Author: ARLnow.com

Rumble Outside of Bowling Alley — “What apparently started out as a dispute outside Bowlero on S. 23rd Street in Crystal City turned into a bit of a disturbance with @ArlingtonVaPD calling in reinforcements from around the county and @VSPPIO. Spray was used and @ArlingtonVaFD were called to check out injured people including at least one police officer.” [Dave Statter/X, ACPD]

New Bank in Clarendon — “Trustar Bank has opened its newest branch location, and first in Arlington, Virginia, at 3033 Wilson Blvd… Since the Bank launched in 2019, Wilson Boulevard is the fourth Trustar Bank location in Northern Virginia and the seventh location in the Greater Washington market, joining locations in Washington D.C., Reston, Great Falls, and Tysons, VA and Potomac and Bethesda, MD.” [Citybiz]

Big Fat Tuesday at Bayou Bakery — “At Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Virginia, dozens of boxes of famous King Cakes were stacked high, as people get ready to celebrate Mardi Gras.” [WTOP]

Nando’s Helping Feds — “Nice gesture by Nando’s to offer current/recent Federal employees in area a free 1/4 chicken and fries (normally ~$12) this Friday 2-5p.” [Barred in DC/X]

D.C. Stares into the Abyss — “One in five federal jobs in D.C. could disappear over the next four fiscal years. The city government would be at least $1 billion poorer, the CFO said, marking down annual revenue by $342 million.” [Axios]

Virginia Plates Plaguing Maryland — “All those Virginia license plates on Baltimore’s streets cost Maryland millions of dollars, but the state has little authority to do anything about it, according to a recent Motor Vehicle Administration report sent to Gov. Wes Moore’s office. In June 2024, Virginia officials sent the MVA a list of nearly 107,000 vehicles registered in Virginia but to a primary address in Maryland.” [Baltimore Banner]

It’s Thursday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high around 49 degrees. The day will be breezy, as a west wind picks up from 9 to 14 mph, increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon, and gusting up to 46 mph. Thursday night will be mostly clear with a low near 33 degrees. The northwest wind will blow at 11 to 18 mph, gusting as high as 34 mph. [NWS]

VDOT Warns of Text Scam — “Locals around the region may have received texts recently for ‘unpaid toll bills’ — be aware that this is part of a ‘smishing’ scam making the rounds nationwide. Smishing is a type of data phishing scam that uses text messages to lure people into giving personal information. The text going around gives a URL and tells the receiver to put the address into their Safari browser and open it.” [ALXnow, VDOT/X]

Resolution for Crash Victims — “Congressman Don Beyer… delivered floor remarks during debate on House Resolution 153, ‘Expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of American Eagle Flight 5342 and PAT 25, and for other purposes.’ The legislation passed without objection on a voice vote.” [Press Release]

DCA Aircraft Incidents — “The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why multiple commercial flights about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, near Washington DC, repeatedly received midair collision alerts over the weekend when there were no other aircraft nearby.” [CNN]

F.C. Considers Tax Rate Cut — “Mayor Hardi said at Monday’s Falls Church City Council meeting that it was important to emphasize how the recent years’ strong commercial development gains in the City will make matters relatively smooth for the City taxpayers, with prospects for 5.9 percent growth in both the City and school budgets to go along with the 2.5 cent rate decrease. Sixty-five percent of the budget growth is coming from real estate, and half of that is from new construction, she noted.” [FCNP]

Garvey Calls for More Cooperation — “Looking at the current destruction of the federal government [former Arlington County Board member] Garvey sees cooperation among local governments as critical. She said, ‘local government is the only functioning government we are going to have,’ so it will be essential for local jurisdictions to work together.” [About Alexandria]

Beyer Skips Trump Address — “Congressman Don Beyer is skipping President Donald Trump’s address to Congress tonight (Tuesday, March 4)… Instead of attending the speech, Beyer said he plans to spend the week supporting federal workers and holding events for his constituents.” [ALXnow, Rep. Don Beyer/X]

Loudoun Data Center Revenue Boom — “Loudoun’s fiscal 2026 proposed budget includes nearly $795 million derived just from personal property taxes on data centers’ internal computer equipment. That single stream represents about a quarter of the county’s entire general fund revenue budget, and more than the county’s entire general fund personnel budget.” [WBJ]

It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and potential thunderstorms this afternoon, with a high near 64 and breezy south winds at 15-21 mph, gusting up to 37 mph. Precipitation chance is 100%, with rainfall amounts between half to three-quarters of an inch. Wednesday night, showers are likely with a possible thunderstorm, a low around 43, and south winds at 9-15 mph shifting west after midnight, gusting up to 22 mph. The nighttime precipitation chance is at 70%. [NWS]

Bad Flu Season Continues — “The worst flu season in 15 years has left hundreds of thousands of Americans hospitalized nationwide, and D.C. is feeling it too. The virus is causing more severe complications and hitting young children especially hard.” [Axios]

Local Recession Worries — “Keith Waters, assistant director of the Stephen Fuller Institute at George Mason University, said the likelihood of the region falling into one is extremely high. ‘If I had to throw a number out, the odds are north of 80% that we tip into a technical recession,’ said Waters, one of the few academics who closely tracks the D.C. region’s economy.” [WBJ]

Luxury Home Sales Rise — “Luxury home sales in the D.C. metropolitan area are performing better than the overall market right now. In January, more than 200 homes priced at over $1.5 million sold. Almost 5% of homes currently on the market are priced at $2.5 million or higher, according to Long & Foster Real Estate.” [WTOP]

ACPD Mourns Retired K-9 — “The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is mourning the loss of retired K-9 Deuce Sunday. The 13-year-old German Shepherd ‘faithfully served’ the Arlington community from January 2013 to November 2021 as a patrol and narcotics K-9.” [DC News Now]

Sex Offender Appears in Court — “Richard Cox, a registered child sex offender, appeared in Arlington General District Court on Monday morning for a hearing related to a series of alleged indecent exposure incidents in an Arlington fitness center and at two Arlington schools.” [WJLA]

National Dems Look to Va. — “The national Democratic Party arm for state races said Tuesday it’s targeting Virginia as a battleground state ‘we must win and defend before the end of this decade.’ It’s a sign that Virginia’s November elections, which include all 100 House of Delegates seats being up for grabs, are being eyed as an early national political test ahead of the 2026 midterms.” [Axios]

Starbucks Menu Changes — “Starbucks launches its spring menu with new and returning limited-time drinks Tuesday — the same day the coffee giant removes 13 longtime items.” [Axios]

It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high near 60 degrees, accompanied by a south wind between 6-11 mph and gusts up to 21 mph. Tonight, there is a 30% chance of showers after 1 am as clouds increase. The temperature will dip to around 50 degrees, with a south wind at 8-14 mph and gusts reaching 23 mph. [NWS]