Morning Notes

Charga Staying Busy After Review — “Last year, business was pretty good. But not like this. Everything changed on Jan. 3. That’s when the Washington Post’s Tim Carman placed unassuming Charga at the top of his list of the area’s top 10 casual restaurants. Food critics might be the last local journalists flexing 20th-century levels of media power: Overnight, business almost doubled at a restaurant that, like many, had struggled to staff, supply, and stay afloat in the COVID era.” [Slate, Twitter]

Feel the Heritage Fest Returns — “The 2023 Feel the Heritage Festival will be held on Sat., Feb. 25, noon-5 p.m. at Charles Drew Community Center. The festival welcomes hundreds each year to learn about the Arlington’s historically African-American neighborhoods while enjoying live entertainment, delicious food and dozens of vendors. Held for the past 29 years, the festival… is free and includes a full afternoon of engaging programming for guests of all ages.” [Arlington County]

Water Main Break on the Pike — “Emergency Water Main Repairs: Crew working on 8-inch main at 4200 Columbia Pike… Update: A follow-up water main repair on Columbia Pike near S George Mason will likely cause delays Friday morning. Consider alternate routes.” [Twitter]

New Public Safety Appointments — “County Manager Mark Schwartz is announcing permanent appointments of Dr. Aaron Miller as the Deputy County Manager for Public Safety and Information Technology and Mr. William Flagler, Jr. as the Director of the Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management (DPSCEM).” [Arlington County]

Favola Privacy Bill Dies — “Safeguarding personal information, or handcuffing the public-safety process? Those were the two positions staked out as a subcommittee of the House of Delegates killed a measure from a local legislator. The bill from state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington-Fairfax-Loudoun) would have prohibited the issuance of search warrants to obtain menstrual information from women during criminal investigations.” [Gazette Leader]

Va. Pot Bills Stall — “Virginia may be the first state in the South to legalize possession of marijuana, but actually getting some marijuana to possess doesn’t look like it’s getting easier anytime soon. Republican lawmakers in the House once again shot down a bill that would legalize retail sales and are pushing to defund the state’s new Cannabis Control Authority, which was established to regulate the marijuana market.” [Axios]

Historic Preservation Plan Advancing — “Efforts to update the Arlington County government’s Historic Preservation Master Plan continue to move forward… The update, when adopted, will guide the Arlington government’s efforts to preserve existing heritage – efforts that have come under criticism from some quarters in recent years, as a number of prominent homes and other structures have fallen to the wrecking ball without, critics contend, county government using existing powers to stop the razing.” [Gazette Leader]

Fast Chase Caught on Camera — From Dave Statter: “@VSPPIO 5 minute chase of a Toyota Highlander going 110 mph on Rt 50 from Fairfax into Arlington just after 3 a.m. The SUV was abandoned at a building on S. Glebe just off 50.” [Twitter]

New Temperature Record — “It’s official: Thursday is Washington’s warmest Feb. 23 on record and one of the toastiest afternoons so early in the year. The high temperature at Reagan National Airport hit 81 degrees, breaking the previous record of 78 degrees set on Feb. 23, 1874. That’s a few ticks below Washington’s record high temperature for all of February, which was 84 degrees on Feb. 25, 1930.” [Washington Post]

It’s Friday — Partly cloudy throughout the day with falling temperatures. High of 61 and low of 41. Sunrise at 6:49 am and sunset at 5:57 pm. [Weather.gov]