News

Picnic shelter, court and field at Lacey Woods Park set for $2M renovation project

By Jo DeVoe
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The northern portion of Lacey Woods Park will be getting a facelift.

Arlington County will replace the lighted basketball court and multi-use field at the 14-acre park along N. George Mason Drive near Ballston, according to a project webpage.

The building housing both a picnic shelter and restrooms will be replaced with a new picnic shelter and structure for restrooms.

Arlington County is mulling two design concepts for this project. It is seeking public feedback on these concepts via an online survey open now through next Thursday, Oct. 26.

“Your feedback will help inform updates to the existing amenities, including a preferred layout for the restrooms and picnic shelter,” the survey says.

Two concepts for updates to Lacey Woods Park (via Arlington County)

In the first concept, the bathrooms and picnic shelter both border the new court and the restroom entrance is off to the side.

In the second concept, the bathroom entrance faces the court and the picnic shelter is behind the bathrooms.

Two concepts for updates to Lacey Woods Park (via Arlington County)

The county will also update site furnishings and make improvements for circulation and accessibility for people with disabilities. There will be landscaping, drainage and stormwater management upgrades.

This project is set to cost a little more than $2 million and was approved as part of the 2019-28 Capital Improvement Plan. Some $388,000 comes from short-term financing and another $1.6 million from bonds.

“Capital maintenance projects address facilities that have exceeded their lifespan and are in need of renovation,” the survey says. “Renovations to the existing playground and the addition of new amenities are not within the scope of this project.”

A picnic shelter in the southern half of the site was replaced in 2014.

The county is currently estimating that construction on this project would start in the second quarter of 2025 and wrap up in the last quarter of the year.

News

Virginia shoppers get a tax break on certain items this weekend

By James Jarvis
Point of sale payment at a store (Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash)

Don’t be surprised if your receipt lacks a sales tax charge this weekend.

Starting Friday at 12:01 a.m. and running until midnight on Sunday, a variety of products, from school supplies to refrigerators, will be exempt from taxation during a three-day tax holiday.

Virginia shoppers can take advantage of this tax break on certain items categorized into three groups

School supplies, clothing, and footwear

  • Qualified school supplies under $20
  • Qualified clothing and footwear under $100

Hurricane and emergency preparedness products

  • Batteries, flashlights, bottled water and other preparedness supplies under $60
  • Portable generators under $1,000
  • Gas-powered chainsaws under $350

Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ products

  • Qualifying Energy Star™ or WaterSense™ products under $2,500 purchased for noncommercial home or personal use

These eligible products can be purchased both in physical stores and online, as well as through mail or telephone orders.

The three-day “holiday” traditionally falls in August. However, this year, it was postponed due to a delay in state lawmakers approving a spending bill, which was ultimately passed in September.

“As Virginians continue to face inflation and high prices, Virginians will receive some needed tax relief this weekend,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a press release. “This sales tax holiday is an important measure to help Virginians keep more of their hard-earned money when purchasing essential school supplies, hurricane preparedness items, and clothing.”

Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash

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NEW: Early morning barricade situation in Buckingham ends peacefully

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

A 43-year-old Arlington man is in jail after an overnight barricade situation in the Buckingham neighborhood.

The incident started around 12:30 a.m. with what was reported as a woman’s ex-boyfriend kicking down her door and confronting her and her current boyfriend with a knife.

The suspect then returned to his home nearby, leading to a barricade situation that eventually ended peacefully after negotiations with police, according to the Arlington County Police Department.

More, below, from a press release.

The Arlington County Police Department is announcing the arrest of a suspect following an early morning barricade in the Buckingham neighborhood. Jermaine Chambers, 43, of Arlington, VA is charged with Attempted Malicious Wounding, Burglary with Intent to Commit Assault and Assault & Battery (x2). He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

At approximately 12:23 a.m. on October 19, police were dispatched to the 4200 block of 2nd Road N. for the report of a possible assault with a weapon. Upon arrival, it was determined the known male suspect forced entry into the victim’s residence, brandished a knife, threatened and physically assaulted the female and male victims before fleeing the residence on foot. The male victim was treated on scene by medics for injuries considered non-life threatening. The female victim did not require medical treatment.

Officers searched the area for the suspect with the assistance of Fairfax County Police Department’s helicopter and determined he had returned to his residence in the 200 block of N. Thomas Street. Officers established a perimeter, made telephone contact and initiated negotiations with the suspect who refused to exit his residence and remained barricaded inside. Members of the Department’s Emergency Response Team responded to the scene, continued negotiations with the suspect and eventually took him into custody without incident.

This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Ballston as dark clouds move into the area (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Square Foot Cost Slips — “From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the average price per square foot for Arlington residential sales was $472. That’s down 1.9 percent from $481 during the same stretch in 2022. Throughout the metro area, Arlington was only surpassed in the ranking by the District of Columbia, whose average $527 cost per square foot was down 4.4 percent from a year before.” [Gazette Leader]

Cost of Local Homeownership — “The Q3 median cost of a single-family home was $739,900 in Arlington. To afford that, average wage earners would have to make at least $113,633 and be positioned to spend 46.2 percent of their annual pay on their mortgages. The report also shows a 7.8 percent year-over-year increase in median home sale prices in Arlington.” [Patch]

Plan’s Affordable Housing Questioned — “The draft plan Arlington County officials are reviewing includes recommendations for where, and how, to build affordable housing along Langston Boulevard, with a goal of making it happen by 2075. You read that right: 2075! Trekkies will note that the year 2075 is twelve years after Earth makes first contact with aliens from another world.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Halls Hill and Langston Blvd Plan — “Wilma Jones, President of the John M. Langston Citizens Association, sat down with Jo DeVoe to discuss Plan Langston Boulevard, community history, and historic preservation efforts in the Halls Hill neighborhood.” [Apple Podcasts]

Next Week: Drug Take-Back Day — “The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) fall National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place on Saturday, October 28, 2023. This dedicated day is an opportune time for community members to take advantage of free, convenient and confidential medication disposal at one of Arlington County’s four permanent drug take-back boxes.” [ACPD]

Tourney Win for Softball Team — “With late-inning comebacks in semifinal and championship games, the Arlington Sage won the recent 14-and-under B Division of the Madison Small Memorial girls softball tournament in Sterling. The tourney was reduced to one day because of weather issues. The Sage finished 6-0 in their 15-team age division.” [Gazette Leader]

Funding for Local Health Startup — “An Arlington heart health startup has raised $8 million to bring its virtual home care to more value-based care provider groups and payers… Ventricle Health provides its members with access to a network of 2,000 cardiologists — members can book appointments to be seen virtually in as little as three days.” [Washington Business Journal]

It’s Thursday — Expect partly sunny skies with highs around 69 degrees and south winds ranging from 6 to 11 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. As for Thursday night, it will be cloudy with lows near 55 degrees accompanied by south winds blowing at 7 to 9 mph. [Weather.gov]

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