A waitress at the Ballston IHOP restaurant was robbed of cash on a weekday morning this week.
The alleged crime happened around 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday. Police say a man approached the waitress and “stole a billfold containing an undisclosed amount of cash from her hand,” before running off.
More from Arlington County Police:
LARCENY, 2019-07300101, 900 block of N. Stafford Street. At approximately 10:45 a.m. on July 30, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the male suspect approached a waitress and stole a billfold containing an undisclosed amount of cash from her hand. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. The suspect is described as a black male in his 20s wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. The investigation is ongoing.
More from this past week’s ACPD crime report is below, after the jump.
Amazon is on track to meet its hiring goals for 2019, according to a spokesperson.
This spring, the tech and retail giant said it would hire 400 people for its new headquarters in Arlington by the end of the year, and that remains the company’s target. A spokesperson told ARLnow this week that Amazon had hired a “small handful” of people since starting the process in April, but declined to share exactly how many.
The spokesperson did point to Amazon’s public HQ2 job listings, which currently number around 50.
“We plan to hire people who live here to reduce the impact on the region,” said the spokesperson. “We will continue to share our growth plans with the County so they can work to ensure inclusive growth within the community.”
So far employees have been hired for roles working with Amazon’s consumer teams, its Amazon Web Services cloud platform, and its Alexa virtual assistant.
County officials previously said Amazon’s hiring process is designed to not overwhelm the county with its eventual goal of ushering 25,000 employees into offices in Crystal City and Pentagon City.
“This is not going to feel like a tsunami of new people on our streets or kids in our schools,” Board member Katie Cristol said at the time.
When asked, the spokesperson said Amazon does not provide recommendations on where new employees can find housing in the D.C. area. The company also does not provide housing recommendations in Seattle.
“Access to housing is a concern in communities throughout the U.S., including Arlington,” said the spokesperson, alluding to the county’s struggle with affordable housing. “One of the things that drew us to this location was the plans the County and the Commonwealth have in place to address this issue.”
Also this week, Amazon unveiled colorful details for its planned 2.1 million-square-foot permanent HQ2 in Pentagon City.
Earlier: Metro riders are facing delays this morning due to a reported signal problem at the Rosslyn station.
Currently, Metro says the Blue Line is no longer running to Largo and shuttle buses are being requested to run from Rosslyn to the Pentagon. Service at Arlington Cemetery station is said to be suspended.
Delays have also been reported on the Orange, Silver and Blue lines since the problem was first reported around 8 a.m.
More via social media:
UPDATED: Blue Line Delay: Arlington Cemetery: No train service to Largo due to a signal problem at Rosslyn. Buses requested btwn Rosslyn & Pentagon.
As a result of the OR/SV/BL Line disruption, some Blue Line trains will operate as Yellow Line trains between National Airport & Mt. Vernon Sq. Please check destination sign, announcements or next train signs as you board. #wmata
VDOT Repaving Planned This Month — “Upcoming @VaDOTNOVA night paving into August: Glebe Road, Spout Run Parkway, Washington Boulevard, Route 1 aka Richmond Highway aka the roadway formerly known as Jefferson Davis. Dates tentative, subject to change.” [Twitter]
ACPD Still Not Meeting Staffing Goal — The Arlington County Police Department has, on net, added a few new officers over the past year. But staffing challenges remain, echoing challenges for police departments across the region: ACPD currently has 352 officers despite a staffing goal of 374 officers. [NBC 4]
Lee Highway Apartment Complex Sold — “A 50-year-old apartment complex along Route 29 in Arlington County has traded hands for the first time in 20 years. Connecticut-based Westport Capital Partners, through the entity WM MF Horizons Property LLC, acquired the Horizons Apartments from an entity connected to Dweck Properties to in a deal that closed June 26 for $71M, Arlington County property records show.” [Bisnow]
Rosslyn-Based Firm Buys Clyde’s — “It’s official: Clyde’s Restaurant Group, a 56-year-old institution in Greater Washington’s restaurant scene, is now a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Co. Graham, which is led by members of the Graham family that formerly owned The Washington Post, did not disclose a sale price.” [Washington Business Journal]
Nearby: More People Biking in Alexandria — “More than halfway through this summer’s Blue and Yellow Line shutdown… bicycle volume [has] almost doubled on the Metro Linear Trail, a smaller, along-rail trail which connects the King Street and Braddock Road stations.” [DCist]
Around 500 homes and businesses are without water service tonight due to a water main break in Ashton Heights.
Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services says emergency repairs are underway at the intersection of N. Monroe Street and 7th Street N., about 3-4 blocks from the Virginia Square Metro station.
The repairs are not expected to be complete until daybreak.
Emergency Water Main Break: 7th St N and N Monroe St. Over 500 customers may be impacted. Repairs will begin this evening at 11pm and are expected to be completed by 6am, 8/1. Questions? Call 703-228-6555. pic.twitter.com/E5IaD7IFj3
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) August 1, 2019
HQ2 and Affordable Housing Funding — “Amazon.com Inc.’s planned Metropolitan Park towers, totaling 2.08 million square feet of office and 67,000 square feet of retail, would exceed the density currently allowed on the Pentagon City site by about 582,000 square feet. And that could mean a huge windfall for affordable housing.” [Washington Business Journal]
Local Baseball Team Going to National Tourney — “A group of baseball players who have won so many championships over a four-year stretch now have the opportunity to win the ultimate prize. By capturing the Southeast Region Babe Ruth Tournament on July 27 in Lewisburg, Tenn., the Arlington Senior Babe Ruth 15-under All-Stars have qualified for the Babe Ruth World Series, starting Aug. 7 in [Bismarck], N.D.” [InsideNova]
Astronaut Coming to Arlington — On August 7 and 8 in Crystal City, local students in grades 8-12 will get to “meet astronauts and design an experiment that could be launched to the International Space Station next year through a partnership with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and Higher Orbits to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing.” [AIAA]
Virginia’s annual sales tax holiday is set for this coming weekend.
Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced this week that the tax-free weekend will last from this Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4. Shoppers can take advantage of it by purchasing items like school supplies and back-to-school clothes, as well as emergency equipment to prepare for hurricane season and energy-efficient home appliances, without the added expense of a sales tax.
“The annual sales tax holiday makes many important items more affordable for Virginians as they get ready for the new school year or stock up on basic supplies,” said the governor in a statement.
Per the governor’s statement the following items will be sold sans tax:
School supplies, clothing, and footwear:
Qualified school supplies – $20 or less per item; and
Qualified clothing and footwear – $100 or less per item.
Hurricane and emergency preparedness products:
Portable generators – $1,000 or less per item;
Gas-powered chainsaws – $350 or less per item;
Chainsaw accessories – $60 or less per item; and
Other specified hurricane preparedness products – $60 or less per item.
Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ products:
Qualifying Energy Star™ or WaterSense™ products purchased for non-commercial home or personal use – $2,500 or less per item.
Concept rendering for Metropolitan Park Amazon HQ2 (Image via ZGF Architects)
Ground floor layout for Metropolitan Park Amazon offices (image via ZGF Architects)
Typical office layout for Metropolitan Park Amazon offices (image via ZGF Architects)
Amazon’s designs for a new headquarters need to do more to become true landmarks for the Pentagon City skyline, say members of an Arlington County planning committee.
At the first Site Plan Review Committee meeting for HQ2 last night (Monday), Amazon and ZGF Architects pitched the new 2.1 million square foot project in Pentagon City. The meeting, held in Shirlington, primarily focused on the design and architecture of the buildings, with other concerns about Amazon’s arrival saved for future meetings.
Amazon’s proposal involves the construction of two new office buildings at the corner of 15th Street S. and S. Eads Street — almost the perfect midway point between the Pentagon City and Crystal City Metro stations. The project is part of the first phase for Amazon’s permanent offices opening in Arlington.
Metropolitan Park Phases 6 and 7/8, as the project is dubbed in reports, consists of a pair of buildings with outward-facing retail and restaurants, and the Amazon headquarters portion of the building facing inwards towards a central park.
Brian Earle, the project architect with ZGF Architects, said the focus of the design was integrating the building into the neighborhood.
Design Evolution, Color Revolution
There are no rooftop signs planned for the project, and the exterior design is terracotta masonry and glass — an inoffensive design that will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the new Marymount buildings in Ballston or the Wharf in D.C., Amazon’s architects said.
The project drew the most praise where it stood out, and most of the criticism was focused on where the project seemed unambitious. Earle played up the modernist and art deco influences of other buildings on the block, like The Gramercy and The Bartlett, but to the untrained eye, they seem to have the same tan and dark glass facade.
“These are the tallest buildings in the area,” Planning Commissioner James Lantelme said. “It’s handsome, but I’m wondering if more can be done with the crown. Some buildings don’t have a formal crown but a distinctive top. This is just a continuation of the block going up. Is there anything that can be done to make it a centerpiece of this area?”
Committee members were mainly impressed with the polychrome glass planned for the building, with colors ranging from fuchsia to teal across the buildings.
“I’m always excited for colors,” said Planning Commissioner Nancy Iacomini. “It’s always been beige or grey. Rosslyn is a sea of grey and it’s just as bad as Ballston beige. I’m happy to see the terracotta as grey but a lot of polychrome.”
“People are getting tired of seeing the same beige building,” Lantelme agreed. “I’m hoping this is the start of a different design trend away from the beige. We may have an emergence of a colorful district.”
Retail Tensions
Plans for ground floor retail in the Amazon buildings was also a focus of some excitement — and concern. Brick and mortar retail is suffering, ironically in no small part due to the building’s primary tenant, and committee members expressed concern that the project could have too much ground-floor retail that it wouldn’t be able to fill.
Earle said the idea is to have a 50-50 split between restaurants and community-serving retail, like barber shops and pet stores, on the ground floor.
“One of Amazon’s strategies is they design the in-house food service [to serve] only 25 percent of the lunchtime traffic to encourage employees to go to other restaurants,” said Earle.
Commissioners also couldn’t resist little jabs at the Amazon-versus-retail tension, particularly the middling reception the company’s physical bookstores have gotten so far.
“A Busboys and Poets would be great there,” said Planning Commissioner Jane Siegel, “with their book store.”
The next meeting for the project is planned for September 23 at 7 p.m. in the Parks Operations Building (2700 S. Taylor Street).
Interim APS Superintendent to Be Named — The Arlington School Board is planning to name an interim superintendent at a special meeting tonight, following the departure of long-time APS Superintendent Patrick Murphy. The School Board is expected to select a search firm by early fall to find a new, permanent superintendent. [Twitter, InsideNova]
Plan for New Ballston Metro Entrance Advancing — “Arlington County staff have been given the ‘go-ahead’ to move forward with planning a second entrance at the Ballston Metro station, according to project manager Bee Buergler, but it could be another five years before it actually comes to fruition. The project is over 15 years in the planning, but until recently it’s been held up because the building that would be above it was being redeveloped and ran into delays.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Cross-Crystal City Corporate Clash — Crystal City-based prescription drug IT provider SureScripts is feuding with its future neighbor, Amazon, over the use of patient medical records. [Bloomberg]
A number of roads around Clarendon were closed this morning for a visit by Vice President Mike Pence.
The veep was speaking at the Leadership Institute, which runs training programs for conservative activists and is based on the 1100 block of N. Highland Street, next to Trader Joe’s.
Buses were rerouted as the Secret Service and Arlington County Police closed several roads in the area. The closures were lifted around 11:45 a.m.
‘Lee’ Supporters Seek W-L Name Delay — “It may be a last-ditch attempt, but supporters of retaining the name of Washington-Lee High School are seeking a delay of a year to implement the change to Washington-Liberty. ‘There are multiple active legal actions working their way through various courts,’ said Dean Fleming, vice president of the Washington-Lee High School Alumni Association, in an e-mail to school leaders. ‘This is a very serious matter. It should not be taken lightly.'” [InsideNova]
Moran Donates Leftover Campaign Cash — “In the summer of 2018, congressman-turned-lobbyist Jim Moran was trying to recruit his former colleagues to put pressure on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moran was doing so on behalf of one of his clients, the government of Qatar. And he had a pot of money, left over from years of donations to his reelection campaigns, that he could steer to his lobbying targets.” [The Daily Beast]
Makeshift Memorial for Career Center Employee — “Candles, flowers, balloons, and thoughts shared in the Penrose Giant parking garage lower level for Haley Garcia, the Career Center employee.” [Twitter]
Fast-Growing Amazon Divisions Coming to HQ2 — “The divisions heading to Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters in Arlington are some of the fastest-growing in the company, according to Amazon’s latest quarterly earnings report. The company said Thursday its headcount is up 13% to 653,300 full-time and part-time employees… Amazon Web Services and Alexa — two of the three Amazon businesses that are HQ2-bound — are growing at a much faster pace.” [Washington Business Journal]
