Arlington police vehicle responding to assist with foot chase in Pentagon City on Oct. 16, 2023
A pair of suspects led Arlington County police on extended foot chases through Pentagon City yesterday afternoon.
Police first responded to a parking garage below Amazon’s HQ2 building around 3:30 p.m. Monday after security observed suspects in ski masks trying to break into a car.
The suspects were later spotted in the area and took off running. Personnel from some federal law enforcement agencies with nearby offices — the DEA and the U.S. Marshals Service — helped police spot the fleeing suspects, according to scanner traffic. Both suspects were apprehended around 4:30 p.m.
More, below, from today’s ACPD crime report.
ATTEMPTED GRAND LARCENY AUTO, 2023-10160155, 500 block of 14th Road S. At approximately 3:30 p.m. on October 16, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined security personnel were inside a parking garage when they heard an activated car alarm and observed the two male suspects wearing ski masks allegedly tampering with the steering column of the vehicle. Security personnel verbally confronted the suspects and they exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. A lookout was broadcast and officers canvassed the area for the suspects. A short time later, officers located the suspects in the area of S. Fern Street and 12th Street S. and attempted to detain them during which both suspects ran from the area. Following foot pursuits, both suspects were located and taken into custody. During the course of the investigation, burglarious tools were recovered from the scene. No injuries were reported. [Suspect 1], 18, of Fort Washington, Md. was arrested and charged with Attempted Grand Larceny Auto, Possession of Burglarious Tools, Destruction of Property, Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony and Wearing a Mask in a Public Place to Conceal Identity. [Suspect 2], 18, of Alexandria. Va. was arrested and charged with Attempted Grand Larceny Auto, Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony and Wearing a Mask in a Public Place to Conceal Identity.
Fall foliage in Arlington Ridge (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An exhibit of native plants planted at the newly renovated Ballston Wetlands Park (staff photo by James Jarvis)
James Moore, Jr. cuts a client’s hair at his barber shop on Langston Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Ball-Sellers House (via Google Maps)
Two significant county plans — one governing stewardship of trees and natural resources and the other historic preservation — are reaching the finish line.
On Saturday, the Arlington County Board sethearings for both plans. Members will vote on adopting the plans at the hearings.
First up will be the Historic and Cultural Resources Plan, set for a Planning Commission hearing on Monday, Oct. 30 and a County Board hearing on Saturday, Nov. 11. The hearings on the plan were approved without further discussion at the start of the meeting over the weekend.
“This is an element of our comprehensive plan but we haven’t updated it since 2006,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “We have been engaged in a multi-year planning process that has resulted in five recommended focus areas: community engagements… incentives, partnerships, regulations, technology, information and tools. This will provide a framework for us to advance the mission and the effectiveness of the county’s Historic Preservation program.”
Next up will be a Planning Commission hearing on Dec. 4, followed by a County Board hearing on Dec. 16, when the Board will consider the new Forestry and Natural Resources Plan.
It “emphasizes equity, a community-wide approach based on education and volunteerism and a focus on reconnecting nature to daily life,” says Dept. of Parks and Recreation Principal Planner Ryan Delaney.
For the first time, he said, Arlington will have a document that views all natural resources “as an interconnected system that covers not only public natural areas and parks but the built environment and private property as well.”
The plan updates and replaces a 2004 plan for urban forests and a 2010 natural resources management plan. It makes several notable recommendations, including the following goals to:
enhance development standards to retain or replace more trees, natural vegetation, permeable surfaces and biophilic elements
The county studied current practices, innovative programs and lessons learned by Fairfax, Albemarle and Prince William counties in Virginia, Montgomery County in Maryland, and Seattle and Richmond, among others, Delaney said.
There is general support for the plan, the DPR planner continued, noting lingering concerns from some about whether the plan treats climate change and tree canopy decline with enough urgency.
Arlington Tree Action Group representative Mary Glass is one such critic. She was the last forestry plan speaker standing after four others did not outlast the lengthy Plan Langston Blvd discussion.
She says the county could “restore trust” with the community if it used newer data on tree canopy levels and adopted more aggressive tree canopy policies.
Glass says the forthcoming plan references a 2016 assessment that found tree canopy levels were at 40%, when a citizen-commissioned study from this year, using 2021 data, found the rate is lower, at 33%, and the situation more dire.
“The important takeaway is, based on these new numbers, which are very accurate, between 2008 and 2021, we lost nearly a quarter of our tree canopy,” Glass said. “It’s a bigger problem than how it may appear reading the plan.”
Caroline Haynes, a member of the Arlington County Forestry and Natural Resources Commission, said people can argue for more tweaks but a plan has to be adopted sometime soon.
“We’ve spent a lot of time developing these policy guidelines and we can always quibble about is it perfect or not but it’s time… we all feel it’s really urgent to get on with this and we really want to move forward on getting toward implementation,” she said.
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.
Tacos El Chilango truck in Radnor-Fort Myer Heights (file photo)
National Taco Day earlier this month reminded us that, for an East Coast suburb, Arlington has some pretty solid taco options.
But which one is the best? On this Taco Tuesday, we’re letting readers weigh in.
The following selections were compiled via a number of lists, including this recent list from Arlington’s tourism website. If we missed your favorite, let us know in the comments.
Vote for up to three of your favorite taco spots in Arlington, below.
Trinity Preschool is now accepting registrations for the fall of 2022. Trinity is a part-day, learn-through-play program nestled in a quiet neighborhood near Virginia Hospital Center. Our teachers offer engaging and fun activities that allow children to develop academically and socially.
Steeped in years of tradition, Trinity boasts a beautiful facility and extensive grounds. Students play in our large, fenced playground, outdoor learning spaces and in the full-size indoor gym. We also feature music class every day with a dedicated music teachers. Throughout the year, we offer enrichment programs on a variety of topics.
Rosslyn as the sun sets (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Final APS Enrollment Figures — “Arlington Public Schools’ official 2023-24 school-enrollment figure is down 656 students from earlier projections and remains below pre-pandemic levels… The final figure of 27,452 for all students from pre-kindergarten to adult was down just three from the 27,455 reported for the 2022-23 school year, while the K-12 enrollment of 26,533 was up 94 students, Superintendent Francisco Durán said.” [Gazette Leader]
WHS Football Still Winless — “The Wakefield Warriors had their closest game of the high-school football season when they lost to the visiting Marshall Statesmen, 21-3, in an Oct. 14 afternoon Liberty District contest. The winless Warriors (0-8, 0-4) trailed just 6-0 at halftime, and got on the scoreboard with a 32-yard field goal by Josh Bronfield in the third period, cutting the lead to 6-3.” [Gazette Leader]
Narrow Victory for Yorktown — “One week after suffering a disappointing road loss in the final seconds, the Yorktown Patriots responded in their next high-school football game with a thrilling walkoff home victory. The Patriots defeated the Langley Saxons, 31-28, in that seesaw Liberty District Oct. 13 clash on a game-winning 35-yard field goal by Max Yoon on the final play with no time remaining.” [Gazette Leader]
Honor for W-L Junior — “Aaron Rafael Zevin-Lopez and Elijah Lee, co-presidents of the Virginia Chapter of Voters of Tomorrow (VOT-VA), received the 2023 AMPLIFY Award for a youth-led organization on Tuesday… ‘I am honored that our team has been recognized by Voices for Virginia’s Children for our advocacy work in the Commonwealth,’ Zevin-Lopez, an 11th grade student at Washington-Liberty High School.” [Patch]
Spooky Season in Full Force — “Arlington never disappoints when it comes to Halloween decorations. I loved seeing these gems up near Williamsburg MS.” [Twitter]
It’s Tuesday — Partly sunny conditions and a high temperature of around 63°F, accompanied by a northwest wind blowing at 6 to 8 mph. Tuesday night will be partly cloudy with a low temperature of approximately 47°F. [Weather.gov]
The Arlington Players (TAP) has joined forces with the Little Theatre of Alexandria (LTA) to bring you an evening of premier one-act shows! Selected from more than 100 submissions worldwide, these three thirty minute shows tackle a wide variety of issues — the environment, race, and relationships, to name a few — in unique and thoughtful ways.
