weekend discussion

It’s been a busy week, especially for local wildlife. On Tuesday, animal control officers rescued a raccoon that got stuck in a drain at Wakefield High School. Then, earlier today, a curious creature dubbed the “trash raccoon” hitched a ride on a garbage truck from Rosslyn to Falls Church.

In other news, are IOTA Club’s days numbered? The new owner of Market Common Clarendon is proposing major changes to the development, including the possible demolition of the building that holds the well-loved cafe, outdoor bar and live music venue. IOTA co-owner Jane Negrey Inge told us, however, that she didn’t expect the renovations to happen “any time… soon.”

And whatever happened to the couch that firefighters pulled from a tree on Monday? Hopefully, someone bolts it down before we have another windy day.

Also, don’t forget that Arlington County government offices, courts, libraries and other facilities will be closed Monday. Parking meters will not be enforced on Monday for George Washington Day.

ARLnow.com will return with full local news coverage on Tuesday due to the holiday. In the meantime, feel free to discuss these stories or any other topic of local interest in the comments.

Have a good — and hopefully long — weekend!

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

This past Sunday marked the 7th anniversary of the launch of ARLnow.com. Above is the first photo we ever published, showing Crystal Drive in Crystal City during the 2009 “Snowpocalypse.”

Seven years later, we’re still going strong and providing up-to-the-minute, on-the-ground coverage of breaking news and important community stories — plus local opinions, event listings, photo essays and the occasional light feature or weird news story.

The top three most-read articles of the week we launched had to do with snow, snow and cupcakes, accumulating a total of 277 pageviews. That’s 78 times smaller than the readership of the past week’s top three articles.

This week’s top stories: Arlington’s first homicide of 2017, the announcement of Nestlé moving its U.S. headquarters to Rosslyn, and the armed robbery of a store on S. Glebe Road.

Feel free to discuss those articles or any other topic of local interest in the comments. Have a nice weekend!

The weekend is here and not a moment too soon for us here at ARLnow.com.

After all, it’s been a busy week. The top five most-read recent news stories this week were:

1. A history teacher at Yorktown High School was charged with indecent exposure by Fairfax County Police after an incident in Tysons Corner Thursday night.
2. The Walgreens store in Clarendon is slated to close on Feb. 21.
3. Duane Chapman, the bounty hunter known as “Dog,” visited Don Tito (3165 Wilson Blvd) in Clarendon last weekend. He reportedly ordered a plate of fajitas.
4. Police investigated a dead body found between Windy Run Park, in north Arlington, and the banks of the Potomac River on Tuesday.
5. The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office on Monday served an eviction at 201 Chain Bridge Road, the palatial former home of former multimillionaire Rodney Hunt, on Monday.

What will next week bring? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, feel free to discuss these stories or any topic of local interest in comments.

America has a new president, President Donald J. Trump, and like the rest of the nation, Arlington will have a weekend to let the reality of the new administration set in.

In the meantime, the outgoing president, Barack Obama, is leaving town for a well-earned California vacation — but only temporarily, as the Obamas be back and taking up residence in northwest D.C.

During his presidency, Obama visited Arlington a number of times. Will President Trump also make his way to Arlington County, which overwhelmingly voted against him in November? Time will tell.

In the meantime, feel free to discuss the inauguration, the new administration, or any topic of local interest in comments.

It’s a long weekend after what seemed like a long week — with weather that ranged from freezing cold with snow on the ground to springlike warmth.

This week’s big stories included Sehkraft Brewing closing, America Seafood closing and its owners moving, Lyft and Uber insanity in Crystal City, a dog rescued from an apartment fire on Lee Highway (photo above) and hateful graffiti that was turned into peace signs near Yorktown High.

The week will end with Arlington County’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. tribute event, on Sunday from 5-6:30 p.m. at Wakefield High School. The event is free but all tickets appear to have been claimed.

We’ll be publishing a post or two Saturday, during the expected snow and ice event. Following that, like many others, we’ll be off Monday for the observance of MLK Day, though Startup Monday will be published as usual and we’ll be here should there be any breaking news to report.

Your regularly-scheduled local news coverage will resume Tuesday. In the meantime, feel free to discuss the stories above or any other topics of local interest in the comments.

Photo courtesy Andrew Pang

Our biggest story of the week was the news that the crew from Don Tito and A-Town would be opening a new sports bar in Clarendon.

Say what you want about them, but they know how to create popular places. Close to 10,000 people read our article about G.O.A.T. Sports Bar, making it the most-read restaurant article in recent memory.

Since the article was first published on Monday, we’ve learned a bit more about G.O.A.T, which is coming to the former Hard Times Space.

“The G.O.A.T. will be an almost 10,000 square foot premier sports bar and game filled (your favorite arcade games from the past, mixed with the best of today’s game technology) fun zone with the best food and drink you can find in a bar,” one of the partners posted on Facebook this week. Those games just may help it to stand out in the crowded Clarendon bar scene.

The next seven most-read articles of the week were all police-related, while No. 9 was our article on the towing ordinance changes. Towing stories always gin up strong feelings in Arlington, and this week’s article was no exception.

Feel free to discuss the G.O.A.T, this week’s slew of crime articles or — gasp — towing, or any other topic of local interest, in the comments. Have a nice weekend!