Around Town

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 — Oct 20, 2023.

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

  1. Tesla smashes into Columbia Pike playground (21502 views)
  2. Morning Poll: Best tacos in Arlington? (16727 views)
  3. Arlington seeks input on Wilson Blvd intersection changes (9997 views)
  4. Reston man faces charges in Arlington sex crimes investigation (6959 views)
  5. Japanese restaurant Ryu Izakaya opens on Columbia Pike (6953 views)
  6. County buys another home for flood mitigation as first purchase is teed up for demolition (6796 views)
  7. Two nabbed in foot chases after vehicle theft attempt from Amazon HQ2 garage (4900 views)
  8. APS middle and high schools to beef up security, attendance with e-hall pass system (4836 views)
  9. Peruvian Brothers opens new restaurant at Amazon HQ2 in Pentagon City (4679 views)
  10. VDOT to replace bridge over N. Glebe Road (4567 views)
  11. Police investigating hammer and knife attack in Lyon Village (4327 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 with a high near 65 and breezy conditions as west winds reach 10-15 mph, increasing to 17-22 mph in the afternoon, with gusts up to 33 mph. On Saturday night, showers are likely after 5am, with a low around 49 and lighter west wind at 5-8 mph. Precipitation chances stand at 60%, with new amounts under a tenth of an inch possible. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
– John Wooden

🌅 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
Arlington County courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

An Arlington teen has been sentenced for assaulting five women in and around Courthouse last year.

One of the victims posted the conclusion to her story — a year in the making — on Reddit this week. The guilty teen is 17 years old and lives in the area between Courthouse and Rosslyn, the victim said, noting he had a stable home life.

Last year, she said, he ran up behind her, lifted up her jacket, grabbed her crotch and pulled at her pants. As the investigation progressed, she said, the assailant was discovered to have worn the same shoes in each assault and to have taken videos, which ended up matching the experiences of the five identified victims.

The teen pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and battery, according to a source familiar with the case. He is expected to spend 10 days in the Landmark juvenile detention facility in Alexandria, with 80 days of the 90 day sentence suspended.

Details about juvenile cases are typically not made public by police or prosecutors. ARLnow spoke with sources familiar with this case and with juvenile justice, in general, to fill in the cracks and provide context.

In addition to juvenile detention, the teen will have one year of probation and will undergo a psychosexual evaluation to determine if he needs therapy. He will be required to complete whatever is recommended.

If he does not complete this or has any run-ins with the law during probation, the rest of his 80-day suspended sentence could be imposed. That means he would wind up back in the juvenile detention facility or adult jail, if this happens after he turns 18.

“Since he’s a juvenile, the sentence is (in my opinion) fairly light,” the victim said.

Several Reddit users said they agreed with her, expressing their outrage, though the victim implied that the prosecution was not the reason for the light sentence.

“That said, I’m really appreciative of the Arlington PD and the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for both their doggedness and sensitivity,” she said, while adding that she never received contrition from her assailant.

“I think I’d be having an easier time with the light sentence if his apology hadn’t been so appalling — ‘I’m sorry if anyone was, like, offended or something. That wasn’t my intention. I don’t want people to think I’m like a monster or anything,'” she said, emphasizing the use of the word “offended.”

Court apologies often feel this way, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti.

“She wants to know ‘why her’ and she wants an apology for making her feel violated. Our system is not designed for this,” she said. “Our system is designed to separate the harmed party from the person who did the harm and to give ample opportunities for the person who did the harm to contest that.”

“Our system really makes people dig in their heels,” Dehghani-Tafti continued. “So that apology — and the sentencing — very frequently does not feel healing.”

(more…)


News

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News

A large fire department response is on scene at the Stratton House condominiums due to a reported carbon monoxide incident.

Initial reports suggest that carbon monoxide alarms in one of the complex’s two buildings started going off after the building’s heat was turned on for the first time today. Firefighters are investigating the source, with a focus on the boiler room.

The complex is located along 5th Street S. in the Alcova Heights neighborhood — near Fire Station No. 1 and across S. Glebe Road from Ruthie’s All-Day restaurant.

An Arlington County Fire Department spokesman told ARLnow this is “still an active incident right now.”

“Crews arrived and found elevated readings of CO and began to work to locate and isolate the source,” said Capt. Nathaniel Hiner. “Units are ventilating the structure now and are working with Washington Gas. No reports of anyone requiring medical attention.”

In addition to investigating and ventilating, firefighters have been going door-to-door checking on residents and encouraging them to leave the building.


Announcement

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Did you know the average Arlington renter will spend $150K in 5 years of renting? Stop paying down someone else’s mortgage! Join us for a Rent vs. Buy Happy Hour on Wednesday, April 27 at 6 p.m. via Zoom.


Events

Spooky season is upon Arlington and the county parks department has a few family-friendly activities in store.

Next week, families can gather around the campfire for ghost stories and s’mores or take slightly spooky evening nature walks.

First up is the Virginia Ghosts Campfire at the Fort C.F. Smith Park fire ring, held next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5-6 p.m.

“The whole family is invited to join us at the Fort C.F. Smith Park fire ring for lots of old-fashioned fun and of course, s’mores,” the county says.

Around the campfire, storytellers will narrate Algonquin legends, Virginia witch trials and ghosts of the Civil War, among other ghost stories, a county spokeswoman said.

There is a $5 fee to register and the parks department requires registration by 4 p.m. the day before the event. As of publication, there is a waitlist for next Friday’s time slot.

Next Sunday (Oct. 29) afternoon and evening, the Long Branch Nature Center will host a Nature Spooktacular from 3:30-5 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m.

“Join us for a ‘Spooktacular’ evening of fun learning about nighttime animals and cultural festivities surrounding nature this time of the year,” the county says. “[The] later time will be just as fun and a little bit spooky for families with older children.”

The parks department suggests that families with young children sign up for the earlier slot, which promises to be “more fun and less spooky.” As of today, there were open spots for both available time slots. Registration is required and comes with a $7 fee.

Other family-friendly Halloween events this month are sold out or have waitlists.

Registration is closed for this weekend’s Trunk or Treat at the Lubber Run Community Center. People can add themselves and their pets, meanwhile, to the waitlist for the Halloween Animals Campfire next Saturday at the Long Branch Nature Center.

Photo (1) via Arlington County/Facebook