Presidents Day | ARLnow.com

Local closures planned for Presidents Day

Published February 17, 2023 at 11:30AM

You’ll be able to save some Washingtons on Presidents Day thanks to parking meter enforcement taking a holiday.

Arlington County offices, schools, courts, libraries and community centers will be closed Monday. Trash and recycling collection will continue as normal and permit parking will continue to be enforced, but parking meter monitors are getting the day off.

Metrorail will run regular weekday service, while Metrobus and ART are expected to operate transit services on a modified schedule.

The holiday most commonly known as Presidents Day is officially called George Washington Day in Virginia.

County to Remain Open Monday for Presidents Day

By ARLnow.com

Published February 10, 2021 at 11:30AM | Updated February 10, 2021 at 1:53PM

(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) The celebration of George Washington’s birthday may be a state and federal holiday, but it will not be observed on a county level in Arlington this year.

The holiday colloquially known as Presidents Day — technically a federal holiday called Washington’s Birthday and a Virginia state holiday called George Washington Day — will be a day just like any other for most Arlington County offices and personnel.

Because Election Day was deemed a county holiday and an off day for many rank-and-file county employees this year, this coming Monday, Feb. 15 was removed from Arlington’s closure calendar.

“Presidents Day/George Washington Day is not holiday this year,” county spokeswoman Jennifer K. Smith confirmed to ARLnow. “Instead, this year, Election Day was a holiday. Presidents Day expected to be back as a holiday in the next fiscal year.”

As it’s not a county holiday, county offices and facilities will remain open, with some exceptions — like the county permitting office, which will be closed. Contrary to what ARLnow was initially told by the county, parking meters will not be enforced.

“To maintain consistency with metered parking enforcement practices on Columbus Day (which is also a federal holiday, but not a county holiday), metered parking will not be enforced on Monday,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Kirby Clark said in an email Wednesday afternoon.

Courts and public schools, meanwhile, will be closed due to the state holiday, and Arlington Transit buses will operate on a reduced schedule.

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

ARLnow Holiday Weekend Discussion

By ARLnow.com

Published February 14, 2020 at 6:00PM

It’s Presidents Day weekend — or George Washington Day weekend, if you’re fancy and in Virginia — which means a three day weekend for many.

Well, not for the staff of ARLnow. Vern and the crew will be working all day Monday. Don’t expect much in terms of news articles, though — we’ll be working on some future stories and new initiatives.

We’ll see you back here Tuesday for a full day of news coverage. In the meantime, here are the most-read local articles of the past five days:

Feel free to discuss these stories or any other topic of local interest in the comments. Have a great holiday!

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 15, 2019 at 7:30AM

Update on Key Bridge Marriott Development — The Los Angeles-based developers that bought the 5.5-acre Key Bridge Marriott property in Rosslyn plan to extensively renovate the hotel, which is the second Marriott ever and the oldest currently in operation. Also planned: additional development on the site according to its zoning, which would allow more hotel rooms plus up to 660,000 square feet of office space and 630 residential units. [Washington Business Journal]

Holiday Closures Monday — “Arlington County Government offices, courts, libraries and facilities will be closed on Monday, February 18, 2019, for George Washington Day. Trash and recycling pickups will operate on a normal schedule for Monday customers.” [Arlington County]

Roads Treated But Snow Depleted — Arlington County has been pre-treating major roads and hills with brine in anticipation of snow this weekend, but chances of accumulating snow have rapidly dwindled. [Twitter, Capital Weather Gang]

Black History Figures of Arlington — “Columbia Pike and South Arlington have been called home by several African American trailblazers, activists, and organizations that work toward the noble goals of equality and freedom for all,” including James “Uncle Jim” Parks, Dr. Charles Richard Drew, Evelyn Reid Syphax and Dr. Talmadge T. Williams. [CPRO]

Local Crossing Guard Honored — “Jamestown Elementary School crossing guard Kathy Patterson has been recognized by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program as one of Virginia’s Most Outstanding Crossing Guards for 2018-19.” [Arlington Public Schools]

Quote of the Day — From New York Times senior economic correspondent Neil Irwin: “The Amazon HQ2 stunt started with notions that the company might single-handedly turn a city like Pittsburgh or Raleigh, or even Detroit, into a major tech hub, and ended with filling in a bunch of vacant office buildings next to National Airport.” [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 15, 2018 at 8:30AM

Sen. Ebbin’s Anti-Discrimination Measure Fails — “A measure adding sexual orientation and gender identity to Virginia’s laws against discrimination in public employment made it through the state Senate, only to be killed in the House of Delegates.” [InsideNova]

Schools, County Offices Closed Monday — Arlington County government offices, courts, schools, libraries and rec centers will be closed Monday for the George Washington Day holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia — also known nationally as President’s Day. In addition to the closures, parking meters will not be enforced. [Arlington County]

Ramp Closure Next Week — “A detour will be in place next week as the ramp from northbound George Mason Drive to westbound Carlin Springs Road is closed from Tuesday, Feb. 20 through Friday, Feb. 23 for installation of a sanitary line.” [Twitter]

Springlike Day Today — With temperatures in the upper 60s, today (Feb. 15) is expected to give a brief glimpse of spring, before temperatures turn colder. There is a chance of accumulating snow this weekend. [Capital Weather Gang]

Flickr pool photo by Lisa Novak

Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents Coming to Market Common

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published February 12, 2018 at 9:45AM

Can’t wait until April to get your Washington Nationals first home game fix? You’re in luck, sort of, because the Nationals’ racing presidents are coming to Clarendon.

The Nats mascots will be racing around The Loop at Market Common this Sunday, Feb. 18. Celebrating President’s Day a little early, George, Tom, Abe, and Teddy will race at 3 p.m.

The event starts at 12:30 p.m. with a presidential photo booth, complimentary hot cocoa from Nicecream, and a prize wheel for children to spin to win a paper president ($5 bill).

This fall the mascots came to Arlington to pay tribute to Abingdon Elementary students who donned elaborate “little presidents” costumes for the Fairlington Halloween parade.

Courtesy photo

Free Street Parking in Arlington Monday

By ARLnow.com

Published February 17, 2017 at 2:30PM

Arlington residents and visitors will be able to remember our first president Monday by exercising their freedom to park on the street without feeding a meter.

Monday is George Washington Day in Virginia. Others know the holiday, long associated with mattress and appliance sales, as Presidents Day.

Arlington County government offices, courts, libraries and other facilities will be closed Monday. Parking meters will not be enforced.

Trash and recycling collection, however, will go on as normal.

Presidents Day Closures in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published February 12, 2016 at 3:45PM | Updated October 14, 2016 at 1:47PM

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) County offices, courts and schools will be closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.

Officially called “George Washington Day” in Virginia, or “Washington’s Birthday” on the federal level, the holiday celebrates the birth of our first president, who was born on Feb. 22, 1732. Today, Feb. 12, is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, which is often mashed up with Washington’s birthday for the colloquial Presidents Day.

All county government offices, courts, libraries and facilities will be closed Monday for the holiday. Parking meters and zoned parking will not be enforced. Trash and recycling collection, however, will continue as normal.

Other county-level closures or service modifications are noted on Arlington’s holiday schedule page.

ARLnow.com will not be publishing on Monday, except in the event of breaking news.

County Offices, Schools Closed on Monday

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 13, 2015 at 2:45PM

Arlington County government operations will take the day off on Monday, Feb. 16 for George Washington Day.

The holiday, also known as Presidents Day and Washington’s Birthday, means there will be no parking enforcement in the county on Monday.

Arlington Public Schools will be closed, as will the county’s General District, Circuit and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts. Arlington’s libraries, DMV office, human services department and community centers will also not open their doors.

ART buses 41, 42, 51, 77 and 87 will run on Saturday schedules, while all other ART bus trips are cancelled. STAR transit will only run dialysis trips.

The only government function that will go on without a hitch on Monday is trash and recycling pickup. Those with Monday collection should leave their waste by the curb at the normal time.

Pub Crawl This Weekend Raising Funds for Animal Charity

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 9, 2015 at 11:00AM | Updated February 9, 2015 at 11:22AM

(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A pub crawl planned for Sunday, Feb. 15, the day before Presidents Day, is about more than getting sloshed at a host of bars in Clarendon and Courthouse.

The Bow Wow Crawl for Charity is the seventh annual crawl on the February holiday for a group of friends. The themed crawls — previously there have been Disney and video game characters — always donate proceeds to charity and this year, the money is going to Arlington-based Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Participants are encouraged to dress up like animals in the spirit of the event.

According to the bar crawl’s fundraising page, the bar crawl started seven years ago with three people on the day before a federal holiday. It has since grown to more than 100, benefiting charities like Give Kids the World and Child’s Play.

“Now this isn’t your typical bar crawl,” Adam Ross, who co-founded the bar crawl, writes on the page. “It’s not put on by a big promotion company. We are grassroots. We don’t sell wristbands or drink tickets or do any publicizing. It is the same crew that comes each year, only expanded by word of mouth, friends bringing other friends, or whatever strangers we run into along our journey. We aren’t out to make money off this, nor will we ever. After the second year of this bar crawl it was apparent that it was getting popular and that we would have a large number of attendees. We decided two things at that point; we would have a new theme ever year and we would raise money for a charity that corresponded with that theme.”

The crawl’s website has raised $400 of a $900 goal, with two weeks left on its online fundraiser.

The crawl begins on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill (2424 Wilson Blvd). The crawl will then swing into D.C. before finishing up back in Arlington.

It’s unclear if the crawl has applied for or received a bar crawl permit, a new regulation the Arlington County Board instituted last summer. The permits are intended to recoup county costs from the additional police presence the crawls — which have been attended by as many as 5,000 people in the past — necessitate.

Photo courtesy Dalfa Ahmed

Schools, Gov’t Offices to Close for Washington’s Birthday

By Ethan Rothstein

Published February 14, 2014 at 3:30PM

County and federal offices and Arlington Public Schools will be closed on Monday, Feb. 17, in observance of George Washington’s birthday.

Schools will close despite being shut down yesterday and today from the 10 inches of snow that fell from Wednesday night into Thursday. APS had already released a make-up schedule for elementary schools with early release after the snow day on Jan. 3 meant the schools would need additional instructional hours. No word yet on if or how that schedule will change.

County courts will close as well as the offices. ART bus and Metro services will run on holiday schedules and parking meters will not be enforced. Trash and recycling pickup will maintain its normal schedule.

ARLnow.com will not publish on the holiday, with the exception of possible breaking news.