Columbia Pike

BREAKING: Grocery Store Fight Leads to Suspect Stop on Route 50

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A fight in the Penrose Square Giant led to a series of events that closed portions of two major roads and prompted a massive police response.

Police were dispatched to the grocery store around 2:30 p.m. for a report of a disturbance in the store, potentially involving a weapon. After arriving, an officer was nearly struck by a fleeing vehicle.

“A dispute between known individuals occurred inside a business in the 2500 block of 9th Road S.,” said Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “A responding officer, who was on foot, attempted to stop the vehicle in the parking lot. The driver refused to comply, drove through a parking gate and fled the scene.”

More from Wednesday’s ACPD crime report:

A lookout was broadcast and officers located the vehicle at Arlington Boulevard and 10th Street N. A traffic stop was initiated and the subjects were detained without incident. Victoria Lawson, 26, of Washington D.C. was arrested and charged with Felony Eluding, Felony Destruction of Property, Assault and Battery, Felony Child Abuse and Neglect (x4) and Possession of Marijuana.

The eastbound lanes of Route 50 near Courthouse were blocked by the vehicle stop, which involved nearly a dozen police cars.

“Looks like they arrested someone from a car… then it looked like there were some kids pulled out from the car as well,” a tipster told ARLnow.

While responding to the fight at the grocery store, one officer in a marked police SUV was involved in a crash on S. Walter Reed Drive, which closed a portion of the street for a period of time.

“While responding to the incident, an officer was involved in a crash at S. Walter Reed Drive and 16th Street S.,” Savage said. “The officer was evaluated on scene by medics. The driver of the other vehicle was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries. The crash remains under investigation.”

ACPD Arrests Four Occupants of Stolen Car with Helicopter Assist

By ARLnow.com

Four people were taken into police custody early Sunday morning after a license plate reader alerted an officer to a reported stolen vehicle.

The incident happened around midnight. Police say the driver of the stolen car took off after the officer attempted a traffic stop, then bailed out and fled on foot — along with three other vehicle occupants — near the intersection of 9th Street S. and S. Oakland Street, in the Alcova Heights neighborhood near Columbia Pike.

Police established a perimeter and the Fairfax County Police helicopter was called in to assist with the suspect search. Eventually, all four suspects were apprehended, including the alleged driver — who was found in the backseat of a car that tried to drive through the search area.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE, 2020-05020209, 9th Street S. at S. Oakland Street. At approximately 11:46 p.m. on May 2, an officer was alerted to an LPR hit on a vehicle previously reported stolen out of Washington, D.C. The officer attempted a traffic stop, however, the driver eluded. The driver eventually stopped the vehicle at 9th Street S. and S. Oakland Street and all four occupants fled on foot. Arriving officers apprehended three of the suspects. A perimeter was established and a helicopter responded to assist with the search for the outstanding suspect. A vehicle entered the perimeter with an individual in the rear seat matching the suspect description. The vehicle was stopped and the fourth suspect was apprehended without incident. Three of the occupants were released and charges are anticipated at a later date. The fourth suspect and alleged driver, Avery Robinson, was arrested and charged with Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Possession of a Concealed Weapon, Possession of Stolen Goods, Eluding and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a secured bond.

Numerous locals noted the circling chopper and took to social media to ask what was going on.

Protest Against Rent Planned Along Columbia Pike Friday

By Vernon Miles

Several local and regional advocacy groups are planning a strike along Columbia Pike tomorrow (Friday) against the collection of rent during the coronavirus crisis.

Nationally there has been a numerous of strikes against paying rent during the pandemic, with many service workers or low-income families are out of work. New Virginia Majority — a progressive organization aimed at rallying marginalized communities — is planning statewide action along with Tenants and Workers United, Asian American Civic Engagement Collaborative, and the Virginia Student Power Network.

“In Arlington, members will meet at 2:30 p.m. and caravan in their cars along Columbia Pike apartment complexes — where many Asian, Latinx, African and Black tenants reside,” New Virginia Majority said in a press release. “Those who cannot join will make posters and selfie videos to post online.”

Debra Freeman, communications director for New Virginia Majority, said the format of the protest will likely be similar to the protest outside the Southern Towers apartment complex in Alexandria two weeks ago. While the Alexandria protest faced some criticism online as being disruptive to people in the building, Freeman said the goal is to put the issue in the public spotlight.

“We’ll be going to caravan up and down Columbia Pike with signs,” Freeman said. “It doesn’t just affect one particular apartment community or one landlord, it’s across the board. It’s everywhere. People may not be thinking of service workers — who can’t make income [during the pandemic]. It’s about awareness.”

The protests follow a Cancel Rent petition that circulated around the state and gathered nearly 3,000 signatures. The petition asked federal and state officials to cancel rent collection as well as suspend the accumulation of rent debt. It also asks for a halt to evictions, though evictions are banned in Virginia through May.

“We live paycheck to paycheck and often work full time but still can’t make ends meet,” the petition says. “During this crisis, we are struggling to pay for basic necessities like food, medicine, and housing.”

Michelle Chan, an organizer with New Virginia Majority, equated freezing rent with the government stepping in to stop price gouging on essential goods like hand sanitizer.

“There are a lot of folks are community members who are not making any money right now,” Chan said. “Any stimulus money, and funding to folks, should go to feeding their families.”

Chan said that one of the goals is to try to work out a better deal for renters with large property owners. Organizers are still hammering out details with community members as the group heads into the protest, she said.

Organizations are encouraging those who see the Pike protest driving by to join in.

“I hope the takeaway is that we’re all in this together,” Freeman said. “Only by coming together and supporting each other are we going to get on the other side of this.”

Staff photo via Jay Westcott, graphic courtesy New Virginia Majority

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Blind Triplets Have Coronavirus — “The blind Virginia triplets who defied the odds and made history when they became Eagle Scouts in 2017 are facing another challenge. All three young men have now been diagnosed with COVID-19 and their father is praying they continue to beat the odds.” [WUSA 9]

Wakefield Seniors to Get Yard Signs, Too — “Through donations from teachers, alumni, and community members, every senior gets a yard sign!” [Twitter]

New Food Drop-off Boxes in Ballston — “FLARE, an electric shuttle service, has partnered with the Ballston Business Improvement District to collect and deliver food donations for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) every Friday beginning on April 24.” [Press Release]

CPRO Hosting Biz Listening Session This AM — “Our speakers will discuss the challenges local small businesses are facing as well as the opportunities that have arisen and the resources available to assist our business community, including financial assistance.” [Zoom]

Civ Fed Backs Crystal City Growth Plan — “Delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation on April 21 agreed to support efforts by three civic associations adjacent to Amazon’s new HQ2 in providing a road map for handling growth in the corridor. The resolution, which garnered support from more than 80 percent of voting delegates during an online meeting, puts the Civic Federation behind the ‘Livability 22202’ action plan.” [InsideNova]

Beyer Wants Help for State, Local Gov’ts — “Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), during House Floor debate on the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, urged his colleagues to send urgently-needed federal aid to state and local governments on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Press Release, Twitter]

Clarendon Cafe Delivers Coffee to First Responders — “A Turkish small business owner is giving free coffee to health care workers and first responders fighting the coronavirus in the US state of Virginia. East West Coffee Wine, which has been opened in Arlington County since 2017, says it is now time to give back to those ‘who are tirelessly working to protect us.'” [Anadolu Agency]

Video: Talking Small Biz with Scott Parker — “ARLnow talked with Scott Parker — of Don Tito, BASH Boxing, Bearded Goat Barber and other local businesses — about the state of local business in Arlington during the coronavirus pandemic.” [Facebook]

County to Endorse Columbia Pike Realignment Plan, Fund Design of New Trail Segment

By ARLnow.com
1/2

The Arlington County Board is set to vote this weekend on the federal government’s plan to realign Columbia Pike to facilitate the southern expansion of Arlington National Cemetery.

Under the plan, Southgate Road, which runs from the entrance to Henderson Hall to the intersection of the Pike and S. Joyce Street, would be removed to make way for new cemetery grounds and interment spaces. Columbia Pike would be realigned near the Air Force Memorial to run directly down to Joyce Street rather than curving around the memorial.

The County Board is expected to endorse the plan — part of the federally-funded Defense Access Roads program — this weekend, allowing it to move forward.

Also on the Board agenda is a Memorandum of Agreement with a federal transportation agency for the creation of a new segment of multi-use trail between Washington Blvd and Arlington National Cemetery.

The long-proposed trail would run along the western side of Washington Blvd, from the realigned portion of the Pike to Memorial Drive. It would provide a safer alternative to an existing trail on the other side of the highway, which is well-utilized but has a number of harrowing crossings at ramps to and from the GW Parkway.

“Upgrading this portion of the trail provides an important connectivity from the Columbia Pike/Pentagon City area to Memorial Drive,” a county staff report said. “With the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery and the interchange modifications, the timing is perfect for this segment of trail improvements. ”

The County Board is expected to approve the MOA, along with a half-million dollars in funding for the trail from the existing Columbia Pike multimodal improvements project.

“Representatives from [Arlington National Cemetery] have agreed to provide Arlington County the necessary easements for the trail improvements,” the staff report noted. “Under this MOA, Arlington County will provide advanced funding to Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), in an amount of $500,000, for engineering design, construction advertisement, and procurement for construction services, and oversight of the construction required for the multi-use trail portion of the project.”

More on both items, from a County Board meeting preview:

The Board will consider two agreements with the federal government that, if approved, would endorse major design elements for the planned realignment of Columbia Pike and build a trail segment that will connect Columbia Pike Pentagon City to Memorial Drive. The realignment grows out of the federal government’s southern expansion project to create more burial space for Arlington National Cemetery by closing, realigning and relocating several Arlington roadways. The federal government has agreed to realign Columbia Pike modify the South Joyce Street intersection and the Columbia Pike/ Washington Boulevard interchange and replace Southgate Road with a new segment of South Nash Street. A second, related agreement that the Board will consider would, if approved, provide $500,000 for the federal government to design a multi-use trail along Washington Boulevard adjacent to the cemetery. This segment of the trail, adjacent to the cemetery, is an important connection from Columbia Pike Pentagon City to Memorial Drive. If approved, the agreement would give the Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division the authority to move forward with designing the trail.

BREAKING: Food Giveaway Causes Huge Traffic Jam on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com
1/7

(Updated at 5 p.m.) Arlington County Police are now on scene of a big traffic jam on Columbia Pike reportedly caused by a food giveaway.

Initial reports suggest that the Mega Market Express, at 5001 Columbia Pike in the Pike Plaza shopping center, is giving away hundreds of meals as part of a promotion announced on Facebook. Police were not informed of the giveaway in advance, according to scanner traffic.

A large crowd has gathered around the store and Columbia Pike is jammed with traffic in both directions. Streets approaching the Pike like S. Dinwiddie Street are also at a standstill.

“This is absolutely insane,” said ARLnow staff photographer Jay Westcott, after arriving on scene. “No one is practicing social distancing.”

Officers are working to spread out the crowd and get traffic moving again. As of 5 p.m., the store had closed and was beginning to hand out certificates to let people pick up their giveaway items at a later time, according to scanner traffic.

Arlington’s emergency alert system is encouraging people to avoid the area.

New Columbia Pike Park to be Named After Slave Who Saved Historic Artifacts

By Vernon Miles

One year after Robert E. Lee’s name was stripped from what is now Washington-Liberty High School, Arlington County is preparing to name a new park after an enslaved person Lee’s household.

Selina Gray Square is a park planned for the north end of a residential development called The Trove, an addition to Wellington Apartments at 1850 Columbia Pike that was approved in 2016.

More about the park from a county staff report (emphasis added):

The park will be located at the north end of one of the new residential buildings and adjacent to a new segment of 12th Street South the developer will construct (See Attachment I, Figure 2). It is within the Columbia Heights Civic Association and adjacent to the Arlington View Civic Association boundary. The 8,700 SF (.2-acre park) will be a publicly accessible, privately owned park and will have a bocce court, plaza, benches, walkways and landscaping. Per the recommendation of the HALRB, the Developer will create and place a plaque in the park to commemorate Ms. Selina Norris Gray.

Selina Norris Gray was a second-generation slave in Arlington and was owned by Mary Anna Custis Lee, the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington and wife of Robert E. Lee. Gray worked as a maid and was the eventual head housekeeper of Lee’s Arlington House.

At the outbreak of the war, when Lee’s family fled south, Gray was left the keys to the house and its care entrusted to her. She is credited with saving George Washington artifacts from looters.

According to A Guide to the African American Heritage of Arlington County, Virginia:

Unable to remove all the Washington artifacts from the house prior to fleeing to the South, Mary Custis Lee entrusted the household keys to Selina Gray. For six months she actively protected the items from pilfering soldiers. In December 1861, she requested that General McDowell safeguard the collection. McDowell subsequently removed the items to the patent office.

The staff report on the project noted that some of the items from the Washington collection had disappeared, despite Gray’s efforts, but General McDowell was able to secure them.

“The continued existence of family heirlooms that had once belonged to Martha Custis Washington, and President George Washington can be attributed to Selina Gray’s courageous actions,” the staff report said.

After the war, Gray and her husband purchased a 10-acre property in Green Valley and remained there for the rest of their lives. Their descendants provided first-hand accounts of Arlington House during the 20th century restoration and some still live in Arlington.

The new park is located near The Harry W. Gray House, a historic home built by Selina Gray’s son, Harry Gray.

The naming of the park is docketed for consideration at next weekend’s County Board meeting.

Images via Arlington County

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Business Owners Still Waiting for Loans — “Like many business owners across Northern Virginia, Cyrille Brenac is still waiting to hear back from his bank about his application to the Paycheck Protection Program… For Brenac, who lives in the Cherrydale neighborhood of Arlington, the money would help him rehire about 50 employees of his two French restaurants he laid off when the economy abruptly shut down as the result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.” [Connection Newspapers]

County Board Salary Raise Unlikely — “The COVID-19 health pandemic and resulting economic downturn have snagged another victim – big pay raises for Arlington County Board members. Raises totaling more than $50,000 spread across the five board positions, which were included in County Manager Mark Schwartz’s pre-virus budget proposal in February, have been red-lined out.” [InsideNova]

Bearded Goat Barber Dies During Home Isolation — “We’ve already had quite a tragedy of our own — a barber who was in recovery from heroin addiction. He told us a couple times in the first few weeks, ‘It’s not good for me not being busy like this… not being able to work.’ We didn’t know just how bad it would be for him. He relapsed and got a bad batch and died.” [InsideHook, Facebook]

Campaign to Help Nurses, Restaurants Raises $30k — “The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) began its ‘Buy a Nurse Lunch’ initiative several weeks ago to raise money for restaurants along Columbia Pike in Arlington, while simultaneously providing meals for nurses and medical staff at the Virginia Hospital Center. In just two weeks, the organization says that over $30 thousand was raised, providing much-needed revenue for small, locally-owned restaurant.” [WJLA]

County to Consider More Retail Conversions — “For many years, county officials were insistent that retail be placed in office and residential buildings in certain areas. The problem – as developers apparently knew but county leaders seemed to miss – is that retail spaces are dependent on visibility and foot traffic, which each can vary widely even within the same building. (At one business-organization meeting years back, developers simply shrugged their shoulders, saying they often penciled in ‘zero’ for the expected revenue.)” [InsideNova]

Local Man Recounts Coronavirus Experience — “He had been in the hospital for seven days when doctors declared he might not make it out alive. His blood oxygen levels sank. His lungs struggled. The ventilator helping him breathe, doctors at Virginia Hospital Center said, did not seem to be doing much good. Nurses called his family. His family called a priest. They wanted to make sure Francis Wilson, 29, received last rites before the end.” [Washington Post]

Raccoons Rescued from Trash Can — “Officer Cameron got a surprise yesterday when she responded to a call about a raccoon stuck inside a bag inside a trash can. After she ‘unstuck’ the raccoon, she found 2 raccoon kits with her! Officer Cameron made sure they were all safe, releasing them to a quiet place nearby.” [Animal Welfare League of Arlington]

Arlington Musicians Play Mozart From Self-Isolation — A group of Arlington musicians joined those from elsewhere to perform Mozart: Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525 ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ (1st movement) remotely. [YouTube]

Falls Church Senior Care Centers Face Outbreaks — “Three Falls Church area senior homes are now confirmed to be fighting outbreaks of the coronavirus, with Chesterbrook Residences telling the News-Press today that a total of 17 of its residents and staff have tested positive for COVID-19.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Flickr pool photo by P Ranfone

County Board to Consider Extension for Rappahannock Coffee Redevelopment

By ARLnow.com
1/7

The long-delayed redevelopment of the Rappahannock Coffee property along Columbia Pike is still alive — but is getting pushed back.

The Arlington County Board this weekend is set to consider a request by developer B.M. Smith to push the expiration date of its already-approved use permit back from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023.

The project will tear down the existing, low-slung commercial buildings on the site and replace them with a six-story apartment building featuring ground floor retail and an underground, 140-space parking garage.

“This is a request to renew the use permit for the 2400 Columbia Pike project that will include 105 multi-family dwelling units and retail uses ranging from approximately 14,562 to 14,736 square feet,” the county staff report notes. “The property is currently developed with three, one-story buildings and a surface parking lot. The buildings contain approximately 11,700 square feet of retail uses which includes Rappahannock Coffee, L.A. Nails, Laptop Repair, and Morris Van’s Hair Design.”

The “historic facades” of two existing buildings will be preserved in the new development.

B.M. Smith, which was also behind the Penrose Square development across the street, initially won approval for the project in 2016.

The County Board is also set to consider an ordinance to give up its claim to a 20-foot section of driveway on the property that the county discovered in land records after the project’s approval.

Police Respond to Overnight Stabbing, Standoff

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are investigating a stabbing in the Green Valley neighborhood, near Shirlington.

Officers were dispatched to the 2200 block of Shirlington Road shortly after midnight Wednesday for multiple reports of a man who was stabbed and bleeding outside of a residential building.

“Upon arrival, officers located a male victim suffering from a minor stab wound,” ACPD said in a crime report today. “He was transported to an area hospital for treatment. The preliminary investigation indicates that a verbal dispute between known individuals preceded the stabbing. The investigation is ongoing.”

The stabbing happened around the same time as an unrelated incident a short distance away, along Columbia Pike.

According to initial reports, a man staying at the Days Inn hotel threatened to kill himself and to harm police if they intervened. That set up a tense standoff that stretched into wee hours.

More from Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage:

At approximately 12:15 a.m. on April 15, police were dispatched to the report of a suicide threat in the 3000 block of Columbia Pike. A negotiation team responded and established communication with the subject. The subject was ultimately taken into police custody and the incident was safely resolved. A search of the room located suspected narcotics. The subject was transported to an area hospital for evaluation. Charges are pending.

Video: Arlington Residents, First Responders Help Make Boy’s Birthday Special

By ARLnow.com

It started with a post on Nextdoor, which was then cross-posted on a popular local Facebook page.

“In need of a MAJOR favor from all who are willing!” wrote the poster, Columbia Pike resident Ashley Johnson. “I have a sweet sweet kid I met while volunteering at a homeless shelter 4 years ago. The shelter closed and his family was forced out but I still pick him up and try to give him good experiences.”

The post continued: “His 6th birthday is today and sadly I didn’t get to host a party this year BUT I just got a last minute reply from the fire station, and they’re willing to do a drive by and lead the way for a mini birthday parade… My family all lives out of state, but if anyone is free and willing to line up tomorrow around 5:15p, on 16th Rd. and Walter Reed, next to Pupatella, to jump in behind the fire truck when it passes to do the drive by Walter Reed Community Center, where we’ll be waiting, please let me know!”

Little did Johnson know, but Arlington residents and first responders would show up in a big way for 6-year-old Jessiah.

Friday night, several fire department vehicles, 16 Arlington County police cruisers and about 50 cars full of local residents paraded down the street, in perhaps the biggest traffic jam the Columbia Pike corridor has seen since the start of social distancing.

ARLnow staff photographer Jay Westcott was there to capture the moment.

The coronavirus outbreak may have curtailed traditional birthday parties, but it could not curtail kindness among neighbors and the big smile on Jessiah’s face.

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