Power Payment Scam — “Arlington County is warning the public about a phone scam of unsolicited calls claiming to be representatives of Dominion Energy. Dominion Energy will not call you to pressure you to pay. If you have issues, contact the customer service line (1-866-366-4357) immediately.” [Twitter]
Youngkin Voters Cite Schools — From WAMU’s Rachel Kurzius: “I cannot stress enough how much the issue of education has motivated Youngkin supporters. It comes up in every convo. Charmaine and Jack Yoest of Arlington say that ‘what’s going on in our schools today’ cuts across party lines and that helps explain Youngkin’s success tonight… One thing I keep hearing is that parents didn’t like what they overheard on Zoom classes.” [Twitter]
Leadership Center Picks Leader — “Lisa Fikes, who has served as head of Volunteer Arlington for five years and in recent months has served as interim CEO of the Leadership Center for Excellence, has been tapped for that post in a permanent capacity.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Wednesday — Today there will be areas of frost before 10 a.m. Otherwise it will be sunny, with a high near 52. Sunrise at 7:37 a.m. and sunset at 6:05 p.m. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high near 53.
New Leader of Leadership Center — “Leadership Center for Excellence (LCE) announces the addition of Karen Coltrane as its President & CEO… With 27 years of nonprofit work in her professional career, Coltrane most recently served as the President & CEO of EdVenture Children’s Museum in Columbia, South Carolina.” [Leadership Center for Excellence, The State]
VRE to Review Community Feedback on Station — “Virginia Railway Express officials will spend coming weeks sifting through public comments on plans to upgrade station facilities at Crystal City. July 1 was the deadline for comments on the proposal to relocate and expand VRE facilities in Crystal City, which is the destination of about 18 percent of riders coming in from the west and south.” [InsideNova]
Another Hot Day — Heat index values today are expected to again climb above 100 degrees, though a cold front should cool things off on Friday. There is a slight chance of rain and storms today. [Twitter]
Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley
Puerto Rico Pets Coming to Arlington for Adoption — Dogs and cats from Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, were flown from the island to the D.C. area over the weekend by Arlington-based Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. The pets arrived via van convoy to a hero’s welcome in Shirlington and are now up for adoption. [Washington Post]
Arlington Among ‘Best Places to Live’ — City ranker Livability.com is out with its 2018 “Top 100 Best Places To Live” list and Arlington has placed No. 35, one spot below Pittsburgh and one above Asheville, N.C. Arlington previously ranked No. 3 on the list. [Livability]
Lower Property Value Rise Will Cause Budget Challenges — “The year-over-year increase in real-estate assessments throughout Arlington came in lower than government officials had expected, which may cause problems for County Board members trying to avoid either tax increases or budget cuts.” [InsideNova]
More on Key Bridge Marriott Sale — The new owners of the Key Bridge Marriott in Rosslyn may benefit from the previous owner’s application to the FAA to construct buildings up to 470 feet tall on the property, which overlooks Georgetown and the Potomac River. The FAA application is “an indication it was setting the stage for the site’s redevelopment.” [Washington Business Journal]
Betsy Franz Leaves Leadership Center — Leadership Center for Excellence (formerly Leadership Arlington) founding President and CEO Betsy Frantz is leaving the organization in April to become President of the Virginia Hospital Center Health System Foundation. Liz Nohra, the COO of LCE, will take over as Acting President and CEO. [Leadership Center for Excellence]
Eviction Notice for TechShop in Crystal City — “A Jan. 18 eviction notice from the Arlington County sheriff’s department now hangs in the storefront of the maker space chain’s Crystal City location. The notice comes more than a month after San Jose, California-based TechShop announced it would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and then, a few weeks later, disclosed in early December it was reaching a deal to be acquired.” [Washington Business Journal]
County to Connect Building Owners and Investors for Sustainability — “All systems are ‘go’ for Arlington’s new ‘C-PACE’ program, a first-in-Virginia public-private partnership to provide affordable, long-term financing to improve energy or water efficiency of commercial buildings.” [Arlington County]
Reminder: Use Salt in Moderation — Prior to this morning’s rain, Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services tweeted a reminder to residents to avoid excess application of salt during freezing weather. “Use only as much as needed and no more to melt ice because this will wash into our watershed,” DES said. [Twitter]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
Video of Weekend ATV Riders — For the second consecutive weekend, dirt bike and ATV riders took to county roads. This time, there’s clear video of the riders taking up all lanes of traffic on Route 50 and performing stunts. [WJLA]
Operation Firesafe in Full Swing — Arlington firefighters are hitting the streets for Operation Firesafe, which is the annual free door-to-door smoke alarm and fire safety canvassing program. Firefighters travel throughout the county on Saturdays from April through October to check residents’ fire safety and to install smoke detectors. Arlington residents can request a free smoke detector online. [Arlington County Fire Department]
Teen Leadership Program Applicants Wanted — The Leadership Center for Excellence is looking for motivated rising high school juniors and seniors for its summer Leadership Arlington Youth Program. [InsideNova]
Talented local entertainers will participate in the fourth annual Arlington’s Got Talent competition tonight.
The event, organized by Leadership Arlington, is being held at the Salsa Room (2619 Columbia Pike) starting at 6:30 p.m. After a social hour, the performers will take the stage starting at 7:30.
“Arlington’s Got Talent offers exciting and fresh performances from some of the most vibrant and dynamic performers from the D.C. metropolitan area,” said Leadership Arlington.
Tickets to the event are $30 in advance, $40 at the door, and benefit the Leadership Center for Excellence’s Young Professionals Program scholarship fund.
Tonight’s seven scheduled performers are:
- Comedian Dan Nainan
- Singer Emma G
- Comedian Jason Weems
- Poet Lyfe
- Dance troupe Rhythmaya Dance
- Pop, funk and R&B singer Travis Tucker
- Acapella group Word of Mouth
The performers will be judged by Susan Anderson of the Arlington County Treasurer’s Office; MTFA Architecture owner Michael Foster, Nate Robertson of Datapipe and Marymount University President Matt Shank. Audience members will act as the fifth judge by voting for their favorite act.
Courthouse, Columbia Pike Developments Approved — At its Saturday meeting, the Arlington County Board approved a 90-unit condominium building at 2000 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse. The Board voted 4-1, with John Vihstadt voting against, after hearing objections from residents of the nearby Odyssey condo tower. Also on Saturday, the Board unanimously approved a 105-unit condo building on the Rappahannock Coffee site on Columbia Pike. [Arlington County, Arlington County]
Plans Filed for New Affordable Complex in Rosslyn — The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing has filed preliminary plans to redevelop the 39-unit Queens Court apartment complex into a new, 12-story, 250-unit affordable apartment building, with underground parking and a 9,000 square foot public park and playground. The redevelopment was included in 2015’s Western Rosslyn Area Plan, or WRAP. [Washington Business Journal]
Woodlawn Park Renovations Approved — The Arlington County Board has approved a $616,000 contract for improvements to Woodlawn Park in the Waycroft-Woodlawn neighborhood. The improvements to the 3.2 acre park includes “replacing the playground equipment, updating the trails and better protecting Lubber Run stream.” [Arlington County]
Couple Gets Engaged at Local Event — A San Antonio, Texas couple got engaged at Friday night’s Wine in the Waterpark event in Crystal City. [Twitter]
Stream Restoration Project OKed — The Arlington County Board has unanimously approved a $3.5 million contract to restore the lower portion of the Four Mile Run stream. Work on the project, which has been in the works since 2000, is expected to begin later this summer and may result in some trail detours over the course of a year. [Arlington County]
First Day of Summer Today — Today is the first day of astronomical summer, the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. [Capital Weather Gang]
Leadership Arlington to Run Volunteer Arlington — The nonprofit group Leadership Arlington will be taking over the administration of Volunteer Arlington from Arlington County. Leadership Arlington won the contract in a competitive bidding process. Volunteer Arlington is “the County’s clearinghouse for volunteerism, matching volunteers with non-profits and government programs that rely on volunteers in carrying out their work.” [Arlington County]
School Bus Stop Violations in Arlington — There were 155 traffic violations issued over a three year period in Arlington for drivers who passed school buses at bus stops. That compares 655 such violations issued in Fairfax County over a three year period. [NBC Washington]
County Board Art Debate? — The operatic organization Opera Nova is trying to host a forum among Democratic Arlington County Board candidates that will cover the topics of the arts, humanities and civic engagement. Should the candidates accept their invitation, the candidate forum will be held on Friday, June 5, just a few days before the June 9 Democratic primary. [InsideNova]
40 Under 40 Nominations Underway — Leadership Arlington is currently accepting nominees for its Arlington 40 Under 40 honors. The group is seeking individuals under the age of 40 who “demonstrate impact through leadership personally and/or professionally.” Nominations are being conducted online. [Survey Monkey]
Chamber Names ‘Business of the Year’ — Rosslyn-based LMO Advertising, which bills itself at the largest advertising agency in the D.C. area, has been named Business of the Year by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. “Our team loves working in Arlington and I am proud that we have been recognized as one of the community’s best businesses,” LMO CEO Chris Laughlin said, in a press release. “I look forward to many more years of doing business in Arlington.” [LMO Advertising]
Photo courtesy Valerie
Arlington’s Got Talent, the annual talent show for D.C.-area performers hosted by Leadership Arlington, is back for another year on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
The show is $30 in advance and $40 at the door at Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Blvd). It all starts at 6:30 p.m. with a social hour before the eight performers who were chosen take the stage.
The performers on Wednesday night, selected from 23 submissions, will be:
- Maryland-based rapper Nik Martin
- Pop, funk and R&B singer Travis Tucker
- Singer Alyssa Gurley
- A capella group Euphonism
- Yorktown High School student Aastha Paneru, performing Nepalese dance
- Former U.S. Marine and standup comedian Cerrome Russell
- Crooner and Marine Corps reservist Teague
- Guitarist Bau Bau
The winner of the talent show gets $500, and the rest of the proceeds from the night go to Leadership Arlington’s scholarship fund
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Disruption Corporation and Crystal Tech Fund founder Paul Singh and Arlington Chamber of Commerce President Kate Roche are among those chosen as Leadership Arlington’s “40 under 40” honorees.
Singh and Roche were among the more than 250 nominations Leadership Arlington received this year for the distinction. The honors go to “40 emerging leaders under the age of 40 who demonstrate impact personally and/or professionally through their exceptional leadership throughout the D.C. metropolitan region.”
Singh, 33, opened his Disruption Corporation headquarters and launched its venture arm, Crystal Tech Fund, in Crystal City in April. Since then, Disruption has become a registered investment advisor focused on investors who want to fund private companies.
Roche, 29, was named president of the Chamber of Commerce in June, taking over for the now-retired Rich Doud, who had served for decades in the position. At the time, Roche said her youth was a positive, and let her bring new energy and perspective to the position. Roche’s focus at the chamber has been to build partnerships, and get businesses working more closely with community organizations around Arlington.
In addition to Singh and Roche, The Shooshan Company’s Kelly Shooshan is also among the honorees. Shooshan leads residential development for the Ballston developer, leading projects like, most notably, the Liberty Center development in Ballston.
Other honorees include Kim Klingler of the American Society of Clinical Oncology; Ron Novak of Segue Technologies; Joe Petty of the Crystal City Business Improvement District; Terron Sims, II of Doug Pollard, LLC; and Kedrick Whitmore of Venable LLP.
The 40 under 40 awards will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Army Navy Country Club. The lunch is $60 per person if tickets are purchased before Nov. 20.
The complete list of honorees, after the jump.
CEB to Pay $22 Million Per Year for Rent — The Corporate Executive Board filed a quarterly report on Thursday showing it plans to pay $22 million per year in rent to anchor the Central Place office tower in Rosslyn. That number is just base rent without any additional operating expenses or real estate taxes. [Washington Business Journal]
New App for Job Seekers — A free app called VAWorks launched yesterday to help residents find jobs. Users can search for jobs by occupation, location or keyword. The app is available for Apple and Android devices. [The Virginian-Pilot]
Many Nominees for ’40 Under 40′ — Leadership Arlington is pleased with how many nominations it received for its inaugural 40 Under 40 recognition program — 250. Awards will be presented on December 4. [InsideNova]
Leadership Arlington, the nonprofit created to “enlighten, inspire and connect leaders,” is looking for nominations for its first “40 Under 40” awards.
Nominees are not restricted to those who live and/or work in Arlington; they simply have to be from the D.C. area, be under 40 years old by the awards luncheon on Dec. 4 and “demonstrate impact through their leadership personally and/or professionally,” according to a Leadership Arlington press release.
The criteria being considered is impact on the community or the individual’s professional situation. “This event is an opportunity to show support and invest in this next generation of trailblazers,” the nomination call states.
“We are very fortunate in our community to have so many impactful professionals under the age of 40,” said Betsy Frantz, president and CEO of Leadership Arlington. “Leadership Arlington is proud to be a forerunner in honoring this generation of trailblazers.”
The Dec. 4 luncheon will be at Army Navy Country Club (1700 Army Navy Drive). Leadership Arlington plans for this to be an annual event and “encourages self-nominations.” Those who want to nominate an individual can do so online.
Image via Leadership Arlington
