News
Haze from wildfires in western Canada has made its way east, seen from The View of DC in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local Reps Blast Airport Proposal — “Members of Congress representing Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia today wrote to leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to express strong local opposition to ‘any changes to the current High Density (‘Slot’) and Perimeter rules at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (‘National’).'” [Press Release]

Fairfax Board Also Against DCA Bill — “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday (Tuesday) to oppose the push to increase the number of flights that travel beyond 1,250 miles from the airport in Arlington. In a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, the board argued that the effort would undermine Dulles International Airport (IAD), resulting in ‘detrimental’ impacts on the local economy.” [FFXnow]

Booster Group Releases DCA Poll — “The Capital Access Alliance (CAA), a coalition of transportation and business leaders from Virginia and around the country seeking to make air travel to and from Washington, D.C. more accessible and affordable, released new survey results today of more than 1,000 Virginia residents that found the majority of voters in the Commonwealth support modernizing the 1960s perimeter rule and adding more flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).” [Capital Access Alliance]

GOPers Rankled By Ranked Choice — “‘This seems insane,’ one voice from the back remarked as the county’s elections director, Gretchen Reinemeyer, outlined that new voting procedure at the party’s monthly meeting, held May 22. Another suggested that the new – and, to many, confusing – voting change may have been implemented for nefarious means. ‘Chaos eventually leads to tyranny,’ one GOP member opined during a question-and-answer session.” [Gazette Leader]

Minor Injuries After Cyclist Struck — “ACPD on scene of a cyclist struck at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Monroe Street in Virginia Square. Her injuries sound relatively minor.” [Twitter]

Police Seek Crystal City Groper — “1500 block of Crystal Drive. At approximately 5:22 p.m. on May 23, police were dispatched to the report of an assault just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was inside the business when an unknown male suspect grabbed her buttocks before fleeing the scene on foot.” [ACPD]

Nearby: Armed Man Arrested at Preschool — “A Florida man arrested in McLean yesterday (Tuesday) had guns in his car and was allegedly on his way to the CIA, Fairfax County police say. The man was reported for trespassing at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church (1125 Savile Lane) around 11:11 a.m. The church is also the site of Dolley Madison Preschool and the Speech and Language Center of Northern Virginia.” [FFXnow]

It’s Thursday — Cooler, with clouds clearing in the morning and a high near 71. North wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. At night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. [Weather.gov]


Around Town

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Today we published articles that were read a total of 8436 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — May 24, 2023.

  1. Arlington drops in ‘ParkScore’ rankings
  2. Morning Notes
  3. Rolling Thunder will rumble back into Arlington this weekend

📅 Upcoming events

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

☀️ Thursday’s forecast

Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 72. North wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. At night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. Northeast wind 3 to 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Quote of the Day

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
– Socrates

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

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


News

Here is some post content including an image with updated padding:

Washington monument
Washington monument

Test paragraph


Around Town
A child plays in a sprayground at Virginia Highlands Park (file photo)

Sprayground season has finally arrived in Arlington.

Families will be able to put the county’s spraygrounds to use starting this Friday — the beginning of Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start to consistent summer weather.

These outdoor spaces, where children can play for free in water during hot summer months, are located throughout the county:

Spraygrounds

Interactive Water Features

“Spraygrounds at Drew Park, Hayes Park, Lyon Village Park and Virginia Highlands Park will be open on Friday, May 26,” Dept. of Parks and Recreation Jerry Solomon told ARLnow. “Spraygrounds at Mosaic and Penrose Parks will be undergoing some final system adjustments and open on Saturday, May 27.”

Weekly hours vary by location and are listed online.

Although the parks are open to everyone, the parks department requires appropriate swimwear and adult supervision, as no life guards will be present.

The spraygrounds are scheduled to remain open through Labor Day weekend.


News

On Aug. 12, 2022, Arlington police officers were among the first to respond to the  devastating crash and fire at Ireland’s Four Courts.

Three ACPD personnel — Officer Whisner, Corporal O’Daniel and Corporal Playford — were just recognized for their heroism.

“Without hesitation, the officers entered the building, assisted with removing patrons, carried the injured to safety and provided emergency medical assistance,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow.

Whisner has served with the department for 2.5 years and Playford for 5 years, while O’Daniel has more than 24 years of law enforcement experience in Arlington, across the Sheriff’s Office and police department. They were honored for their bravery, for saving the lives of four critically injured patients and for preventing additional injuries during an annual Arlington County Fire Department award ceremony on Sunday.

“Your prompt response, quick decision-making, and selfless act of courage undoubtedly made a meaningful difference during this complex incident,” Arlington County Fire Chief David Povlitz told the officers, reading from a letter of commendation later provided to ARLnow.

“The collaboration between our departments was seamless, and your efforts in evacuating the building and removing patients were essential to the rescue operations,” he continued.

Firefighters on-scene were also lauded for evacuating the building, triaging patients, quickly extinguishing the raging fire, treating patients on-scene and transporting patients with life-threatening injuries to trauma centers, ACFD spokesman Capt. Nate Hiner tells ARLnow.

“Seamless collaboration with ACPD played a significant role in saving the lives of the critically injured patients and preventing additional injuries,” Hiner said.

The pub-goers who suffered the most serious, potentially life-threatening injuries were released from the hospital after about a month. The Uber driver who slammed into the pub, after an apparent medical emergency, did not face criminal charges.

Four Courts, meanwhile, expects to reopen in August, after about a year of insurance claims, permitting, demolition and construction.

The units who responded to the crash and fire were not the only first responders honored last week for saving lives. Last summer, there were two other rescues for which fire crews received accolades.

On June 25, 2022, Hiner said, 10 units responded to a “challenging trench rescue incident” in which a worker was trapped up to his shoulders in heavy clay in a collapsed trench at the rear of a house near Wakefield High School.

“The worker was in distress and having trouble breathing,” Hiner said. “Personnel collaborated to develop patient care and extrication plans, which they efficiently executed despite the difficult conditions and extreme heat. Crews worked for 75 minutes to safely remove the patient from the trench while providing ongoing medical care.”

Once the man was freed from the clay, he was rushed to the hospital and later discharged, making a full recovery.

(more…)