News

Morning Notes

Silver Diner construction in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Man Arrested in Cold Case — “Police have arrested a 61-year-old man from Arlington County who allegedly abducted and raped a Fairfax County woman multiple times over three decades ago. Fingerprint and DNA analyses suggest George Thomas Jr. and his now-deceased brother, Gregory Allen Thomas, were the offenders in the 1988 rape of a 22-year-old woman who got attacked as she was leaving work in Bailey’s Crossroads.” [FFXnow]

Christmas Trees Delayed — “The first batch [of Christmas trees for the annual Optimist Club sale], which was coming in from Canada, got delayed because of that nasty storm that hit late last week and into the weekend.” [Sun Gazette]

CivFed Looking for More Money — “The Arlington County Civic Federation has been around longer than Arlington has been Arlington – its existence pre-dates the 1920 renaming of the county by several years – and current leadership is hoping to bring more focus on financial sustainability so the organization can continue for another century or more.” [Sun Gazette]

New Parklet in Pentagon City — “The National Landing Business Improvement District opened its first ‘parklet’ in the Pentagon City neighborhood. The space, with a painted bench, tables and chairs, is located in blocked-off parking spots on S. Fern Street near the intersection with 12th St. South.” [Patch]

Arlingtonian’s Air Travel Invention — “Roughly four years ago, LaPierre and his wife were traveling to Paris. He had thrown away his coffee before boarding, but she held onto hers, and there was really no good option for keeping it from tipping over on the flight. Between the feet? That’s how some people do it. ‘I’ve got to find a solution for this,’ he recalled.” [Washington Business Journal]

Another Gun Confiscated at DCA — “A California man tried to bring a handgun loaded with 14 bullets, including one in the chamber, onto a flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last Friday but was stopped by officers. The gun was the 28th gun detected by Transportation Security Administration officers at Reagan National Airport so far in 2022.” [Patch]

Va. Home Sales Drop — “According to the October 2022 Virginia Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS®, there were 8,828 homes sold in Virginia in October 2022. This is 3,828 fewer sales than last October, representing a sharp 30.2% decrease in sales activity. This is Virginia’s largest year-over-year decrease in sales in more than ten years.” [Press Release]

It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 57 and low of 34. Sunrise at 7:02 am and sunset at 4:51 pm. [Weather.gov]