Good morning, Arlington. Scott here. It’s Friday, September 3: National Lazy Mom’s Day and actor Charlie Sheen’s 56th birthday.

Morning Status

• Today’s Weather: ☀️☀️ Sunny, with a high near 77 and a gentle breeze.
• Tomorrow’s Weather:  ☀️☀️ Sunny and basically a perfect day, with a high near 82.
• Sunrise:  6:36 a.m.
• Sunset:  7:29 p.m.

What We’re Covering Today

Morning Notes

• County Closures for Labor Day — County-run Covid vaccination clinics and testing will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. County offices, libraries, rec centers, courts and schools will also be closed. Trash will be collected, but parking meters will not be enforced. [Arlington County]
• Two Libraries Reopening Next Week — “Starting September 7, 2021, Arlington Public Library will reopen two locations — Cherrydale and Glencarlyn Libraries… ‘The Library continues to make steady progress toward filling an unprecedented number of public service vacancies caused by the pandemic and subsequent hiring freeze. We believe we are turning the corner and look forward to seeing more of our patrons,’ said Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh.” [Press Release]
• No County Cash for Amazon This Year — “Arlington won’t pay Amazon.com Inc. any cash incentives this year — the second year in a row the pandemic has essentially thwarted that deal… ‘As a result of the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions in place during much of the year, Arlington’s FY2021 Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenues did not yield the incremental growth necessary for Amazon to receive a grant for the second year of the 15-year performance period.'” [Washington Business Journal]
• VRE Ridership Remains Low — “Despite upticks over the summer months, passenger counts for Virginia Railway Express (VRE) remain well down from pre-pandemic levels. For the weeks ending July 30, Aug. 6, Aug. 13 and Aug. 20, passenger counts were down 85.7 percent, 85.8 percent, 85.8 percent and 86.5 percent from the same periods in 2019, according to information provided by VRE officials to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.” [InsideNova]
• New Restaurants Coming to Crystal City — “The Kabob Palace in Crystal City will soon have new neighbors. A halal restaurant franchisee has signed a lease for about 2,400 square feet at 2323 S. Eads St., where it plans to open a combined Peri Peri Original and Kallisto Steakhouse inside an end-cap space where the buffet-style Kabob Palace Family Restaurant had been.” [Washington Business Journal]
• Map Chronicles Close Calls — “Developed with the help of Virginia Tech graduate students, the Near Miss Survey allows walkers, bicyclists, drivers, and other road users to report instances where they came close to getting into a crash or accident but were fortunate enough to avoid it. The resulting map highlights specific incidents as well as hotspots that are especially accident-prone, with the goal of helping local transportation and public safety officials see what areas need their attention.” [FFXnow]

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. 

‘Group Gaming’ Coming to Ballston Quarter: An “immersive group gaming experience” is coming to Ballston Quarter, according to permits filed with Arlington County. That could mean some kind of virtual-reality gaming experience, an industry that has shown a lot of promise in the last few years. But many virtual-reality gaming companies have struggled, gone bankrupt, or sold their assets amid the pandemic.

New Gym Opens in Shirlington: F45 had a soft opening in Shirlington last Saturday, with a grand opening scheduled for Sept. 11. The high-intensity gym will have special discounts set up for new members. Also coming to the area is CHIKO and Bearded Goat, both of which are opening soon along Campbell Avenue.

College Students Find Lawn Care Success: When COVID-19 canceled their summer internship plans, childhood friends Steve Dierkes and Gavin Andersen decided to start a lawn care business. Two years later, they placed among the top three Arlies winners for best lawn care business in Arlington. The friends attribute their success to their bond, their positive attitudes and their willingness to tackle any project that comes their way. But they’re now hanging up their mowers to pursue other career paths.

Reporter’s Notepad

Today’s reduced publishing schedule is due to the readership drop-off that we typically see before a long holiday weekend. We have some good stories queued up today, but no need to go overboard when many have tuned out for the week.

We have quite a few stories already planned for next week. The fall is typically a busy time for local news and while the week of Labor Day is never quite as busy as we anticipate, things should really start rolling after that. We’ll be a bit more selective about which stories we cover, given that we’ll have more to choose from. That would usually mean fewer feature stories, but thanks to the Press Club we’ll be doing at least one additional feature per week as part of the evolution of our Weekend Edition email. And that’s not to mention the extra resources we have for other news coverage thanks to your support.

Speaking of quality local news coverage, I hope you had a chance to read Jo’s story on Washington Gas and its customer service woes. This is an issue that’s affecting a lot of people in the D.C. area and I’m proud to have gotten the scoop on it before our larger, regional competition.