Morning Notes

W-L Hoops Team Grieves Teammate — “Shortly past midnight, on his ride home, a teenager driving under the influence crashed into Meade’s car, killing the senior. He was 17. ‘You can see them sometimes just looking outside,’ Washington-Liberty Coach Bobby Dobson said of his players. ‘They miss him. I miss him.’ This winter, Washington-Liberty is one of several Northern Virginia basketball teams grieving in the wake of a player’s sudden and gutting death… All three teams have turned to their sport as an outlet to recover.” [Washington Post]

Wreath Removal This Weekend — “Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) and Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery (SAHNC) in Washington, D.C. will hold their annual removal of wreaths, known as Wreaths Out, on Saturday, January 21, beginning at 8 a.m. Thousands of visitors are expected to help remove approximately 257,000 wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.” [Press Release]

Local Rents Still Slipping — “With a median December monthly rental price of $2,143 ($2,023 for one-bedroom units, $2,421 for two bedrooms), Arlington ranked as the 10th most expensive urban area among the 100 tracked by Apartment List. The firm’s first data report for 2023 came out Jan. 5… Arlington rents declined 1.6 percent month-over-month in the new data, twice the national decline and the 17th largest falloff among the 100 cities in the survey.” [Sun Gazette]

Marymount Adds NARCAN Boxes — “Twenty-nine new opioid overdose emergency boxes were installed in December – 26 at Marymount’s Main Campus and three at its Ballston Center – all directly adjacent to AED locations. They provide anyone on University property with emergency access to the lifesaving medication NARCAN, while also helping to reduce stigma and normalize the drug as a common first aid tool.” [Marymount University]

Arlington Man Faces Life Sentence — ” An Arlington man who was convicted after a three-week trial in October faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for February for his role in killings carried out by the MS-13 gang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Co-defendants Luis Flores-Reyes, 42, of Arlington and Jairo Jacome, 40, of Langley Park, Maryland, were convicted on the charges of racketeering conspiracy and murder.” [Patch]

Rainy Day Crashes — A pair of notable crashes were reported yesterday during the rainy weather, including one that damaged a county light pole on S. George Mason Drive and another that temporarily shut down Shirlington Circle over I-395. [Twitter, Twitter]

Local Restaurateur Expanding to Tysons — “Northern Virginia restaurateur Reese Gardner is expanding into Fairfax County. Gardner’s hospitality group, behind Arlington eateries including Copperwood Tavern, The Pinemoor and Quinn’s on the Corner, plans to open a classic American restaurant to be called Ox & Rye at Capital One Center in Tysons. The roughly 11,000-square-foot restaurant, to be located at 7770 Capital One Tower Road, will be the largest of seven for their Wooden Nickel Bar Co.” [Washington Business Journal]

It’s Wednesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 53 and low of 43. Sunrise at 7:25 am and sunset at 5:14 pm. [Weather.gov]