Morning Notes

More on Rock Creek Park Crash Victims — “A Lyft driver and his two passengers were the men killed in a crash with an SUV that had just fled a traffic stop on Rock Creek Parkway early Wednesday morning… One of the two young men riding in the Lyft was 22-year-old Olvin Torres Velasquez, who worked at a restaurant in Arlington. Family and friends gathered Thursday to remember him… The other passenger killed in the rideshare was 23-year-old Jonathan Cabrera Mendez. He and Velasquez were on their way home to Arlington after a night out in D.C.” [NBC 4]

Arlington Election Straw Poll — “For County Board, Maureen Coffey led the field with 28 votes, followed by J.D. Spain Sr. (25), Susan Cunningham (19), Natalie Roy (18), Tony Weaver (15) and Jonathan Dromgoole (nine)… For commonwealth’s attorney, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti scored 52 votes to Josh Katcher’s 12.” [Gazette Packet]

Board Meeting Draws 200+ Speakers — “Arlington residents showed up in large numbers at the county board meeting on Saturday to express their opinions on zoning changes that could radically change the county’s single-family neighborhoods. Nearly 250 people signed up to speak about the effort to create expanded housing options.” [Patch, Twitter]

Post Editorial Supports Missing Middle — “As dismay with out-of-reach real-estate prices stacks up across the country, there’s hope that an overdue consensus might start to harden on a key point: That America’s pastoral ideal of a home and a spacious backyard cannot coexist with thriving metro areas. Plowing forward with the fantasy will cause only more dislocation, more unsustainable mortgages and more two-hour commutes. One San Francisco is enough.” [Washington Post]

Driver Crashes into Pedestrian Bridge — “A man drove his car into an abutment of the Jackson Street Pedestrian Bridge across Route 50 near the Thomas Jefferson Community and Fitness Center early Thursday morning and then crashed into a bollard along a jogging path near the bridge, according to the Arlington County Police Department… According to a witness, the driver appeared to be trying to drive his Mini Cooper onto the pedestrian bridge over Route 50 to N. Jackson Street. But after failing to make it onto the pedestrian bridge, the man then drove along the community center’s walking and jogging path toward S. Irving Street, where he struck a large yellow steel bollard.” [Patch]

A Stuck Elevator Is Not Uncommon — “Little known fact: people get stuck in elevators with surprising frequency… elevators get stuck with some regularity in Arlington (which has lots of elevators). ACFD was just dispatched to another one, this one at National Airport.” [Twitter]

Metro Upping Rail Service — “Starting Monday, March 20, Metro will begin increasing train service across the rail system just in time for peak cherry blossom season. Weekday service will see an infusion of trains, as well as weekends. Additional trains will also run as needed during the Cherry Blossom Festival as crowding is monitored during peak bloom. The improvements correspond to growing ridership, with new post-pandemic records being set almost daily.” [WMATA]

Nearby: Retail and Restaurant Changes — A small-format Target store is closing in Falls Church, and a Korean BBQ restaurant in Seven Corners appears to be close to opening. [Patch, Twitter]

It’s Monday — Cold to start the morning and clear throughout the day. High of 51 and low of 29. Sunrise at 7:13 am and sunset at 7:21 pm. [Weather.gov]