News

Favola Drops Advanced Towing as State Senate Race Continues

By Airey
1/4

Candidates running for the Virginia State Senate this year have raised hundreds of thousands along the campaign trail — but not from Arlington’s Advanced Towing.

None of the four candidates running for Richmond accepted money from the controversial towing company, according to the most recent campaign finance filings detailing fundraising between January 1 and March 31 as shared by the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

Incumbent candidate Barbara Favola was recently criticized by challenger Nicole Merlene for allegedly helping to loosen state towing regulations after accepting combined contributions of $7,250 over previous years from Advanced Towing, with an additional $2,500 coming from company owner John O’Neill.

The April finance reports indicate that the incumbent did not accept contributions from Advanced Towing or O’Neill during this fundraising period.

All of Arlington’s candidates are scheduled to release another set of campaign finance reports on June 3.

Residents will head to the polls on June 11 to cast their vote in the primaries. Because all Senate candidates announced so far are Democrats, the primary vote will likely choose the winner of the November 5 general election as well.

Virginians must register to vote at least 30 days before the primaries to vote, and can check in advance which polling location they should use.

Read below for more details about each candidate’s most recent campaign finances.

Sen. Adam Ebbin 

Ebbin has worked in Richmond for the past 15 years — the last seven as a state senator and eight years before that as a state delegate. He told ARLnow that this year his biggest wins in the capitol include legislation on green energy programs and helping colleges offer technical and dual-enrollment options.

Ebbin is running for re-election unopposed in the Democratic primary and currently faces no challengers from any other party.

He started with $101,534 in campaign funds on January 1, according to VPAP’s campaign finance reports. After fundraising $26,190 and spending $12,522, Ebbin reportedly ended the first quarter with $115,201 in funds for the campaign trail.

Ebbin’s campaign accepted 70 contributions during the reported funding period, with the majority of them (37 donors) giving the campaign $100 or less.

His top donation came from Political Action Committee (PAC) Win Virginia ($5,000), which announced this year it was training and funding Democratic candidates to flip the statehouse blue.

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JUST IN: Injured Worker Rescued from Ballston Home Construction Site

By ARLnow.com
1/7

Arlington County firefighters rescued a worker who fell and was injured at a home construction site in the Ballston area Monday afternoon.

The incident happened around 3 p.m. on the 1200 block of N. Taylor Street. Initial reports suggest a worker fell off a ladder and fell onto the home’s concrete foundation below ground, suffering a possible head injury.

Firefighters used a ladder truck and a Stokes basket to hoist the victim out from the construction site.

N. Taylor Street was closed to traffic from Washington Blvd to 13th Street N. due to the emergency activity.

Fire department spokesman Capt. Ben O’Bryant was unable to immediately confirm the nature of the injuries suffered by the victim, identified as an adult male construction worker, but said that he was being transported via ambulance to a local trauma center in “fair” condition.

Occupational safety investigators and the county fire marshal’s office were called to the scene, O’Bryant said.

Homelessness Down in Arlington, Except for Young Adults

By Airey

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Arlington County may have decreased, according to new data released last week.

Homeless young adults and the incidence of chronically homeless adults, however, may be on the rise.

A total of 215 individuals were reported as homeless in Arlington, according to the most recent Point in Time (PIT) data from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG). That’s six fewer people than last year’s count.

By comparison, 232 people were found to be homeless in the county in 2017, which represented a spike upward from 174 in 2016. Arlington’s homelessness rates peaked in 2010, with 532 recorded as living without a home.

PIT is a nationwide census that recruits local volunteers to tally the number of people they find living on the streets and in shelters during one night in January every year. The volunteers also collect information on the people they tally, like whether they are living alone or with family members. The Department of Housing and Urban Development uses the resulting data to allocate resources nationwide.

“Overall, the Point-in-Time numbers continue to validate the strategies laid out in our Action Plan for Ending Homelessness and the ongoing work of our Continuum of Care,” said Kurt Larrick, assistant director of the county Department of Human Services. “We had an overall decrease of 3 percent this year.”

Larrick added in an email that the county will use the PIT count along with its year-round data to address challenges and pinpoint needs.

“Limited housing options are probably the biggest barrier, particularly to those experiencing chronic homelessness and those who have disabilities and housing barriers,” he said “We know that combining housing with rental subsidies and support services tailored to individual needs is the most effective way to help people attain stable housing, and this will continue to be part of our overall strategy moving forward.”

During last year’s PIT count, Arlington began seeking out more information about kids and young adults who were living on the streets or in one of the county’s five shelters. The data collected in January found six young adults ages 18 to 24 who were homeless on their own, and four who were with their families — the highest such count in at least the past five years.

Sixty-six people were counted in 2019 as living homeless with their families in the county, down from 77 the year before. Of the 66 family members counted this year, 26 were children.

MWCOG wrote on its website that 9,794 homeless people were counted across the Greater Washington Area, making this, “the fewest number of people counted since the annual regional census — or Point in Time (PIT) count — began 18 years ago.”

Regionwide, the number of veterans recorded as experiencing homelessness decreased by 6 percent. But in Arlington two more veterans were recorded in 2019 compared to 2018, according to the full 180-page MWCOG report. Arlington also recorded 17 additional adults who are considered “chronically homeless.”

The report notes that area governments “attribute the slight increase in the number of residents counted as chronically homeless from 2018 to 2019 primarily to a lack of affordable housing options, particularly permanent supportive housing, to enable more residents to exit homelessness and remain stably housed.”

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Arlington Officials Say VDOT Isn’t Doing Enough to Enforce I-66 HOV Rules

By Vernon Miles

Virginia needs to do more to catch people evading tolls, county officials said at an Arlington Transportation Commission meeting last Thursday.

Virginia Department of Transportation officials attended the meeting, with plans to boast about boosted speeds on I-66, but local officials were more concerned about what some saw as underenforcement of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) rules.

David Caudill, the division administrator for tolling for VDOT, explained that the current enforcement relies on Virginia State Police counting heads in passing cars in conjunction with checking a beacon that lights up on a gantry if the passing car registered as HOV.

But Commission member Audrey Clement said that fewer people are receiving citations for I-66 toll violations than would be even if there were a 99 percent toll-compliance rate.

“There were 702 HOV citations for a year, that averages to 2.7 citations for every eight hours of tolling. That’s three per day,” said Clement. “So we’re concerned that this phenomenon is being undercounted and underenforced, and that may be driving up tolls.”

According to VDOT staff, there are at least four state troopers assigned to enforcement on I-66 every day. Rather than just being able to focus on HOV rules, however, troopers also respond to emergency calls and traffic violations like speeding.

Caudill recognized that there is a lapse in toll enforcement and said that during enforcement “blitzes” the HOV usage rates drop by 3 percent, giving VDOT a rough estimate for how many drivers are ducking out of the toll.

“It’s a challenge, I’ll admit that,” Caudill said. “[It is] challenging to look at the light, count number of heads, and then chase them down… We’re not catching everyone, not by any means.”

VDOT staff said the group is partnering with Transurban to put together a pilot program for an electronic sensor system.

“We think there’s an opportunity there for better enforcement,” Caudill said, “[and] it does impact the tolls, probably.”

Clement was not alone in expressing her disappointment at the lack of enforcement. Chris Slatt, chair of the Transportation Commission, said the lapse in enforcement goes against what VDOT told Arlington when the toll lanes were first proposed

“When VDOT was here before tolling went into place, one of the main reasons presented [to us] was HOV violations were rampant then,” Slatt said. “We were told that this was going to be the solution to HOV violation problem, that we were going to do enforcement. And yet here we are, having this conversation again.”

Caudill said the new HOV lanes have also led to complications — for instance, electronic passes mean officers can’t get an estimate on toll-violators by just counting heads.

“I’m glad to hear pilot programs at least are in the works to try to get a handle on this, because HOV violators are slowing down legitimate HOV drivers,” said Slatt. “[They’re] driving up costs of people legally paying tolls, and taking money that could be used for multimodal transportation projects to keep us all moving.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rescuers Searching for Vehicle in the Water — “A vehicle apparently went into the water Sunday night near Roosevelt Island in the Potomac River, and a search was still under way Monday morning, authorities said. The search was being conducted near the island’s parking lot, according to the D.C. Fire and EMS Department. A witness reported that the vehicle went into the water.” [Washington Post, Twitter]

Amazon Less Worried About HQ2 Housing Impact — “Amazon said its second headquarters in Arlington will not aggravate housing problems as much as the company has in Seattle because it will be able to plan for growth here in a way that it couldn’t in earlier years in its home base. Jay Carney, a senior vice president with the online retail giant, also said the company chose the Washington region for HQ2 and its 25,000 jobs partly because it is ‘a much more racially diverse area than the Pacific Northwest.'” [Washington Post]

Amazon’s Transformative Effect on Crystal City — “All of this points toward a vision of the future that was far-fetched even a few years ago: Crystal City as a place people would want to remain in after 5 p.m.” [Washingtonian]

County Had Cozy Emails with JBG Smith — “In a Dec. 6 email to Andy VanHorn, the executive vice president at JBG Smith Properties overseeing the development of Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters, Schwartz pledged open and unfettered access to a roster of key county officials charged with overseeing the various pieces of the approval process.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Unemployment Rate: 2.1% — “Arlington will have to share the title of lowest jobless rate in Virginia for at least a month. With 150,932 county residents in the civilian workforce and 3,216 looking for jobs, Arlington’s unemployment rate for March stood at 2.1 percent, unchanged for a month before and tied with the adjacent city of Falls Church as lowest among the commonwealth’s 133 cities and counties.” [InsideNova]

Arlington Man Arrested After Police Chase — “An Arlington resident was arrested Thursday for allegedly stealing a Porsche and leading Fairfax County police on a chase through Tysons.” [Tysons Reporter]

DEVELOPING: Major Comcast Outage in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Thousands of Comcast customers in Arlington are without internet, TV and phone service this afternoon.

A major Comcast outage is currently affecting large swaths of Arlington, from the northernmost part of the county down. Comcast’s outage map shows reported issues throughout residential North Arlington and much of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. (The map only shows areas near a given subscriber and ARLnow was unable to view areas south of the R-B corridor.)

Comcast is currently estimating restoration of service around 6-6:30 p.m.

The outage started just before 1 p.m., right around when a truck took down utility lines along Route 50. It’s unclear if that incident and the outage are related.

Among those affected by the outage are small businesses like Pupatella Pizza in Bluemont, which said via social media that its internet ordering and phone lines were down.

Map via Comcast

UPDATED: Arlington Blvd Reopens After Downed Wires Close All Lanes

By Michael O'Connell

(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Arlington County Police re-opened all lanes of Arlington Boulevard and Manchester Street, which were closed around 1 p.m.

A truck knocked down power lines, which were arcing, according to the police scanner.

Arlington County requested that Fairfax County units respond to the incident, which was near Glencarlyn.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Merlene Accuses Favola of Sexism — “Normally, Democratic debates in deep-blue Arlington are wonky, congenial, staid, even boring affairs, where the candidates at least pretend to be cordial to each other. And tonight’s 31st State Senate district Democratic debate, between incumbent Sen. Barbara Favola and challenger Nicole Merlene, largely held to that model for the entire debate… until the closing statements, when basically all hell broke loose.” [Blue Virginia, PDF]

Metro Closure This Weekend — “[On] May 4 and 5, Metro will be closed south of Reagan National Airport– six stations in all. Trains will be replaced by free shuttle buses at Braddock Road, King St-Old Town, Eisenhower Ave, Huntington, Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield.” [WUSA 9]

Arlington and Amazon Emails Revealed — “Arlington County officials worked closely with Amazon.com Inc. to present a good public relations strategy in the weeks leading to their passage of the company’s $23 million incentive package, emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show. The emails indicate some county officials were trying to develop a cozy relationship and wanted to help Amazon navigate challenges and smooth over some criticism.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Man Donates Flag Tie to New U.S. Citizen — Arlington resident Marc Johnson was trying to sell a patriotic American flag tie on Ebay after cleaning out his closet, but ended up donating it to the would-be buyer when he learned that the buyer was planning to wear the tie to his swearing-in ceremony to become an American citizen. [Washington Post]

Arlington Sheriff’s Office Turning 150 — “The 150th anniversary of establishment of the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office will be commemorated on May 7 as part of National Correctional Employees Week. The Arlington Sheriff’s Office was established at a time when Arlington (then known as Alexandria County) was being separated from the town (now city) of Alexandria and into its own self-governing locality.” [InsideNova]

History of Harry W. Gray House — “On this day in Arlington history: May 1, 1881 Harry W. Gray and his family move into their house. He and his family took years to build it and it is the only one of its kind for miles… The house remains a sturdy structure, its longevity a testament to Gray’s workmanship.” [Facebook]

Arlington County Police Looking for Missing Teen

By ARLnow.com

Update at 7:45 a.m. — The teen has been found safely, police say.

Earlier: The Arlington County Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a 14-year-old Arlington boy who has been missing for more than 24 hours.

Police say the teen was last seen leaving school Wednesday morning.

https://twitter.com/ArlingtonVaPD/status/1124015679835901956

Powhatan Springs Skate Park Officially Opens

By Airey

The Powhatan Springs Skate Park will officially open this weekend, officials say.

Officials are scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony this Saturday, May 4 to unveil the park’s new bowls and half pipes — marking the completion of a multi-year, $2.2 million overhaul of the park.

The 15,000-square-foot space features a bigger street course section than the old park, which is designed to encourage younger skaters, said Robert Capper of Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Capper also said the new park has a “snake run” zone for the skaters who prefer the “carving, surfing style”, a 13-foot “pro bowl” and a smaller, egg-shaped bowl.

“It was starting to deteriorate,” said Capper of the old park, “And when we looked into it it was more cost effective to replace the entire park then fix the concrete.”

The park, which is located at 6020 Wilson Boulevard in the Boulevard Manor neighborhood, began welcoming people back on April 8 as crews put the finishing touches on the renovations, according to the county website on the project.

Skaters and bikers can now use the park every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Arlington County Board approved renovations to the park last year.

“The result will be a safer park that both kids and adults in Arlington who are passionate about skateboarding, inline skating and BMX cycling can enjoy for years to come,” said Board member Katie Cristol before the vote.

The park originally opened in 2004, but a decade later officials said the concrete was “crumbling” and the skating community’s needs had changed. Officials began seeking public input on a new design in 2015.

“In addition to the fact that some of the concrete is beginning to fail, over the past decade the sport of skateboarding has evolved as has the evolution of skate parks,” the county website noted.

The county originally debuted the new design two years ago, sharing a 3D rendering video of what planners hoped the park could look like.

Screenshot via county

Coworking Providers TechSpace and Industrious Are Merging

By ARLnow.com
1/9

Two major coworking companies, which operate coworking spaces blocks apart in Ballston, are merging.

TechSpace has been acquired by the larger coworking provider Industrious, according to an email from TechSpace CEO Vic Memenas. ARLnow’s parent company is based in a TechSpace office and both companies are ARLnow advertisers.

“I am pleased to announce that, as of today, TechSpace is now part of Industrious, the largest premium flexible workspace provider in the U.S.,” Memenas wrote to tenants yesterday. “Over the next few months, the Industrious team will begin integrating TechSpace into their larger network.”

Memenas said the change “will have little impact” on TechSpace members. Thus far both the TechSpace and Industrious locations in Ballston are expected to continue operating despite their close proximity, we’re told; the Ballston TechSpace is almost completely full.

Industrious recently announced plans to open a new 25,000 square foot location in Courthouse, in addition to locations either open or planned in D.C., Bethesda, Tysons and Alexandria.

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