developing story

JUST IN: Ballston Quarterfest Cancelled, Arlington Soccer Suspended

By ARLnow.com

One of Arlington’s biggest annual events has been cancelled and its biggest sports league suspended, as a result of coronavirus concerns.

Ballston Quarterfest made the announcement shortly after 3 p.m.

“The health and well-being of our community is the top priority at the Ballston BID,” said a PR rep for the business improvement district. “It is for this most important reason that we have made the difficult decision to cancel Quarterfest this year, which was scheduled for Saturday, May 16.”

“At this time, we plan to move forward with other, smaller events and will continue to follow Arlington County-recommended procedures for events, which may include canceling or postponing some additional or perhaps all public programs and events taking place in the near future,” the rep said.

The Arlington Soccer Association, meanwhile, has announced that it is suspending operations, practices and games until at least the end of the month.

“In light of the actions taken today by US Youth Soccer and the US Soccer Federation to suspend operations, Arlington Soccer is suspending all club-related practices, games and other activities effective immediately through March 30, 2020,” the league said. “At that time, we will reevaluate the situation and provide families with an update on next steps. While we are disappointed to have to make this decision, we believe it is in the best interest of our players, their families and our employees”

The pair of Thursday afternoon announcements will nix a street festival in Ballston attended by tens of thousands of people each year, to the benefit of local restaurants, and at least temporarily pause a league with 9,000 players. The actions are in line with health authorities’ recommendation to avoid large gatherings and social contact, to help head off the rapid spread of the disease.

JUST IN: Another Coronavirus Exposure at a Crystal City Office

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:15 p.m.) A second office in Crystal City is being sanitized after another coronavirus exposure.

“In the last hour, we were notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) relating to a guest of a tenant occupying space at 2345 Crystal Drive,” said a memo sent by property owner JBG Smith earlier today and obtained by ARLnow. “The tenant is located on the 11th floor of 2345 Crystal Drive. It is our understanding that the guest of the tenant attended a meeting within the tenant’s space for approximately one hour on Thursday, March 5th, and the guest later tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, March 9th.”

“The tenant has notified their staff and has advised any staff that was in contact with the infected individual to self-quarantine,” the memo continued. “The tenant has also engaged an environmental contractor to begin disinfecting their space.”

Amazon has one of its temporary HQ2 offices at the building, but ARLnow hears that the affected office is not Amazon’s.

On Monday ARLnow first reported that another person who had tested positive for coronavirus had visited a pair of offices on the northern end of Crystal City.

DEVELOPING: Police Investigating ‘Suspicious Death’ in Ballston Apartment Building

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are investigating what the department characterized as a suspicious death.

Officers and medics were dispatched to an apartment at the AVA Ballston Square building (850 N. Randolph Street) around 5:30 p.m. Friday. Initial reports suggested that a young man was in cardiac arrest, with blood coming from his upper extremities, and that several other people were inside the apartment at the time.

“Upon arrival, an adult male victim was located deceased inside a residence,” police said in a press release. “Cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.”

“This remains an active criminal investigation and the preliminary investigation has not revealed an immediate threat to the community,” ACPD said. “Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Detective J. Senn of the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4049 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at ‪1-866-411-TIPS‬ (8477).”

UPDATED: Power Outage Leaves Large Portion of Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor in the Dark

By ARLnow.com

Update at 5:15 p.m. — Power has been restored to the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, but another, separate outage has been reported near Wakefield High School.

Earlier: Nearly 9,000 Dominion customers in Arlington are without power this morning.

A widespread outage is affecting portions of Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square, Ballston and neighborhoods to the north, including Cherrydale and Donaldson Run.

As of 8:45 a.m. Dominion’s power outage map lists 8,844 customers without power and an estimated restoration time of 11 a.m.-2 p.m. There’s so far no word on what caused the outage.

Police are working to control traffic as some intersections with dark traffic signals, according to scanner traffic.

Update at 9:10 a.m. — The number of customers without power is down to around 3,800, with the outage now running from Virginia Square to Rosslyn, north of Clarendon Blvd, according to Dominion’s map.

UPDATED: Firefighters Investigating Smoke in Pentagon City Mall

By ARLnow.com

Update at 10:50 a.m. — The source of the smoke was determined to be a “malfunctioning air handler” in Nordstrom, which is now being shut down, according to scanner traffic. Most of the fire vehicles are expected to leave the scene shortly.

Earlier: Firefighters from Arlington and neighboring jurisdictions are investigating smoke and a burning odor in the Pentagon City mall.

The smoke and odor was reported on the Nordstrom end of the mall. Thus far firefighters have not found a fire.

A large emergency response is on scene, with firefighters checking out all floors of the store, as well as the Metro station and the roof, for a smoke source.

DEVELOPING: Man Grabbed Teen in Arlington Heights Last Night, Police Say

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:25 a.m.) A man inappropriately touched and attempted to restrain a teen girl in the Arlington Heights neighborhood Tuesday evening.

That’s according to Arlington County Police and an email on the local civic association listserv.

The incident happened around 5 p.m. on the 300 block of S. Irving Street.

“My 14 year daughter was walking home the boy she babysits for with another friend and was grabbed by a man who was walking behind following then when he attended to snatch her around the waist while crossing the street,” the victim’s father said via an email, which was reposted on the civic association’s Facebook page.

“She screamed and slapped the man who dropped her and ran away. A local family came outside when they heard the scream, and let them wait in the house for the police and my wife to show up. All three are traumatized.”

So far no arrests have been reported and police say the investigation is ongoing. More on the incident, including the description of the suspect, from ACPD:

SEXUAL BATTERY, 2019-12100186, 300 block of S. Irving Street. At approximately 5:12 p.m. on December 10, police were dispatched to the report of an assault that just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that three juveniles were walking in the area when the suspect allegedly began to follow them. The suspect then approached the female victim from behind, grabbed her buttocks and placed his hands around her, pulling towards him. The victim pushed the suspect away and yelled for help. The suspect fled the scene on foot prior to police arrival and a canvas of the area returned with negative results. The suspect is described as a white male, 30 – 40 years old, 5’7″ – 5’9″ tall with a lanky build. He has dark hair, a dark brown goatee with highlights of gray and stubble around the cheeks. He was wearing a tan hoodie and baggy, light blue jeans at the time of the incident. The investigation is ongoing.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

DEVELOPING: Delays Building at National Airport After Emergency Evacuation of Plane

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) Travelers flying in or out of Reagan National Airport should expect significant delays after an emergency landing and aircraft evacuation this morning.

Initial reports suggest that an American Airlines flight landed, declared an emergency and evacuated passengers on the tarmac after smoke filled the cabin. Emergency responders rushed to the scene but so far no significant injuries have been reported.

Dozens of flights are now delayed, waiting to take off or land from the busy airport.

“Due to… Aircraft Emergency, traffic is experiencing Gate Hold and Taxi delays between 46 minutes and 1 hour in length and increasing,” the Federal Aviation Administration said on its website as of 10:30 a.m. Shortly thereafter, the airport tweeted that the incident had been cleared and flights were resuming.

More from social media:

https://twitter.com/glukianoff/status/1204054315624730632

Screen cap via Twitter/@glukianoff

DEVELOPING: Major Crowding on Metro This Morning

By ARLnow.com
1/5

(Updated at 9:25 a.m.) Metrorail riders, especially those heading toward D.C. on the Orange/Silver line, are experiencing major crowding due to an incident in the District overnight.

Two trains, neither of which were carrying passengers, collided near the Foggy Bottom and Farragut West Metro stations around 1 a.m. Both train operators were injured.

An investigation into the crash has prompted single-tracking past the scene, leading to major delays during the Monday morning commute. Trains on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines are only running every 15 minutes, while the Silver Line is only running between the Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston stations.

Significant crowding has been reported at the East Falls Church and Ballston stations in Arlington. The cost of Uber and Lyft rides has also reportedly spiked.

“Consider alternate travel options,” Metro said via Twitter. The investigation is expected to continue for most of the day.

More via social media and the Unsuck DC Metro Twitter account:

https://twitter.com/mathewsjh/status/1181182610212556800

DEVELOPING: Arlington’s Top Economic Development Official Poached by Fairfax County

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) Victor Hoskins, the head of Arlington Economic Development who helped Arlington woo Amazon and its HQ2 to the county, is leaving for a job with Fairfax County.

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority announced today that Hoskins will be its new president and CEO, replacing its now-retired longtime leader, Gerry Gordon. FCEDA is one of the largest economic development agencies in the country, with six global satellite offices.

Hoskin’s departure is seen as a major loss for Arlington, at a crucial time for the county with Amazon moving in and another key economic development official, Christina Winn, recently departing for the top economic job with Prince William County.

“We wish Victor well,” Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz said in a statement to ARLnow. “He has been a great leader and we know that he will continue to be a force for great regional collaboration.”

Schwartz says the county may announce an interim director for AED later this week.

More from an FCEDA press release, after the jump.

(more…)

DEVELOPING: Major Comcast Outage in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Thousands of Comcast customers in Arlington are without internet, TV and phone service this afternoon.

A major Comcast outage is currently affecting large swaths of Arlington, from the northernmost part of the county down. Comcast’s outage map shows reported issues throughout residential North Arlington and much of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. (The map only shows areas near a given subscriber and ARLnow was unable to view areas south of the R-B corridor.)

Comcast is currently estimating restoration of service around 6-6:30 p.m.

The outage started just before 1 p.m., right around when a truck took down utility lines along Route 50. It’s unclear if that incident and the outage are related.

Among those affected by the outage are small businesses like Pupatella Pizza in Bluemont, which said via social media that its internet ordering and phone lines were down.

Map via Comcast

UPDATED: Widespread Water Outage in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:40 a.m.) Hundreds — and perhaps even thousands — of water customers in Crystal City are without water service this morning.

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) says it is currently performing emergency water main repairs following a series of at least three water main breaks. Drivers should expect detours around one of the work zones, near the intersection of 23rd Street S. and Crystal Drive.

“Several buildings” are without water, the Crystal City Business Improvement District said via social media. Tipsters have told ARLnow that some buildings are closed due to the outage.

A map posted by DES shows outages across a wide swath of Crystal City, from 15th Street S. to S. Potomac Avenue, east of Route 1. As of 9:30 a.m., water service has been restored to buildings north of 18th Street S., DES said.

“Progress is being made on isolating breaks and ultimately returning service,” DES said. So far, there’s no estimate of when the repairs will be completed.

Update at 2:20 p.m. — Water service “has been restored to most of the affected buildings,” DES says.

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