News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Thanksgiving County Closures — “Arlington County Government offices, courts, libraries & facilities will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26 & Friday, Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving. Courts will close Wednesday Nov. 26 at noon… Metered Parking: Not enforced on Thurs. Nov. 26 or Fri., Nov. 27.” [Arlington County]

Development Plan for Silver Diner Site — “The Donohoe Cos. is targeting Clarendon’s Silver Diner for a major redevelopment. The company has yet to file specific plans with Arlington County for the triangular parcel at 3200 Wilson Blvd., a block from the Clarendon Metro station, but it has outlined a mixed-use vision for the newly dubbed ‘Bingham Center’ on a project page on its website. Specifically, the developer envisions 286 apartments, a 224-room hotel, 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, a public park and ‘a new public street designed with the principals of a woonerf (a curbless pedestrian-friendly street).'” [Washington Business Journal]

The End of Snow Days? — “Superintendent Francisco Durán of Arlington County Public Schools said that shifting classes online for snow days was a ‘possibility’ but that he doesn’t expect it to happen often.” [Capital Weather Gang]

Commission Calls for Renaming Powers — “The Arlington Transportation Commission is asking County Board members to seek legislative approval from Richmond to give the county government power to rename the highways and byways within its boundaries. Currently, some (though not all) Virginia cities have broad power on street and highway naming, but counties are much more restricted.” [InsideNova]

Last-Minute Thanksgiving Ideas — Updated at 8:35 a.m. — Here are a few local Thanksgiving options, including for takeout dinners, for those seeking last minute ideas. Check with the restaurant first to confirm they are still accepting orders or reservations. [Twitter, StayArlington]

Nearby: Flurry of Fs at Fairfax Schools — ” Stunning data for Fairfax County, VA’s largest school system, shows HUGE academic cost of online learning — Fs up by 83% this year. Vulnerable children struggling most: Fs for students w/ disabilities up by 111%, for English learners up by 106%.” [Washington Post, Twitter]

County Seeks Diverse Voices on Race, But So Far It’s Mostly White Women

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 10:30 a.m. on 12/02/20) Arlington is seeking diverse voices in its Dialogues on Race and Equity, but so far the biggest group of respondents have been middle-aged white women who are relatively affluent.

Arlington County Chief Race and Equity Officer Samia Byrd and Challenging Racism Director Alicia Jones McLeod, who are promoting a new questionnaire on the topic of race, see this as a sign to keep pushing for broader participation.

“It has been interesting… we are seeing predominantly white women, middle aged, homeowners completing the assessment,” Byrd told the County Board last week. “So we really, really want to encourage everyone — so we can hear all of the voices that we typically do not hear — to complete the assessment.”

So far, 69% of respondents were white, but not of Hispanic origin. Hispanic people accounted for 7%, and Black or African American people accounted for 9%. Asian or Pacific Islander representation rests at 4.5% and American Indian or Alaska Native rests at 2.2%. Another 4.5% marked “other.”

Women represent 60% of respondents, and men 31%, with 8% preferring not to answer, and less than 1% marking gender non-conforming or not listed.

“We want to understand the full Arlington experience, or Arlington as experienced by everyone, so that we can continue to move forward,” Byrd added, in a conversation with ARLnow yesterday.

On Monday, the assessment was released in Mongolian and Arabic. It is being pushed via social media, email and the distribution of hard copies. The assessment closes on Dec. 31 and results will be presented to the County Board in the new year.

About 1,200 assessments have been completed since the survey went online on Oct. 12, as part of a broader initiative from Arlington County and Challenging Racism to engage community members in dialogues on race and equity, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed.

More than 200 people have participated in a second component of this initiative — a series of six conversations — the last of which is set for Dec. 9.

The preliminary under-representation of people of color, immigrants and non-English speakers mirrors the feelings that participants have expressed about the Arlington Way, housing and Arlington Public Schools. Participants have frequently mentioned barriers that lead to under-representation in government processes, home-owning and APS gifted programs.

Byrd said the assessments and discussions will lay the foundation for her work with county officials and the community to dismantle systemic racism, where it exists, in Arlington County.

That work involves undoing the lasting effects from when unequal treatment was codified in law, Byrd said. While those historic policies no longer exist, they erected barriers that keep Arlingtonians from accessing housing, education, health and wealth to this day, she said.

“None of us here created the system, but we’re all a part of it, regardless,” she said. “Race is the center of it.”

In the assessments and conversations, many Arlingtonians identified the Arlington Way — a catch-all phrase for citizen engagement in local government — as an area where the means of participation disadvantage people of color, those who rent and those who do not have the luxury of time to participate in lengthy, iterative decision processes.

“The Arlington Way means different things to different people, but generally it is about engagement: how people interact with, and who has access to, decision-making, decision-makers and resources; who is at the table when those policy decisions are being made; who can weigh in when policy decisions are being made that affect everyone,” Byrd said.

The sentiment is not new: For years, there have been suggestions to retool, reform or scrap the process entirely, in favor of a different system of gathering community input.

The pandemic has, at least temporarily, resulted in one notable change to the Arlington Way: more public meetings are being conducted online, rather than in person, thus making it more feasible for some to watch or participate. Before, participation in in-person meetings might have required some combination of booking a babysitter, requesting to work a different shift, waiting for public transit, and sitting in a crowded room for hours on end.

(more…)

Gun Brandishing in Clarendon Leads to Chase on Route 50

By ARLnow.com

A man allegedly pulled a gun during a dispute at a business in Clarendon, leading to a high-speed chase that ended when it crossed the Potomac.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. on Monday, on the 2600 block of Wilson Blvd. Scanner traffic at the time suggests that the business involved was the used car lot on the block.

Two suspects were engaged in a verbal dispute with two employees of the business, when one suspect became irate and allegedly pulled a gun, according to police.

“The two suspects then fled in a vehicle prior to police arrival,” Arlington County Police said in a crime report today. “Arriving officers observed the suspect vehicle in the area. They attempted to effect a traffic stop in the area of N. Uhle Street and Clarendon Boulevard” — near the Courthouse Metro station — “after observing it run a red light, however, the driver disregarded officers and failed to pull over.”

“The driver continued to disregard officers, and a pursuit was initiated,” the crime report continues. “The vehicle continued at a high rate of speed onto Route 50 and fled into Washington, D.C. at which point the pursuit was terminated.”

Generally, Arlington County police will not chase suspects for minor crimes or traffic violations, but department policy does allow pursuits for more serious crimes. Yesterday’s chase was called off once the suspects crossed jurisdictional boundaries in D.C., though a lookout for the suspects was given to U.S. Park Police, according to scanner traffic.

ACPD said today that they were able to ascertain the identity of the suspect who pulled the gun, and issued warrants for his arrest.

“Based upon information provided by the subject to the business, a suspect was developed,” the crime report says. “Warrants for Brandishing (x2) were obtained for Suspect Two. The investigation is ongoing.”

UPDATED: Large Power Outage Affects Parts of Arlington, Falls Church and McLean

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) More than 3,000 Dominion customers in Arlington were in the dark after a large power outage in the area this morning.

As many as 3,184 customers in parts of North Arlington, including the East Falls Church area, were affected by the outage at one point. Police were helping with traffic control at the busy intersection of Lee Highway and Washington Blvd, in East Falls Church, where the traffic signals were dark.

As of publication time, the number of customers without power in Arlington was down to 1,085. On its website, Dominion is estimating restoration between 2-5 p.m.

The outage is also affecting parts of Falls Church and McLean. In Falls Church, Dominion reported 3,257 customers without power.

Combined with another outage in and around Inova Fairfax Hospital, nearly 10,000 customers were in the dark in Fairfax County.

All power was restored by noon, a company spokeswoman said.

Map via Dominion

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlingtonian to Join Administration — “President-elect Joe Biden said Monday he will nominate Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as the top U.S. diplomat overseeing African affairs in the Obama administration, to be his ambassador to the United Nations.” Thomas-Greenfield is a long-time Arlington resident. [USA Today]

Arlington’s Average Income Falls — “The county’s weekly wage averaged $1,926 in the second quarter of 2020, according to figures reported Nov. 18 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s up slightly more than 12 percent from the rate recorded a year before, but down from the $2,018 reported for the first quarter of 2020, which had placed Arlington in the rare company of just a handful of localities with incomes that high.” [InsideNova]

Police Investigating Stabbing Near the Pike — “At approximately 6:18 p.m. on November 20, police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined the witness was running in the park when the victim approached him and fell to the ground. Medics arrived on scene, began treating the victim and determined he was suffering from a stab wound. He was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.” [ACPD]

Airport Construction Continues — “Anticipating the day passenger traffic returns to a semblance of normalcy, the new 14-gate concourse at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport continues to make progress toward a planned opening next year. The new concourse, attached as a pier off of Terminal C at the airport, is now fully enclosed, with half the passenger jet-bridges on site, according to a recent update from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.” [InsideNova]

Changes for Drivers at DCA — “Construction has reduced lanes on Baggage Claim (lower) level in front of Terminal B/C. Drivers should use any door on the Ticketing (upper) level to pick up and drop off holiday travelers. Taxis are still available downstairs.” [Twitter]

Thanksgiving Travel Tips from VSP — “This year overall, state police have seen fewer crashes on Virginia highways but those crashes have been more deadly. Making sure you are driving the posted speed limit, driving for conditions and wearing your seatbelt are the best ways to stay safe on the road.” [Press Release]

Arlington Has Yet to Fully Realize Its Development Plan for Metro Stations, Housing Advocate Says

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 4 p.m.) When walking from a Metro station, pedestrians often pass large apartment buildings that transition quickly to detached, single-family homes on sizable lots.

That contrast reveals two problems in Arlington County’s housing supply, says Emily Hamilton, a housing expert and advocate, and the Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Arlington needs to allow for more expansive urban villages around Metro stations, as well as additional housing options in between apartment buildings and detached, single-family homes, she said.

Her remarks come one month after Arlington County kicked off its “Missing Middle Housing Study,” which is examining whether the county should introduce housing types that have been typically prohibited from many neighborhoods.

Hamilton commended Arlington as a national model for transit-oriented development, since it allows dense, multi-family apartment buildings within one-quarter mile of the Metro stations on the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. But the County never changed the zoning ordinances to fully bring the plan to fruition, and she said it needs to.

“Ahead of Metro’s arrival in Arlington, county policymakers adopted the well-known ‘bulls eye approach’ to planning, which calls for dense development surrounding the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor Metro stations,” she wrote on the website Market Urbanism earlier this month. “Unfortunately, this plan has never been realized in the zoning ordinance.”

“The County maintains single-family or townhouse zoning within one-quarter mile of four stations on this corridor and a relatively low-density multifamily zone within one-quarter mile of the Rosslyn station,” she continued. “The County needs more townhouses and low-rise multifamily housing, but it also needs more high-rise multifamily housing as the bulls eye plan recognized. Given the high and rising land values and house prices along this corridor, it’s past time to realize this decades-old planning objective.”

“People are willing to walk a quarter-mile to a half-mile for transit generally, and farther for heavy-rail stations like the Metro,” Hamilton told ARLnow in a subsequent interview. At least an extra block or two could be converted into denser housing around the stations in Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon, Courthouse and Rosslyn, she said.

One such opportunity is in the Lyon Village neighborhood near Clarendon.

“North of the Clarendon Metro station is the largest chunk of that quarter-mile circle where there is low-density housing, and of course, that is where the single family homes are extraordinarily expensive,” said Hamilton. “It’s certainly a spot where denser development would make economic sense.”

Another example of low-density development around Metro is at East Falls Church, where there are single-family homes across the street from the station. A development plan for the area approved in 2011 but fizzled out, after facing strong opposition from local residents.

“There is a big opportunity” to build multi-family housing in the East Falls Church area, Hamilton said. New development would encourage more people to take Metro to work, and would have a positive overall environmental impact by cutting down on driving, she said.

While transit-oriented development has many positives, the relative lack of a middle ground between big apartment and condo buildings and single-family homes is “extremely stark,” Hamilton said.

“There is a missing price point in Arlington both because of the county’s high-income and the region’s unwillingness — compared to other coastal regions — to permit multi-family housing,” she said.

Recent calls to rezone some neighborhoods to allow smaller-scale multi-family homes would not outlaw single-family homes, Hamilton said. Rather, owners would be allowed to replace or convert houses into duplexes and townhouses, if they so choose. Still, the prospect of rezoning has already prompted opposition, making any changes an uphill battle politically.

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County Details Commonalities Among Local COVID Cases

By ARLnow.com

Going to work or eating at a restaurant are two of the most commonly-reported activities among Arlingtonians who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

That’s according to new information released by Arlington County.

Among coronavirus patients who were interviewed by local health officials, a third had contact with a known positive case, 38% had recently gone to a restaurant, and 48% had recently gone to work, according to a press release.

This is the first time the county has publicly announced such contact tracing data. It comes amid a surge in new coronavirus cases in Arlington, though that surge has so far not resulted in a spike in hospitalizations.

The press release is below.

Between Nov. 3, 2020, and Nov. 16, 2020, Arlington County interviewed 539 residents who were diagnosed with COVID-19 (cases). Of those cases, 33% reported contact with a known case – 21% had that contact with a known case at home; 12% with a known case in the community.

In addition, public health staff identified sites outside of their homes where cases may have been exposed:

  • 48% reported going to work
  • 38% reported going to one or more restaurants
  • 12% reported going to a gathering (e.g., wedding, funeral, or party)
  • 17% reported traveling out of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia area
  • 7% reported going to a gym

While these were common locations among Arlington cases interviewed, it does not mean they were the definitive source for COVID-19 exposure in each individual case. As a reminder, “correlation does not imply causation.”

These findings are similar to a recent report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which suggests community exposures contribute to the spread of COVID-19. Given the rise in cases in the region, County public health officials remind Arlingtonians that social gatherings beyond your household bubbles makes germ spread more likely.

In general, the more closely people interact with each other and the longer that interaction lasts, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread.

To protect against COVID-19 spread, everyone should avoid close contact with people who do not live in their household, wear a mask (cloth face covering), and practice social distancing, and frequently and properly wash hands.

All Arlingtonians should do their part to abide by this public health guidance.

Police: Driver Pins Woman Against Dumpster After Argument

By ARLnow.com

A woman was intentionally struck by a vehicle and pinned against a dumpster over the weekend, according to an Arlington County Police crime report.

The incident happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday, on the 200 block of N. Glebe Road in the Buckingham area, and followed an argument between the suspect and the victim.

Police say the suspect, a 36-year-old Arlington woman, struck the victim with a car in a business parking lot, pinning her against a dumpster. The victim, who knew the suspect, was hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

The suspect was arrested “without incident” the next morning and faces a number of charges.

More from ACPD:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2020-11210144, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 5:24 p.m. on November 21, police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim and known suspect were engaged in a verbal dispute and physical altercation earlier in the day, during which the suspect assaulted the victim, causing minor injury. At the time, the victim declined prosecution and medical attention. The verbal dispute continued while they were travelling in a vehicle together. The suspect, and driver of the vehicle, stopped in the parking lot of a business and the victim exited the vehicle. The suspect then allegedly struck the victim with the vehicle, pinning her against a dumpster. The suspect then fled the scene in the vehicle prior to police arrival. The victim sustained serious, but non-life threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. During the course of the investigation, the suspect was identified and a vehicle description was developed. At approximately 8:51 a.m. on November 22, police located the parked vehicle occupied by the suspect and a second subject in the area of 2nd Street S. and S. Fillmore Street. Officers made contact with the suspect as she attempted to walk away from the vehicle and detained her without incident. Toccara Puller, 36, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding, Felony Hit and Run, and Possession of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance. She was held on no bond. The second subject provided officers with a false name, but was subsequently identified and determined not to be involved in the Hit and Run incident. However, he was determined to be wanted out of the City of Alexandria, and in possession of a concealed weapon and controlled substance. Joshua Fletcher, 41, of Washington D.C., was arrested and charged with Carrying a Concealed Weapon, Identity Theft, and Possession of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance. He was held on no bond.

BREAKING: County, State Both Record New Coronavirus Peaks

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at noon) Both Arlington and Virginia as a whole reached fresh one-day and trailing seven-day peaks for new coronavirus cases today.

In Arlington this morning, a record 98 new cases were reported, bringing the trailing seven-day average to its eighth consecutive daily record: 68 daily cases, or 476 cases over the past week.

The county’s test positivity rate is currently 7.1%, and an average of 773 tests are being performed per day; the latter is also a record. The cumulative total of reported COVID-19 cases in Arlington during the course of the pandemic is now 5,856.

It’s a similar story regionally.

“The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax and Loudoun health districts is officially surging, according to new analysis from the University of Virginia, and the Northern Virginia region’s overall caseload is at its highest level since it peaked May 31,” InsideNova reported on Sunday. Case averages are also at a new high in Montgomery County, Maryland, Bethesda Magazine reports.

Throughout Virginia, 3,242 new cases were reported today, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, bringing the trailing seven-day average of new daily cases to 2,343. The state’s test positivity rate is 7.2%.

VDH noted that Monday’s case counts are higher “in part due to a catch-up from the VDH data system being down for upgrades for a few hours over the weekend.”

Despite the surge in cases locally, hospitalization and fatality figures for Arlington, as reported by VDH, remain relatively low. One new hospitalization and one new COVID-related death were reported overnight. Only eight hospitalizations have been reported in the county over the past week.

Nationally, however, coronavirus hospitalizations have “reached new record highs every day since Nov. 10,” Axios reports.

There is more positive vaccine news this morning, but that doesn’t mean that the pandemic will end and life will get back to normal in the near term. In his weekly public Facebook post, Virginia Hospital Center ER chief Mike Silverman suggested that the second half of 2021 might be when to expect a return to normal.

“Although vaccines will roll out in the near future, it will take until summer of 2021 before the last cohort (young, healthy people) are able to get vaccinated,” Silverman wrote. “This means mask wearing and COVID restrictions well into next year. But I think the light at the end of the tunnel could be school starting next fall and life returning to normal. We’re 9 months in with likely another 9 or 10 to go, but at least we now know the end point.”

Worker Rescued from Amazon HQ2 Site

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10 a.m.) An injured worker was rescued from the Amazon construction site in Pentagon City this morning.

The initial call for a worker injured at the bottom of the construction site was made at 8:08 a.m.

Emergency vehicles blocked roads around the site along S. Eads Street as firefighters used a construction crane and a stokes basket to hoist the worker to safety.

“We sent paramedics as well as our technical rescue team to the scene in order to set up a crane operation to remove the worker,” said Arlington County Fire Department spokesperson Taylor Blunt. “After the patient was hoisted from the trench, we transported him to a hospital in stable condition. The operation took about 15 minutes. ”

It was not immediately clear how the worker was hurt.

The construction site will eventually be home to the 2.1-million-square-foot first phase of Amazon’s permanent HQ2, which set to open in 2023.

More via social media:

https://twitter.com/BenDAvanzo/status/1330873997475667973

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sexual Battery Suspect Arrested — “At approximately 1:12 p.m. on November 20, police were dispatched to the 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard for the report of a suspicious person matching the description of the suspect in the November 17 incident. Responding officers located the individual and took him into custody without incident.” [ACPD]

Local Attorney Accused of Sex Offenses — “A Northern Virginia attorney was arrested Thursday in Miami and accused of coercing underage girls into sexual activity. Matthew Erausquin, a founding partner of the firm Consumer Litigation Associates’ Northern Virginia affiliate, is charged in Alexandria federal court with sex trafficking involving six minors.” [Washington Post]

Hospice Worker Accused of Sexual Assault — A 57-year-old Arlington man has been charged “with sexually assaulting a hospice patient in October. Detectives were first notified on Nov. 11, that an 80-year-old Reston man disclosed to a family member that he awoke to [the man] performing a sex act on him in his home.” [Fairfax County Police]

Man Arrested After Incident in Park — “Arlington County Police say that a local man tried to kick a dog and then pepper sprayed its owner Thursday afternoon at Chestnut Hills Park.” [Patch]

SUV Fire in Westover — Washington Blvd was blocked around lunchtime Sunday due to a vehicle fire near Westover Village. The SUV was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. [Twitter]

MyEyeDr Opening Today in Ballston — The new MyEyeDr location in Ballston is set to open today, according to a press release. The chain bills itself as “one-stop shop to get an eye exam, buy new eyewear or even shop for sunglasses.”

Metro Making Budget Cuts — “Metro board members unanimously approved service cuts and a buyout plan Thursday aimed at avoiding as many layoffs as possible as the transit agency faces a $176 million budget shortfall due to the coronavirus pandemic.” [Washington Post]

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