Multiple brush fires along the GW Parkway in 2021 (Screenshot via @bramblerambles/Twitter)
Tree down and brush fire along Four Mile Run Drive in 2017 (photo courtesy Alex Chamandy)
Brush fire in Crystal City in 2016
Arlington is not known as a hotspot for forest fires, but there’s an elevated danger of wildfires throughout Northern Virginia today.
Other parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia are also being warned of the fire hazard, owing to an ongoing drought, low humidity and breezy conditions.
Brush fires are not common in Arlington but they do happen, notably in 2021 when multiple brush fires broke out along the GW Parkway.
A special statement on today’s fire danger, below, from the National Weather Service.
…ELEVATED FIRE DANGER THROUGH EARLY EVENING FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA, WESTERN MARYLAND, AND EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA…
Elevated fire weather conditions are expected through early evening across northern and central Virginia, western Maryland, and eastern West Virginia. Relative humidity values are expected to drop back to around 20-35 percent this afternoon (lowest in far western MD and the WV mountains, highest across the VA Piedmont and eastern portions of the WV Panhandle). Winds will be out of the south at around 5-10 mph with gusts to around 15 mph in most locations, but locally higher along the Allegheny Front (10-15 mph, with gusts to 25 mph at times). 10-hour fuel moisture will be as low as 10 or 11 percent.
Residents and visitors are urged to exercise caution if handling open flames or equipment that creates sparks. Also, dispose of
cigarette butts, matches, and other flammable items in appropriate containers. Keep vehicles off of dry grass and obey local burn bans. Most dry grasses, dead leaves, and other tree litter could easily ignite and spread fire quickly.
A couple walks across I-395 on a pedestrian bridge in Shirlington (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Historic Resources Plan Approved — “On Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, the Arlington County Board approved an update to the Historic and Cultural Resources Plan (HCRP), concluding a multiyear process to develop a more modern approach to how the County advances the preservation and appreciation of its built and cultural environments.” [Arlington County]
Burglary at Clarendon Smoke Shop — From Dave Statter: “Burglars hit a smoke & vape shop in Arlington County (VA). Video shows two people looking at the business at 2907 Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon just after 1:00 a.m. yesterday. A few minutes later, according to @ArlingtonVaPD, the pair broke through the glass of the front door. One of the burglars tripped on the way out less than a minute later.” [Twitter]
I-395 Crash on Camera — Also from Dave Statter: “While there are close calls daily (really hourly) on I-395S at Exit 8C to Crystal City, this is the first crash I’ve spotted in a while. As usual, it involves jockeying for position trying to get either to the left exit or 8B’s right-side exit at the last second.” [Twitter]
Arlington Real Estate is Lukewarm — “The Arlington residential real-estate market was essentially the only one across the Washington region with any wind beneath its wings in as autumn took hold. The county proved the only locality to sustain a three-digit rating in the monthly T3 Home-Demand Index, which looks at buyer interest all the way down to the ZIP code level.” [Gazette Leader]
’40 Under 40′ Nominations — “The Leadership Center for Excellence and Leadership Fairfax again in 2024 will collaborate on a ’40 Under 40′ initiative, honoring young leaders throughout the region… Nominations are due by Jan. 19.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Wednesday — Expect mostly sunny skies with a high of around 57 degrees. Winds will be light and variable before shifting to the south at 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Wednesday night will be partly cloudy, with a low of 38 degrees. [Weather.gov]
As a 23-year-old voter in still-segregated 1960s Virginia, Portia Haskins was convinced she had followed all the rules in order to cast a ballot in Arlington.
Election officials disagreed, saying she had failed to pay the appropriate poll tax still required in the Old Dominion, maintained in part to disenfranchise Black voters.
Haskins took the county, and state, to court. She won, with her case ultimately being folded into the landmark 1966 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Haskins was an unusual legal combatant, committed to seeking unity.
After her efforts to vote were rejected at the local level, Haskins enlisted support from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to challenge the ruling. She traveled several times to the U.S. District Court in Richmond, then watched as the case and others like it moved to the Supreme Court.
Her reaction at the final outcome? “I was so happy,” she said.
The 6-3 ruling in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections effectively outlawed requiring poll taxes for state elections in those few states, like Virginia, that retained them. The poll-tax requirement for federal elections had been eliminated with ratification of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1964.
Lessons from the struggle are still valuable today, said Haskins, now 83.
“Everybody has to come together and fight” when they see injustice, she said. “You have to get together.”
Historical photo of Portia Haskins (via Black Heritage Museum of Arlington)
Haskins is among the Arlingtonians profiled in the “From Barriers to Ballots,” an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Several versions of the exhibition are on display across Northern Virginia, with one at Central Library running through Nov. 4.
The Arlington Historical Society partnered on the exhibition, and was excited about the Haskins presentation, former president David Pearson said.
“She is someone we really wanted to learn about,” he said, pointing to a renewed effort to “really get out the stories of the complete history of Arlington.”
Haskins has been a member of Mount Salvation Baptist Church near the Glebewood neighborhood since 1951, and in the community she has promoted “the spirit of community and empowerment,” said Scott Taylor, president of the Black Heritage Museum.
Haskins lamented that much of the history of the civil-rights movement is being lost in the public consciousness.
“We went through a lot, but people today don’t know,” she said. Young people in particular, she said, “don’t care because they don’t know.”
Her request to today’s youth? “Let everybody know how you feel” and use the ballot box to create change.
“Voting is important. That’s what everybody really needs to do,” Haskins said.
Expect partly sunny skies with a high around 57 degrees and calm winds shifting to the south at 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Wednesday night will be partly cloudy with a low of approximately 38 degrees, accompanied by south winds at 5 to 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Have you ever sculpted wool with a needle? You can learn needle felting at Art House 7 in one session and create a unique ornament or other piece of art. Sign up for one of our Morning Art Socials (adults), where you can also learn printmaking techniques such as Gelli Plates or linocut. Sessions are $50 or $60.
We also have a popular needle-felting workshop for parent and child (9+ years) in December. Check out all our Morning Art Socials and workshops at https://arthouseseven.com/workshops, including the Japanese art of suminagashi (adults) and Art and the Early Reader (4 to 5 year olds). They’re a great opportunity to create while enjoying the company of family and friends.
If The county intended the change to improve the customer experience at the garage, which has garnered some negative online reviews over the past couple of years, but some users say they have found the new system confusing or restrictive.
Instead of getting a ticket at a gate, drivers entering the county-owned garage at 627 N. Glebe Road now park and then pay at a kiosk, online or through an app. There is a 15-minute grace period after entering the garage when parking is free, however, the new system keeps track of those in the facility by recording license plates upon entry.
Once parked, users can pay with cash or credit card at one of the many kiosks in each elevator lobby, after entering their license plate number and selecting an exit time. They can also pay through the Parking.com mobile app or by scanning a QR code that redirects them to a payment portal.
Here, users must enter their cell phone and license plate number, choose an exit time, and provide their credit card information, postal code and email address. This method, however, charges a 35-cent service fee.
In addition to creating more payment options, the county hopes the new system will “improve customer experience” by offering garage users the flexibility to add extra time as needed and stores their information for future transactions, says Melissa McMahon, the county’s parking and curb space manager.
Removing physical gates and automated ticket machines has allowed the “operations team to focus on customer experience and enforcement, rather than mechanical equipment malfunctions,” McMahon told ARLnow.
Several anonymous tipsters raised concerns about the poor internet connection inside the garage and the system’s reliance on smartphones.
“God forbid you don’t have a cell phone,” one tipster said.
Anticipating some confusion about the changes, McMahon said the county sent out letters to local community stakeholder groups and posted flyers throughout the garage. During the first month post-installation, garage staff were also posted around the facility to help users navigate the new system.
Still, several people said that the changes caught them “off guard.”
“Instead of a ticket at entry/exit, you are supposed to pay via the web (entering license plate into a form) or at a machine,” one tipster told ARLnow via email. “Luckily, there was a security guard sitting in the lobby off Level 3 asking people if they had paid and, if not, directing them to the machine. I know others did not realize they had to pay since the arms at the entry/exit lanes were all up.”
The same person who raised concerns about smartphone access also said the fliers were in “tiny print and difficult to understand.”
Individuals with concerns can contact the new garage operator, Chicago-based SP Plus, which provides a customer helpline and email support. County staff regularly visit the garage to “observe operations, talk to staff and customers, and work with garage management on refinements to improve customer experience,” says McMahon.
Encore Stage & Studio is excited to kick off its season with a swashbuckling adventure! What starts as a mystery turns into an adventure in an Encore adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel. Young Gemma Hawkins escapes a dull life to search for where “X” marks the spot on a mysterious treasure map left behind by an old sea captain.
Gemma meets a slew of thrill-seeking sea farers as she races to find the treasure before any pirates do. Encore Stage & Studio presents “Treasure Island” running October 14-23, 2022 at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre (125 S. Old Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA 22204).
