Around Town

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Nov 17, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Friday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — Nov 17, 2023.

Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.

  1. UPDATED: Police and fire department respond to bomb threat at middle school (31376 views)
  2. FDIC scrutinized for ‘toxic culture’ and ‘boozy hotel’ in Virginia Square (25726 views)
  3. JUST IN: Police investigating apparent shooting at Rosslyn Marriott site (22430 views)
  4. New docs show APS had no formal contract with Kaiser, which admits it ‘dropped the ball’ (20163 views)
  5. Cheesetique in Shirlington will become a new Italian restaurant next month (18800 views)
  6. Odd plaque near the Madison Community Center no longer includes antiquated Civil War reference (14615 views)
  7. NWS: Elevated fire danger in Northern Virginia today (13431 views)
  8. JUST IN: Gunston Middle School locked down due to threat (11942 views)
  9. New digital payment system in Ballston Quarter garage catches some drivers ‘off-guard’ (11031 views)
  10. JUST IN: Security guard charged with weekend shooting in Rosslyn (7370 views)
  11. Four Arlington startups rank among North America’s top 500 fastest-growing tech companies (6756 views)
  12. After several crashes, county fast-tracks intersection near Lubber Run Community Center for safety improvements (4778 views)
  13. NEW: County truck drives off bridge in local park (4258 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Saturday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

Here are the events planned for Sunday:

🌤️ Saturday’s forecast

Expect partly sunny skies that will gradually clear up, reaching a high of around 58 degrees. A northwest wind will blow at 8 to 15 mph, with gusts reaching up to 25 mph. Saturday night will be clear with a low near 37 degrees, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 7 to 10 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
– Aristotle

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋

News

NEW: Bomb threat at Arlington synagogue

By ARLnow.com
Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) Police responded to a bomb threat at an Arlington synagogue tonight.

Arlington County police were dispatched to Congregation Etz Hayim, along Route 50 in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, around 5:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest that someone texted a crisis hotline that they had placed a bomb at the synagogue and were also planning to stab people inside.

No bomb was found nor did any acts of violence occur, ACPD told ARLnow.

From a police spokeswoman:

At approximately 5:25 p.m. on November 17, police were dispatched to the 2900 block of Arlington Boulevard for the report of suspicious circumstances. The preliminary investigation indicates the suspect contacted a crisis hotline and allegedly made threats to bomb a house of worship. Responding officers made contact with the occupants of the property and searched the area and no evidence of a crime was located. The investigation is ongoing.

The threat comes at a time of rising antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.

A tipster tells ARLnow that the threat was made during the congregation’s “Tot Shabbat” service.

“This service is aimed at kids under 6 and their families, and it is sponsored in memory of a stillborn baby,” the tipster said.

Sponsored

Police investigating gunfire that damaged window in Green Valley

By ARLnow.com
Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

Arlington County police are investigating shots fired in the Green Valley neighborhood.

The gunfire rang out around 10 p.m. Friday night near The Shelton apartment complex. No injuries were reported but a bullet damaged a window in a nearby residential building.

More, below, from an ACPD crime report.

SHOTS FIRED, 2025-10100198, 3200 block of 24th Street S. At approximately 10:01 p.m. on October 10, police were dispatched to the report of possible shots heard in the area. During the course of the investigation, officers recovered evidence confirming shots had been fired in the area and property damage to the window of a residential building was located. No injuries were reported. There are no suspect(s) descriptions. The investigation is ongoing.

The same block was the scene of a shooting in November 2024. The teen victim of that shooting survived his serious injuries.

Around Town

Just in time for the holidays, here are some of the newer additions to the ARLnow Shop

By ARLnow.com
1/5

The holiday season is here and you’re probably wondering what to get those special Arlingtonians in your life. Lucky for you, the ARLnow Shop has plenty of gift options for savvy locals.

Among the offerings are some new, notable additions since the store launched in August, including:

Announcement

Struggling with College or Career Options? Affordable Therapy for Teens & Young Adults

By Currently Accepting New Clients

Is your teen struggling with relationships, school, sports or college applications? Perhaps your college student or young adult is similarly overwhelmed and not comfortable with their progress in their career search? Kelly is down-to-earth, super knowledgeable + she grew up in the area. Schedule a free Zoom consult, email: [email protected].

#therapist #teenage #collegeprep #collegelife

Go to Struggling with College or Career Options? Affordable Therapy for Teens & Young Adults Read more
News

Yet another threat at a local middle school prompts police response

By ARLnow.com
Swanson Middle School (photo via APS)

Swanson Middle School was put in “secure the school” mode this morning (Friday) due to a threat.

Initial reports suggest the school’s office received a shooting threat via email. Police responded to investigate around 10 a.m. and the security status was lifted about an hour and a half later.

This is just the latest in a series of apparent hoax threats at Arlington middle schools.

Swanson was locked down Monday due to a phoned-in bomb threat. Gunston was locked down Tuesday due to a threat found in a bathroom. Last week another threat found in a Gunston girls’ bathroom prompted a police investigation.

In March, Gunston was put in lockdown after “a message written inside a restroom stall referencing gun violence” was discovered. In May, a Kenmore student was charged after an implied shooting threat was posted on social media. Threats have also been made at high schools, with police investigating a verbal threat of “shooting up the class” at Washington-Liberty on Monday.

More on the latest threat, below, via Arlington Public Schools.

Announcement

Classical Music in our Arlington Community

By The Arlington Philharmonic

(This Community Post was written by The Arlington Philharmonic and underwritten by Embracing Arlington Arts.)

The Arlington Philharmonic, in its 17th season, is a vibrant community based professional symphony orchestra that plays the best of classical music in Arlington. From well-loved classics to brand new compositions, the symphony performs a variety of repertoire. Chamber music, choral works, symphonic music and concertos with dazzling local soloists engage our enthusiastic audiences.

Go to Classical Music in our Arlington Community Read more
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