Dominion

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Shooting Suspect Served Time for Murder — Updated at 8:40 a.m. — Crystal City shooting suspect Mumeet Ali Muhammad was released from prison two years ago after being convicted of a 1991 murder in Arlington. And he had recently been arrested but then released after allegedly threatening to shoot a man in D.C. and possessing a gun as a felon. [WTOP, NBC 4]

Witness Recounts Hiding in Office During Shooting — “An association employee described the scene to InsideNoVa on Thursday, saying recent active-shooter training helped employees get through the terrifying episode. ‘Everybody did precisely what they should have done,’ said the employee, who asked that his name not be published… ‘I got right up next to door, crouched down and made myself as small as possible,’ he said. ‘I heard screaming, him yelling at her, her pleading with him.'” [InsideNova]

Labor Day Closures in Arlington — “Arlington County Government offices, courts, libraries & facilities will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019 for Labor Day.” Trash and recycling will be collected as normal, but parking meters will not be enforced. [Arlington County]

Amazon Brain Drain Worries — “Amazon is only just starting to post job openings for its second headquarters in northern Virginia — and local startup founders are watching with apprehension. The big picture: Amazon HQ2 has the potential to turn the D.C. region into a tech hotspot, but smaller companies are worried that the short-term impact of Amazon coming to town will be a brain drain.” [Axios]

‘Clarendon Jam Session’ Sunday — “The long weekend is almost here and it’s time to celebrate with a jam session at The Lot in an urban beach party setting! $20 gets you access to CLARENDON JAM SESSION 2019.” [Instagram]

Oktoberfest Ticket Prices Increasing — Early bird $30 ticket pricing for the Crystal City Oktoberfest ends this weekend. General admission tickets will be $45 thereafter. [Eventbrite]

Dominion Funding Electric School Buses — “Schools across Virginia could have all-electric school buses by 2030, under a plan from Dominion Energy. The company said it could be the largest deployment of electric school buses in the nation… The announcement comes the same day as a Virginia State Corporation Commission reported that Dominion’s 2018 profits were higher than regulators approved.” [WAMU, Dominion, Virginia Mercury]

UPDATED: Widespread Power Outage in Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Update at 7:30 p.m. — The number of Dominion customers without power is down to 1,551. The outages are mostly in the North Highlands and Courthouse neighborhoods.

Earlier: More than 4,000 Dominion customers are currently without power in Arlington County.

The outages followed a line of severe storms that rumbled through the area around 4 p.m. Firefighters responded to at least one report of a blown transformer in the wake of the storms, near the intersection of Lee Highway and N. Kirkwood Road. Some residents along Lee Highway reported their power repeatedly going off and on.

Dominion’s website reported 4,367 customers without power as of 5:15 p.m. The bulk of the outages were along and just north of the Orange Line corridor, from Virginia Square to Rosslyn. Another area of outages was located in the Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge neighborhoods, near Crystal City.

Among the buildings without power was that of Arlington Independent Media, which said its TV and radio signals are both down during the outage.

There’s no word yet on when power might be restored.

More via social media:

Power Outage Planned for Clarendon Tomorrow

By Vernon Miles

A power outage planned for the 3000 block of Clarendon Blvd was canceled earlier this month, but it’s back on this weekend.

According to Binyam Gebreyes, operations specialist for Dominion Energy, the earlier planned outage didn’t occur because there were difficulties accessing the necessary equipment.

“We wish to notify you that to improve the reliability of electric service, it has become necessary to replace the switch and two transformers located in a vault at 3030 Clarendon Blvd,” Gebreyes said. “The outage was initially scheduled for June 1, however after numerous attempts to remove the concrete vault top, all efforts failed. The property management company in consultation with Dominion Energy suspended the outage until they can procure other means of removing the vault top.”

The outage is now planned to start at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) and conclude on 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 23.

“We are expecting customers residing in the apartments to have electric service restored by 10 p.m. on Saturday,” Gebreyes said. “While we know this is an inconvenience to those residents and the impacted stores, we believe this planned outage is necessary to improve reliability and prevent an unplanned outage due to failing equipment.”

In addition to an apartment building, businesses on the block include Trader Joe’s, South Block, Members Cleaners, Massage Envy, Circa and Bracket Room. During the previous planned outage, Trader Joe’s said it would remain open while operating on generator power.

File photo

UPDATED: Power Outage Reported in N. Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Update at 5:10 p.m. — A power outage near the southern tip of the county has prompted the closure of the Fairlington Community Center, according to the parks department.

Update at 4:15 p.m. — Power has been restored to most of the residential north Arlington neighborhoods affected by the earlier outage, but the Virginia Square outage is ongoing. George Mason University’s Arlington campus closed around 3:30 p.m. as a result of the outage, which Dominion says is affecting just over 100 customers.

Earlier: A portion of residential north Arlington is without power, ahead of the arrival of a line of storms.

The outage was reported amid calm weather, with more than 500 Dominion customers affected and a restoration time of 5-8 p.m., according to the power company’s online map. Earlier Thursday afternoon, nearly 2,500 customers were reported to be in the dark.

The cause of the outage is listed as “pending investigation.” Among the affected neighborhoods are Dover Crystal, Riverwood, Woodmont and Maywood.

A smaller outage was also reported in the Virginia Square area this afternoon.

Power Outage Planned for Clarendon This Weekend

By Vernon Miles

A planned power outage will effectively shut down a number of businesses on one block in Clarendon this weekend.

“We are replacing a transformer,” Dominion Energy spokesman Charles Penn said. “The outage should last 24 hours. The planned transformer and switch replacement is scheduled for June 1 and it will impact 1200 N. Garfield and 3030 Clarendon Blvd.”

While staff at the Clarendon Trader Joe’s (1109 N. Highland Street) said the store will remain open on Saturday — running on their own backup generators — signs warned that there will be no garage access and no elevator access in the building.

The following businesses in that building have signs posted in their windows saying they will be closed:

It’s unclear whether two restaurants in the building — Circa and Bracket Room — will be closed during the planned outages.

Street parking is also likely to be limited in the area, with the Armed Forces Cycling Classic returning this weekend for a race in Clarendon on Sunday.

Power Outage Reported in N. Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/2

A brief power outage turned off the lights at homes, businesses and even the Virginia Dept. of Motor Vehicles office in Virginia Square this afternoon.

The outage was reported prior to 2:30 p.m. A map from Dominion Power said more than 2,600 customers were without power across a large swath of North Arlington, from the far northern reaches of Arlington County to part of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.

Power has since been restored, according to Dominion’s map.

Hope Swears Off Campaign Cash from Dominion, Calls on Fellow Democrats to Follow Suit

By Alex Koma

Del. Patrick Hope (D-47th District) is swearing off campaign contributions from Dominion Energy and calling on his fellow Democrats to do the same, becoming the latest in a line of state lawmakers to reject money from one of Virginia’s only regulated monopolies.

Hope announced at his annual pancake breakfast Saturday (Jan. 5) that he’ll now stop accepting campaign cash from the electric utility, according to a video posted by the Democratic blog Blue Virginia. Hope has accepted $9,500 from Dominion since he was first elected back in 2009, but decided to stop doing so as he gears up to run for a sixth term in office this fall.

“I’ve heard from a lot of my constituents that the perception that you’re taking money is influencing your vote, whether it’s true or not,” Hope told attendees. “I can’t give enough speeches to convince my constituents that I’m voting not because they gave me a check, but because it’s the right thing to do. And I’m tired of making that speech over and over.”

Hope added that “every single Democrat that’s running for office should make that commitment” to refuse Dominion dollars, and many around the state already have.

Dominion has long been one of the top political donors in the whole state, yet politicians of both parties have increasingly argued that members of the General Assembly shouldn’t accept money from a company they’re charged with regulating — just last year, lawmakers oversaw an extensive rewrite of the state’s regulatory authority over electric utilities like Dominion.

The activist group Activate Virginia brought a focus to the issue during the last round of state elections in 2017, eliciting a pledge from dozens of Democrats running for the House of Delegates to refuse the company’s money.

Some of Arlington’s legislative delegation also followed suit, including Dels. Mark Levine (D-45th District), Alfonso Lopez (D-49th District) and Rip Sullivan (D-48th District). Lopez, like Hope, did previously accept Dominion contributions in the past, taking in about $4,500 since he was first elected in 2012.

The county’s three state senators, however, all still take thousands from Dominion. Sen. Janet Howell (D-32nd District) has accepted $50,000 from the company over the course of her long career, while Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31st District) has taken in $9,500 and Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30th District) has pulled in $12,500. Local Democratic activist Nicole Merlene even recently launched a primary challenge against Favola, calling for a ban on contributions from state-regulated utilities as part of her campaign.

But Hope sees a sea change coming in Virginia politics on the issue. Attorney General Mark Herring became one of the most senior Democrats in the state to refuse Dominion cash when he announced he wouldn’t accept any of the company’s money as he ramps up a campaign for governor for the 2021 cycle, and Hope “wholeheartedly” endorsed the former Loudoun state senator’s nascent bid to succeed Gov. Ralph Northam.

“I’m going to take the same commitment he made because I don’t want him to be the only one there making it,” Hope said, with Herring in attendance.

Northam himself rolled out a series of campaign finance reform proposals today (Monday), officially announcing his support for a ban on all corporate campaign contributions. Unlike 2017 primary rival Tom Perriello, Northam accepted nearly $73,000 in contributions from Dominion over the course of the gubernatorial campaign, but he pledged to push a ban on corporate cash once he was elected.

However, unless Democrats win an uphill battle in convincing the Republicans controlling both chambers of the General Assembly to embrace such a change, Northam plans to continue accepting such donations for his political action committee.

“Until we’re able to do that, I will continue to operate in the existing landscape,” Northam told reporters.

More Than 1,000 Without Power in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:40 p.m. — Only 13 Dominion customers remain without power in Arlington.

Earlier: Parts of north and south Arlington are without power on this snowy Tuesday night.

Dominion’s power outage map is showing outages near the Westover neighborhood in the north and around Wakefield High School in the south. Just over 1,000 customers are without electricity, according to the company.

Thus far there is no estimated restoration time.

Dominion Crews Still Working to Fully Restore Power in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Some 330 Dominion customers in Arlington were still without power Monday morning, following Friday’s intense, prolonged wind storm.

Dominion crews worked throughout the weekend to restore electricity in Northern Virginia. The few hundred without power in Arlington was down from more than 14,000 as of Friday evening.

The power outages in Arlington are mostly smaller, with a few homes or a single home affected in a given area. Sometimes the outage is the result of the service line being ripped from the house by a falling tree.

Dominion is estimating full restoration to be complete by 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to its website.

The company says the “#windmageddon” storm is among the top 5 most damaging storms in Dominion history, with about 700,000 customers losing power. Dominion had nearly 4,000 personnel working to restore power over the weekend, including hundreds called in from out of state.

More via social media:

Map via Dominion

Dominion: More Than 14,000 Arlingtonians Still Without Power

By Bridget Reed Morawski
1/5

(Updated at 7:35 p.m.) Friday’s wind storm has taken a toll on Arlington, sending trees toppling onto cars, houses and across roads, and knocking out power to tens of thousands.

As of 7:30 p.m., Dominion reported 14,663 customers without power in Arlington. An hour earlier, it appeared that the numbers were finally dropping, but thanks to continued strong winds it has, in fact, gone up.

A Dominion outage map showed that a large swath of residential North Arlington and a significant portion of the Fairlington neighborhood was without power as the sun started to set.

Across the D.C. region, nearly 600,000 were in the dark as of early evening.

Arlington County Police say they’ve responded to more than 250 calls for service since this morning, including 66 calls for trees down.

To help with the cleanup, which is expected to take at least a few days, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency.

“The order is designed to help Virginia mitigate any damage caused by high winds and to streamline the process that the Commonwealth uses to provide assistance to communities impacted,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

A High Wind Warning remains in effect until 6 a.m. Gusty winds are expected to continue overnight as the nor’easter makes its way north and pummels New England.

The National Weather Service says it clocked a wind gust of 71 miles per hour at Dulles International Airport earlier today. NWS is urging those in the D.C. area to remain vigilant as the winds continue to gust.

Widespread power outages are occurring. Travel is dangerous, especially for high profile vehicles, and motorists need to be aware of rapidly changing road conditions due to the potential of downed trees and power lines. Pedestrians will face very hazardous conditions, and need to be aware of wind-borne projectiles. People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your homes during the windstorm, and avoid windows. If you use a portable generator, follow manufacturer’s instructions and do not use inside homes, garages, or apartments.

More local weather impacts via social media, after the jump.

(more…)

Power Outages in Arlington Tick Up Past 10,000

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Update at 10:50 a.m.) More than 10,000 Dominion customers are currently without power in Arlington, according to the company’s website.

Numerous reports of downed trees, branches and power lines around the county have been rolling in over the past few hours as today’s “high impact” wind storm continues to roar across the D.C. region.

As of as of 10:45 a.m., Dominion was reporting 11,409 customers without electricity in Arlington. Parts of the county affected include large portions of residential North Arlington neighborhoods, as seen on the map about.

Among a growing list of road closures around the county due to downed trees, police are blocking the 6000 block of Washington Blvd, just west of Westover, for a large tree across the road. Another significant road closure is N. Harrison Street between 26th Street N. and Lee Highway.

The fire department has kept busy, calling for staff to volunteer to work a double shift into the afternoon and making frequent trips to buildings where power outages have resulted in stuck elevators.

The Arlington County Police Department is advising residents to steer well clear of downed power lines and trees and to “remain aware of your surroundings and secure your belongings” today. The National Weather Service says the strongest wind gusts are expected through noon, though damaging winds are expected to continue into Friday night.

View More Stories