Ballston at twilight (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Big Raise for Ballston Startup — “Federated Wireless, the leader in shared spectrum and CBRS technology, today announced that it has secured $58 million in Series D funding. An affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. led the round, with existing investors Allied Minds and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, also participating.” [Federated Wireless]
Library Spotlights Segregation History — “A new window display at Aurora Hills Library spotlights efforts of some local residents to promote education and literacy during a time of rigid racial segregation across Virginia. The display focuses on the Henry L. Holmes Library, which was founded by Arlington’s African-American community in 1940 and served as the only library resource for the community until the county’s library system was integrated in the late 1940s.” [Sun Gazette]
Bakery Ramping Up for Mardi Gras — “Chef David Guas at Bayou Bakery is ready for Mardi Gras serving up his famous King Cake… The deadline to order your King Cakes is this Saturday.” [WJLA]
It’s Wednesday — Scattered showers before 10 am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with wind gusts up to 21 mph. High of 67 and low of 42. Sunrise at 6:50 am and sunset at 5:56 pm. [Weather.gov]
Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts, the first author in 2022’s “Arlington Reads” event series (courtesy of Arlington Public Library)
Arlington Public Library’s annual series “Arlington Reads” is back in person this year, with seven events scheduled throughout the year.
The series will feature conversations between library system director Diane Kresh and notable authors about their favorite classic novels, sharing insights on why their universal themes remain relevant today.
“2022’s [Arlington Reads] ‘Rebooting the Classics’ focuses on the classic novel: how it is defined, who is its audience, how it influences the works of other authors, and, most importantly, how it affects the reader,” writes Kresh to ARLnow about this year’s theme.
Since its inception in 2006, Arlington Reads has featured conversations with more than 50 nationally known authors. The last two, in 2020 and 2021, have strictly been virtual. The virtual events included conversations with Colson Whitehead and Alexis Coe.
This year’s iteration will essentially be a hybrid, with limited in-person seats available in Central Library’s auditorium and the events also streamed online.
Seven talks are scheduled from March to October, including with fiction author Deesha Philyaw, New Yorker staff writer and book critic Parul Sehgal, and well-known writer of “Lincoln in the Bardo” George Saunders.
Kresh and the writers will discuss impactful classic novels, including “The Great Gatsby,” “The Scarlet Letter,” and “Huckleberry Finn.” The series is financed with help from the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.
The first event’s author, Betts, is from Maryland and wrote “Felon,” a book of poetry about the impact of incarceration on one’s life. In 1996, he was arrested for committing a carjacking outside of Springfield Mall in Fairfax County. After serving time, he’s since become an acclaimed author, poet and advocate.
He founded the nonprofit Freedom Reads, which provides books to those who are incarcerated. The organization is partnering with Arlington Public Library on this year’s version of “Arlington Reads.”
“Freedom Reads gives books to people serving time and through this access, the chance to ‘deepen and envision their lives in new ways,'” writes Kresh.
Arlington-based nonprofit Offender Aid and Restoration, which helps individuals return to the community after being incarcerated, is also a partner for the series of events.
Arlington County is looking to buy and eventually redevelop an office building on Columbia Pike.
The county says the vacant, three-story building at 3108 Columbia Pike would make a good home for both the Columbia Pike library branch — currently located on the ground floor of the Arlington Career Center — and affordable housing. Until that project materializes, it will serve as a parking lot.
This weekend, the Arlington County Board is slated to review a proposal to buy the property, appraised at $8 million, for $7.55 million. Money would come from funds already appropriated in previous budget cycles for land acquisition and bond premiums, according to a county report.
It will cost about $1.5 million to tear down the 1960s-era building and turn it into an interim parking lot, the report said. Staff determined retrofitting the building would require “major reconstruction” to meet modern safety and accessibility standards.
The one elevator cab and the restrooms don’t meet accessibility standards, the fire alarm system and the heating and cooling systems need to be replaced, and the building does not have a fire sprinkler system, the report said.
“County staff recommends that the building be demolished, and its footprint paved to the same level as the existing parking lot, providing a 43,101 square foot (approximately 1 acre) site available for future redevelopment for branch public library and co-location of other County Board priorities, such as affordable housing,” per the document.
The acquisition comes after renovations wrapped up to the current Columbia Pike library branch (816 S. Walter Reed Drive) last summer, consolidating the library to one floor to add seats at the Career Center above it. With enrollment there expected to continue rising, Arlington Public Schools is preparing to start construction on a new career center, next to the old one, in 2023.
APS will keep the existing Career Center building as a “flexible space.”
The county says an interim parking lot would be helpful during the construction across the street.
“The existing parking lot is in very good condition with 63 parking spaces,” the report said. “Removal of the building by demolition, with paving and restriping, could add another 58 spaces (for a total of 121 parking spaces) for interim use as a surface parking lot for the Career Center redevelopment and/or metered public parking, pending future redevelopment.”
The county has 60 days after signing the purchase agreement to inspect the building and rescind the offer if need be.
The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, the Memorial Bridge, and the 14th St. Bridge over the Potomac River in fog (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Free Outdoor Wi-Fi at Libraries — “During the month of January, 2022, two new free outdoor Wi-Fi hot spots were installed at the Cherrydale and Glencarlyn Libraries. Library patrons and Arlington residents have now 24×7 access to the free Arlington County Wi-Fi network ‘ArlingtonWireless’ at all library branches, both outdoor and indoor, and at various locations around the County. No ID or password is required for the free service.” [Arlington Public Library]
Four Arlington Joints on Best BBQ List — Post food critic Tim Carman’s new “best barbecue” list includes a number of Arlington favorites: Texas Jack’s (9), Smokecraft Modern Barbecue (6), Smoking Kow (5), and Sloppy Mama’s (3). [Washington Post]
W&OD Bridge Work Complete — “The re-decking of the bridge east of Wilson Blvd in Arlington is completed!” [Twitter]
County Conducting Satisfaction Survey — “Arlington County is conducting its sixth County-wide, statistically valid community survey to measure satisfaction with major County services and gather input about issues facing the community. The results enable County officials to assess performance across many County agencies and services.” [Arlington County]
AWLA Selling Pentagon Chicken Shirts — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “No-one asked for this but we did it anyways – get your official #PentagonChicken shirt now! With the Henny Penny stamp of approval, proceeds will go to help keep other wayward poultry out of government buildings.” [Twitter]
Beyer Delivers Boxes of Protective Equipment — “A constituent reached out notifying U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) that Restart Partners, a West Coast-based charity involved in planning for and procuring PPE, learned of a significant amount of it available in a local warehouse. Partnering with the owner (who wishes to remain anonymous), Beyer identified two charities (Doorways and PathForward) that needed the items for those they serve and for their staffs.” [Sun Gazette]
De Ferranti Makes It Official — “County Board member Matt de Ferranti kicked off his bid for a second term on Feb. 2 with a call for Arlington leaders to accelerate efforts to enact Democratic priorities and serve as a bulwark against the new Republican majority in Richmond.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Friday — Rain before today 5 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow. Patchy fog before 1 p.m. Temperature falling to around 37 mid-afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected. Sunrise at 7:09 a.m. and sunset at 5:35 p.m. This weekend will be sunny with highs in the 30s. [Weather.gov]
Arlington Central Library (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Covid-related staffing shortages are forcing Arlington libraries to shutter some services, including shutting down two branches this week.
Cherrydale and Glencarlyn libraries will both be closed through Sunday (Jan. 23), including the book drops, according to an announcement on Monday (Jan. 17).
Holds on the shelf at these branches will be moved to Central Library on Wednesday (Jan. 19) and available until Wednesday, Jan. 26. No new holds will be fulfilled at the two branches during the closure.
The current plan is to reopen the Cherrydale and Glencarlyn branches on Monday, Jan. 24.
“Operations will continue to be assessed, as these plans are contingent on current staffing levels,” Henrik Sundqvist, spokesperson for Arlington Public Libraries, tells ARLnow. “Announcements regarding resuming in-person programming will be made when we have more information.”
Also starting Monday, all in-person programs at Arlington libraries will be paused and a number of meeting and study rooms will be unavailable in order to cut back on workload and provide more space for staff.
All of this is related to a staffing shortage, notes Sundqvist, something that’s impacting many other businesses across the region and country.
Back in November, Arlington libraries announced the system was set to finally fully reopen at the beginning of January for the first time in nearly two years. That ended up being very short-lived, with two branches again closing only several weeks later.
The reason for the lengthy reopening process was due to a “high number of vacant public service jobs.” The library system has since increased hiring, Sundqvist confirms.
Dealing with holds, in particular, can be a tedious and time consuming task for staff, Sundqvist notes. Though, it’s understandable why residents may not have been picking up held books recently.
“When people don’t pick up holds, the holds need to be pulled and re-shelved which increases staff workload,” Sundqvist says. “It’s reasonable to think recent weather and higher levels of community COVID-19 affect people’s ability and willingness to come into the library and pick up holds.”
Additionally, in recent weeks, Arlington libraries has been distributing at-home COVID tests, which has increased staff workload. All locations are currently out of stock on tests.
It’s anticipated that the Cherrydale and Glencarlyn branches will be open for good and hold service restored starting next week, but Arlington libraries can’t make any promises.
“Our intention is to do everything possible to keep library locations open,” says Sundqvist. “However, like many other services in the region, we may continue to be impacted by COVID-19 related staffing shortages.”
Columbia Pike Optician Robbed — “Security camera video captured the tense moments when a group of thieves robbed an Arlington County store owned by a man known in the community for his charity work… The five suspects take hammers to the cases and fill bags with Cartier, Dior and Gucci frames, about $60,000 of merchandise.” [NBC4]
Mail Delays Frustrate Residents — “Residents across the D.C. region have become increasingly frustrated over delays in mail deliveries, with last week’s snowstorms, a spike in coronavirus cases and long-standing problems with the U.S. Postal Service contributing to a breakdown in services… Arlington resident Diana Wahl said she received no mail between Dec. 27 and Jan. 9. She finally received some mail on Monday and Tuesday, but older mail.” [Washington Post]
Fmr. Local Prosecutor Joins New AG’s Office — “From the job title, it doesn’t look as if [former Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo] Stamos’s primary role is going to be to keep an eye on those prosecutors. But multi-tasking is the way of the world these days, and by picking her, Miyares certainly poked his thumb in the eye of some of the Northern Virginia chief prosecutors.” [Sun Gazette]
Some Local Libraries Closed — “Due to Covid-19 related staffing shortages, Cherrydale and Glencarlyn Libraries will be closed Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 13 – 16. All library locations are closed Monday, Jan. 17 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.” [Arlington Public Library]
Winter Storm PSA from ACPD — From the Arlington County Police Department: “With the risk of another winter storm on the horizon, now is a good time to register for Arlington Alert to receive information on major emergencies, weather, traffic disruptions and transit delays in Arlington County.” [Twitter]
Arlington Loses Delegate on New Maps — “He’s been redistricted out of Arlington, but Del. Rip Sullivan said he will always consider the community a second political home.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Thursday — Today will have increasing clouds, with a high near 46. Sunrise at 7:25 a.m. and sunset at 5:09 p.m. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high near 44. North wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. [Weather.gov]
People stand in line at the recently opened COVID-19 testing kiosk at Central Library (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A free Covid testing kiosk opened Monday at Central Library near Quincy Park.
Arlington County sponsors the new kiosk that Curative operates daily between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. at 3809 10th Street N., the southwest corner of the park near the tennis courts.
No symptoms or doctor referral is required but the county says you must make an appointment through the Curative website as the company works through lab backlogs. Staff at the site on Monday said they were allowing walk-ups, however.
Patients administer their own COVID-19 nasal swab test under the supervision of a Curative worker and receive results in 48 to 72 hours.
Parking is available at the library and park’s surface lots or the Central Library parking garage after 10 a.m.
Arlington is opening an additional no-cost COVID-19 testing kiosk at Central Library by Quincy Park. The kiosk is in partnership with @Curative, which operates three additional sites in the County.https://t.co/0n70DNwASRpic.twitter.com/5b1JEg3B8N
Arlington Mill Community Center parking lot (909 S. Dinwiddie St.), which is closed due to an electric issue that requires the delivery of a new kiosk
Courthouse Plaza parking lot (2088 15th St. N.; corner of 15th St. N. & N. Courthouse Rd.)
Virginia Highlands Park parking lot (1600 S. Hayes St.)
The Curative kiosks are administering an average of 8,500 PCR tests a week, up from an average of about 2,900 tests per week at the end of November/start of December, said Arlington County Community Engagement and Resilience Manager Tania Bougebrayel Cohn. Each kiosk can administer about 400 PCR tests a day.
There have been numerous closures of the Curative sites over the past couple of weeks — due to test and staffing shortages — but the county is working quickly to open additional testing sites to meet community demand as staff and supply chain-related shortages continue to affect the kiosks, she said.
“Demand for COVID-19 testing is at an all-time high. By adding an additional testing site, located in a densely populated Metro corridor, we hope to help meet that demand and remove barriers to testing access for all Arlingtonians,” said Dr. Aaron Miller, Director of the Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management.
At-home COVID-19 antigen test kit provided by Virginia Department of Health (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Sign about at-home Covid tests at a CVS store on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
At-home Covid tests have been hard to come by in Arlington, but distributors are promising that more tests will be available soon.
Tests haven’t been available at many Arlington pick-up sites and stores for a number of days, but some could be available as soon as tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 8.
While this week’s winter weather delayed shipments earlier this week to local CVS stores, a spokesperson tells ARLnow that stores should expect deliveries of at-home Covid tests by Saturday.
The Virginia Department of Health shipped 1,400 at-home Covid test kits to Arlington libraries yesterday, a VDH spokesperson confirms to ARLnow. However, the kits, which will be distributed for free, haven’t arrived yet.
“We will distribute some time next week based on when we get them,” library deputy director Anne Gable said. She advised residents to keep checking Arlington Public Library’s website for updates.
Giant Food stores are also expecting more supply by early next week, a company spokesperson tells us. Supply shortages, not the weather, were the cause of the delay at Giant stores.
“Our distributors were waiting on shipments to [be sent] to us,” the spokesperson says.
A Walgreens spokesperson declined to provide ARLnow an estimate on when at-home Covid test kits may once again be available at local stores. They did note the store’s four-item purchase limit on test kits and referred us to the manufacturers to ask about supply.
Harris Teeter hasn’t yet responded to ARLnow’s inquiry about Covid test kit availability.
In recent weeks, it’s been a struggle for many locals to get a Covid test, amid a surge in Covid cases and high positivity rates, fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
This past week hasn’t seen much improvement in terms of access. A number of sites were closed due to the snow and Covid-related staffing shortages, while no new appointments were available online.
Starting Monday, a new testing site is set to open in North Arlington on the campus of Marymount University.
This week, Arlington Public Library will once again be giving away at-home COVID-19 test kits.
Starting Thursday at noon, some 2,000 kits will be available across all seven library locations, the library system announced Monday evening.
Arlington Public Library will have a limited supply of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen At-Home Test Kits for distribution on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021 at 12 p.m.https://t.co/gRZX9nxq9c
“Test kits are dispensed on a first-come, first-served basis, and can be picked up from the service desk at each Library location,” the library announcement says. “Neither proof of County residency nor a library card is required, and the kits are free of charge.”
The distribution follows a similar effort two weeks ago in which people snapped up the 360 available rapid antigen test kits in a few hours. Another round of test kit giveaways last week lasted less than an hour.
Initially, Arlington Public Library estimated new tests wouldn’t come until the new year.
And Arlington libraries are out of tests, less than an hour after doors opened.
Visitors can pick up test kits, supplied by Virginia Department of Health, for themselves and household members, the announcement says. It advises folks to act quickly.
“Due to increased demand, test kits at library locations are expected to be out of stock very quickly,” the library said. “Please check back for updates.”
Masks are required in all library buildings. The library asks those with COVID-19 symptoms to send someone else to pick up their test for them.
Demand for COVID-19 tests in Arlington has picked up with the holiday season and the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, resulting in long lines and even heavy vehicle traffic as people try to get swabbed.
Scanner: ACPD responding to Preston’s Pharmacy at 5101 Langston Blvd for reports of traffic issued caused by Covid testing
For those who can’t get an at-home test kit from the library, Arlington County has three testing kiosks open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
They’re found in the Arlington Mill Community Center parking lot (909 S. Dinwiddie Street), the Courthouse Plaza parking lot (2088 15th Street N.) and the Virginia Highlands Park parking lot (1600 S. Hayes Street).
The kiosks will close at 2 p.m. on Friday and will be closed Saturday, New Year’s Day.
The departures lanes at Reagan National Airport (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
More Huge Covid Testing Lines — “This is the current situation at VA Highlands Park #COVID19 testing center! How do they expect people to preemptively get tested if that means standing in the bitter cold for hours?” [Twitter]
Libraries Run Out of At-Home Tests — “And Arlington libraries are out of tests, less than an hour after doors opened. No more tests until at least after Jan. 1.” [Twitter]
Arlington Band Gets Another Grammy Nod — “When the nominations for the Grammy Awards were announced on Tuesday, featured among the artistes up for the Best Reggae Album is the American band SOJA. The band was nominated for their seventh studio album Beauty in the Silence which was released on September 24 on ATO Records. It is not their first time to the party having been nominated on two previous occasions for their 2017 project Live in Virginia and Amid the Noise and Haste released in 2015.” [Jamaica Observer]
Teen Arrested for Armed Robbery — “The victim was walking in the area when he was approached by the two juvenile male suspects. Suspect One allegedly brandished a firearm and demanded the victim give them his belongings, while Suspect Two stole his backpack, cell phone, wallet and car keys. The two suspects then fled the scene on foot. A description of the suspects was broadcast and a short time later, officers located Suspect One in the area of S. George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike. During a search of his person incident to arrest, officers recovered the victim’s belongings, as well as a firearm.” [ACPD]
Our Holiday Wish — Despite being repeatedly cited as a source on Wikipedia, ARLnow does not currently have its own Wikipedia entry. The online encyclopedia frowns upon you creating a page for yourself, so our holiday wish is for someone to see fit to finally create one that briefly tells our story.
It’s Winter — It’s officially winter, after yesterday’s winter solstice. On the plus side, the days will only get longer and lighter from here on out. Today will start cloudy in the morning before becoming sunny in the afternoon. It will be breezy, with a high of 45. Sunrise at 7:23 a.m. and sunset at 4:50 p.m. Tomorrow will be clear throughout the day, with a high of 42 and a low of 27. [Capital Weather Gang, Darksky]
Arlington Central Library (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Within hours of offering free at-home COVID-19 rapid test kits on Friday, Arlington County libraries ran out.
All seven open library locations were offering tests — 360 tests in total, across all branches — but all were claimed by 12:10 p.m.
As of 12:10 on Friday all Library locations are out of stock of COVID-19 test kits. Please check back next week for updates on availability. https://t.co/rncyK7mFmg
Demand was higher than expected, Arlington Public Library Deputy Director Anne Gable tells ARLnow, and people lined up at library doors to get the tests. The number of tests sent by the Virginia Department of Health was based on previous responses at other libraries in the Commonwealth, she notes.
Each branch received a different number of tests.
“It was proportional to the user base of the locations,” writes Gable. “Meaning, the more heavily used locations got more tests and the less used locations got fewer tests.”
More test kits are expected to be available sometime this week and staff will make sure more will be offered this time around.
Some residents were upset with the lack of tests.
@ARLnowDOTcom a pretty disappointed family of five came in after me. It'd probably not on the libraries, but it'd be good to know how we got here.
Meanwhile, Fairfax County Libraries received 20,000 COVID-19 rapid tests and all branches were still stocked as of Friday afternoon.
We received 20,000 COVID-19 rapid antigen tests from @VDHgov yesterday. All branches are stocked as of Friday afternoon, but call to confirm availability before you arrive. Experiencing symptoms? use our contactless curbside pickup service. More info: https://t.co/SSzQ5J4kDJpic.twitter.com/ISWddMwMqc
Arlington’s director of emergency management took to social media to remind residents that if they are in need of a COVID-19 test more immediately, there are three free county testing sites open daily.
Due to overwhelming demand, we have already run out of at home test kits offered at our library location. If you are in need of a COVID test, you can visit one of @ArlingtonVA's free testing sites, open daily 9a to 7p: https://t.co/pwfAM857Sthttps://t.co/eJPX1bhHHv
