News

Report: Arlington Boasts One of the ‘Healthiest’ Housing Markets in the Country

By Alex Koma

Arlington has one of the “healthiest” housing markets in the country thanks to a stable supply of affordable homes, according to a new study.

The financial research firm SmartAsset ranked the county first in Virginia and 24th in the nation in a new evaluation of the country’s largest housing markets.

Arlington earned those high marks based on four factors the firm considered in weighing whether homeowners can easily sell their homes with a low risk of losing money: stability, affordability, fluidity and risk of loss. SmartAsset found the county performed best when it came to demand for homes, based on how long the average house stayed on the market — Arlington homes are available for an average of 41.9 days, well below the national average of 52.5 days.

The firm also found that home costs tend to take up about 20.1 percent of the average Arlington homeowner’s income, a touch below the national average of 22 percent, which also helped the county score well in these rankings. However, Arlington’s high income levels surely impacted that statistic.

SmartAsset also determined that just 10.9 percent of county homeowners have negative equity on their homes, increasing the risk of foreclosure, another statistic below the national average.

Arlingtonians stay in their homes for an average of 11.3 years, below both the state and national averages, lending some fluidity to the market as well.

The one factor where the county scored poorly compared to some of its peers is the percentage of homes decreasing in value — 22.2 percent of Arlington’s homes are dropping in value at the moment, compared to 13.8 percent nationally.

Overall, SmartAsset ranked Buffalo, New York; Fremont, California; and Colorado Springs, Colorado as the top three healthiest markets nationwide.

File photo

County Plans to Pilot New Bike, Pedestrian Features on N. Pershing Drive

By Alex Koma
1/3

Arlington is gearing up to test some protected bike lanes and pedestrian safety features along a heavily trafficked stretch of N. Pershing Drive in Lyon Park.

The county plans to install the new “safety and accessibility improvements” on the road between Washington Blvd and N. Barton Street in the coming weeks, as part of some previously scheduled summer paving work in the area. Mainly, the construction will focus on adding protected bike lanes alongside some new landscaping designed to better separate cars from pedestrians.

Transportation planners have been studying the road for potential improvements since last summer, over concerns that Pershing can be challenging for cyclists and pedestrians alike along the road as it leads up to Route 50. While the county hopes to eventually make the changes permanent, Arlington’s gloomy financial picture means that officials will merely be testing out the new features over the next few years as “a cost-effective opportunity to implement improvements early,” according to the county’s website.

Workers also plan to relocate the Capital Bikeshare station in the area once the paving work gets going. The station currently sits along 7th Street N., but the county is planning to move it up the block a bit to where the road intersects with Washington Blvd, adjacent to a gas station in the area.

County transportation spokesman Eric Balliet says that work will likely start sometime in September, noting “we don’t have an exact timeframe yet.”

Someday, the county plans to add pedestrian safety and bus stop accessibility improvements at intersections all along Pershing as it runs to meet N. Glebe Road. However, those projects are on hold until the county can come up with a bit more funding.

Morning Notes

By Alex Koma

Arlington Has Some of the Oldest First-Time Mothers Nationwide — A new analysis suggests that the average Arlingtonian mother has her first child at 31, putting the county sixth in the nation in terms of the oldest average age. Falls Church ranks fourth. [New York Times]

School Board Approves Final Reed School Design — After reviewing plans last month, school leaders have signed off on new schematics for an elementary school in Westover. [InsideNova]

Arlington Planetarium Faces Temporary Closure — The facility could be closed for a year or more in 2020-2021, as the school system renovates the Education Center to allow for more high school seats. [InsideNova]

Pentagon City Rescue — Firefighters rescued an injured worker from a rooftop near the 400 block of 11th Street S. The worker suffered non-life threatening injuries. [Twitter]

Pentagon Set to Ban Fitness Trackers — Military and other DoD personnel soon won’t be able to take their Fitbits onto bases or other secure facilities, or even use step-tracking apps or other GPS functions on their phones. [WTOP]

Back to School at Barcroft Elementary — The school welcomed students and teachers back to class Monday (Aug. 7). Barcroft offers a “modified” calendar, reducing the summer break but not eliminating it. [Twitter, Twitter]

Flickr pool photo via wolfkann

Police Investigating More Airbag Thefts in Crystal City, Pentagon City

By Alex Koma

Roughly 20 vehicles were damaged across a series of Pentagon City and Crystal City neighborhoods on Friday (Aug. 3), marking the second time in the last month thieves have struck the area.

Arlington County police believe “the windows of approximately 20 vehicles were smashed and airbags stolen” across the area sometime on Friday night, according to a crime report.

They add that the thieves stole the tires and rims off two of those vehicles. In all, police believe the incidents occurred on the following streets:

  • 500 block of 15th Street S.
  • 1500 block of S. Arlington Ridge Road
  • 1100 block of Army Navy Drive
  • 1200 block of S. Eads Street
  • 1600 block of S. Eads Street
  • 1900 block of S. Eads Street
  • 1100 block of S. Joyce Street
  • 1600 block of S. Joyce Street

Thieves damaged approximately 35 vehicles on some of the same sections of S. Joyce Street and S. Eads Street in early July. Many residents of the RiverHouse Apartments reported having their cars damaged at the time.

More details from an Arlington County crime report:

LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series), 2018-08030320/08030326/08040004/08040022/08040012/08040076/08040098/08040110/08040191, 1200 block of S. Eads Street/1100 block of S. Joyce Street/1600 block of S. Joyce Street/1900 block of S. Eads Street/1500 block of S. Arlington Ridge Road/500 block of 15th Street S./1600 block of S. Eads Street/1100 block of Army Navy Drive. At approximately 11:00 p.m. on August 3, police began responding to the above locations for multiple reports of larcenies from auto. Upon arrival, it was determined that the windows of approximately 20 vehicles were smashed and airbags stolen. During the course of the investigation, it was also determined that two vehicles each had a set of four tires and rims stolen. The investigation is ongoing.

Arlington Democrats Back Striking National Guard Workers

By Alex Koma
1/3

Arlington Democrats are throwing their support behind a group of workers with disabilities who have spent the last few months on strike, demanding the chance to unionize.

The county’s Democratic Committee voted Wednesday (Aug. 1) to urge Didlake, a Manassas nonprofit who employees the workers, to “respect the rights of its workers” at the Army National Guard Readiness Center on S. George Mason Drive and recognize that they’ve repeatedly voted to form a union.

“We feel the Democratic Party should support labor, and this was happening right here in Arlington, so we wanted to take a stand,” committee chair Jill Caiazzo told ARLnow. “It was not a tough call… and hopefully this will focus more attention on it and keep the drumbeat up. This issue is not going away.”

Roughly a dozen Didlake employees, who provide maintenance and custodial services at the center, walked off the job in late May, arguing that they have the right to unionize and negotiate with the company to somehow bring down soaring healthcare costs. But Didlake claims that, because the company only employs the workers through a federal program designed to help disabled people find jobs, they don’t have the same ability to unionize as other workers.

The dispute has made it to the National Labor Relations Board, where officials have twice ruled that the company should recognize the group’s union, organized with the help of a branch of the Laborers’ International Union of North America. Yet Didlake has repeatedly appealed the NLRB’s rulings, and its executives say they’re waiting on a final decision from the body before weighing their next steps on the matter.

“What we’re most concerned about is not being able to help our people with disabilities if the union comes between us and them,” Didlake CEO Donna Hollis said in a video statement released July 11. “We’ve been silent on this issue for too long… We care tremendously about our employees and want to make sure they’re not losing access to government funded programs and services.”

The company expects a final NLRB ruling before the end of the year. In the meantime, company spokeswoman Erika Spalding told ARLnow that Didlake has “had to hire temporary employees to fill the gaps” left by the striking workers.

“We agree that the wages and costs of healthcare can be improved for our employees,” Hollis said. “But we need more funding to serve more people”

Regardless of the company’s financial situation, workers argue that they’ve long been underpaid and had to cope with rising healthcare costs on low salaries. Some say they earn less than $13 an hour, and none of the striking workers make as much as $15 an hour, factors noted by the ACDC in its resolution supporting the workers.

They believe a union could help at least get the two sides talking to hash out these issues. But, for now, it seems the company and its workers will stay at an impasse.

“We are very constrained by the legal requirements around this so we are unable to communicate with our own employees around this issue,” Spalding said. “It would be construed as interfering with the employees’ rights to organize.”

Morning Poll: Should Washington-Lee HS Be Renamed?

By ARLnow.com

The Washington-Lee High School renaming process continues to move forward, despite a lawsuit and opposition from many students and alumni.

The School Board is hoping to have a new name ready for the school in time for the opening of the 2019-2020 school year next September, ARLnow has previously reported.

But it will be an uphill battle for school officials, judging by emails we continue to receive from upset alums and other anecdotal reports; Sun Gazette Editor Scott McCaffrey wrote today that he and other staffers at the paper frequently run into W-L alumni, all of whom thus far have expressed opposition to the change.

Last time we did a poll on the subject was five years ago this month, when a name change was still just an idea batted about by letter to the editor writers. At that time, 87.5 percent of respondents said they were against changing the name, agreeing that Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy are “part of our history and… not worth changing the name over.”

Since then, the emergence of an emboldened white nationalist movement and last summer’s deadly rally in Charlottesville have changed the conversation. But is it enough to change opinions on removing Lee’s name from W-L? Let’s find out.

Washington, D.C. Man Pleads Guilty to 2017 Murder at Williamsburg Party

By Alex Koma

A Washington, D.C. man is now facing 23 years behind bars, after pleading guilty to shooting and killing a man at a party in Williamsburg last year.

Jason Allen Johnson, 39, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and two gun charges on Tuesday (July 31), averting the need for a trial previously set for September.

Investigators believe Johnson got into an argument with 23-year-old Michael Gray of Manassas on Feb. 17, 2017 while the pair attended a party at a home on the 6300 block of 29th Street N., not far from Bishop O’Connell High School. Police believe Johnson then shot Gray, who later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Johnson managed to flee the scene before police arrived, and he was only arrested in October after he was caught shoplifting in New York City. He was initially charged with first degree murder, before pleading to a lesser charge this week.

“Mr. Gray tragically lost his life to a senseless act of violence by Jason Allen Johnson,” Arlington County Deputy Police Chief Daniel Murray wrote in a statement. “This sentence is a result of the commitment of our detectives to continue to pursue this case and hold Johnson accountable for his actions, despite fleeing from the commonwealth. Although nothing will return the victim to his family, we hope this sentence will provide closure to the victim’s family knowing that this violent criminal will be behind bars for a significant amount of time.”

Photo courtesy of Arlington County Police

JUST IN: Girl Believed to be Abducted from DCA Found Safe

By Alex Koma

The 12-year-old girl police believed was abducted from Reagan National Airport yesterday (Thursday) has been found safe.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says JinJing Ma was located today, after issuing an Amber Alert for her yesterday. Ma was “found in the New York City borough of Queens, safe and in the custody of her parents,” according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

State police issued the alert after learning a woman had led Ma into a car, after Ma arrived from New York as part of a Chinese tour group.

Photo courtesy of Virginia State Police

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Flash Flood Watch Today — Arlington and much of the region is again under a Flash Flood Watch today and through early Saturday. Heavy rains expected during the day and evening may cause flash flooding, forecasters say. [Twitter, Weather.gov]

Smoke the Dog Visits Nats Park — Smoke, the Arlington shelter dog with terminal cancer who’s become an internet star for his quest to check off his “bucket list,” had quite a Thursday. The hound got to visit home plate at Nationals Park yesterday, and also got to go home to a new adoptive dog mom. [WJLA]

Arlington Unemployment Rate Still Lowest in Va. — “Despite a second month in a row of upticks, Arlington’s unemployment rate in June remained the envy of Virginia’s 132 other cities and counties. With 150,837 county residents in the civilian workforce and 3,393 looking for jobs, Arlington’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of 2.2 percent in June was lowest in the commonwealth.” [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

UPDATED: Police Issue Amber Alert for Girl Allegedly Abducted from DCA

By Alex Koma
1/2

(Updated at 6 p.m.) Virginia State Police have issued an “Amber Alert” for a 12-year-old girl they believe was abducted from Reagan National Airport today (Thursday).

Police believe JinJing Ma is in “extreme danger” after a woman led her away from the arrivals area of the airport earlier today. Ma had just arrived from China as part of a tour group at the time of the alleged abduction.

Airport police believe the woman led Ma into a white Infiniti SUV with New York license plates. Police say a man was driving the vehicle, but otherwise don’t have any details on his description.

State police describe Ma as having black hair and brown eyes, standing 4’11” and weighing 90 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a black jacket.

The woman who led her away is described as an Asian woman with black hair, approximately 40 year old and wearing a black dress.

“[The abducted girl] received her passport just prior to checking in and left her group,” says the Amber Alert. “She met up with an unknown middle age Asian female, who assisted her in changing clothes. They then walked together to the arrivals area of the airport and disappeared out of camera view. Witness stated he may have seen same woman in NYC meet up with victim and hand her food.”

Police plan to release a video of the girl being led away later this evening.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority at 703-417-2400, or visit www.vaamberalert.com.

Flood Warning Issued for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County is now under a Flood Warning as heavy rain falls on already-saturated ground.

The warning is in effect until 7:45 p.m.

More from the National Weather Service:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR… THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA… SOUTHEASTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN CENTRAL MARYLAND… NORTHERN PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY IN CENTRAL MARYLAND… ARLINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA… THE CITY OF FALLS CHURCH IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA… EAST CENTRAL FAIRFAX COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA… THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA…

* UNTIL 745 PM EDT.

* AT 250 PM EDT, DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING  HEAVY RAIN WHICH WILL CAUSE FLOODING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO  TWO INCHES ARE LIKELY.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT MAY EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE… ARLINGTON, ALEXANDRIA, BETHESDA, BOWIE, ANNANDALE, SPRINGFIELD, COLLEGE PARK, FORT WASHINGTON, GREENBELT, LANGLEY PARK, BELTSVILLE, FORT HUNT, GROVETON, FORESTVILLE, FALLS CHURCH, HUNTINGTON, LARGO, CORAL HILLS, BLADENSBURG AND NATIONAL HARBOR.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED ROADS. MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN VEHICLES.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS, URBAN AREAS, HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

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