Amazon Layoffs and Loan — “Amazon Inc.’s layoffs will affect more than 18,000 employees, the highest reduction tally revealed in the past year at a major technology company as the industry pares back amid economic uncertainty. The Seattle-based company in November said that it was beginning layoffs among its corporate workforce, with cuts concentrated on its devices business, recruiting and retail operations.” [Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch]
Arlington Impact Unclear — “Later in November, Amazon began laying off… employees, according to reports, including at its Alexa division, which is supposed to have a large presence at its HQ2 in Arlington… At HQ2, Amazon is wrapping up construction on its two-tower first phase, Metropolitan Park, set to open later this year. The company has yet to break ground on the second phase, PenPlace.” [Washington Business Journal]
Chase Ends in I-395 Wreck — From Dave Statter: “#caughtoncamera: Chase & crash at 6:30 pm. @VSPPIO after speeder who then tried to plow through I-395N traffic at Boundary Channel. Multiple injuries. Arrests made.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Daytime Street Robbery in Pentagon City — “1100 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 4:16 p.m. on January 3, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery by force. Upon arrival, it was determined approximately 20 minutes prior, the female victim was walking in the area when the two unknown male suspects approached from behind, assaulted her and stole a bag containing a laptop. The suspects then fled the scene on foot.” [ACPD]
Board Trims Long Public Comment Periods — “Arlington County Board members have approved a modification to public-hearing rules that would impact, and perhaps streamline, meetings when lots of lots of people want to have their say. The proposal, embedded in the board’s 2023 meeting procedures slated for adoption at the Jan. 3 organizational meeting, would cut the time available to speakers when a large line of speakers – in person and/or ‘virtually’ – has developed.” [Sun Gazette]
Chamber Calls for Better Buses — “As the 10th anniversary of the demise of the proposed but never inaugurated Columbia Pike streetcar project starts to loom over the horizon, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is pressing county officials to do more to improve transit service in the Columbia Pike corridor. In its 2023 policy priorities, the business organization calls on the county government to support bus-rapid-transit (‘or similar’) for the Columbia Pike corridor, which has the highest concentration of bus ridership in the commonwealth.” [Sun Gazette]
Missing Middle Debate ‘Getting Intense’ — From the Washington Post’s Teo Armus: “Arlington’s missing middle debate is getting intense on NextDoor, where one critic says the proposal will make the county ‘lower classed, noisier, dirtier, etc.’ ‘All you would be doing is cause stress to your kids when they see how others live better than they do.'” [Twitter]
Transit Cops Now Carrying Narcan — “Metro Transit Police Officers have a new tool to protect customers and save lives. All active duty MTPD officers and Metro’s crisis intervention specialists will be equipped with naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) to prevent deaths by opioid overdose. The addition of naloxone as a life-saving resource comes as a result of increased calls to MTPD reporting suspected overdoses, from 27 incidents in 2021 to 43 incidents in 2022.” [WMATA]
It’s Thursday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 67 and low of 50. Sunrise at 7:28 am and sunset at 5:01 pm. [Weather.gov]