Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. The ARLnow staff byline is used for the Morning Notes and reporting done by an editor or other member of our full-time staff.
Police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)
Arlington County police are warning of a man who has been grabbing people from behind in a sexual manner.
The incidents have taken place in the Arlington Mill neighborhood and typically involve female victims having their buttocks touched inappropriately by the suspect, who then flees the scene well before police arrive, according to ACPD.
Santa checks in with the North Pole while awaiting customers at Ballston Quarter (staff photo)
Lines at DCA — “The lines are growing at area airports as the rush to get out of town for the holidays is in full swing. WTOP talked to flyers at Reagan National Airport who were headed all over the place… One flyer, who chose to remain anonymous, was headed down to Florida and described the lines at the airport as: ‘So far about what I expected, maybe a little shorter.'” [WTOP, PoPville]
Fisherman Catches Grenade — “A hand grenade was pulled out of the Potomac near Roosevelt Island by magnet fisherman. DC bomb squad and Park Police investigated and have declared it safe.” [PoPville, Twitter]
Mystery Stains on Clarendon Sidewalk — It’s unclear how what appears to be numerous drops of blood ended up on a Clarendon sidewalk. [Twitter]
Holiday Hope for Rescue Pets — Lucky Dog Animal Rescue welcomed 53 dogs and cats from overcrowded South Carolina shelters this past week. Five of the animals found their forever homes immediately upon arrival. The Arlington-based nonprofit continues to seek loving families for the remaining pets looking for their forever homes this holiday season. [WUSA 9/YouTube]
Courthouse Construction Concluding — “Still some construction work wrapping up at the N Courthouse Rd intersection but the sidewalks at The Wendy are now open!” [Twitter]
Party City Closing in Bailey’s Xroads — “Party City is planning to close all of its stores, more than a year after it exited bankruptcy, the retailer confirmed Saturday in an email to consumers. The New Jersey-based party supplies company has been struggling for years even before the pandemic.” [Axios]
New Year Festivities in F.C. — “Ring in the New Year in the City of Falls Church with free, family-friendly, fun festivities at the Annual Watch Night New Year’s Eve Celebration. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday, December 31, at the intersection of Broad Street (Route 7) and Washington Street (Route 29) and indoor venues. The event is open to the public and includes live music and children’s amusements.” [City of Falls Church]
It’s Monday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high around 35 degrees with calm winds that will later shift to the south at 5 to 7 mph. As for Monday night, the skies will turn mostly cloudy with a low temperature of approximately 27 degrees. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. Start your new year right with a place to work that’s not your living room. ARLnow has called an Industrious coworking space home for years, enjoying the convenience of having everything from fresh coffee to copy machines taken care of for you. With several Metro-accessible Arlington locations, Industrious makes it easy to focus on what matters most — your work.
Expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 36 during the day, accompanied by a northwest wind of 14 to 16 mph, gusting up to 30 mph. The night will be partly cloudy with a low around 21 and a northwest wind of approximately 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“The only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing.” – Socrates
We hope you have a great weekend, Arlington! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
Arlington’s real estate market reflects the broader community — it’s diverse, dynamic, and never boring.
This weekend’s local open houses offer a snapshot of Arlington’s wide variety real estate offerings, from affordable condos to multi-million dollar homes. One highlight: a 1 million house with a finished walk-out basement, fenced rear yard and deck.
Let’s take a look at that and some other upcoming open houses, below.
If you’re in the real estate market we have a great agent for you: longtime ARLnow real estate columnist Eli Tucker. Let Eli and his team expertly guide you through the unique market dynamics in Arlington. Start by filling the form below. It will support ARLnow’s local news mission and you’ll get some perks in the process.
The holidays are here and in less than two weeks we will be in a new year.
Before we welcome in a new year, it’s time to highlight the voices that made community discussions on ARLnow so engaging in 2024. We’ve gone back and checked the stats to compile the top choices for “Commenter of the Year” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.
Don’t see your favorite ARLnow commenter listed? Write them in.
Polls will close in two weeks, so don’t wait to vote!
Voting for Best Hill to go Sledding on in Arlington is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 9 a.m.
Two weeks ago, we voted on Arlington’s best place to get a massage. The results are now official:
Call Your Mother is coming to Crystal City (courtesy Call Your Mother)
A “Jew-ish” deli with something of a cult following is coming to Crystal City early next year.
Call Your Mother, known for its bagels that blend New York and Montreal styles, plans to open a new kiosk at the Water Park along Crystal Drive in “early 2025,” according to property owner JBG SMITH.
Ice rink at Pentagon Row / Westpost (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)
New Startup Hub in Crystal City — “A group of partners including JBG Smith Properties, Amazon Web Services Inc. and Virginia Tech plans to launch a 40,000-square-foot business incubator space and accelerator program in Crystal City next year to support defense tech startups. The still-to-be-determined space will also house an office for a San Francisco venture capital firm launching a fund to invest in young companies operating with this focus.” [WBJ]
Local Picked for Ambassadorship — “Congratulations to Arlington Republican… Leah Francis Campos on her nomination as the next US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.” [Twitter]
‘Fill the Cruiser’ Deemed Success — From ACPD: “Our Community Engagement Division elves have been hard at work over the past week collecting Fill the Cruiser stationary boxes, sorting 4,400+ toys donated by our community & distributing them to groups & organizations across Arlington for children in need ahead of the holidays.” [Twitter]
ACFCU Gets Big Grant — “Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative serving Arlington, Falls Church, Fairfax, and Alexandria, Virginia, is proud to announce they were awarded $960,000 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Financial Assistance Award program.” [ACFCU]
Overhead View of Collected Leaves — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Don’t worry, the mystery drones are friendly and impressed by Arlington’s 50K cubic yards of leaves collected this fall by Solid Waste folks. Vacuum truck season has ended but yard waste is taken year-round from the green curbside cart and in paper bags.” [Twitter]
Officials Get Drone Briefing — “Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin received a classified briefing at the Capitol from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and the FBI regarding the ongoing investigation into the unexplained drone sightings in Virginia.” [Press Release]
Va. to Get First Fusion Plant — “Virginia could soon make history as the home of the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant, state officials and private sector leaders announced Tuesday. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a fusion power company founded in 2018 in Cambridge, Mass., unveiled plans to build the groundbreaking facility on a 100-acre site.” [Virginia Mercury, New York Times, FCNP]
D.C. Adding Population — “The U.S. Census Bureau released new population data that shows the District of Columbia’s population grew by approximately 15,000 people from July 2023 to July 2024, bringing the city’s population to 702,250 residents. This marks the first time since 2019 that DC’s population has surpassed the 700,000 milestone.” [PoPville]
Death Investigation in F.C. — “Police were dispatched near the intersection of Park Ave. and N Washington St. for the report of an unresponsive male on the sidewalk. Bystanders were attempting life saving measures upon arrival… Based on the preliminary investigation, the death appears to be from natural causes and there is no apparent threat to the community.” [City of Falls Church]
It’s Friday — Expect mostly cloudy conditions with a high near 43, coupled with a 50% chance of rain. Later in the evening, the chance of rain will lessen to 30% before 1 am, while temperatures will dip to around 32. The northwest wind will increase to 6-11 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. [NWS]
Expect mostly cloudy conditions with a high near 43 and a calm wind turning northeast at 5 mph in the afternoon, coupled with a 50% chance of rain. Later in the evening, the chance of rain will lessen to 30% before 1 am, while temperatures will dip to around 32. The northwest wind will increase to 6-11 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” – Robert Frost
O'Connell basketball player Maya Derrick plays defense (photo by Rena Schild)
With the winter break kicking in, the sports schedule for varsity high-school teams in Arlington will be limited until Dec. 26, but there are some games and events this weekend.
The Yorktown girls and boys teams and the Bishop O’Connell boys have basketball games Friday (Dec.20) and there are other sports that day, plus a few on Saturday. There is then a lull until things pick up post-Christmas.
