Arlington County Police are looking for three teens who forcibly took three pizzas from a delivery driver and also made off with his insulated bag.
The theft happened Sunday night in Ballston, near the under-construction Ballston Quarter mall.
Police say the teens approached the driver and actually gave him money, but not enough for all three pizzas. They then took the pizzas and the bag. ACPD would not say how much they paid.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not releasing the amount of money provided by the suspects,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
More from a crime report:
GRAND LARCENY, 2017-08060236, 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 8:28 p.m. on August 6, police responded to the report of a robbery by force. Upon arrival it was determined that when an individual delivering pizzas arrived to make the delivery, he was approached by three unknown subjects. One subject provided the victim with cash while another forcibly grabbed the pizza. The three subjects then fled the scene on foot. The cash provided to the victim was less than the cost of the order. All three subjects are described as black males approximately 17-18 years old, slim builds, with medium complexion. One of the subjects had black, curly hair that stuck straight up. The other two suspects had short, black hair. The investigation is ongoing.
VT Says It Is Behind ‘Driverless’ Van — The “driverless” van seen driving around Clarendon over the past week was actually a Virginia Tech research project designed to record the “real world reactions” to a vehicle without a driver. However, there was a driver: a man dressed as a car seat. The mystery was solved in real time on Twitter yesterday and quickly went viral. [NBC Washington, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Twitter]
Retired Colonel Saved By Quick-Acting EMS Crew — Firefighters and EMS personnel from Arlington and Alexandria helped to save the life of a retired U.S. Army colonel who went into cardiac arrest in his home in Crystal City. The crew used defibrillators to revive him. [Facebook, WJLA]
Obit: Patsy Ticer — Patsy Ticer, a former four-term Virginia state Senator who represented parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax, has died at the age of 82. [Washington Post, InsideNova]
Marymount Moves Into New Ballston Building — Faculty and staff are moving into Marymount University’s newly-built Ballston building, in time for the start of the new school year. [Twitter]
Two men have been arrested and charged with trying to steal bikes from a front porch and a parking garage.
The pair were allegedly spotted in Maywood and near Lyon Village attempting to steal bikes Friday morning. Police were called, searched the area and arrested the men, both in their mid-20s.
More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
GRAND LARCENY, 2017-08040083, 3200 block of 23rd Street N. At approximately 9:43 a.m. on August 4, police were dispatched to the report of two suspicious males attempting to steal a bicycle from the front porch of a residence. Shortly after, a similar call was received reporting two subjects were attempting to steal a bicycle from a parking garage in the 1900 block of N. Daniel Street. Responding officers canvassed the area and located two subjects matching the descriptions provided by the witnesses. Philip Taylor, 25, of Capitol Hills, MD, was arrested and charged with Grand Larceny (x2) and Grand Larceny with Intent to Sell. Raheem Freeman, 24, of No Fixed Address was arrested and charged with Conspiracy to Commit Grand Larceny and Identity Theft. Both were held on no bond.
Man Charged in Pike Apartment Fire — A 27-year-old Arlington man has been charged in connection with Saturday’s apartment fire on Columbia Pike. Police say Demetrius Antonio Taylor got in a verbal dispute with a woman, assaulted her, lit a carpeted floor mat on fire, pushed an infant in a stroller towards the fire and fled the scene. He faces a litany of charges including arson, felony child endangerment and two counts of assault on law enforcement, after becoming combative in a police department interview room. [Arlington County]
Man Dies in Motorcycle Wreck Following Pursuit — A Woodbridge man died early Sunday morning after crashing his motorcycle while being pursued by Virginia State Police. The pursuit started after a “BOLO” broadcast for a motorcycle seen traveling at a high rate of speed on I-395 in Arlington County. [Potomac Local, WTOP]
ACFD Battles Falls Church Blaze — Firefighters from Arlington County and Fairfax County battled a house fire on Railroad Avenue in the City of Falls Church early Sunday morning. The homeowners were displaced by the fire, which was “mostly confined to the basement.” ACFD provides firefighting services to Falls Church under contract. [Falls Church News-Press]
Northam, Perriello to Mingle With Arlington Dems — Ralph Northam, the Democratic candidate for governor, will be the featured guest at an Arlington County Democratic Committee happy hour on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at Pamplona in Clarendon. Tom Perriello, who lost in the gubernatorial primary to Northam, will be featured at the annual ACDC Labor Day Chili Cookoff at the Lyon Park Community Center on Monday, Sept. 4. [InsideNova, InsideNova]
A driver “hit the gas instead of the brakes” and flipped her car in the East Falls Church Metro commuter parking lot this morning, according to a fire department spokesman.
The incident was first reported around 7 a.m.
Rescuers from the Arlington County Fire Department helped to extricate the woman from the overturned vehicle. She was transported to the hospital with minor injuries, the spokesman said.
One patient has been successfully extricated & transported with non life threatening injuries. Incident-East Falls Church Metro parking lot pic.twitter.com/Og9t15wqMP
Update at 4:25 p.m. — The Flash Flood Watch has been cancelled.
415pm: Flash Flood Watch CANCELLED. Heavy rain threat has ended.
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 7, 2017
Arlington and much of the rest of the D.C. area is under a Flash Flood Watch today.
Heavy rain and storms are expected today. Rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hours could produce flash flooding, forecasters warn.
More from the National Weather Service:
… FLASH FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING… THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT… * FROM 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING * MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY WITH LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR POSSIBLE. * RUNOFF FROM EXCESSIVE RAINFALL MAY CAUSE RAPID RISES OF WATER IN LOW-LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AS WELL AS STREAMS AND CREEKS, RESULTING IN FLASH FLOODING. URBAN AREAS WILL BE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED. &&
Rain, heavy at times today. Highest chance of flash flooding from the I-95 corridor on east, where a Flash Flood Watch is in effect 9AM-10PM pic.twitter.com/bdcoNoqV9S
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 7, 2017
Flash #Flood Watch has been issued. 1-1.5" expected on average, localized 3"+ totals possible. Urban areas most susceptible. pic.twitter.com/FP3WgQgerB
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 6, 2017
Firefighters from Arlington and surrounding jurisdictions battled an apartment fire on Columbia Pike Saturday morning.
The fire was first reported around 11:20 a.m. at the 280-unit Serrano apartment complex on the 5500 block of Columbia Pike. Flames could be seen coming from the top floor of the eight-story building.
The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes. Residents of 25 units were displaced by the fire and one person was hospitalized for smoke inhalation, WJLA reported.
Columbia Pike was temporarily closed during the firefighting effort, according to an Arlington Alert.
The apartment building is run by Arlington-based nonprofit affordable housing developer AHC Inc.
Complaint Begets No Parking Signs Begets Complaints — Residents of a dead-end street in the Woodmont neighborhood are complaining after Arlington took eight street parking spaces away, and WaPo is on it. The no parking signs went up in response to a resident’s complaint about the street being too narrow. [Washington Post]
Driverless Van Update — Who or what is behind the driverless van spotted cruising around Clarendon yesterday evening? We still don’t know for sure, but a Virginia Tech spokeswoman offered “no comment” this morning in response to our inquiry. [ARLnow]
Route 110 Lane Closures — “Route 110 at the Route 27 interchange and local ramps will have nighttime closures from Monday, Aug. 7 to Thursday, Aug. 24 in order to install bridge beams, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.” [VDOT]
Yelp Says Nope to Arlington — Online review site Yelp has leased 52,000 square feet of office space near the Verizon Center in D.C. for a new East Coast hub. The company was also considering office space in Rosslyn but, despite its CEO’s Arlington connection, decided against it. [Washington Business Journal]
Update at 2:40 p.m. on 8/7/17 — Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said in a statement to ARLnow: “ACPD is aware that driverless vehicles are being tested in the Commonwealth. Officers have not had contact with the vehicle observed in Clarendon. If officers observe a traffic violation, they will attempt a traffic stop.”
Update at 1:30 p.m. on 8/7/17 — NBC 4’s Adam Tuss, working on a follow-up story to this article, spotted the van driving around Clarendon on Monday, Aug. 7, and upon further inspection found a driver — disguised as a seat. Police were called after the driver ran a red light but officers were unable to locate the van, according to scanner traffic. Tuss’ report is expected to air Monday night.
Earlier: A mysterious, seemingly driverless van was spotted cruising the streets of Arlington’s Courthouse and Clarendon neighborhoods Thursday evening.
The unmarked gray van with Virginia license plates drove up and down Wilson and Clarendon Blvds more than a half dozen times — with no one in the driver’s seat or passenger seat. The rear windows of the Ford Transit Connect van were darkly tinted.
The van appeared to drive cautiously but keep up with traffic. Cameras and a light bar could be seen behind the windshield.
When the car stopped at a red light, the light bar started blinking. When the signal turned green and the car started driving, the blinking stopped.
The lack of a driver went mostly unnoticed as Clarendon residents went around their after-work routines near the Metro station, though occasionally people could be seen pointing at the car or asking someone nearby if they saw a driver.
Spokespeople for Arlington County, the Arlington County Police Department, VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration did not have any immediate knowledge of any autonomous vehicle testing on the streets of Arlington.
VDOT and FHWA recently announced that Virginia Tech would be conducting automated vehicle testing along I-95, I-495, I-66, Route 50 and Route 29. The announcement did not mention testing on primary streets along Metro corridors, however WTOP reported in May that “self-driving cars already on Virginia roads, even if you don’t realize it.”
“In Virginia, it’s a little bit more discreet, so companies could test in real-world environments and you wouldn’t even know, so we have some proprietary studies going that route,” a Virginia Tech researcher was quoted as saying.
Anne Deekens, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, declined to say whether it belongs to the university. “I have no comment at this time,” she said.
Kirkwood Road and Washington Blvd aerial site plan
The area could get a new apartment building, YMCA and affordable housing
The proposal would replace, among others, the shuttered Sport and Health
American Legion Post 139
The site is near the old Ball family burial ground
The YMCA could grow into a 1,000-square-foot facility
Arlington YMCA
The Planning Commission could examine the plans as early as September
Plans for the redevelopment of a seven-acre site in Virginia Square — which include a new apartment building, YMCA facility and affordable housing — are slated to come before the Arlington Planning Commission this fall.
The plans, for several properties around the intersection of Washington Blvd and N. Kirkwood Road, could result in a new six-story apartment building; a rebuilt, 100,000 square foot YMCA building; and a 161-home affordable housing project. The plans call for retaining American Legion Post 139 on the property.
On its property — the largest parcel on the site — the YMCA says it “intends to redevelop its site to allow for an expanded, world class, modern athletic and community YMCA facility as part of a mixed use project which would also allow for new residential uses on, or adjacent to, the Property.”
Within the site is the Ball family burial ground, designated as a local historic district in 1978 and the resting place of several family members. Given the desire to study the site, individual site plans and construction are still years away from coming to fruition.
The county and its Long Range Planning Committee has spent several months discussing land use planning for the parcel and the area as a whole, in advance of a site plan process.
The committee met on July 25 to discuss the latest round of suggestions for land use. Anthony Fusarelli, principal planner in the county’s Department of Community, Planning, Housing and Development, said in an email “it was suggested” that be the final meeting on the topic, and that the study be advanced to the full Planning Commission.
Ahead of that Planning Commission meeting, which could be as early as September, Fusarelli said an updated study document will be released for community review, incorporating the feedback of LRPC members and the public.
At the meeting of the LRPC last month, county staff presented various options for the site’s land use, while taking into account how buildings’ heights decrease as they get further from a Metro station.
Among those options, staff presented two that would create a so-called “Special District,” which would help coordinate development in the area and set clear guidelines for projects. The area would be designated as the Washington/Kirkwood Coordinated Mixed-Use Development District.
And in terms of density, staff has several options left on the table, including several that would allow for varying types of housing, which they said reflected local residents’ desire to have a transition between the dense Metro corridor and the neighborhood.
Staff also provided an option that would not change any land uses on the site, which they said would allow some development, including a hotel by right that would not require Arlington County Board approval. But they said only “limited improvements” could be made to the YMCA under that plan.
Millennials in Arlington appear most concerned about adding more transit options, removing on-street parking and finding new locations for public meetings, at least according to a county-run online forum.
The forum is part of a wider push by the county to get more millennials involved in local government and civic life. Arlington was named the best city for millennials in the U.S. by the website Niche, with the millennial generation making up between 30-40 percent of the county’s population of just over 220,000.
The most popular suggestion on the forum — as determined by a Reddit-style up-voting system — is to expand transit options in North Arlington, which has nine “likes.”
I’d love to embrace “Millennialism” and be car-free, but the inconsistency in transit options in parts of North Arlington is difficult — there is minimal bus service and a lack of bikeshare stations, even near Marymount University. Adding bikeshare locations along the northern portion of Glebe Road from Lee Highway up to Chain Bridge would be helpful in continuing to connect this area with other parts of the County!
Just below that is a proposal to remove on-street parking, to encourage more walking and biking in neighborhoods.
Along the major corridors we should remove subsidized on-street parking, to encourage walk-able and bike-able neighborhoods. Many of these on-street parking spots reduce visibility at cross walks and cause dooring and blocking situations for bike lanes, increasing danger and reducing foot traffic. Remove a few strategic parking spaces along the pike and Roslyn [sic] Ballston corridor and use that space to widen the sidewalks or add bike lanes.
Arlington County Police are looking for three teens who forcibly took three pizzas from a delivery driver and also made off with his insulated bag.
