story hotel tower at 1900 N. Fort Myer Drive is set to come down at 8 a.m. Sunday “as safety, crowd control and weather conditions permit,” an advisory obtained by ARLnow says.

“As part of the demolition project, removal of the Sky Bridge Stairs is scheduled for Saturday, December 12,” the advisory continues. “Access road and adjacent sidewalks will be closed in front of 1911 N. Fort Myer Drive. Flaggers will be set up to assist with traffic.”

Tenants of nearby buildings are being notified that the implosion will necessitate road closures and temporarily turning off building heating systems due to the anticipated dust cloud.

“The implosion… should last about 20 seconds. Avoid any windows facing the Holiday Inn or being in front of windows at time of implosion,” the advisory says. “Dust may drift outside and downward of the Exclusion Zone, depending on weather conditions. Please stay indoors during the demolition and afterwards until the dust has settled.”

Plans for road closures and temporary no parking zones are in place.

“Arlington County is aware of the scheduled demolition on December 13,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “ACPD, [Virginia State Police] and VDOT will be providing traffic control.”

VDOT confirmed a WTOP report Monday afternoon that I-66 would be temporarily closed during the implosion.

The hotel’s former parking garage has already been demolished.

The County Board approved a redevelopment project last year that will replace the aging hotel — built in 1972 — with a new mixed-use project, featuring a 25-story residential tower and a 38-story hotel tower.

Coronavirus Cases Hit New Peak in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

More than 600 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Arlington over the past seven days.

The county’s average COVID-19 caseload has hit new highs, just over a week after Thanksgiving weekend, though incongruously hospitalizations have ticked down.

More than 100 new cases have been reported in Arlington in each of the past three days, including 152 new cases on Sunday, a one-day record. The seven-day trailing rate of new cases is now 605, or 86.4 per day. The county’s cumulative case count stands at 6,904.

Also on the rise: Arlington’s test positivity rate, which is now 8.5%, up from 4.9% on Thanksgiving day.

One new hospitalization and one new COVID-related death were reported over the weekend. After hitting 21 last week, the highest point since the spring epidemic, Arlington’s seven-day hospitalization count has dropped to eight.

Statewide, both case counts and hospitalizations are up.

“The numbers of new COVID-19 cases reported in Virginia and Northern Virginia set new daily highs on Sunday, and hospitalizations statewide also reached a new high,” InsideNova reported. Thirteen long-term care facilities in Northern Virginia — including Manor Care and Regency Care in Arlington — have outbreaks underway, the site also reported.

New caseload records are being set in D.C. and Maryland, as well.

With cases growing and vaccines on the way — healthcare and long-term care workers will be the first in line for immunization in Virginia, according to the Virginia Dept. of Health — officials are urging universal mask-wearing in public places, especially indoors.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Dorsey’s Bankruptcy Case Dismissed — “Arlington County Board member Christian Dorsey, whose ethical and financial difficulties have tangled him in a web of false statements over the past year, fraudulently misrepresented his assets while filing for bankruptcy, a federal court ruled Friday… It was ‘an act of overt misrepresentation,’ [bankruptcy trustee] Thomas P. Gorman told the court at a hearing on Thursday, and ‘misconduct . . . so over the line’ that punishment was warranted.” [Washington Post]

Holiday Shopping Safety Tips — “ACPD wants you to have a happy and safe holiday season. While many are choosing to shop online this year, those shopping in-store are encouraged to be mindful of these safety tips.” [Twitter]

Event for Military Families Today — “An annual Winter Wonderland for Military Families hosted by a former NFL player and his wife will look very different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Derrick Dockery and his wife Emma will hold a drive-thru version of the event that provides toys and holiday cheer to military kids and families on Dec. 7 at a parking lot in Arlington, Virginia through their nonprofit, Yellow Ribbons United.” [Radio.com]

Santa Visit Still on This Weekend — “Santa Claus has paid a visit to the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department every year for over a century and he’s not going let the coronavirus pandemic force him to break that streak. In the interest of public safety, the jolly old elf will be meeting children outside this year in the parking lot of Cherrydale Baptist Church, which is located at 3910 Lorcom Lane.” [Patch]

More on CaBi Station at DCA — “Arlington County, Virginia, has installed a Capital Bikeshare station at Reagan National Airport, making it the first major metropolitan airport in the U.S. with a dock-based shared bike program. It is the 99th Capital Bikeshare dock installed in Arlington County.” [WTOP]

Gunston Coordinator Honored — “Shantha Smith, an education coordinator at Gunston Middle School, has been named a recipient of the 2020 Mary Peake Award for Excellence in Education by the state government. Awards were presented Dec. 3 in Richmond, and were named after a pioneering African-American educator.” [InsideNova]

ACPD: Gunshot Fired During Robbery in Fairlington

By ARLnow.com

A gunshot was fired during a robbery in the residential Fairlington neighborhood last night, according to police.

The incident happened around 9:45 p.m. on the 2800 block of S. Buchanan Street, a couple of blocks from Abingdon Elementary.

A woman was robbed by two male suspects, one of whom was armed with a gun, during a “pre-arranged sale of narcotics,” Arlington County Police said in a press release Sunday afternoon. After the robbery, the armed suspect allegedly fired a single gunshot in the victim’s direction.

More from ACPD:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating an Armed Robbery and Attempted Malicious Wounding in the Fairlington neighborhood that took place on the evening of December 5, 2020.

At approximately 9:48 p.m., police were dispatched to the 2800 block of S. Buchanan Street for the report of an armed robbery. The investigation revealed the female victim and two unknown male suspects were meeting at the location for the pre-arranged sale of narcotics. Suspect One approached the victim and engaged her in conversation. Suspect Two then approached, knocked her to the ground, brandished a firearm and demanded cash before stealing her purse. The suspects fled the scene on foot and fired a single shot in the direction of the victim. She was not injured. A perimeter was established by responding officers and a canvas of the area returned with negative results.

Suspect One is described as a Black male in his late teens, wearing all black and a blue face mask. Suspect Two is described as a White/Hispanic male wearing all black, a black beanie hat and dark blue face mask.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this incident and/or home surveillance that may assist the investigation 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).

Map via Google Maps

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