News

UPDATED: Arlington National Cemetery closed due to bomb threat

By ARLnow.com
(Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Arlington National Cemetery was closed for most of the day today due to a bomb threat.

The cemetery said on social media Friday morning that the threat is being investigated.

“The cemetery’s response teams and local law enforcement partners are on site investigating the threat,” ANC said. “The public is requested to avoid the area and wait for updates posted to our social media platforms.”

An Arlington County police K-9 unit was dispatched to the cemetery around 8:40 a.m. for what was described as a threat received via email.

Officials said shortly after 3 p.m. that no threat was found but the cemetery remains closed except for funerals.

More from a press release:

Arlington National Cemetery officials and Joint Base Myer Henderson-Hall emergency services responded to a bomb threat early this morning. The cemetery closed to the public and funeral services scheduled this morning were postponed. The cemetery’s response teams and local law enforcement partners spent the morning on site investigating the threat. Nothing suspicious was found, and law enforcement safely cleared all areas.

The cemetery will remain closed for the remainder of the day to visitors and family pass holders. We are focusing our efforts now on working with families to ensure that funerals scheduled earlier this morning and this afternoon will be conducted later today.

Arlington National Cemetery’s commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for our visitors, families and employees guided our actions this morning.

“Every threat to Arlington National Cemetery is taken seriously. I want to thank our visitors and family members for their patience and understanding, and an extensive team of our law enforcement partners across the National Capital Region for their swift and thorough response. We will spend the remainder of the day focused on our mission of laying our service members and their loved ones to rest,” said Army National Military Cemeteries and Office of Army Cemeteries Executive Director Karen Durham-Aguilera.

For additional information please contact: 703-614-0024 and follow Arlington National
Cemetery on our social media platforms @ArlingtonNatl and this website.

Around Town

Architects will build larger-than-life sculptures from canned food tonight at Pentagon City mall

By James Jarvis
2014 Canstruction sculpture by HGA Architects and Engineers and Balfour Beatty Construction at Reagan Washington National Airport (via Arlington Food Assistance Center/Facebook)

This evening, local architecture firms will go can-to-can in a competition to build elaborate sculptures made from canned goods.

The “Canstruction” event takes place at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. The creations built tonight will be judged on Saturday, though shoppers can also vote for their favorite canned art sculptures through Monday.

The structures will be on display through next Sunday, when the cans will be donated to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC).

Fashion Centre and the American Institute of Architects Northern Virginia Chapter are putting on the event, which is one of many around the world affiliated with the hunger relief charity Canstruction. Participants are responsible for buying the canned goods, designing the structures and donating what is collected to a local food bank, according to the nonprofit’s website.

For AFAC CEO Charles Meng, events like these are a fun way for people to support the nonprofit, which gets nearly half of its food through donations.

“Food donations make up 40% of the food we distribute,” Charles Meng, CEO of AFAC, told ARLnow. “The 30,000 pounds from Canstruction will go a very long way in meeting our goal of 1.5 million pounds and in helping our families.”

“Canstruction is one of the many creative ways that professional societies like the American Institute of Architects and their Northern Virginia Chapter can help address food insecurity and have great fun doing it,” he added.

Shoppers are also encouraged to donate canned goods or cash to AFAC through QR codes at the Canstruction display through Sept. 16.

The competition moved to the mall this year after being held at either Dulles or National airport in recent years.

The winning team will advance to compete on the international stage against victors from other Canstruction events across the globe.

Photo via AFAC/Facebook

Sponsored

Listing of the Day: 6223 Langston Blvd

By ARLnow.com

Address: 6223 Langston Blvd
Neighborhood: Lee Ridge
Type: 3 BR, 2 BA single-family detached – 3300 sq. ft.
Listed: $1,299,000

Noteworthy: City living with tailored country surroundings/two-car garage

A timeless North Arlington Cape Cod, lovingly maintained and thoughtfully upgraded by the same owners since 1995.

This home features three upstairs bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Set behind a handsome stone retaining wall, the home enjoys wonderful privacy and quiet, thanks to its solid one-foot-thick stone construction. Large windows on every side invite natural light to spill across the high ceilings, solid wood floors, and custom built-ins found throughout both levels.

The kitchen is a chef’s delight, complete with a gas cooktop, granite countertops, and a suite of thoughtful additions including a microwave with convection capabilities. Surround sound enhances the first floor, ceiling and wall speakers in the sunroom, dining room, and living room, and SpeakerCraft ceiling speakers in the kitchen. Bright recessed lighting runs throughout the home, while the basement shines with upgraded fixtures that bring exceptional brightness to the space.

Outdoor living is equally as inviting with a rear stone patio and exterior lighting with carriage lamps and multiple spotlights that showcase the grounds beautifully. The primary suite is a true retreat with custom built-in cabinetry featuring granite countertops that flow seamlessly into the walk-in closet and bathroom.

Recent updates include exterior and interior painting (2024), a fully renovated lower-level bath (2024), and roof replacements over both the house and garage (2017). An oversized detached two-car garage with storage plus a driveway accommodating four or more cars provides exceptional convenience. This residence offers easy access to Georgetown, downtown DC, Airports, and Metro.

Listed by:
James Corry – James Corry Real Estate Services
[email protected]
(561) 389-3111

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Storm clouds on the move over Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Rent Keeps Rising — “Arlington saw the third highest month-over-month increase in apartment rents nationally in August, and now stands as the eighth priciest locality among 100 urban areas monitored by Apartment List. The median rent for an apartment in Arlington stood at $2,318 in the new data, reported Aug. 30. That was up 0.9 percent from a month before, and represents an increase of 9.6 percent since a trough at the start of the year.” [Gazette Leader]

Garvey Mulling Reelection — “Will it be a last hurrah, or serve as the precursor to a re-election bid? Libby Garvey hasn’t made up her mind, but says that either way, she aims to make her (expected) coming year as chair of the Arlington County Board in 2024 an effective one.” [Gazette Leader]

FCPD Chase Through Arlington — “Fairfax County PD chased the pickup truck seen below through Arlington on I-66. Crossed the bridge into D.C. just before 12:45 p.m. ACPD monitored the chase but did not pursue into the District.” [Twitter]

Reminder: Weekend Events — “Roads in Pentagon City and Rosslyn will be temporarily closed this Saturday for the Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K and 2023 Rosslyn Jazz Fest… The festival will take place from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and feature several jazz acts… The race, which kicks off at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m., will start and end at the DoubleTree Hotel.” [ARLnow]

More Road Closures — “The following roads along the National Mall and Memorial Parks and George Washington Memorial Parkway will be closed from approximately 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 9, 2023: Arlington Memorial Bridge, Arlington Memorial Circle…” [National Park Service]

Crash-Prone Local Intersections — “Arlington saw 2,052 total crashes in 2022. That’s about 15% higher than in 2021, but still 18% lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when there were more cars on roads… Here are the intersections with the highest number of crashes in 2022—and what Vision Zero is doing in the way of safety improvements at each location.” [Arlington Magazine]

Feds Planning Big Raise — “Two million federal employees just got one step closer to an average 5.2% pay raise next year. President Joe Biden wrote a letter to leaders of the House and Senate on Thursday formally declaring the boost for all federal civilian employees, thereby setting his intent to give employees the largest base pay increase in nearly four decades.” [Federal Times, Twitter]

It’s Friday — A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. On Friday night, anticipate a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, with mostly cloudy skies and a low of 70. [Weather.gov]

Announcement

Coming Down! APAH’s Crane and Casual Adventure’s Prices

By Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing

APAH’s Terwilliger Place recently celebrated its “Topping Out”, the milestone when a construction project reaches its tallest point. Terwilliger Place will be home to 160 apartments of affordable housing — 50% with veteran’s preference and a new home for American Legion Post 139 when it opens in 2022.

Terwilliger Place will be demobilizing the construction crane on June 5 and 6 which will cause closures at 3445 Washington Blvd. But, even though the road will be closed, our neighbor, Casual Adventure, is open! They are extending their Spring Kick Off Sale with 20-30% OFF select items of your favorite outdoor clothing and gear June 5-6. Gear up and get outside with a great selection of brands like Arc’Teryx, Mountain Hardwear, the North Face, Kuhl, Keen, Salomon and more. Shop in store or online (sale prices will appear in cart upon check out).

Go to Coming Down! APAH’s Crane and Casual Adventure’s Prices Read more
Around Town

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Sep 7, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Thursday 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 — Sep 7, 2023.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.

🌦️ Friday’s forecast

There’s a 50% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms with areas of fog clearing by 8am. Apart from this, expect mostly sunny skies, a high of 92°F, and calm winds 5-9 mph from the south. Friday night, the chance of precipitation increases to 60%, with showers and potential thunderstorms starting before 8pm and carrying on, with new rainfall amounts ranging from a tenth to a quarter of an inch, except in thunderstorms. Temperatures will drop to a low of about 70°F as winds decrease after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
– Nelson Mandela

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

Announcement

Rent vs. Buy Virtual Happy Hour

By Century 21 Redwood

Have you found your quarantine oasis? Are you tired of paying down someone else’s mortgage? Please join us for a Rent vs. Buy Happy Hour on Wednesday, June 9 at 6 p.m. via zoom (link to be provided upon RSVP).

A lot has happened in the local market since the beginning of the pandemic. Sip on your drink of choice and learn from Northern Virginia and Washingtonian Magazine top producing agents on how you can get $1,500 towards your closing costs immediately! We will discuss the latest market updates, the home buying process and rent vs. buy cost savings. Please RSVP by clicking on the link. Call/text Manavi at 703-869-6698 with any questions!

Go to Rent vs. Buy Virtual Happy Hour Read more
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