Good morning, Arlington. Scott here. It’s Tuesday, August 24: National Waffle Day and Dave Chappelle’s 48th birthday.

Morning Status

• Today’s Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
• Tomorrow’s Weather: Sunny, with a high of 94.
• Sunrise: 6:28 a.m.
• Sunset: 7:43 p.m.

What We’re Covering Today

Morning Notes

• Delayed Reopening for N. Glebe Road — From VDOT: “Update: Due to last week’s inclement weather, the new reopening date for Glebe Road is Monday, Aug. 30 at 5 a.m.” [Twitter]
• Arlington Paralympian Competing in Tokyo — “Sydney Barta of Arlington is competing in four track and field events this week and next at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Barta, a 17-year-old student at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., will be competing in the 100-meter, 200-meter, discus throw, and shot put throw.” [Patch]
• Pedestrians Peeved About Pushing Buttons — “Last Wednesday, Arlington County officials announced plans to roll back 78 automatic pedestrian phase activations, also known as ‘beg buttons,’ throughout the county… The chair of Arlington’s volunteer transportation commission, Chris Slatt, had choice words… ‘To use the start of school to justify this change and to claim it is to ‘improve walkway safety’ is, frankly, gross and unacceptable.'” [GGWash]
• Police Investigate Saturday Robbery — “At approximately 11:42 p.m. on August 21, police were dispatched to the late report of a robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that approximately 40 minutes prior, the male victim met with the suspect for the prearranged sale of sneakers. The suspect brought the victim down a residential hallway where the second suspect was waiting. The suspects then grabbed the victim, assaulted him and stole an undisclosed amount of cash from his person before fleeing into the building.” [ACPD]
• Local Rookie Cop Saves Nine Lives — “From a rookie to a pro, a Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) patrol officer, Taylor Brandt, is being hailed a hero amongst fellow colleagues and community members after saving 9 lives within one year of working on the streets. Brandt joined DC police in December 2019 as a resident from Arlington, Virginia.” [WJLA]
• Historical Society Planning 9/11 Event — “The Arlington Historical Society annual banquet commemorates the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.  We will hear about the events of the day and learn about how the Arlington community responded to the crisis. Eyewitnesses and first responders will recount their experiences as we honor the resilience of our community.” [Arlington Historical Society]

The following are preview of stories we’re planning to cover later today. Note that some stories may be pushed back, depending on the day’s news. 

Poll: Who’s Ready For Fall? The deluge of Oktoberfest beers and pumpkin lattes is upon us. But with 90+ degree weather this week, one might be hoping that the start of fall weather-wise would come sooner. We’ll ask readers whether they’re suffering from summer fatigue.

Pentagon 9/11 Visitor Center: The long-awaited 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center is looking at a September 2025 opening, officials tell ARLnow. A video announcement with updated designs, plans, and visuals for the education center will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

New Rosslyn Fire Station Open: Firefighters in Rosslyn have a brand new station to call their own, after being housed in a temporary station on N. Quinn Street for several years. The new Fire Station 10 at 1535 Wilson Blvd, which Arlington County Fire Department described as “a high tech, safe and healthy new workplace for our crews” even has an art installation made from fire hoses.

ART Resumes Full Bus Service: ART buses will return to full service Tuesday, Sept. 7 after pausing some of its bus routes during the plandemic. Metro is also adding more bus and train services to help transition residents back to post-lockdown life. Masks will still be required on all buses and trains.

Tafti Talks Prosecution After Recent Convictions: Arlington’s top prosecutor Parisa Dehghani-Tafti took to Twitter last week to highlight the work of attorneys in her office, who obtained convictions in two serious sex-related crimes against minors, over a 10-day period. She tells ARLnow that convictions in such cases are harder to get because of a lack of evidence making Commonwealth’s Attorneys — who receive funding based on conviction rates — less likely to take them on. She said her office is committed to taking on hard cases if they have the evidence, even at the risk of losing.

And in case you missed it, here’s a story we published on the site Monday that we didn’t plan for: 

Earthquake Hits 10-Year Anniversary: Ten years ago Monday, at 1:51 p.m. a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Virginia and the D.C. region, an unexpected jolt that sent residents and workers fleeing into the streets.

Reporter’s Notepad

One of the most oft-ask questions we receive at ARLnow is: what’s flying over my head?

Whether it’s a helicopter flying in circles or several fighter jets roaring by, people naturally want to know what’s going on.

In many cases, the honest answer is: we have no idea. The military doesn’t exactly post flight schedules for its many local helicopter flights, which fly generals and other VIPs around. Nor is the government forthcoming with those mysterious high altitude spy flights.

Others are easier to answer, however.

If it’s the Fairfax County Police or U.S. Park Police helicopter circling around Arlington, ACPD has likely requested assistance with searching for a suspect or with some other incident.

If it’s another helicopter, the Helicopters of DC Twitter account is probably on it.

And if it’s one or more low-flying military aircraft, it’s probably not an invasion. Rather, such flights are almost always for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.

I was reminded of that yesterday when a group of jets rattled windows as I was working from home. It was only a matter of time before the questions started coming in. But sure enough, it turns there was full-salute funeral happening at the cemetery at the time. (I was unable to determine whose funeral it was… if you know let me know by replying to this email.)

There’s plenty of debate over aircraft noise in Arlington and whether the military and the FAA should do more to make things quieter for local neighborhoods. But there’s usually little debate as to why a group of fighter jets are buzzing by on a weekday morning or afternoon — odds are it’s for the burial of a high-ranking member of the military.

Feel free to discuss today’s Early Morning Notes among your fellow Press Club members in the comments below.