News

JUST IN: Governor Allowing N. Va. to Reopen After Memorial Day

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Arlington and other Northern Virginia locales will be allowed to delay reopening until May 28, after Memorial Day, following a new executive order from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

The announcement follows pushback from local officials concerned that a potential reopening this Friday would be too soon. Arlington and neighboring localities have seen higher rates of coronavirus cases than less populous parts of the state, with 72% of new cases reported over the past 24 hours coming from the Northern Virginia region.

Initially, in announcing a plan for a phased reopening, Northam talked about the importance of the entire Commonwealth starting to reopen at the same time. This morning’s announcement is a change from that, but does not go as far as permitting local governments to delay reopening indefinitely.

Arlington officials have previously said that the county will not begin its reopening until a number of key metrics — including a ramp up in testing and a sustained reduction in hospitalizations — are met.

More from a press release from the governor’s office:

Governor Ralph Northam today issued Executive Order Sixty-Two, allowing specific localities in Northern Virginia to delay entering Phase One of the “Forward Virginia” plan to ease restrictions on certain business operations that were put in place in response to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Governor Northam has said that Virginia as a whole may enter Phase One on Friday, May 15, as outlined in Executive Order Sixty-One, based on achieving certain health metrics. Executive Order Sixty-Two allows the Northern Virginia localities to delay implementation of Phase One until midnight on Thursday, May 28, to allow those localities more time to meet the health metrics.

In conjunction with this executive order, Governor Northam and State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, MD, MA also issued Order of Public Health Emergency Number Four.

“As I have said, it’s important that the Commonwealth as a whole can meet key health metrics before moving into Phase One,” said Governor Northam. “The Phase One policies are a floor, not a ceiling. While the data show Virginia as a whole is are ready to slowly and deliberately ease some restrictions, it is too soon for Northern Virginia. I support the request from localities in this region to delay implementation of Phase One to protect public health.”

Governor Northam had directed jurisdictions to formally request approval to remain in Phase Zero. Executive Order Sixty-Two allows the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park; and the towns of Dumfries, Herndon, Leesburg, and Vienna (Northern Virginia Region) to remain in Phase Zero, as requested by officials in those localities.

Data show that Northern Virginia is substantially higher than the rest of the Commonwealth in percentage of positive tests for COVID-19, for example. The Northern Virginia Region has about a 25 percent positivity rate, while the rest of the Commonwealth is closer to 10 percent. Further, in the last 24 hours, the Northern Virginia Region reported over 700 cases, while the rest of the Commonwealth reported approximately 270. On any given day, 70 percent of the Commonwealth’s positive cases are attributable to the Northern Virginia Region.

Six Additional Coronavirus Deaths in Arlington Reported Overnight

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11 a.m.) Arlington saw the biggest one-day rise in reported coronavirus deaths since April 30 overnight, while the rate of new cases continues to fall.

According to the latest Virginia Dept. of Health data, there are now 1,416 known COVID-19 cases in Arlington, up just 17 since Monday. Hospitalizations are up two overnight, to 288, while reported deaths — which typically trails reported cases by a week or two — jumped from 60 to 66, a 10% rise.

Statewide, VDH reports 25,800 cases, 3,395 hospitalizations, 891 deaths, and 171,239 “testing encounters.”

The number of cases per capita in Arlington is roughly twice that of the state as a whole, according to a Virginia Public Access Project analysis.

Sorted by zip code, VDH continues to show the highest number of cases and test positivity rate in the 22204 zip code, along the Columbia Pike corridor. The 22203 zip code, centered around Ballston, has the second-highest positivity rate in the county.

Arlington officials say they want to see a number of trends and milestones before the county starts reopening, as other parts of the state are set to do as early as Friday.

Among those metrics is a 14-day downward trend in hospitalizations. Currently, the trailing 7-day hospitalization rate is at a peak of 92.

More Car Break-ins Reported Last Week

By ARLnow.com

Another series of vehicle break-ins was reported last week, as thieves continue to take advantage of unlocked car doors in Arlington neighborhoods.

The latest break-in series was discovered in the Barcroft neighborhood Thursday morning. Nine cars were tampered with and stolen from, police said in a crime report.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (series), 2020-05070018, 4400 block of block of 1st Street S. At approximately 6:08 a.m. on May 7, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny from auto. Upon arrival, it was determined that approximately nine unlocked vehicles were entered and items of value stolen. There are no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

Other car break-ins have been reported by Arlington County Police but without further description, including the following from the Thursday crime report:

LARCENY FROM AUTO, 2020-05060004, 3600 block of N. Harrison Street

LARCENY FROM AUTO, 2020-05060151, 1000 block of 18th Street S.

A resident provided additional information about the N. Harrison Street incident, near Williamsburg Middle School, on a neighborhood listserv.

“Last night at about 12:15 AM, I caught a guy actively going through my truck interior,” the victim wrote. “The truck was parked on the street and he took off on a bicycle when I started yelling and approaching him from across the yard. I called the non-emergency police line to report it thinking it would just be another sheet in a file but they jumped all over it. Multiple units responded including a crime scene officer to dust for fingerprints and the police were canvassing the neighborhood within 10-15 minutes.”

Despite the response, no arrests were made.

Arlington County Police have, however, made several arrests in such cases over the past few months, amid a rash of hundreds of car break-ins since last summer. The prevalence of such crimes has prompted ACPD to launch a public information campaign urging residents to lock their doors at night and leave valuables out of plain sight.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

APS Working to Keep School Construction on Track — “Top Arlington school-system staff are recommending doing whatever it takes – including shuffling money away from other projects – to ensure construction of a new elementary school in Westover does not fall behind schedule.” [InsideNova]

Yard Waste Collection Suspended Again — After a one-week reprieve, Arlington has again suspended its residential yard waste collection service. There’s no word on when it will resume, though the county has opened two yard waste drop-off centers. [Arlington County]

Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony to Be Livestreamed — On Wednesday at 8 a.m. “the Arlington County Police Department and the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office will host a virtual Observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor and pay tribute to the memory of Arlington’s seven fallen law enforcement officers.” [Arlington County]

New Superintendent’s Introductory Remarks — “Among other things, Dr. Durán pledges to close ‘access, opportunity and achievement gaps;’ to ‘commit collectively to sustain and improve the level of academic excellence for students in APs
through an equity and inclusion lens;’ and to help students and families ‘through these troubling times times.'” [Blue Virginia]

Paper’s Prediction: Dems Win Special Election — “The field is set at three: Democrat Takis Karantonis, Republican Bob Cambridge and independent Susan Cunningham. The arrival of Cambridge is probably music to the ears of Democrats, as he will help split the anti-Democratic vote with the better-known and probably more viable Cunningham, allowing Karantonis to win and avoiding a repeat of a 2014 special election when John Vihstadt went mano-a-mano against Democrats and wrestled them into submission.” [Sun Gazette]

Amazon Running Arlington-Herndon Shuttle — “It’s too early to tell if Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will launch a Seattle-style shuttle service for its HQ2 employees, but the company has connected its Herndon and Arlington offices via shuttle.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Participating in Virtual Tech Conference — “For the last several years, Northern Virginia has taken dozens of promising tech start-ups to the Collision conference, granting them access to programming, investors, mentors and networking opportunities. This year, the Collision organizers have moved everything online, so instead of traveling to the conference in Toronto this year, eighteen lucky start-ups from Northern Virginia will get an all-access pass to the Collision from Home tech conference.” [Press Release]

Nearby: Alleged W&OD Trail Creeper Arrested — “City of Falls Church Police arrested Lamar Dontae McCarthy, 23 years old of Stafford, VA, and charged him with assault. On Saturday, May 9, police reported to Grove Ave. and the W&OD Trail for a report of a suspect who had pursued a woman on the trail. The woman stated she saw a man in a red hooded sweatshirt suddenly stop his vehicle and sprint after her.” [City of Falls Church]

County Board Considers Mask Mandate but Hamstrung by Dillon Rule

By Vernon Miles

In an online town hall meeting on Friday, County Board members decried the plan to partially reopen Virginia as premature for Arlington and discussed further restrictions, like a requirement to wear a mask when in public.

“If we consider the closing of bars and restaurants, if just one locality were to loosen restrictions and allow bars to reopen before other jurisdictions,” County Board member Christian Dorsey warned, “those establishments would become magnets for patrons who could access them, which is very easy with our limited regional geography and great connectivity in the transportation network. This could result in spread across many jurisdictions and make it more difficult for public health officials to do the necessary testing and tracing to control outbreaks.”

County Board Chair Libby Garvey said to even consider reopening there needs to be more testing and contact tracing, with an ample supply of hospital beds and a sustainable supply of personal safety equipment. Dr. Reuben Varghese, the Arlington County Director of Public Health, warned that’s not the case in Arlington, at least when it comes to testing.

“We don’t have as much testing nationwide, Virginia-wide, or Arlington-wide as [we need],” Varghese said. “The supply chain has to be grown. Every day the capacity increases but we’re not to where we would like to have testing.”

Varghese said even if there is some reopening, Arlington is still a long way from being safe to go out in public without a mask.

“Ultimately we will have to have a vaccine to get away from physical distancing and face-covering recommendations,” Varghese said.

Meanwhile, Dorsey said that Arlington County officials have been discussing the possibility of a mask mandate.

“That is actively under consideration and looking at the best ways to pursue that,” Dorsey said. “For some people, until it comes with government mandate they’re not going to do it. But also we have to be mindful once something is mandated we have to have a way to enforce it.”

This is complicated by Virginia’s status as a Dillon Rule state, meaning that localities can only exercise powers directly granted to them by the state.

Also on Friday, during an interview on the Kojo Nnamdi show, County Board member Katie Cristol acknowledged the Dillon Rule as making a mask ordinance potentially difficult to accomplish, legally. Cristol said it makes more sense to focus on making masks available rather than making them a requirement.

“I think everything is a little bit of a legal question for us. You all are no strangers to the fact that we operate in a different context, those localities in Virginia, than those might do in a home rule state like Maryland,” she said. “When things are under an emergency, you know, our legal authorities may be a little different. We’ve really been making our county attorney’s office earn their keep during this pandemic by constantly returning to the statute and figuring out what we might have authority to do and what we might not.”

As we previously reported, Cristol said Arlington has ordered a large supply of masks to distribute across the county.

“I think, in general, you know, when we’ve made decisions, we’ve tried to do so on the basis of what seems to be the right thing to do from a public health and enforcement perspective,” Cristol continued. “And so I think with things like masks, for example, we’ve weighed this one quite a bit. It’s a really live question, and we generally landed on the approach that it makes more sense to make masks available and distribute those to whomever needs them.”

As with masks, Assistant County Manager James Schwartz said the goal of Arlington police is to gain voluntary compliance with the state’s emergency social distancing rules and the county’s park closures, as opposed to making arrests or writing citations.

“We are encouraging people [to adhere to restrictions] and I would call it soft enforcement,” Schwartz said. “We’re not in a position to be citing people the way we might for a traffic violation. We’re encouraging people to follow good practices and not have the heavy hand of government-imposed here.”

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

Police: Man Arrested After Inappropriately Touching Rideshare Driver and Himself

By ARLnow.com

A Maryland man was kicked out of a rideshare vehicle and later arrested after inappropriate sexual conduct, according to Arlington County Police.

The incident happened Saturday afternoon, around 2:30 p.m. Police were dispatched to westbound I-66 near the Rosslyn tunnel, after getting a call about a man that had exposed himself.

“Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was operating as a rideshare driver when the suspect, a passenger, allegedly began making inappropriate comments and grabbed her arm,” according to an ACPD crime report. “The victim pulled over and forced him out of the vehicle, while he continued to touch himself inappropriately. The suspect fled on foot prior to police arrival.”

A suspect was later arrested along Lee Highway, just west of Glebe Road.

“Officers located the suspect and took him into custody without incident in the 4900 block of Lee Highway,” the crime report continued. “Demetrius Dent, 27, of Forestville, Md., was arrested and charged with Indecent Exposure and Assault and Battery.”

File photo

Walk-In COVID-19 Clinic to Open on Columbia Pike Tomorrow

By Vernon Miles

Arlington County is planning to open a walk-up COVID-19 testing site tomorrow at the Arlington Mill Community Center (909 S. Dinwiddie Street).

The sample collection site is part of a partnership between Arlington County, the Arlington Free Clinic and the Virginia Hospital Center. The center is scheduled to open tomorrow (Tuesday) and will be open every weekday between 1-5 p.m.

Patients are required to obtain a clinician referral and then call 703-558-5766 to schedule an appointment. Appointments must be made before visiting the site.

Residents without health insurance can still access testing by calling the appointment number. A press release said VHC clinicians will screen for symptoms over the phone and provide a follow-up referral to the Arlington Free Clinic if needed. Proof of identification, but not necessarily a U.S. government ID, is required.

Nancy White, executive director of the Arlington Free Clinic, said in a press release that the walk-up testing site is part of the organization’s commitment to helping low-income, uninsured Arlington residents.

“This is an exciting effort to create a more equitable testing model for everyone who needs it,” she said.

“Arlington is committed to assuring everyone in our community has access to the testing they need during this pandemic,” said Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington Public Health Director. “This is an important partnership that will help our more vulnerable or low-income groups who do not have access to cars to walk up and get tested.”

The prospect of a walk-in testing center had been discussed by county officials earlier this month. County Board member Katie Cristol said at the time that people would still be able to drive to the location, but the goal was to offer an alternative to the county’s drive-thru testing centers for those without access to a car.

Courtesy photo @TheBeltWalk

Arlington Asks for Pause on N. Va. Reopening Amid One-Week Slowdown in New Cases

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County has seen a slight, week-long slowdown in new coronavirus cases, but is pushing back on Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan to partially reopen statewide by the end of the week.

As of Monday morning, there were 1,399 known coronavirus cases in Arlington, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. That brings the trailing 7-day rise in cases to 293, down from a peak of 349 on May 4.

The state health department is also reporting 60 deaths and 286 hospitalizations in Arlington, up from 57 deaths and 227 hospitalizations on Friday.

Statewide, 25,070 cases have been reported, along with 3,300 hospitalizations, 850 deaths and 167,758 total tests.

According to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, 1,504 confirmed and potential COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized statewide, while 3,273 have been hospitalized and subsequently discharged. There are 4,647 hospital beds available statewide and 21% of ventilators in Virginia are currently in use.

Over the weekend, Gov. Northam released more details about his “Forward Virginia” plan to reopen the state, which could happen as early as Friday. From a press release:

Under Phase One, the Commonwealth will move to a Safer at Home strategy, which continues the ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people and maintains recommendations for social distancing, teleworking, and wearing face coverings. All businesses should make modifications to maintain six feet of physical distancing, increase cleaning and sanitization of high contact surfaces, and provide enhanced workplace safety measures.

Retail establishments will be allowed to operate at 50 percent occupancy, restaurant and beverage establishments may offer outdoor dining at 50 percent occupancy, personal grooming services may begin operating with one patron per service provider, and fitness centers may offer outdoor exercise services. Campgrounds may also begin taking reservations for short-term stays.

Places of worship have had a 10-person limit and have been allowed to hold drive-in services allowed. In Phase One, drive-in services may continue, and services may be held inside at 50 percent capacity. Specific guidelines for religious services can be found here.

Many of the restrictions put in place by Executive Order Fifty-Three will remain in place in Phase One. Entertainment and public amusement venues will remain closed and beaches will continue to be open only for exercise and fishing. Childcare centers remain open for children of working families. Overnight summer camps will remain closed in Phase One.

Arlington County and other Northern Virginia governments, however, are asking for the ability to delay its implementation. The county released the following statement Friday evening.

Arlington County supports Governor Northam’s detailed framework for “Forward Virginia,” and appreciates the Commonwealth’s acknowledgement that the Northern Virginia region faces challenges that differ in number and scale from the Commonwealth as a whole. Over half of the cases and hospitalizations and nearly half of the COVID -19 deaths are here in Northern Virginia — despite our constituting a little more than a quarter of the state’s population; and we continue to see a rise in hospitalizations. Arlington is working closely with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, which comprises other localities in the region, to coordinate with the Governor’s office to determine the safest path forward, with an extended timeframe for entering Phase One.

Arlington County’s top priority is to ensure the safety of the entire community; and we believe we must meet the criteria for entering Phase One. At this point, based on the data for our region as well as Arlington specifically, the most responsible path forward is maintaining our current operating status until these criteria are met.

That message was echoed by County Board member Katie Cristol, in an interview on WAMU Friday. She was asked by host Kojo Nnamdi about potentially opening up on Friday, May 8.

“I think that is going to be a timeline that works for some part of Virginia. And we are grateful that, in recent days, it is recognized that that is not a timeline that is likely going to make sense here in Northern Virginia,” she said.

“Generally, we are coalescing around more or less the same criteria,” she said, “downward trend in positive tests, downward trend in hospitalizations, testing, tracing PPE, and so forth.”

Cristol also revealed a bit of news in the interview: Arlington County is planning to distribute cloth face coverings, as a way to further encourage their use.

“We recently put in a pretty significant order for cloth face coverings that were intended to be distributed around the county,” she told Nnamdi. “And we’ll have more details on that, we hope, in the next week or so. So, I suppose a carrot, not a stick approach on that one.”

“It makes more sense to make masks available and distribute those to whomever needs them, rather than trying to, for example, give tickets to those who aren’t wearing them,” she added.

Construction to Start on American Legion Redevelopment in Virginia Square

By ARLnow.com
1/8

Construction is starting this week on the mixed-use replacement to American Legion Post 139 in Virginia Square.

The project, which was approved in 2019, will build 160-units of affordable housing on the current American Legion site at 3445 Washington Blvd, as well as a new, modern space for Post 139. Half of the apartments will be earmarked for vets.

“Veterans will be given priority placement in half of the building’s 160 apartment homes – making it Virginia’s largest affordable housing project for veterans,” a spokeswoman noted.

The $80 million redevelopment has received $33.8 million in tax credits from the state, a $11.5 million loan from Arlington’s affordable housing fund, and several large donations — including $1.5 million from real estate titan Ron Terwilliger, for whose parents the building will now be named, and $1 million from Amazon.

A groundbreaking ceremony has been postponed due to the pandemic, but the financing has been finalized and construction is slated to start this week. Work is expected to wrap up in 2022.

In preparation for demolition, the flag outside the American Legion post — flown there since the 1950s was recently retired. A video documented the ceremony.

A press release about the groundbreaking is below.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Small Biz Grant Application Now Open — “The Arlington Small Business Emergency GRANT (Giving Resiliency Assets Near Term) Program, designed to provide immediate financial assistance to Arlington’s small businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now open for applications.” [Arlington County]

Why Your Pizza Is Not Going Ham — The national meat shortage has led Domino’s Pizza to cut down on the availability of some toppings, including in Arlington. “Due to the current uncertainty in the market for meats, we are limiting the amount of ham we are delivering to our stores,” the company told one local resident. [@craigcolgan/Twitter]

Kids Don Costumes in Support of Masks — “Kids roaming my neighborhood dressed as a hotdog and a bun, with a placard: ‘DON’T BE A WEENIE, WEAR A MASK.’ Lots of people in the D.C. area I’ve observed this week going in and out of stores, playing basketball and mingling on the National Mall are not masking up.” [@meekwire/Twitter]

Police Investigate Robbery in Rosslyn — “Two suspects entered a business and began selecting merchandise. An employee of the business recognized one of the suspects and confronted him as he attempted to exit the business in possession of merchandise that had not been paid for. The suspect shoved the victim, causing her to fall, and both suspects fled in a vehicle driven by a third subject prior to police arrival.” [Arlington County]

Teachers Endorse Diaz-Torres — “The Arlington Education Association Political Action Committee (AEA-PAC) recently announced its endorsement of Cristina Diaz-Torres, a teacher and education policy specialist, in the Arlington Public School Board Democratic Caucus.” [Press Release]

Police Looking for W&OD Trail Creeper — “City of Falls Church Police received a report about a man following a woman in a suspicious manner on Monday, May 4, at about 3:10 p.m. He followed the woman on the W&OD trail then continued to follow her into a neighborhood. The woman was not harmed.” [City of Falls Church]

DEVELOPING: Police Investigating Suspicious Death Near Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Update on 5/12/20 — In an update, Arlington County Police say a man has been charged in connection to this incident, which is still considered a “suspicious death.” From ACPD:

This incident remains classified as a suspicious death. Detectives continue to investigate the events that preceded the death and are working with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine cause.

Pursuant to our investigation, the condition of the body indicates the death occurred days prior to police being summoned to the residence. Roscoe James Shaw, 51, of Arlington, VA, has been arrested and charged with Virginia Code § 18.2-323.02 Concealment of Dead Body. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Original article: Arlington County Police are investigating a “suspicious death” in the Ashton Heights neighborhood, south of Ballston.

The death was discovered following a police dispatch around 4:45 p.m. Friday.

Officers responded to the 200 block of N. Piedmont Street, which is primarily a collection of garden apartment buildings, “for the report of suspicious circumstances,” ACPD said in a press release.

The SWAT team was later called in to make entry into a residence. A tipster described a large police presence in the area.

“Any info on whatever is happening around N. Piedmont Street and Glebe,” the tipster asked around 9:15 p.m. “Fifteen plus cops, road shut down, full tactical gear.”

Upon entering the residence, police say they found a man dead inside.

The death is considered “suspicious” and is being investigated by homicide detectives and the medical examiner. If determined to be homicide, it would be the third homicide in the county so far this year. The last reported homicide happened on April 23.

More from the police press release:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating a suspicious death in the Ashton Heights neighborhood.

At approximately 4:44 p.m. on May 8, police were dispatched to the 200 block of N. Piedmont Street for the report of suspicious circumstances. During the course of the investigation, information was developed about a possible deceased individual inside a residence. Officers established a perimeter, secured a search warrant and entry into the residence was made by members of the SWAT team. Once inside, an adult male was located deceased.

Cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The identity of the decedent is being withheld pending proper identification and notification of next of kin.

This remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Detective S. King of the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4243 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at ‪1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Map via Google Maps

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