News

National Guard Rescues Stranded Fire Truck Near Courthouse

By Tim Regan

What happens when a fire truck gets stuck in the snow? They call in the Virginia National Guard.

A Virginia National Guard “tank hauler” recovery vehicle towed a fire engine that was stuck in the snow on the 1200 block of North Veitch Street around 3 p.m. this afternoon.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe called 535 National Guard personnel to active duty when he declared a state of emergency ahead of the snowstorm on Thursday.

According to scanner traffic, several emergency vehicles have asked for help digging out of the snow throughout the afternoon.

Road Conditions Worsen as Blizzard Arrives

By Tim Regan
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Don’t drive.

That’s the message from Virginia’s Department of Transportation (VDOT) as a possibly record-breaking blizzard looms over the area. Most roads in Arlington were at least partially snow-covered as of 4:50 p.m. this afternoon, and conditions are only getting worse as the snow piles up.

So far, locals seem to be heeding VDOT’s advice. As of 4:30 p.m. today, there were 19 crashes and 60 disabled vehicles reported by the department among Prince William, Loudoun, Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax counties since midnight last night.

But the full brunt of the storm has not arrived yet, according to the Capital Weather Gang. Conditions are expected to worsen overnight and into tomorrow morning as snowfall becomes heavier and winds pick up.

Naked Man Rescued From Cold Near Pentagon Row

By Tim Regan

Nude man on Army Navy DriveA man startled some locals when he was seen walking naked along a street near Pentagon Row yesterday afternoon.

Drivers spotted the man at the intersection of Army Navy Drive and Joyce Street around 1:30 p.m. yesterday, according to police. Authorities initially received a call for a “naked male walking in cold weather talking to himself,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

Temperatures hovered close to freezing throughout the day yesterday.

An officer who arrived on the scene determined that the man was “in need of mental health treatment,” and the man was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for help.

Photo by an Arlington resident

Car Catches Fire in Parking Lot of Cherrydale Safeway

By ARLnow.com
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(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) A car with D.C. license plates caught fire in the parking lot of the Safeway at 3713 Lee Highway earlier today.

The fire, which was first reported around 10:15 a.m. this morning, was extinguished shortly after firefighters arrived. Nobody was injured during the blaze, said a firefighter on the scene. It was not immediately clear how the fire started.

Firefighters blocked off a portion of the parking lot, causing a small lineup of cars. The smell of burned rubber and charred vehicle components hung in the air as a small crowd gathered to watch firefighters work. A burned car seat and a broken vacuum were seen on the ground behind the car’s open trunk.

Emergency crews left the scene around 10:30 this morning.

Beginning Feb. 1, Building Permit Applications Are Online Only

By Buzz McClain

File photo of permits for a Pinkberry store in Clarendon

(Updated 12:24 p.m.) After several months of testing, Arlington County’s new ePlan Review process for submitting building permit and land disturbance applications will go online February 1. No paper submissions will be accepted after that, saving builders a trip to the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development’s Courthouse headquarters–except to pay the fees.

The change speeds up the application process for residential and new construction, additions and renovations by about 25 percent, said CHPD director Steve Cover. Electronic processing allows copies of plans to be sent electronically to the various divisions involved in approving permits, eliminating time-consuming hand-delivery of paper copies.

“We’ve had about 12 volunteers help test it and work out the kinks,” Cover said. “And according to my staff, all systems are go for February 1.”

The ePlan Review is one of the first improvements for doing business in Arlington in the on-going One Stop Arlington program, Cover said. As other streamlining elements of the program are added, the time it takes to approve or deny a permit will continue to speed up.

But for now, applicants for building permits still will have to pay fees in person. To make payment online feasible, Cover said, “is a significant change. But probably by the end of 2017 it will be fully operational.”

File Photo

Morning Notes

By Tim Regan

Red sky at morning

Brace Yourselves — Latest predictions say the snow is set to start as early as noon today, which happens to be the same time federal offices in D.C. and the surrounding area are expected to close. [Capital Weather Gang]

Blizzard Closures — Metro will cease all service at 11 p.m. tonight. Federal government and Arlington County offices across the area close at noon. Arlington public schools will be closed today, and all weekend activities are cancelled. [Metro, Washington Post, APS, Arlington County]

Snow Tips — The area is bracing for a potentially historic blizzard. Here’s what you need to know to ride out the storm. [ARLNow]

Community Radio Station ‘Off and Running’ — Arlington’s community-run radio station, WERA, is off to a good start, says its director of community programs. The station, which is at 96.7 FM, is adding new programs weekly. [InsideNova]

Arlington Artist Q&A — Meet Javier Padilla, a local artist who paints abstract portraits. [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Photo by Mark C. White

Just Listed in Arlington

Just Listed banner

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

The Arlington real estate market this week has taken a siesta.  

Only 40 new listings came on the market, and only 34 buyers’ ratified contracts. Perhaps the short week with MLK Day coupled with the regional panic over an impending snow storm has caused sellers to hesitate about putting their homes on the market this week, and distracted buyers from their home searches.  

Watching Wall Street this week go nuts with the Dow dropping over 500 points before gaining back over 300 points in the same day might also have scared some buyers from making big financial decisions.  It just demonstrates that owning real estate in Arlington is one of the most stable investments one could make. 

 Meanwhile, mortgage interest rates ticked downward this week by 6 basis points to about 3.85% for a 30-year fixed rate.  It’s still a great time to buy.

You can access all active listings in Arlington on the Cathell Team website.

Arlington Area Braces for Possibly Historic Blizzard

By Buzz McClain

Winter storm Jonas hasn’t even made it to Arlington and panic has already set in. Store shelves are dwindling. Virginia is in a state of emergency. Metrotrail this afternoon announced it would suspend service across the entire system starting tomorrow night at 11 p.m. and remain closed all day Saturday and Sunday.

But all this panic is likely for good reason: More than 100 traffic accidents took place in the region during Wednesday’s pre-storm flurries (Arlington apologized for the road conditions). We shudder to think what’s going to happen should Jonas begin dropping the reported up-to-20-inches of flakes on us Friday afternoon.

Multiple county agencies have mobilized in an effort to keep things as civilized as possible. In Arlington, there are more than 100 county drivers working 12-hour shifts, driving 47 county trucks with another 30 or so on contract standing by.

The 9,000 tons of salt ready to be spread on roads is 1,000 tons more than last year, and there’s also 200 tons of sand at the ready. Still, most government agencies in the area are repeating the same message: Do not leave home.

We’ve put together a few resources you should know about how to cope with snow in Arlington.

  • Here’s the snow removal hotline: 703-228-6485. Or instead, use this form to report an issue. On the other hand, maybe they’re on the way; use the number to call for service updates.
  • Ever wonder why three days into a “weather event” your street hasn’t been plowed? You might not like the answer, but here it is.
  • So you got to the end of the street but slid sideways into a snow bank? And then when you came back the car was gone? Oh, no, you got towed. You’re going to want to call this number: 703-558-2222. Maybe you should have checked if Metro is running.
  • Did you lose your power too? Here’s where to report it with Dominion Virginia Power or to find out why it’s still out.
  • Here’s a list of closings and delays at county agencies. They can’t get to work either.
  • If you can get the door open and step outside, there are nine miles of trails the Parks & Rec gang are keeping plowed for your hiking pleasure. Snow shoes optional.
  • This winter the county is experimenting with plowing tracks into protected bicycle lanes. If you ride your bike in the snow, make sure you know what you are doing.
  • Remember, you need to shovel that snow in front of your house, no matter how deep it is. It’s the law.
  • In addition, Arlington Fire would like you to “adopt a hydrant”; so does your dog.
  • Out of bread, milk and toilet paper already? You should have prepared better by reading this first.
  • If you can get out of the house, head to one of three Arlington parks–Virginia Highlands, Mosaic Park and Bluemont Park–to watch front-end loaders pile snow into a massive snow melting machine. Beats watching another episode of “Sponge Bob.”
  • Here’s a bunch of important county emergency phone numbers in a single pdf.
  • And please, check on your elderly and handicapped neighbors. We’re all in this together.

The Right Note: Four Questions About Economic Development Funds

By Mark Kelly

Mark KellyThe Right Note is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Economic development funding is used by both parties in most, if not all, states around the country. Many governors feel like they must use these tools to make their states competitive.

It goes without saying that when the government gets involved with paying businesses to locate in a state or community, it runs the risk that the plan will go south. Picking winners and losers is an inherently risky business. Hopefully, the state officials making the funding decisions have analyzed the risk in a way that provides maximum protection to taxpayers.

The recent revelation that the McAuliffe administration failed to vet a Chinese company who received $1.4 million to locate in Appomattox is especially concerning. It turns out that the decision to cut a taxpayer-funded check to the company was based off a review of the company’s website. Only after the deal seemed to be going south did the Commonwealth ask for financial statements from the company, and later demanded our money back.

Making Virginia a competitive economic environment should be our priority. Questions remain as to whether using a taxpayer-backed slush fund is the best way to do it.

1.  Are the standards by which these deals are made in a transparent and objective fashion, or is there too much subjective influence by the people making the decisions? Governors of both parties have made these deals and done the photo ops with the oversized checks, but taxpayers deserve to know their money is going to a legitimate business.

2.  Is what we are doing now really working? When the last set of economic numbers were released, Virginia’s economy had flatlined. Economic growth was 0.0%, and Virginia is slipping with every independent group who ranks these things.

3.  Why should Virginia’s policy be to favor a new business over one who has been here providing jobs, paying taxes and supporting the community? Making sure existing companies are thriving and staying here should be higher on Richmond’s priority list than it seems to be.

4.  So, would it be a better approach to tackle tax and regulatory burdens on all businesses, new and existing, to make Virginia’s economic environment the most competitive in the country? Governor McAuliffe could surely spend a little less time stumping for Hillary Clinton and more time sitting down with Republicans in the legislature to tackle the fundamental tax and regulatory structure businesses face. Arlington surely would benefit as we face of high office vacancy rates. Other communities across the Commonwealth most certainly would as well.

Tech Firm Shift to Build $20 Million Hub in Crystal City

By Buzz McClain

Switch's Toby Russell and Gov. Mcauliffe at Shift

Arlington’s population of engineers and project managers will grow by 100 by 2017 as San Francisco-based disruptive technology firm Shift builds a technology operation in Crystal City.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced today that Shift will invest $20 million in its East Coast engineering center in Arlington as part of its national expansion. The announcement was made during a reception at Crystal City business incubator 1776, where the company will have its local headquarters.

Shift executive Toby Russell said the company’s disruptive technology does for the automotive industry what Airbnb does for hotels. “We use technology to make buying and selling cars easy and delightful,” he said. Consumers input information about the car they want to sell into the Shift website, get a quote, have their car picked up by a Shift employee and then receive a check when the car sells. Shift handles paperwork, test drives and price negotiations.

Shift has raised $73.8 million in two public offerings.

Russell, who is originally from Alexandria, said he would like to see the Shift “serve as a bridge between Silicon Valley and Virginia. We believe this kind of bridging is what technology expansion [in the region] needs.”

Russell added that it was McAuliffe’s visit to the firm’s California headquarters that convinced them to build the engineering center in Virginia.

Arlington County Board Chairman Libby Garvey, in presenting a key to the county to Russell, applauded the arrival of a technology company as federal spending in the region winds down.

“Arlington is in the midst of a surreal change,” she said. “Having our buildings filled with federal agencies is a thing of the past.”

Morning Notes

By Tim Regan

Construction site in the snow

‘Carmageddon’ Grips Local Roads — It’s crazy what one inch of snow can do to unsalted roads. Hundreds of drivers slid, stopped and slammed into each other across  area roads last night and early this morning. Multiple commuters told us it took hours to get home. [ARLNow, FOX 5, CBS 6, Washington Post]

Traffic Study Reveals I-66 Problems — Ever wondered why I-66 is a mess sometimes? A new study supporting a plan for high-occupancy toll lanes may help shed light on why. Though that answer to that question is complicated, the study did reveal one thing: HOV rules have a large impact on traffic. [Washington Post]

Shovel That Walk, It’s The Law — Did you know you’re required to clear public sidewalks adjacent to your property? If not, you might want to brush up on the rules before this weekend’s snowstorm. [Arlington County]

Gov. McAuliffe Declares State of Emergency — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency for Virginia in response to the winter storm expected to slam the region tomorrow and Saturday. [ARLNow]

Arrowine’s ‘Ladies of the Vine’ Cancelled — The event is cancelled due to the looming snowstorm. [ARLNow]

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