Author: ARLnow.com

Overnight Water Main Break — From Arlington Alert: “I-66 Tunnel Near N Nash St…  I-66 EB lanes are closed to traffic. Follow signage and seek alternate routes…. Closure – Midnight to 4 A.M. [Twitter]

Prosecutor Blasts GOP Tweet — From Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti: “It is reckless and irresponsible for the Arlington Republican Party to ask the federal government to target Arlington democratic officials for criminal prosecution. As prosecutors, my staff and I are often subjected to threats of violence. It’s not a laughing matter.” [Bluesky]

GOP Reports Phone Harassment — From the Arlington GOP: “We just received a 2nd harassing phone call. The area code was Indiana-based. We found that those who call to harass us often ‘spoof’ other phone numbers, meaning it is difficult to track who is actually making the calls. No mind. We will continue to defend women and girls.” [Twitter]

Video: Driver Strikes Cyclist — From Dave Statter: “Another crosswalk collision. Traffic-camera shows a bicyclist being struck at S. 15th and S. Fern in Pentagon City yesterday. Injuries reported as non-life threatening.” [Twitter]

Bakeshop Opening in Vienna — “Bakeshop, which got its start 15 years ago in Arlington, is taking over the storefront at 421 Maple Avenue that was vacated last summer by Skorpios Maggio’s Greek Family Restaurant.” [FFXnow]

ART Ridership Levels Rising — Arlington Transit (ART) bus ridership was up 8.1% year-over-year for the first five months of the county government’s fiscal year. The passenger count was 1,076,198 for the July-through-November period in 2024, up from 995,894 during the same period in 2023 and from 857,847 in 2022. Figures were presented Jan. 14 to the county government’s Transit Advisory Committee. –Scott McCaffrey

It’s Friday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high of around 33 and northwest winds at 5 to 9 mph. Friday night will be mostly clear with lows around 15 degrees. Northwest winds at 5 mph will become calm after midnight. [NWS]

Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk

Locker Room Encounters Recounted — From Fox 5’s Shomari Stone: “Sex offender who identifies as a woman, allegedly caught exposing themselves in a women’s locker room… Spoke to women who say they saw suspect.” [Twitter]

Victims of Bridge Plunge IDed — “The tragic crash last week, where a truck plunged into the icy Potomac River, claimed the lives of twin brothers Jerel and Jerod Wert, according to their sister… the brothers, who are from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, were on their way to a job in Washington, D.C. at the time of the accident. Jerel worked as a carpenter, and Jerod was an HVAC mechanic.” [Fox 5]

Arlington Man Arrested in Florida — “A Virginia man is facing multiple charges after allegedly assaulting a bar employee and making racially charged remarks at Norman’s Tavern in Miami Beach… When the manager intervened, Nixon allegedly knocked over a glass and made offensive comments, including, ‘Hola, English motherf*****, I live in America, you speak English.'” [WSVN]

A First for Prosecutor’s Office — “The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church’s Conviction Integrity Unit secured its first exoneration based on actual innocence. In a 2023 robbery of a Safeway, the perpetrator gave a false name and stolen identification to the police, resulting in an innocent woman being convicted.” [Arlington County]

GOP Calls for Officials to Be Prosecuted — From the Arlington GOP, in response to news that the U.S. Justice Department intends to investigate localities that get in the way of immigration enforcement: “Hey! Hey! Over here! @TakisKarantonis and @parisa4justice are front-line resisters. It’s only a short drive across the Potomac to hold them accountable.” [Twitter]

Water Main Break Near Green Valley — “For several hours, customers in Arlington were without water as emergency crews worked to repair a main break. The Arlington Department of Environmental Services told DC News Now that an 8-inch water main break was reported around 8 p.m. on Tuesday at 2459 S Glebe Road at 24th Street.” [DC News Now, Twitter]

F.C. Hardware Store Closing — “At the end of March, the oldest business in Falls Church will close its doors. Brown’s Hardware, a landmark in the City since 1883, will shutter with the April 1 sale of the property on the northwest corner of Broad and Washington Streets. The buyer and plans for the location at 100 W Broad Street have not yet been made public.” [Falls Church Pulse, Falls Church Independent]

It’s Thursday — It will be mostly sunny with a high around 32 degrees and calm winds shifting to the south at 5 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low of about 17 degrees, as calm winds turn to the northwest at 5 mph after midnight. [NWS]

Metro Ready for Returning Feds — “Metro has the capacity to accommodate federal workers ordered back to the office by the Trump administration, one top transit leader says… NVTC member Takis Karantonis said he hoped planning efforts would help make the system ‘extra welcoming’ to those returning as commuters.” [FFXnow]

Beyer on Jan. 6 Pardons — “Trump pardoned the people who beat and tazed my constituent, Officer Michael Fanone, who gave a brain injury to my constituent Officer Jeff Smith days before he died by suicide, and who attacked and sprayed my constituent, Officer Brian Sicknick, with bear spray hours before his death from two strokes.” [Press Release]

Pepper Spray Incident at Bar — “500 block of 23rd Street S. At approximately 11:57 p.m. on January 18, police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect became involved in a physical altercation with the three male victims inside of a business during which he deployed pepper spray before fleeing the scene. The victims were treated on scene by medics.” [ACPD, Twitter]

Va. Bill to Protect Pedestrians — “State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) plans to introduce legislation this year that would sidestep debate over what counts as ‘careless’ or ‘distracted’ by punishing any driver who seriously injures or kills somebody who is in a crosswalk or otherwise legally on a roadway with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.” [Washington Post, LIS]

New U.S. Attorney — “Erik S. Siebert was sworn in today as the Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.” [Press Release]

S’mores Snafu Stymies Scouts — “A truck containing thousands of boxes of S’mores wouldn’t start this morning, holding up the annual troop pickup of cookie orders for the Girl Scouts Nations Capital at Cameron Run Regional Park (4001 Eisenhower Avenue). Not to worry — the S’mores truck officially arrived.” [ALXnow]

Beltway Closure This Weekend — “Starting on the night of Friday, Jan. 24, four of the six northbound lanes on I-495 will be shut down for one mile from the Route 7 interchange (Leesburg Pike) in Tysons to Lewinsville Road in McLean to accommodate construction.” [FFXnow]

Sports Coverage Change — Starting this week, ARLnow is shifting most of our sports coverage to Saturday. Some articles about big games will still publish during the week, however.

It’s Wednesday — Expect clouds to increase, reaching a high near 20, accompanied by wind chills as low as -3. Northwest winds of 5 to 10 mph will ease in the afternoon. As for Wednesday night, expect partly cloudy conditions with a low of around 12, accompanied by calm winds. [NWS]