Between now and New Year’s Eve, as in years past, ARLnow will count down to 2023 with the most-read articles this year.
Breaking news of crime and corporate relocations dominated the top 20, although reports of a sighting of tennis star Serena Williams and a low-flying helicopter also piqued the interest of readers.
Check back every day this week to reflect on this year’s biggest stories, featuring tales of heroism, tragedy, triumph, crime and even some animal antics.
20. BREAKING: Parent worried about active shooter may have brought gun to middle school (June 10 | 22,065 views)
Thomas Jefferson Middle School was locked from the outside for extra security while police responded to reports of an armed robbery at a nearby 7-Eleven. Parents, students and teachers were allegedly left in the dark as to why the school was secured and may have been on edge because of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas one month before.
19. BREAKING: Arlington scores another major corporate headquarters (June 7 | 23,391 views)
Soon after Boeing moved its corporate headquarters to Arlington, Raytheon Technologies moved its headquarters here from outside of Boston. Now, Northern Virginia is home to a majority of the top five U.S. aerospace and defense companies: Boeing and Raytheon in Arlington, plus Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics in Fairfax County.
18. Don’t worry about that low-flying helicopter near the Alexandria border, Arlington County says (Feb. 23 | 23,436 views)
After flooding Arlington’s Emergency Communications Center with calls, people came to ARLnow to figure out just why a helicopter was flying so low to the ground in Arlington and nearby Alexandria. We believe the mysterious chopper, which belonged to a Utah company, was being used to inspect power transmission lines.
17. Serena Williams appears to have paid a visit to El Pollo Rico in Va. Square this weekend (Aug. 1 | 24,632 views)
Tennis legend Serena Williams was apparently served a heaping portion of chicken and rice from Virginia Square’s Peruvian spot, El Pollo Rico, which the late Anthony Bourdain featured on his show “No Reservations.” She was in town to support her equally-famous sister Venus, who was playing in the Citi Open in D.C.
16. BREAKING: Police on scene after anonymous threat, lockdown at Yorktown High School (Feb. 10 | 24,945 views)
An anonymous caller claiming to be armed with hostages inside of a Yorktown High School bathroom prompted a lockdown, evacuations and a massive police response in and around the school. It turned out to be a false report, one that kick-started Arlington police’s involvement in a statewide push to combat “swatting” calls like these.