Jose Montano, 41, was arrested in Suisun City, which is about 50 miles northeast of San Francisco. United States Marshals Service, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and California Highway Patrol all assisted in the arrest, said Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
Montano “is being held on no bond in California and the extradition process is pending.”
The weekday afternoon stabbing in June left an acquaintance of Montano bleeding heavily from his arm, according to police. He was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while Montano reportedly fled on a mountain bike.
Marymount Student Killed By Jumper — Updated at 1:50 p.m. — A 22-year-old Marymount University graduate student was killed Saturday when a 12-year-old boy leapt from an overpass onto her car as she was driving down I-66 in Fairfax County. The boy was last reported to have survived but with life-threatening injuries. [NBC Washington, Twitter]
Food Hall Coming to Rosslyn — The restaurateurs behind Pamplona and Bar Bao in Clarendon are reportedly planning to open a new food hall in Rosslyn, above the new McDonald’s. The trendy food hall concept usually consists of “several different operators offering food from counters around a communal seating area.” [Washington Business Journal]
Drug Take-Back Day a Success in Arlington — Local law enforcement collected hundreds of pounds of prescription drugs in Arlington over the weekend. “The public safely disposed of 741 pounds of potentially dangerous unused, unwanted or expired medication during… Prescription Drug Take-Back Day,” Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow. “This exceeded the spring Drug Take-Back Day in which 562 pounds were collected.” [Twitter]
Drug Problem at Yorktown HS — “Bridget Loft, Yorktown’s new principal, took the doors off the bathrooms at school because students were using bathrooms to deal or use drugs. One of the most popular and easily disguised items of drug use, is the juul, a highly concentrated nicotine vaporizer… [which] can be refilled with marijuana, tobacco, or a substance of the student’s own invention. Youths often plug them into their school-issued laptops to charge them in class.” [Arlington Connection]
40 Under 40 Announced — The Leadership Center for Excellence has announced its annual Arlington 40 Under 40 honorees. The honoree luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 30 at Army Navy Country Club. [Leadership Center of Excellence]
Just over 2,250 Dominion customers are without power this morning in Arlington.
Strong winds overnight knocked out electricity to a large swath of Ballston and the Donaldson Run neighborhood. Other smaller, scattered outlets have also been reported.
A number of businesses are reportedly closed in Ballston as a result of the outage, including the Sport+Health club. So far Dominion’s website does not list an estimated time of restoration.
Arlington and much of the D.C. area is under a Wind Advisory.
The National Weather Service is advising that strong wind gusts overnight may damage trees and power lines and make driving hazardous.
More from NWS:
… WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM EDT MONDAY… * TIMING… LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH MID-MORNING MONDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE OVERNIGHT. * WINDS… NORTHWEST 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 50 TO 55 MPH. * IMPACTS… STRONG WINDS MAY BLOW DOWN LIMBS, TREES, AND POWER LINES. SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES ARE EXPECTED. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 50 TO 55 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. &&
Arlington Startup to Appear on Shark Tank — SmartGurlz, an Arlington-based company that makes “a line of dolls that ride robotic scooters, controlled by an app built to teach girls to code,” is set to appear on an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank next month. At least one other Arlington startup has pitched investors on the show, successfully: Zoobean received an investment from Mark Cuban after appearing on the show in 2014. [Washington Business Journal]
Pop-Up Food Venue to Open in Crystal City — What was once an unassuming concession stand in the Crystal City Water Park on Crystal Drive has been renovated and is reopening on Wednesday, Nov. 1 as “The Stand,” featuring a “rotating lineup of pop-ups from the hottest local food vendors.” Among the vendors expected to take up temporary residence are La Columbe coffee, Cookie Dough & Co., B Doughnut, Capital Chicken & Waffle, Timber Pizza Company and Pinch Chinese dumplings. [Eater, The Stand]
Arlington Launches New Tourism Website — Arlington County has relaunched its tourism website. Per a press release: “The new website has the latest features, including responsive design… an enhanced regional events calendar integrating community events from Virginia.org and EventBrite; persistent mapping tied to local business listings; intuitive social media integration; HTML5 full-screen video and more.” [Arlington County, StayArlington]
Gutshall Endorsed by GGW — The urbanist website Greater Greater Washington has endorsed Democrat Erik Gutshall in the upcoming Arlington County Board general election. “Erik isn’t just for smart growth, he has deep experience and a strong track record from his time on Arlington’s Planning Commission and Transportation Commission,” the website wrote. “He’s a strong advocate for missing middle housing, bike infrastructure and transit-oriented development.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Clement Supports ADUs at Board Meeting — Independent County Board candidate Audrey Clement spoke in favor of loosening regulations on Accessory Dwelling Units at this past weekend’s Board meeting. “As a tenant in one of the few remaining affordable garden apartments in Westover Village, I welcome the prospect of moving to an ADU as opposed to a flat in an outlying suburb once my building is demolished,” Clement said. [Audrey Clement]
‘Breakfast With the Chief’ — Arlington County Police Chief Jay Farr will be hosting a breakfast for member of the local business community Monday morning in Rosslyn. “The event will provide information on the police department’s engagement with the business community to resolve public safety concerns, crime prevention and safety tips and a presentation by the FBI Cyber Security Task Force,” said ACPD. [Arlington County]
Two raccoons tested positive for rabies this week in Arlington, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington announced Thursday evening.
The first was discovered in the 2000 block of Military Road in Cherrydale, and the second in the 2000 block of 6th Street S. in Penrose.
Pets were exposed to both rabid animals, AWLA said.
More from Susan Sherman, AWLA’s Chief Operating Officer:
Two raccoons found in Arlington County have tested positive for rabies this week. The first raccoon exposure occurred in the 2000 block of Military Road in the Cherrydale neighborhood. The second raccoon exposure occurred on the 2000 block of 6th St S in the Penrose neighborhood. Both exposures were to domestic pets.
The most important step pet owners can take to prevent rabies is to keep their pets’ rabies vaccinations current. If you are unsure of your pets’ vaccination status, please contact your veterinarian. The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is hosting a low-cost rabies clinic this evening, October 26, 2017, from 6:30-8:30 for dogs and cats. Dogs must be on leash and cats must be secured in carriers, no appointment necessary. For more information on low-cost rabies/microchip clinics please visit https://www.awla.org/services/low-cost-rabies-and-microchip-clinics/.
Please do not approach wildlife. If an animal appears in distress or injured or if you or your pet has had contact with wildlife please contact Animal Control immediately at 703-931-9241. Keep dogs on leash while out in the community, including parks, at all times.
Rabies most commonly is spread from having direct contact with the saliva of a rabid animal. Those with potential exposure can be treated with human rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccinations to prevent rabies symptoms. Once a person develops symptoms, there is no effective treatment and the disease is fatal. If the rabies vaccine is given before symptoms develop, however, this will effectively prevent rabies.
If you have questions or believe that you or your pet may have been exposed to wildlife, call (703) 228-5200 Option #1 and ask for the Nurse of the Day during business hours (Monday – Friday 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) After hours call, (703) 228-5645 and leave a message with your name and phone number and your call will be returned within two hours.
A recent report by a national nonprofit found that more than 6,000 people are employed by more than 600 businesses and organizations that support the arts in Arlington County.
In a report prepared by Americans For The Arts entitled, “The Creative Industries: Business & Employment,” 658 arts-related businesses were found to employ 6,124 people. Those arts-related businesses are defined as arts schools/services; design/publishing; film, radio and television; museum/collections; performing arts; and visual/photography.
The creative industries account for 5.1 percent of the total number of businesses located in Arlington County and 3 percent of the people they employ, according to the report.
“Arts businesses and the creative people they employ stimulate innovation, strengthen America’s competitiveness in the global marketplace, and play an important role in building and sustaining economic vibrancy,” the report reads. “In a global economy, the creative industries are durable and enduring local employers.”
The report’s findings brought praise from local group Embracing Arlington Arts, a citizen group that focuses on informing others about the importance of art in the Arlington community.
Chair Janet Kopenhaver said arts’ support of the economy goes beyond those directly employed in the creative industries, and contributes a great deal.
“When considering that, according to another economic study, over $18 million of economic activity in Arlington is derived from audience expenditures associated with arts events, including eating at restaurants, parking, ticket sales and other purchases made during their night out, these industries economically contribute so much to our county,” Kopenhaver said in a statement.
This month, the three candidates for the Arlington School Board faced a series of questions at a forum hosted by the Arlington Committee of 100.
Like the three Arlington County Board candidates earlier this week, they then faced additional unanswered questions from the audience — due to time constraints — that ARLnow collated and emailed to them.
Two candidates’ unedited responses are below. (A third candidate, Mike Webb, did not respond.)
1. How do you plan to deal with the exploding student population in Arlington schools?
Alison Dough:
The simple and easiest answer would be to build more schools. If land is not available – build schools up. Ashlawn Elementary is an example of a school that recently and successfully built-up to address the increase in students.
I think that the school board needs to partner with the county board on this issue as it economically impacts both boards and together we should be able to work towards a possible solution that resolves the need for overcrowding in the schools and classrooms.
Monique O’Grady:
APS must get in front of its capacity crisis with better planning and a strategy on how to effectively provide seats for all of its students. As a member of the school board, I will work with my colleagues to plan with members of the county board to make best use of our limited dollars, limited space, and limited time. Through this collaborative effort we can reach decisions that will not only best serve our students, but also make efficient use of Arlington tax dollars.
2. Do you think a career teacher should be paid enough to afford to live in Arlington?
Dough:
Perhaps we need to consider housing-vouchers for teachers that make a very good case for the need to live in Arlington County. I work for a non-profit in Arlington and I know many of my coworkers would rather not commute in from Fairfax, Alexandria, Loudoun, eastern Maryland, Baltimore – but they do because they cannot afford to live in Arlington.
O’Grady:
Yes. Arlington should continue to find ways to support middle class residents who are at risk of being priced out of living in Arlington. This “missing middle,” as County Board candidate Erik Gutshall calls it, is an essential and invaluable component of our community and workforce. Teachers want to be able to live where they work. It fosters a closer connection between educators and their students as well as between educators and the larger community; this connection assists teachers with their work, making them even more effective in their jobs. Therefore, it makes sense to look for ways to attract the best and brightest teachers, including supporting policies that make it easier for our teachers to make Arlington home. This will help recruit and retain teachers – one of the current strategic plan goals.
3. Identify the area of waste you would like to eliminate if elected.
Dough:
I propose looking at areas that do not directly impact the children. We should first take a look at administrative costs and other overhead.
O’Grady:
As a new member of the school board I would welcome an emerging practice that gives APS the ability to consider three different plans for new school buildings. Plans will be offered that show a design using the minimum budget, a mid-range budget, and maximum budget. This policy would seek avenues to eliminate waste, yet not at the expense of essential, quality services.
I also welcome more collaboration between the school board and county board. I think collaborative planning will help eliminate wasted time, eliminate wasted dollars with consultants and contractors, and will lead to more efficient use of our tax dollars and limited county- and school-owned land.
4. If elected, would you support changing the name of Washington-Lee High School?
The Cantos brothers receive their Eagle Scout pins
A hug during the ceremony
The Cantos brothers are joined on stage by fellow Eagle Scouts
Steven Cantos gives remarks at the ceremony
The brothers wait to be led on stage
Attendees at the ceremony at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alexandria
U.S. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta
(Updated 12 p.m.) As elementary school students, blind triplets Leo, Nick and Steven Cantos were bullied, had few friends and no role models.
But that changed when, at the age of 10, blind attorney and Crystal City resident Ollie Cantos became their mentor after learning about them through a friend at church. He legally adopted them two years ago, and turned their lives around.
“I didn’t have friends, my brothers were the only people, that was it,” Nick Cantos said. “I was essentially shut in for seven years, and I was a violent kid. I got into fights with people, because I was being bullied in school. It ended up getting so bad that I wanted to end [my life]. Dad really saved my life.”
A ceremony on Wednesday night marked how far they have come, having also graduated from Wakefield High School earlier this year. At The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alexandria, the brothers became the first ever blind triplets to be honored as Eagle Scouts in the history of Boy Scouts of America.
To become Eagle Scouts, the highest honor in scouting, candidates must complete a slew of assignments, including tasks like first aid, knot-tying, leadership and orientation. It also requires community service, and six months or more spent in leadership positions at their troop.
Each also had to lead a community service project. Steven Cantos collected school supplies for low-income schoolchildren for nonprofit Aspire! Afterschool. He already volunteered with the organization, which helps children improve their reading, and had intended to collect enough supplies for 90 students.
When the supply drive was over, he had collected enough for 130 students.
“They go in and help kids read in a more advanced way, since they feel that reading is the first thing that kids need to learn, and then they learn other things if they can read better,” Steven Cantos said. “The project stemmed from the fact that I’d already volunteered a bit of time to them, so I wanted to give some more time… I decided that education is important, so let’s give them school supplies.”
Leo Cantos collected blood and blankets for INOVA Fairfax Hospital, a children’s hospital where he spent a month re-learning how to walk. He finished with 88 units of blood and 77 blankets, all donated by local people he had recruited.
“I wanted to give back to the kids, because I saw the kids there and I saw how they were not doing too well,” Leo Cantos said. “I wanted to give them a better experience, kind of like the one I had in the hospital but extended to them as well.”
And Nick Cantos collected donations of hygiene supplies for nonprofit Doorways for Women and Families, which helps people out of homelessness and away from domestic violence and sexual assault. He collected about $2,000 worth of supplies to donate to the organization.
“It took a lot of planning, it took a lot of work and papers,” Nick Cantos said. “The craziest part was seeing all my scout friends and leaders and brothers helping me to do this, and me managing this thing.”
Badaro’s Big Plans — As we reported yesterday, a fast-casual Lebanese restaurant called Badaro is opening in the former NKD Pizza space in Virginia Square. According to Eater, restaurateur Jay Zein hopes to open the Badaro by December 1. “From there,” reports the website, “he says he’ll install a second location around Arlington, Virginia, by summer 2018 and ‘then expand beyond that.'” [Eater]
Fleet Elementary Time Capsule — Students, school administrators and county officials were on hand yesterday to fill a time capsule at the under-construction Alice West Fleet Elementary School, next to Thomas Jefferson Middle School. [Twitter]
Roads Next in Line for Changes at DCA — With a $1 billion expansion project underway at Reagan National Airport, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is now looking at DCA’s network of roadways as the next thing in line for upgrades. [InsideNova]
Arlington Resident Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro — Arlington resident Janene Corrado has climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Corrado’s fundraising quest started when her father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2011. [Arlington Catholic Herald]
Amazon Key Coming to D.C. Area — Amazon is planning to launch a service called Amazon Key that would electronically grant delivery drivers access to your home to securely deliver packages. The service “is exclusively for Prime members in select cities and surrounding areas,” including the D.C. area. [PoPville]
More details have emerged about the arrest of murder suspect Jason Allen Johnson.
Arlington County Police say Johnson — who is wanted for the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man at a north Arlington house party in February — was arrested for shoplifting on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Johnson is being held in New York City, pending extradition to Virginia.
More from an ACPD press release:
A suspect wanted for Murder in Arlington County has been arrested in New York City. At approximately 4:10 p.m. on October 24, Jason Allen Johnson was arrested in the 2700 block of Broadway in Manhattan for shoplifting. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that he was wanted for First Degree Murder and on a District of Columbia Superior Court Warrant for Failure to Appear on a Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Cocaine charge. He is being held in New York City pending extradition to the Commonwealth.
At approximately 3:22 a.m. on February 19, 2017, Arlington County Police responded to the 6300 block of N. 29th Street for the report of shots fired. Arriving officers located one male victim suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately began performing CPR. Arlington County Fire Department medics transported Michael Gray, 23, of Manassas, Virginia to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The initial investigation revealed that this shooting resulted from a dispute that took place during a party at a residence in the 6300 block of N. 29th Street. Following an intensive investigation including witness interviews and the review of crime scene evidence, charges were sought for Jason Allen Johnson, 38, of Washington D.C. Johnson subsequently fled the area and a long, exhaustive search was initiated by the United States Marshals Service and the Arlington County Police Department.
The investigation into this incident is ongoing. If you have additional information regarding this investigation, contact Detective J. Trainer of the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4185 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
