Around Town

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Apr 25, 2023

By ARLnow.com

Good Tuesday evening, Arlington. Today we published articles that were read a total of 11546 times… so far.

📈 Top stories

The following are the most-read articles for today — Apr 25, 2023.

  1. Student says he was threatened with a knife in a middle school bathroom
  2. Morning Poll: Is Ballston nice?
  3. Demolition of a pedestrian bridge in Rosslyn is set to begin this weekend
  4. County Board approves $2.5M to replace aging water main below N. Glebe Road

📅 Upcoming events

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

☔ Wednesday’s forecast

Light rain. Increasing cloudiness. Mild. High of 66 and low of 43. Sunrise at 6:17 am and sunset at 7:55 pm. See more from Weather.gov.

💡 Haiku of the Day

Winter’s icy breath
Blankets earth in silent white
Nature’s frozen peace

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

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

News

County Board approves $2.5M to replace aging water main below N. Glebe Road

By Jo DeVoe
A water main on N. Glebe Road set to be replaced (via Arlington County)

A 96-year-old water main along N. Glebe Road near Ballston is set to be replaced, starting later this year.

The pipe segment runs about a third of a mile from N. Randolph Street to N. Pershing Drive, between the Buckingham and Ashton Heights neighborhoods.

Arlington County says that this work is needed to improve the flow of water to area fire hydrants, dubbed “fire flow,” and support demand in the neighborhood. Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved a contract for $2.1 million with A&M Construction Corporation to execute the project.

The county included some $424,400 in contingency funding in case the contractor finds “unsuitable soils or unknown existing underground utilities,” among other risks, according to a county report.

This project is “part of [the] county’s effort to replace old unlined cast iron pipes which are subjected to internal and external corrosions that reduce the fire flow capacity,” the document said. “In the past few years, the main had an excessive number of breaks that prompted the need for replacement.”

Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokesman Peter Golkin tells ARLnow that there is currently no construction schedule, “as it takes some time for [the purchasing department] to execute such a contract.”

“But based on previous comparable projects, this one won’t begin until this summer and more likely in the fall,” he said.

Golkin says the county expects the work will take 1.5 years to complete and will affect 26 properties: 19 residential and seven commercial.

“Water interruptions will be coordinated in advance with those impacted,” he said.

The replacement work will require single-lane closures on Glebe from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.

Crews will likely work overnight once they reach an intersection. More information on these traffic impacts will be relayed to residents via the project website, which will launch closer to the start of construction, and through the Buckingham and Ashton Heights civic associations, per the county.

News

Test Image

By aatkinson

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

Washington monument
Washington monument

Test paragraph

1/4
News

‘Bluefish Bistro’ appears to be coming to Columbia Pike, but few details have surfaced

By Matt Blitz
Bluefish Bistro appears to be opening at Centro Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A restaurant called Bluefish Bistro is looking to make a splash on Columbia Pike, but details remain murky.

A new eatery going by the seafood-sounding name is opening on the ground floor of the Centro Arlington development at the corner of S. George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike, per photos and the development’s updated site plan.

The 1,450-square-foot restaurant is set to be next to H&R Block and Vietnamese restaurant Pho Saigon Pearl while across from the Harris Teeter. The business also has applied for a liquor license with the company name listed as “PJW Corp.”

Other than that, though, no other details have surfaced.

“At this time, we don’t have any information to share,” a Centro Arlington spokesperson told ARLnow in an email.

ARLnow has reached out to a company linked with the restaurant in public records, PJW Corp, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

Centro Arlington opened in 2019, replacing the Columbia Pike Village Center, which had the three-decade-old Food Star supermarket that many considered a neighborhood institution.

The three-year-old, six-story development is home to a Harris Teeter, several doctors’ offices, an Orangetheory fitness studio, a veterinarian’s office, and apartments.

Schools

Student says he was threatened with a knife in a middle school bathroom

By ARLnow.com
Police on scene at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in June 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington County police are investigating whether a student threatened another student with a knife brought into a local middle school.

The alleged incident happened this past Thursday morning at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, at 125 S. Old Glebe Road.

Police were only informed of the incident yesterday (Monday) afternoon, after a school administrator learned about the incident and called ACPD.

“At approximately 2:57 p.m. on April 24, police were dispatched to the late report of threats,” said today’s ACPD crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 11:20 a.m. on April 20, the juvenile victim and juvenile suspect were in a restroom in the building when the suspect allegedly demanded the victim’s shoes, displayed a knife and made threatening statements.”

“The victim then safely exited the bathroom. No injuries were reported and no items were reported stolen,” the crime report continued, “Officers made contact with the suspect at his residence and recovered a knife. Petitions were sought for the juvenile suspect for Attempted Robbery and Possession of a Weapon at School.”

View More Stories