Deceptively large rambler with a deep back yard offers versatile space on two levels. Refinished wood floors, fresh paint, and carpeting make this home ready to move in by the holidays!
Welcome family and friends into the light filled living room, anchored by a wood burning fireplace. The living room flows into the large dining room and then to the kitchen. Seasoned and novice cooks will appreciate room for multiple helpers, ample cupboards and generous counterspace. The primary bedroom has a large closet and a private, updated bathroom. The second and third bedrooms share a vintage gray and white tiled bathroom.
Even more versatility in the lower level with two suites — each with a private entry — kitchenette and two bathrooms. Ideal for in-laws, an au pair, college students, or working from home. The lower level also provides rental income potential. Take a vigorous walk or bike ride to Ballston — or an ART or Metro bus. Walk to dog-friendly Woodstock Park, the shops, restaurants, and services at Lee Heights, and the recently opened Compass Coffee.
Wend your way through the leafy neighborhood to the W&OD trial for bike rides and daily walks. Altogether, a home with much to offer.
Open House this Sunday, October 30 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Welcome to the final installment of the “so you want to make wine series” or “what was I thinkin?” So today, we will finish with the maturation process of red wine. And, of course, a delicious suggestion for your table.
Any winemaker worth his salt vinifies every parcel and varietal separately. That allows you to dial in and elevate the quality of every Cuvee you make.
Some parcels are better than others or different. The easiest way to create several wines at several price points is to declassify some. The “Grand Vin,” or first wine, is the best of the best. Take Chateau Latour. Only the very best barrels go into “Chateau Latour.” The second wine, “Les Forts de Latour” is the next best and, finally, a wine they call “Pauillac.” All are good, and some barrels and parcels are less complex. You can kill two birds with one stone, elevate your “Prestige” wine and offer a slightly less complex wine for less money or create something just as good but different.
To get the wine in the bottle, you first must homogenize all the components into one cohesive unit. But there are still more decisions to make before bottling.
The use of sulfur and how much to use can get complicated and controversial. There is a misguided movement to reduce added sulfur to ridiculously low levels. But you can’t make wine “stable” without a reasonable level. Wine without sulfur is a crapshoot. The slightest residual sugar can spontaneously referment, bottles explode, cork pop, or if it gets here in one piece, it’s fizzy. Winemakers compensate for reducing sulfur by increasing the inert gas they add at bottling, and it’s the wrong approach.
It’s table wine, and it shouldn’t be petulant. Decanting a “still wine” to air is okay, but de-gassing one is nonsense. I’ve opened many a bottle, and it’s bubbling like a Coke! Then you must put your hand over the top, shake the hell out of it, release your grip, and hear the POP! It can take several tries to get rid of all the gas. That’s not great for table service, nor is it sensible. And it reduces the aging potential.
Wine Corks (Photo by Elisha Terada on Unsplash)
Next, what closure will you use? Natural cork (my choice), composite cork (crushed cork glued together), synthetic cork, or a “screw-cap.” Each kind of closure has benefits and problems. I’m a traditionalist. I will always choose a traditional good-quality cork. I know how it performs, and I’m happy to accept the minuscule failure rate. It’s part of the game.
This week’s star is a “Real Eye Opener.”
If you want to see just how far Virginia wines have come, look no further. The Washington Posts Dave McIntyre proclaimed: the 2020 Chatham Vineyards Church Creek Chardonnay ‘Steel’,“a great value” and “…an outstanding Virginia Chardonnay that’s worth seeking out.” And Dave got it right!
Here is a Chardonnay that kicks butt, a game-changer! And it’s from VIRGINIA! Be proud, people! Support your state.
This wine floored me. And it is nothing like any California Chardonnay anywhere near its price! It is the spitting image of a Village-level Chablis, dry, with excellent palate-cleansing acidity, delicious lemon butter and sea-shell flavors, and a stone-dust mineral finish. Try finding anything this good from anywhere in the U.S. at its price of $22.99. You can’t!
Hat’s off to Jon and Mills Wehner for making such an outstanding and affordable Chardonnay. Jump on this one — the wine disappeared after the Washington Post review hit. Jon was kind enough to save me his last 30 cases, as we had supported it long before the Washington Post discovered it.
Building a new home should be a rewarding and memorable experience. That’s why a custom-built home requires personalized service!
Here’s your chance to learn everything you need to know about new construction properties from successful agents on the top-selling real estate team in the D.C. metro area.
Bridget Mendes, one of Keri Shull Team’s most experienced Buyer Success Agents, is leading this seminar at our Rosslyn office.
You’ll learn:
Advantages of New Construction — We’ll take an in-depth look at how you can design the exact home you are dreaming of!
Buying a Builder-Owned Lot vs. Finding Your Own — Which solution is best when finding a lot? In the D.C. metro area, land can be rare, we’ll show you how to find it.
Choosing the Right Agents and Specialists — Don’t risk costly problems or losing your dream home! A good agent will help you close faster and pay less.
Join us on Thursday, November 3 at 6 p.m. for this FREE in-person seminar. Make your new construction dream home a reality with experts by your side!
This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Doran Shemin, Esq., and Laura Lorenzo, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Arlington, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.
Washington D.C. has the biggest Ethiopian community outside Africa, so this is huge news. We’re here to explain what it means. We know that Ethiopians in our area will be reading this, so we’re going to focus on facts and procedure here. If you’re curious about our editorial opinions, ask away in the comments.
First, a quick explainer on what TPS is, and how it works.
Temporary Protected Status, in theory, is a temporary measure meant to alleviate suffering in a country suffering from war or natural disaster. The U.S. Code permits the Attorney General (or, in modern practice, the Secretary of Homeland Security) to ‘designate’ countries which meet this description, and then provide temporary work permits, and temporary deportation protection, to nationals of the designated country who are in the United States on the date of the designation.
The process of applying for TPS is relatively simple. The applicant submits two applications: an application for TPS status on Form I-821, and, usually, an application for employment authorization on Form I-765. Fees vary depending on age. The Secretary of Homeland Security sets an ‘initial registration’ period for applicants, and then, if TPS is renewed, a ‘re-registration period.’ Miss these registration windows at your peril.
If you’re an Ethiopian who wants to apply for TPS, here’s what you need to know:
TPS is temporary. Sometimes — rarely — TPS designation ends. (We covered the attempt to end TPS-El Salvador in these pages. That attempt is still going more than four years later!) So, although TPS is a good thing, it is a bad substitute for permanent status. If you have an asylum claim, don’t let it drop just because you have the ability to apply for TPS!
The TPS application period for Ethiopia has not opened up yet. If a lawyer, an unethical ‘visa consultant,’ or ‘tax preparer’ (applicable soundtrack) offers to apply for you, do not pay them. TPS designation is a great benefit, but it also creates opportunities for scammers.
Start gathering your documents. Your lawyer will want to see your Ethiopian passport or your birth certificate, plus evidence that you have been physically present in the United States on or about October 20, 2022. Evidence of physical presence includes:
Your 2022 tax returns (file them next year!)
Employment records, if you have them.
Rent receipts
School records for you or your children
Medical records concerning treatment for you or your children
Religious records describing your attendance at a place of worship
Other documentary evidence which shows that you live here. Your lawyer can help you find more.
Put money aside. You can expect USCIS to charge up to $545 for your initial application.
Make a plan. Find a trusted place to apply for TPS after the initial registration period opens.
Once the application windows opens, our law firm will be delighted to help Ethiopians who want to apply for TPS. You can call us at 888-389-8655, or make an appointment via Calendly, here. But we know that, with hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians in the area, handling all of these cases is going to be a team effort. In that spirit, here are two other trustworthy local partners for Ethiopians who need help applying for TPS.
ECDC is located right at 901 S. Highland Street on the Columbia Pike Corridor, and has been a voice for Ethiopians in our area for almost thirty years. We’ve presented on immigration law at ECDC — they’re great folks.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington is an excellent non-profit legal services center. They can handle your TPS application for a modest fee, and they’re wonderful people.
As always, we welcome questions and comments. We’ll answer all we can!
George Mason’s Organizational Development graduate students invite you to participate in a series of hands-on, experiential workshops to support your professional development.
Experience this academic exploration and learning conference on Saturday, November 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Arlington Campus of George Mason University.
Free admission with food and beverages provided. Seating is limited, so please register to attend. Six hours of SHRM and HRCI credits free of charge. Join them for this day’s exercises focusing on organizational permanence and impermanence and their effects on us as individuals and in organizations.
The event aims to provide business leaders, like you, with strategies to help your organizations thrive in a Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world.
Date: Saturday, November 12 Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location: 3351 Fairfax Drive, Van Meter Hall
You will have the opportunity to engage with new concepts, learn from professionals studying in the field, network with attendees, and develop new tools for the workplace.
This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
By Guest Author, Jennifer Skow, Arlington Department of Community Planning, Housing, and Development
Before the COVID-19 pandemic we were already living in an increasingly digital world. Then the pandemic made accomplishing daily tasks, obtaining information, and interacting with the world more intertwined with the internet than ever before.
Business owners without adequate capital for digital platforms or the skills to navigate technology risk being unable to compete for clients, customers, and more.
To find out if local businesses have the connectivity and the skills they need, Arlington County is conducting an online assessment called the Business eCheckup. The Business eCheckup will help the County learn about common e-commerce practices among our businesses, barriers to adopting online practices, revenue impacts, and internet quality and price. The eCheckup includes a built-in speed test for your connection.
Whether you are a business or organization that does not have adequate access or good connectivity, or you are a business with a strong internet connection and technical skills needed to leverage online platforms (or you’re somewhere in between), Arlington needs to hear from you! We encourage everyone to complete the eCheckup so we can get a full picture of Arlington’s internet use.
An eCheckup is also available for Arlington households. Both are part of a larger countywide Broadband Study to better understand the internet landscape in the County.
Ensuring local competitiveness in the use of online practices is why Arlington Economic Development created ReLaunch — to give small businesses tools to evolve and expand, despite our new normal.
Since its inception, nearly 200 businesses have received free consulting services that range from website and ecommerce development to leveraging social media and marketing and branding strategies. Through this program:
Arlington businesses are getting noticed — Through website development and better managing their online presence, program participants have expanded the number of customers in and outside of Arlington.
Businesses are navigating away from predatory behaviors and security issues — Participants learned the importance of setting up secure email addresses, gained a better understanding of cyber security and digital tools, and redirected lost profits to third parties charging for free services elsewhere.
Businesses are seeing their investments in broadband and more online exposure improve their bottom line — With access to capital, more digital tools, and a better understanding of online practices, many participants reduced costs and increased revenue for their business.
Share your story with us by taking the Business eCheckup or Household eCheckup — and encourage your friends and colleagues to take it as well. An investment of 20 minutes of your time will help the County plan for the future and provide needed resources for our community!
Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Arlington Realty, Inc. Maximize your real estate investment with the team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6000 today!
Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.
As of October 17, there are 163 detached homes, 62 townhouses and 214 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 49 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week, including:
Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Arlington Realty, Inc.
Kira is the literal definition of ‘heart-meltingly cute’! Whenever someone comes to greet her, she starts to wag her long tail very fast. Once she is comfortable with you, she likes to lean into you.
Kira is a very sweet dog who is very perceptive and wants to please. She is super smart and responds to commands including sit, stay, up, down, paw (shake), wait and off. In the house, Kira is mostly a couch potato. She loves to curl up on a sofa, bed or a dog bed and chill with you. She is very self-sufficient and does well staying alone, including in a crate. She is also housebroken. She loves going for walks — she walks well on a leash and used to go hiking or running with her previous dog guardian.
Kira was rescued from Qatar and brought to the US as a puppy. She spent most of her life in a home where she was trained and well-loved and cared for. The last few months have been filled with many changes, so she has been a bit stressed. Kira’s sensitive personality means that she is looking for some specific things in her new home.
Kira seems to prefer feminine-presenting people and can be nervous around young children, men and some dogs. Kira is looking for a single person or a family who will be committed and patient with her as she takes time to settle into her new home. She has spent time with dogs who are older and mostly ignore her but may be overwhelmed by younger or more exuberant dogs. Our team would love to talk to you more about Kira and how she might fit into your family
Are you and Kira a match? Read her complete profile to learn more and how to start the adoption process!
Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos — they don’t fit in our photo gallery!
This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist. Enjoy!
Question: I’ve read a lot of bad news about the real estate market, how is that playing out in Arlington?
Answer: Bad news sells… keep that in mind as you get your daily/weekly dose of headlines that the housing market is collapsing under the weight of high interest rates and overinflated prices. With that said, I’m not about to deliver a rosy picture of the Arlington real estate market, but it’s important to keep in mind that most of what you’ll see in the news will be cherry-picked statistics and stories around the country/region that are likely more extreme than what our market will experience overall.
Arlington remains one of the most stable, reliable real estate markets in the country. We are absolutely feeling the effects of a dramatic tide shift in demand, but just as our market didn’t see meteoric price increases like other markets from Loudoun County to Tampa to Boise during summer 2020 to spring 2022, we most likely won’t experience as extreme of a pullback while interest rates remain high.
Usually, you’d scroll down and see a lot of charts and data from me in an article like this, but I don’t think we have enough of the right data yet to tell an accurate story of property values in Arlington. So this week is more of a stream of conscious of my thoughts on property values, with a few data points sprinkled in. I welcome any and all theories, agreements, and disagreements in the comments section!
Have Prices Gone Down?
The short answer is “yes,” prices have come down from their 2022 peak. By how much? That is a very difficult question to answer and there’s no reliable way for us to know at this point. So let’s talk about how I think we should we talking about prices based on what we do and do not know at this stage:
What we do know:
The prices we saw in the first half of this year are out of reach, in most cases.
In the last seven days, 52 properties in Arlington (12.5% of homes for sale) have cut their asking price, which is a pace consistent with previous seven-day windows. Odds are this pace increases as we get closer to, and into, the holidays.
Price reductions and sale prices are not being discounted anywhere close to enough to offset the difference in monthly payments between earlier this year and now
The market always slows in the summer and continues to taper off through the end of the year (with the exception of September/early October), we’re just experiencing a more dramatic version of seasonality because of the sharp interest rate increases that have paralleled the traditional seasonal slowdown and because of where we’re coming from — insane demand for nearly two years.
Supply coming to market is down, contract activity is down, and showing activity is down all about 20-30% year-over-year.
What we don’t know:
What is the appropriate baseline to judge price change from? Is it the relatively short window of peak pricing from roughly February-May 2022? If you want headline news, sure, but if you want a more accurate/helpful perspective on market conditions, you probably want to use a wider data set that goes back to Q2/3 2021.
We don’t have anywhere near enough data points after the market inflection this summer to assess market price changes in Arlington (or even Northern Virginia or the D.C. Metro, in my opinion) and because sold price data lags so much behind shifts in market condition, we won’t truly know what the pricing effects were on Q3/Q4 markets until at least February 2023 because many homes struggling to sell now won’t show up in sold data until then.
There’s no precedent for how buyers as a whole will respond to such extreme interest rate increases (see chart below that I saw last week on mortgagenewsdaily.com that highlights the historical significance of recent rate increases), so it makes pricing challenging for sellers (and buyers, for that matter). Days on market has increased 2-3x or more for most sub-markets and the number of showings are down by about 30-35% year-over-year so it can also be very difficult for sellers to infer whether their time on market is price induced or not. A lot of current pricing is based on seller motivation and their hope/fears of market conditions 3-6 months from now.
As vehicle manufacturers move to make engines more efficient, a simple mistake changing your own oil could cost you big. From increased fuel consumption to outright engine damage, this routine maintenance task may be better left to the experts. Things to consider:
Seasonality – Moisture degrades the ability of oil to properly lubricate your engine. If you don’t drive often, or for only short distances, letting oil sit in your vehicle (particularly during very wet and cold months) can dilute the mixture; not only affecting your vehicle’s performance but contributing to corrosion over the long term.
Mileage – While conventional wisdom holds that you should change your oil at least every 6 months, your vehicle could need a change anywhere between 3,000 and 10,000 miles. If you wait for a dashboard indicator alone to tell you when it’s time, you might end up stuck on the side of the beltway. Sudden increases in fuel consumption, vibrations when idling, or a knocking sound from the engine could all be indicators it’s time for a change.
Make/Model – Newer cars are more likely to need afull synthetic, rather than conventional, oil change for maximum performance. Again though, the decision may not be that simple. Some imported and exotic vehicles require oil that adheres to special standards from their market of origin, and daily drivers past a certain mileage may benefit from additional additives to seal and protect your engine from extended heat damage.
Additional Maintenance – Don’t forget the oil filter! Putting a filter on dry, forgetting to put on a new O-ring, or accidentally stripping threads on the drain plug could all lead to lower performance and repairs down the road.
This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.
By John V. Berry, Esq.
Our law firm represents federal employees, military personnel and government contractors who have issues concerning foreign influence concerns and their security clearance. Foreign influence concerns have always been a major security concern to the government because there are potential risks when a clearance holder or applicant’s family or close friends are subject to potential duress or influence by a foreign power.
Foreign Influence Concerns Under Guideline B of SEAD 4
Security concerns involving foreign influence are reviewed by federal agencies under Guideline B of the Adjudicative Guidelines in Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4). The specific conditions that may raise security concerns include the following 9 security issues listed in Paragraph 7 of SEAD 4:
Contact… with a foreign family member, business or professional associate, friend or other person who is a citizen of or a resident in a foreign country if that contact creates a heightened risk of foreign exploitation, inducement, manipulation, pressure or coercion;
Connections to a foreign person, group, government or country that create a potential conflict of interest between the individual’s obligation to protect classified or sensitive information or technology and the individual’ s desire to help a foreign person, group or country by providing that information or technology;
Failure to report or fully disclose, when required, association with a foreign person, group, government, or country;
Counterintelligence information, whether classified or unclassified, that indicates the individual’s access to classified information or eligibility for a sensitive position may involve unacceptable risk to national security;
Shared living quarters with a person or persons, regardless of citizenship status, if that relationship creates a heightened risk of foreign inducement, manipulation, pressure or coercion;
Substantial business, financial, or property interests in a foreign country or in any foreign-owned or foreign-operated business that could subject the individual to a heightened risk of foreign influence or exploitation or personal conflict of interest;
Unauthorized association with a suspected or known agent, associate or employee of a foreign intelligence entity;
Indications that representatives or nationals from a foreign country are acting to increase the vulnerability of the individual to possible future exploitation, inducement, manipulation, pressure or coercion; and
Conduct, especially while traveling or residing outside the U.S., that may make the individual vulnerable to exploitation, pressure, or coercion by a foreign person, group, government or country.
Mitigating Factors for Foreign Influence Cases
In terms of potential mitigation regarding foreign influence security concerns, the government considers the following mitigating considerations under Paragraph 8 of SEAD 4:
The nature of the relationships with foreign persons, the country in which these persons are located, or the positions or activities of those persons in that country are such that it is unlikely the individual will be placed in a position of having to choose between the interests of a foreign individual, group, organization, or government and the interests of the United States;
There is no conflict of interest, either because the individual’s sense of loyalty or obligation to the foreign person, or allegiance to the group, government, or country is so minimal, or the individual has such deep and longstanding relationships and loyalties in the United States, that the individual can be expected to resolve any conflict of interest in favor of the U.S. interest;
Contact or communication with foreign citizens is so casual and infrequent that there is little likelihood that it could create a risk for foreign influence or exploitation;
The foreign contacts and activities are on U.S. Government business or are approved by the agency head or designee;
The individual has promptly complied with existing agency requirements regarding the reporting of contacts, requests, or threats from persons, groups, or organizations from a foreign country; and
The value or routine nature of the foreign business, financial, or property interests is such that they are unlikely to result in a conflict and could not be used effectively to influence, manipulate, or pressure the individual.
Work Early to Mitigate Security Concerns Involving Foreign Influence
When a clearance holder or applicant has ties to a foreign country, such as close family or assets, it is very important to evaluate these situations early to attempt to mitigate security concerns. There are many methods available to attempt to mitigate foreign influence concerns, but it is essential to focus on (1) the country involved; (2) the nature of the foreign ties or assets; and (3) why this security concern is outweighed by assets, loyalty, and family in the United States.
Contact Us
When an individual is facing foreign influence security clearance concerns it is important to obtain legal advice and/or legal representation. Our law firm advises individuals in the security clearance process. We can be contacted at www.berrylegal.com or by telephone at (703) 668-0070. Additionally, our Facebook page is located here and our Twitter account is located here.
