Old Dominion

NOW: Old Dominion Drive blocked by crash

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Part of Old Dominion Drive is blocked in both directions in the Rock Spring neighborhood due to a crash.

The crash was first reported around 3 p.m. It happened near the intersection with N. Dickerson Street, west of Williamsburg Blvd and east of the Fairfax County border.

Two vehicles — reportedly a Jeep and a BMW — suffered heavy front-end damage. A third vehicle, a Tesla, was also reported to have been involved in the crash but did not appear to have significant damage.

No serious injuries have been reported. It is unclear how long it will take for the road to reopen.

The crash happened about a block away from the 2022 crash that killed a Washington-Liberty High School student.

Police investigating series of car thefts in N. Arlington

By ARLnow.com
Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

Two cars were stolen and eight were rummaged through at some point overnight, according to Arlington County police.

The theft series happened in neighborhoods north of Langston Blvd, including the Old Dominion and Donaldson Run communities, between last night and early this morning.

Police have no description of the suspect or suspects.

More, below, from an ACPD crime report.

GRAND LARCENY AUTO, LARCENY FROM AUTO, VEHICLE TAMPERING (Series)(Late), 2023-07260060/2023-07260067/2023-07260075/2023-07260089/2023-07260092/2023-07260145, 2300 block of N. Columbus Street/2400 block of N. Utah Street/4800 block of 24th Road N./4800 block of 24th Street N./4600 block of 23rd Road N./2300 block of N. Stafford Street. The investigation determined between approximately 7:00 p.m. on July 26 and 6:30 a.m. on July 27, the unknown suspects entered approximately eight vehicles, rummaged through the inside and stole items of value. Additionally, two vehicles were stolen from the area. The stolen vehicles are described as a blue 2013 Lexus ES 300 with Virginia license plate… and a white Toyota Rav4 with Virginia license plate… There is no suspect description(s). The investigation is ongoing.

Power outage and road closure after tree falls on utility lines

By ARLnow.com
Reported power outage along Old Dominion Drive (via Dominion)

A hundred-some Dominion customers are without electricity along Old Dominion Drive after a tree fell on power lines.

The outage is affecting the Rock Spring neighborhood in far northern Arlington, including the area around Discovery Elementary and Williamsburg Middle School. A portion of Fairfax County is also within the power outage boundaries, as listed on the Dominion website.

Old Dominion Drive is expected to remain closed near the Arlington-Fairfax County border for at least four hours, as the fallen tree is removed and the lines repaired, according to scanner traffic.

Dominion lists the estimated time of power restoration as between noon and 3 p.m.

The outage comes as thunderstorms are expected in the D.C. area this afternoon.

Marymount University proposes new athletic facilities on county land

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

(Updated 9:55 p.m.) Marymount University is developing plans to build a new sports facility on an embattled parcel of county property near its campus.

Currently, the property at 26th Street N. and Old Dominion Drive, in the Old Dominion neighborhood, is home to a temporary road salt storage “dome” and a parking lot used for mulch distribution. In 2019, despite opposition from some neighbors, the county demolished a roughly 90-year-old water storage tank, repurposed for road salt, which was on the brink of collapse.

The tank saga came a few years after the county proposed and later nixed plans to relocate Fire Station 8 from Langston Blvd to the Old Dominion neighborhood.

Now, Marymount University, which was recently ranked for the first time as a national university and is showing other signs of growth — including higher enrollment rates, new softball and wrestling teams and new academic majors — is trying its hand at redeveloping the site.

The school, which has its main campus across from the county property and an additional presence in Ballston, first put forward a plan for the property two years ago. It proposes to build a sports field, a children’s playground and an enhanced walking trails to Missionhurst Preserve, according to a map on the university’s website.

In addition, it would replace the existing temporary salt dome with a new, solar-powered one, along with a mulch area.

A little less than a year ago, it also put forward a proposal to build new diamond fields where the Washington-Liberty High School baseball diamond in Quincy Park and the softball diamond on school property are. Since then, it has been in talks with W-L, Arlington Public Schools and the Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation.

Marymount has advertised an informational meeting on this proposal, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 29.

The university said in a statement to ARLnow that the session acts on a suggestion from Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz to “build consensus among community members and inform them of our proposed plans to create a generational green space for Arlington at 26th Street N. and Old Dominion Drive that would improve and expand recreational opportunities for the County’s residents.”

It added that the forthcoming meeting also acts on a suggestion from a neighborhood association to meet with the three impacted neighborhood groups together. Marymount says it notified and invited Schwartz and the Arlington County Board to the meeting.

“We have put a great deal of thought and consideration into both projects, but these are proposals,” the university said. “We are discussing them with the neighborhood associations to receive their feedback after repeated attempts were made to communicate with the County about them.”

But Arlington County released a statement this afternoon (Monday) to clarify it has not endorsed the project.

“The County and APS received notice of Marymount’s November 29 Information Session at the same time Marymount informed the general public,” the statement reads. “The County and APS are not associated with or participating in the November 29 Information Session and do not sanction the materials or proposals presented by Marymount University.”

Per the statement, members of the Arlington County Board and the School Board have met with Marymount over the last year, at the university’s request, to hear the proposed concepts.

“At those meetings, County and APS staff asked clarifying questions but no decision was reached,” the county said. “At no time did County or APS staff indicate that these proposed facilities were feasible or acceptable.”

(more…)

County Board to consider $750k stormwater project for salt facility

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Arlington is set to spend more than $750,000 to construct stormwater handing infrastructure on the site of the county salt storage and maintenance facility along Old Dominion Drive.

The Arlington County Board is expected to consider the contract with Sagres Construction Corporation at its meeting this coming Saturday. With a contingency of about $150,000, the total contract authorization is just over $900,000.

The project will help deal with stormwater at the site, after the county granted itself an exception to its usual stormwater rules in 2018 in order to build the temporary salt storage facility, which replaced a rusted-out salt dome in danger of collapse.

“This contract for the construction of Stormwater Management / BMP will provide a stormwater filtering device and an underground stormwater detention facility as required by County Code before the expiration of the partial exception,” notes a county staff report.

“Most of the work will be within the boundaries of the County facility, with the exception of the storm drainage outfall pipe crossing 25th Road North,” the report continues. “There will be no impact to the surrounding trees. Traffic flow will be maintained along 25th Road North throughout the project duration.”

Dubbed the North Side Salt Storage Facility, the property serves as the rally point for salt crews treating roads in North Arlington during winter weather events.

Other uses for the site have previously been discussed, including a public park and sports field for nearby Marymount University, as well as a new fire station. The fire station idea was scrapped amid opposition from neighbors, many of whom spoke in favor of a park at the location instead. With this stormwater project, however, it appears that the county is banking on the salt storage use remaining in place for awhile.

The county staff report noted that residents will be provided information on the construction project after the contract is approved.

“Following contract award and prior to the start of construction, a letter containing details about the project and construction schedule will be sent to the civic association president,” the report says. “Project information will also be shared to residents through Nextdoor.”

Portion of Glebe Road Closed After Crash

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) All lanes of N. Glebe Road were closed at 24th Road N., between Langston Blvd and Marymount University, due to a reported crash this morning.

Arlington Alert reported the crash and closure shortly after 7 a.m. Since then, the northbound lanes have reopened while the southbound lanes remain closed.

It appears that the crash took out a utility pole. Repair crews are on the scene.

“Avoid the area,” said the Arlington Alert. “Seek alternate route.”

Woman Robbed by Man With Gun Along Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

A man with a gun robbed a woman along Lee Highway late Sunday night.

The robbery happened around 11:30 p.m., near the intersection of the soon-to-be-renamed road and N. Columbus Street — across the street from the McDonald’s.

“As the victim was entering her office space, the suspect approached from behind and brandished a firearm towards her,” Arlington County police said in a crime report. “He forced the victim to remove her jewelry before entering her office space. At that time, the victim was able to run from the scene. It was later determined that the suspect rummaged through the space and stole cash.”

There were no reports of injuries.

Police searched the area but could not locate the suspect, who was only described as a man wearing black clothing.

Photo via Google Maps

EXCLUSIVE: Neighbors Saved Driver from Car Minutes Before Flames Engulfed It

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

(Updated 4:55 p.m.) At 10:50 p.m. on Friday, Patrick McNair and his wife Danielle were getting ready to bed when they heard a crash. In a few seconds, the power went out.

Outside their home along the 4800 block of Old Dominion Drive, near Marymount University, they saw a mangled car starting to smoke.

“I put shoes on and ran as quickly as I could,” Patrick tells ARLnow.

By the time he got there, the car was so full of smoke he could not see in and no response came from inside when he knocked on the window. The door would not budge.

As he was bracing himself to break the window with his hand, he remembered his son’s baseball bat was in his car. Danielle unlocked the car and Patrick retrieved the bat and broke the window. He described the driver as unresponsive, with cuts, scrapes and what appeared to be a broken leg.

Another neighbor, Roger Casalengo, arrived and the two men managed to get the driver out of the car. They set her down 25 feet away and she revived enough to tell them no one else was in the car.

“At this point, the entire front of the hood is on fire, and all under the hood is on fire,” McNair said. “By the time she was laid down, the car was engulfed in an inferno and the tree was on fire.”

Looking back, McNair said if he and his wife had just walked to the car, or waited for the police to arrive, “she would have absolutely been burned alive.”

Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage said police were dispatched to the 4800 block of Old Dominion Drive at about 10:51 p.m.

“Upon arrival, it was determined that the driver was traveling westbound on Old Dominion Drive when she allegedly lost control of the vehicle and collided with a fire hydrant, utility box, tree and utility pole,” Savage said.

She confirmed the role the two men played in saving the girl and said Arlington County Fire Department extinguished the vehicle.

“The driver was transported to an area hospital with injuries considered non-life-threatening,” Savage said.

After an investigation, the driver — who was under the age of 18 — was charged with driving after consuming alcohol.

On Saturday, McNair said he connected with the driver’s mother, who updated him on the two nights her daughter spent in the hospital, recovering.

“She was just in tears and very thankful for our efforts that we were able to save her daughter,” he said. “It was a very crazy event but we were thankful and happy to have gotten her out of there.”

Photos courtesy Patrick McNair and Michael Lindsay

Some Changes Coming to Local Christmas Tree Sales This Year

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated 11/19/20 at 6:30 p.m.) Along with the coming cold snap and the yearly debate over when to play Christmas music, the arrival of Arlington’s annual Christmas tree sales are one of the signs the holiday season is upon us.

This year, some of the volunteer organizations and churches that hold the sales have changed their operations, with health and safety precautions in mind.

One is seeking County Board approval this weekend to return to the same location as last year.

The South Arlington Lions Club is asking Arlington County to allow it to set up a Christmas tree stand at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. Four Mile Run Drive, in a small county-owned parking lot. The County Board is slated to review the permit request on Saturday.

The Lions Club shop for trees, wreaths and garlands is scheduled to run from Saturday, Nov. 21 through Saturday, Dec. 12. Members and volunteers will be manning the pop-up location at the following times.

  • Monday to Friday — noon-8 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday — 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Optimist Club of Arlington, meanwhile, will start selling trees, wreaths and garlands on Friday, Nov. 27 in the Wells Fargo Bank lot along Lee Highway (2213 N. Glebe Road). The lot will be open every day until December 23, with the following hours:

  • Monday to Thursday — 2-8 p.m.
  • Friday — noon-8 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday — 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Among the sales facing pandemic-era changes is that held by the Clarendon United Methodist Church.

The church has 150 Christmas trees available for sale until Nov. 22. That’s less than half of what the church typically orders, and the trees are only available for pre-sale. Due to the coronavirus, buyers cannot pick out the exact tree they want.

“Although this year is a bit different because of COVID-19, CUMC wants to help you celebrate the season with the beautiful sight and scent of a freshly-cut Fraser Balsam Cross Fir Christmas Tree,” the website said.

The six- to eight-foot tall trees cost $75, and the proceeds from the sale benefit Arlington Thrive. The nonprofit provides emergency financial assistance to residents experiencing a sudden financial crisis.

The church encourages those who are interested to visit its website and nab one soon because “once they’re gone, they’re gone!”

The boys and girls of Troop 167 have kicked off online pre-sales of Christmas trees, which come in three sizes, along with 25-inch wreaths. On-site sales will open at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church (1500 N. Glebe Road) on Nov. 26, 27 and 28 and the following weekend, Dec. 4, 5 and 6.

The hours for the pop-up at Mount Olivet are:

  • Friday — 4-8 p.m.
  • Saturday — 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
  • Sunday — noon-6 p.m.

Due to the coronavirus, the scouts are offering a contact-less experience. Customers can order online and the scouts will deliver the trees and wreaths to customers’ homes. Trees cost $15 to deliver and wreaths $10. For both, the delivery fee would be $15.

“We will follow best advice health and safety protocols to make the experience as safe as possible for everyone, including the wearing of face coverings by all,” the troop’s website said.

Proceeds from the sales support a year’s worth of Scouting activities for the boys and girls of Troop 167.

Boy Scout Troop 162 will sell Christmas trees and rope in the parking lot of the Dominion Hills pool at 6000 Wilson Blvd. For COVID-19 protections, customers will be limited to ensure social-distancing and have the option to pay in advance with PayPal and have the tree delivered.

All proceeds subsidize the troop’s camping and outdoor activities.

The scouts’ shop first day of business is Friday, Nov. 27 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. After that, the hours are:

  • Monday through Fridays — 4-8:30 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sundays — 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

For the first time, this troop has partnered with Arlington Food Assistance Center to provide trees to those who are less fortunate.

“We have committed to provide trees to a minimum number of families and hope to exceed it,” Troop 162 Committee Secretary Alysia Fullen said in an email. “We welcome donations from our customers to support this effort.”

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (4000 Lorcom Lane) is selling fresh trees from Vermont, beginning on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend and continuing through Dec. 12 and 13, or while supplies last.

The first weekend of sales will be from Nov. 27 to 29. On Friday and Saturday, sales will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After that the schedule is:

  • Saturdays — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Sundays — 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Do you know of other local sale locations not mentioned here? Let us know in the comments.

Crash Involving Moped Hospitalizes One

By ARLnow.com
1/4

One person was injured after a moped and an SUV collided near the Lee Heights Shops this afternoon.

The crash happened shortly after noon at the intersection of Old Dominion Drive and N. Wakefield Street. The moped’s driver appears to have slammed into the front driver’s side corner of the SUV, though the exact circumstances leading to the crash are unclear.

A video posted to social media shows the aftermath of the crash as firefighters arrive on scene; the moped driver can be seen lying in the middle of the roadway, attended to by passersby.

The moped driver was injured and transported to a local hospital, according to an Arlington County Fire Department spokesman, who described the injuries as “minor” and “non-life threatening.”

The same intersection was the scene of a two-car crash on Friday, Aug. 28.

Hat tips to @RealtorKyleC and @STATter911

County Board Expected to Fund New Set of Neighborhood Projects

By ARLnow.com

Four community improvement projects are on this weekend’s Arlington County Board agenda.

The Board is expected to approve the $3 million slate of projects as part of its Neighborhood Conservation program. The somewhat controversial program, previously on the budgetary chopping block, awards funding to modest infrastructure improvement projects requested by local community groups.

The projects set for funding this fall include:

  • Street improvements in the Glencarlyn neighborhood along 4th Street S., from Kensington to Illinois streets ($1.3 million)
  • Pedestrian safety and intersection improvements in the Dominion Hills neighborhood at N. Larrimore Street and 9th Street N. ($1.2 million)
  • Intersection improvements in the Highland Park-Overlee Knolls neighborhood at 14th Street N. and N. Ohio Street ($0.5 million)
  • Landscaping and beautification in the Old Dominion neighborhood at 24th Street N. and Old Dominion Drive ($28,125)

Photo via Google Maps

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