News

Wakefield High School sees second student death this year

By Jo DeVoe
Friends and family gather at a memorial for Jorge Rodríguez (courtesy Janeth Valenzuela)

A Wakefield High School freshman named Jorge Chavarria Rodíguez died Thursday evening, according to several sources.

The 16-year-old attended Barcroft Elementary School and Kenmore Middle School and had just started his 9th-grade year at Wakefield, per an email from Wakefield Principal Peter Balas to the school community.

“Jorge was a beloved member of the Wakefield, Kenmore, and Barcroft families, and impacted the lives of many of our students and staff members,” Balas said in the email, which Arlington Public Schools provided to ARLnow. “He was excited and happy to join the Wakefield family, with staff recalling his genuine smile.”

This marks the second death of a Wakefield student this calendar year. APS confirmed on Monday, a school holiday, that Jorge was not on school grounds at the time of his passing.

Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage said police found a deceased teen last Thursday at an apartment building in the 5100 block of Columbia Pike. Officers were dispatched just before 8:30 p.m. on Thursday for the report of an unresponsive person on the ground.

First responders reported that the person was dead upon their arrival on scene, according to scanner traffic.

Now, ACPD is conducting a death investigation and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death. She noted a preliminary investigation “has not revealed an ongoing threat to the community related to this incident.”

In a GoFundMe page created by Jorge’s mother, Luz, she writes in Spanish that she is living through the worst pain a mother can experience. She says her biggest wish is to give him the final goodbye he deserves as a beloved son.

An English-language description below describes Jorge as “a happy and playful child, a good student and an excellent son.”

“My heart is broken knowing that his dreams will not come true and that his life was short,” she says. “I thank you in advance for your expressions of affection and collaboration. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone. May my little Jorge rest in peace.”

Over the weekend, a tribute to her son, made of flowers and saint candles, started growing around a tree across the street from the Columbia Pike Plaza shopping center. The GoFundMe, meanwhile, has circulated on social media and received some 265 donations, totaling more than $13,000 of the $25,000 goal, as of publication.

https://twitter.com/pondfamily/status/1705932502341177431?s=46&t=PyhgdUMYHjgfAse98_Ue_A

The Arlington County Board briefly discussed the 16-year-old’s passing on Saturday.

Reading from texts he received, Board member Takis Karantonis said it was possibly an overdose, amid attempts by Chair Christian Dorsey to interject.

“Whatever the circumstances, it’s a tragic thing, and I’m really devastated and heartbroken about this,” Karantonis said.

Dorsey cut the the discussion short, saying that “resources are going to be made available to the students next week [and] details are not known at this time.”

In a statement, community activist Janeth Valenzuela said adults and responsible citizens need to act quickly or risk losing more children to death and addictions.

“We want to make changes, now,” she said. “Not tomorrow, today. Let us not allow this death to be one more of others, let us use this pain that burns our soul to gain momentum and defend our children and the children of our community with our claws.”

(more…)

News

Arlington to chip in $70k for more study of bus rapid transit on Route 7

By Jo DeVoe
A rendering of a bus rapid transit station pulled from a similar project in Seattle (via Northern Virginia Transportation Commission)

One day, a new bus rapid transit line could connect East Falls Church to Alexandria and Tysons Corner.

But the planning effort for the bus line, Envision Route 7, needs more studies and outreach, according to Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, or NVTC, which is leading the planning effort.

Although it received federal and state funding, NVTC appealed to the jurisdictions served by the bus line — including Arlington — for additional local funding to advance that work. This weekend, the Arlington County Board approved chipping in $70,000 over two years.

The bus rapid transit line would run between the Mark Center in Alexandria and the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons, mostly making stops along Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads and the City of Falls Church. Along the way, it will briefly pass through Arlington via the East Falls Church Metro station.

Envision Route 7 route (via NVTC)

Envision Route 7 is now in its 10th year of planning and its fourth planning phase.

During this phase, NVTC will study traffic and environmental impacts and conduct extensive public outreach.

To do that work, it received $2 million in federal funds, requiring $500,000 in non-federal match. It then received $500,000 this fiscal year from the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation, requiring local match of $500,000.

Arlington previously contributed into earlier planning stages, which helped to decide on using bus rapid transit along the corridor.

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6223 Langston Boulevard

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Around Town

Metro 29 Diner faces uncertain timeline for reopening due to faulty sewer line

By James Jarvis
1/2

Metro 29 Diner will remain closed for at least another week, and possibly upwards of a month, due to a serious plumbing problem.

Peter Bota, the owner of the nostalgic New York-style diner, says it all started a few weeks ago after the restaurant’s grease trap — a plumbing device that separates grease, oil and excess food from wastewater — started malfunctioning.

“The stuff that was in the grease trap, the liquid and the grease started flowing into our parking lot. Fortunately, as nasty as it was, it didn’t come back into the building,” Bota told ARLnow.

Since that incident, Bota says the diner’s been stuck in “a holding pattern,” waiting on the green light from Arlington’s planning department to replace the sewer line along N. Albemarle Street adjacent to the restaurant.

“We are just waiting for our permits to be approved so we can do the [construction],” he said. “There will be a road closure on the side street Albemarle, and then there’s excavation to get to the sewer line and replace it.”

Permits filed with Arlington County indicate the work is slated to take place over the course of three days and cost about $15,000. The construction zone is expected to stretch about 20 feet, resulting in partial closures of the roadway and sidewalk along N. Albemarle Street.

Until the sewer line is fixed, Bota emphasized he can’t reopen.

“There’s nothing that we can do… We’re not allowed to operate since everything that goes out of the business in terms of liquid… is going to come back towards the building,” he said.

As for when the county might approve his permit, Bota remains hopeful but uncertain.

“Everything’s been submitted and is in the review process,” Bota said. “So, hopefully, [the county will] fast-track us since we’re an existing business and allow us to get reopened as soon as possible.”

In addition to being a North Arlington dining staple, Metro 29 Diner has had some famous visitors over the years, including then-Vice President Biden in 2012 and Guy Fieri for a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives taping in 2010.

News

UPDATED: Arrest made after shooting on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com
File photo

(Updated at 1 p.m.) Police responded Monday afternoon to a reported shooting on Columbia Pike.

The incident happened shortly before 4 p.m. on the 1800 block of the Pike, at The Wellington apartment complex. Initial details were murky, but a man suffered what was described as a wound to the upper leg.

A female suspect was detained and a weapon found.

On Tuesday, Arlington County police confirmed that the man was shot and that the incident was “domestic in nature.”

More, below, from an ACPD crime report.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2023-09250189, 1800 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 3:53 p.m. on September 25, police were dispatched to the report of an assault with a weapon. Upon arrival, it was determined that following a verbal dispute and physical altercation inside a residence, the female subject discharged a firearm, striking the male subject. The male subject was transported to an area hospital with injuries considered non-life threatening. The female subject ran from the scene and was located by responding officers in the 1200 block of S. Ross Street and subsequently charged with Malicious Wounding. A firearm was recovered. The incident was determined to be domestic in nature and additional information is restricted from release in accordance with Virginia Code § 19.2-11.2. The investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing.

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