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.
Going out and enjoying the nightlife on Columbia Pike (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)
Tonight is the night before Thanksgiving, traditionally one of the busiest nights for local bars and restaurants as people return home and reunite with old friends.
Nicknamed “Blackout Wednesday” or “Drinksgiving” by some, the evening has become something of an unofficial holiday, particularly among young professionals.
Local establishments often offer special events and deals to draw in the pre-Thanksgiving crowds, and many Arlington bars and restaurants are expecting large turnouts tonight.
Regardless of whether you’re in town or out — will you be heading out to celebrate with friends tonight, staying in to prep for tomorrow’s feast, or something else entirely?
Restaurant Coming to Food Court — “Pollo Campero is coming to the food court at [the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall]. They have seven other locations in Virginia, eight in Maryland, and one in DC. ” [Twitter]
Business Burglary Near Courthouse — “1900 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 12:31 p.m. on November 25, police were dispatched to the late report of a breaking and entering. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 1:19 a.m. the male suspect forced entry into the closed business, stole an undisclosed amount of cash from a cash register and subsequently fled the scene.” [ACPD]
Still Looking for Missing Man — “UPDATE 11/26: ACPD continues to seek information on the whereabouts of Mr. Hendrickson. He was last seen on 10/21 driving a 2010 Blue Land Rover LR2 SUV with VA tags GM3849 and wearing a black/white plaid shirt, gray pants, and a baseball cap. Info? Call Police.” [Twitter]
Gov. to Trump Staff: Live Here — From Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin: “To all the new members of [president-elect Donald Trump’s] administration relocating to the area to make America great again, I am personally inviting you to make Virginia your home.” [Twitter, Axios]
Beyer Blasts Trump Tariffs — From Rep. Don Beyer: “No one wins a trade war. If imposed, these tariffs will lead to retaliation by both Canada and Mexico, two of our biggest trade partners, which would throw our deeply integrated economies into chaos and potentially lead us into a recession.” [Press Release]
Airport Parking Tips — “Early Tuesday morning, about 80% of long-term economy parking spots were already filled at Dulles and Reagan, while the long term lots at BWI Marshall were half-full. Travelers can reserve parking online at Reagan National and Dulles, but it has to be done more than 12 hours before arriving at the airport.” [WTOP]
F.C. Seeks Ability to Ban Smoking in Parks — The Falls Church City Council’s 2025 legislative-priorities package, adopted Monday night, again includes a call allowing localities to ban smoking outdoors on public property, especially in parks. Absent permission from Richmond, all local governments can do is request people not smoke in parks, which Falls Church does. –Scott McCaffrey
Turkey Day Rain — “Although there will be some Thanksgiving rain in the area, it should focus early enough not to mess with the day entirely. The heaviest looks to fall in the predawn into the morning. About half an inch seems like a good target locally. And, of course, we still need it.” [Capital Weather Gang]
It’s Wednesday — Expect increasing clouds and a high of 54 with calm winds shifting south at 6 mph in the afternoon. Rain will begin late Wednesday night, accompanied by patchy fog and a low of 45; precipitation chances are at 90%, with up to a quarter-inch expected. On Thanksgiving Day, rain will continue until early afternoon, followed by dissipating fog by 10am. The high will be around 54, with light winds changing to westerly gusts reaching 21 mph. [NWS]
Expect increasing clouds and a high of 54 with calm winds shifting south at 6 mph in the afternoon. Rain will begin late Wednesday night, accompanied by patchy fog and a low of 45; precipitation chances are at 90%, with up to a quarter-inch expected. On Thanksgiving Day, rain will continue until early afternoon, followed by dissipating fog by 10am. The high will be around 54, with light winds changing to westerly gusts reaching 21 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
“North Pole” mailbox in an under-construction Santa photo station at Ballston Quarter (staff photo)
Man Breaks Into Clarendon Business — “At approximately 2:30 a.m. on November 24, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary in progress. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect allegedly gained entry into a closed business… No items were reported stolen. [The suspect], 27, of Arlington, VA was arrested and charged with Unlawful Entry and Public Intoxication.” [ACPD]
Investment for Local Startup — “EarthOptics, an Arlington soil monitoring startup fresh off its merger with a lab-analysis firm, has landed a $24 million investment to scale its tech and expand nationally… It brings EarthOptics’ total outside investment to $79.1 million since its founding in 2018, according to Crunchbase.” [WBJ]
Thanksgiving Closures in Arlington — “Arlington County Government offices and services are operating on modified schedules for the Thanksgiving holiday, Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. Recycling/Trash/Organics Curbside Routes – No collection on Thanksgiving Day. Thursday routes run on Friday, Nov. 29; Friday routes run on Saturday, Nov. 30.” [Arlington County]
Closures and Events in F.C. — “In observance of Thanksgiving… City services and programs will operate on a modified schedule; A variety of events kick off the holiday season.” [City of Falls Church]
Another Official Leaving City — “Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields announced this week that long-time City Planning Director Jim Snyder will be retiring this coming January… The ‘brain drain’ among three leaders at City Hall who played instrumental roles in the last decade’s extraordinary developments in the City has left some at City Hall concerned, the News-Press has learned.” [FCNP]
It’s Tuesday — Expect rain mainly before 7am, followed by mostly cloudy skies until mid-morning. The skies will then gradually clear, and the temperature will reach a high near 61°F. West winds will blow at 9 to 14 mph, gusting up to 25 mph. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation, and any new rainfall will likely be less than a tenth of an inch. Tuesday night will be mostly clear with a low temperature around 36°F, accompanied by a northwest wind at 5 to 7 mph. [NWS]
Expect rain mainly before 7am, followed by mostly cloudy skies until mid-morning. The skies will then gradually clear, and the temperature will reach a high near 61°F. West winds will blow at 9 to 14 mph, gusting up to 25 mph. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation, and any new rainfall will likely be less than a tenth of an inch. Tuesday night will be mostly clear with a low temperature around 36°F, accompanied by a northwest wind at 5 to 7 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – Les Brown
The Arsenal Blue opened with a 6-4 win over the Pioneer Legends. The team benefited from timely hitting by Neil Kasyan (three hits, two RBI) along with strong pitching from winner Bryce Keller. Ethan Guthrie pitched in relief and William Epton earned the save.
Water main break in North Highlands neighborhood (courtesy Patrick)
Arlington County crews are on scene of a water main break in the North Highlands neighborhood, west of Rosslyn.
The break was reported early this morning along the 2100 block of N. Courthouse Road. A portion of the roadway buckled as a result of the water pressure.
Sidewalk scene in Clarendon at sunset in November (courtesy George Brazier)
Busy Night for ACPD in Clarendon — From Dave Statter: “A bunch of fights with arrests. This was 1:45 a.m. EMS was called & at least one taken away by police from a scuffle on the sidewalk in the area of Clarendon Ballroom & Spider Kelly’s… At 3:00 police found a ‘man down’ at Clarendon & Garfield. And at 3:15 police went into the residential neighborhood to track down people involved in a fight at Big Tony’s Pizza. Just your typical night in Clarendon.” [Twitter]
Updated County Data Published — From Adam Theo: “Arlington VA has its Profile 2024 out now w/ some really cool facts and updates going on in our county… Some good numbers for transportation and transit use, but number of people boarding @wmata.com
from Arlington stations is still way down from pre-pandemic & number of single occupancy drivers is still too high for our transit-oriented community.” [Bluesky]
Metro to Enforce Bus Fares — “A major fare enforcement campaign is about to ramp up on Metrobus. WMATA has been getting tough on fare evasion on the rails for some time now, but the transit agency says it’s now turning its attention to its buses. More than 70% of bus riders aren’t paying the fares right now, Metro officials say.” [NBC 4]
Tejada Departs Airports Authority Board — Former County Board member Walter Tejada was among two Virginia representatives of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority whose terms expired Nov. 23. Tejada had been appointed to fill a vacancy on the authority by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2016 was reappointed to a full six-year term then-Gov. Ralph Northam in 2018. He had served on the County Board from 2003-15. –Scott McCaffrey
Holiday Events Around Town — “The 2024 holiday season has arrived with a flurry of activities, from a Chinese lantern festival and snapshots with Santa to winter pop-up bars and local makers’ markets.) Here’s what’s on tap Nov. 25-Dec. 1.” [Arlington Magazine]
Nearby: NOVA Campus Development? — “Alexandria wants to see new development on a big portion of the Northern Virginia Community College campus in the city. The campus occupies 54 acres between Beauregard Street and the city’s northern border with Fairfax County. But roughly the southeastern half of its property, 22 acres called the lower campus, ‘remains relatively isolated and disconnected from adjoining neighborhoods.'” [WBJ]
It’s Monday — Expect sunny skies and a high near 59, with calm winds turning south at around 6 mph later in the afternoon. As for Monday night, there’s a 50% chance of showers after 1am, accompanied by mostly cloudy conditions and a low of around 49. South winds will persist at 5 to 8 mph. [NWS]
Today’s Morning Notes are brought to you by Industrious. ARLnow has been in an Industrious office for years and we love the convenience — you get to focus on your work rather than worrying about brewing your own coffee or keeping the copy machine stocked. Industrious has several Metro-accessible coworking locations in Arlington.
Clouds will increase throughout the day, reaching a high of about 54 degrees alongside a northwest wind blowing at 14 to 17 mph, gusting up to 28 mph. On Saturday night, expect partly cloudy skies and a low of roughly 42 degrees. The west wind will blow at 8 to 13 mph, gusting up to 18 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Apple Inc.
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. 👋
The late Norwood, a native of Maine, came to Virginia after a professional career as a player and manager. In nearly 30 seasons (1959-89) at Washington-Lee High School, now named Washington-Liberty, Norwood’s teams won 19 district and 14 regional titles with an overall record of 384-180.
