Author: ARLnow.com

Senate Dems Introduce Phone Bill — “Senate Democrats aim to give elected school boards the ability to craft the best cell phone policies for their districts consistent with state and federal law and existing educational governance process which is not governed by Executive Orders. In contrast to the Governor’s policy, this legislation…  prioritizes SPED students, IEP, or 504 plans and includes protections for students who use their devices for accommodations for which cell phone usage is necessary.” [Press Release]

Commission Considers Rent Stabilization — “Members of the Arlington County government’s Housing Commission have opted to hold off and await political developments at the state level before considering proposals that Virginia localities be empowered to impose rent-control measures on landlords. Well, technically not ‘rent control,’ but ‘rent stabilization’ – a slightly more watered-down incarnation that gives local governments the power to regulate the amount of rent increases but not set absolute caps on what landlords can charge.” [GazetteLeader]

Monday Is Car-Free Day — “Area residents are showing their love for the planet and their neighbors today by pledging to go car-free or car-lite for Car Free Day 2024. Thousands of people across the region will telework or travel by carpooling, pedaling, walking, taking public transit. Local businesses are supporting the effort to decongest the streets by offering raffle prizes for a free drawing for those who participate.” [Press Release]

Record-Breaking Summer for DCA — “With more than 14 million passengers moving through in June, July and August, the summer season will have proved to be a record-breaker for Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles International airports.” [GazetteLeader]

Most Influential in N. Va. List — “They’re leaders in business, development, education, entertainment, government, health care, philanthropy, sports, and technology who are making a difference in Northern Virginia — and giving back to their community. Meet the people who made our list of The 50 Most Influential of 2024, including our Top 10.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

F.C. Restaurant Boom — “A veritable explosion of 19 new eateries squeezing into the 2.2 square miles of the City of Falls Church is continuing, the City’s Economic Development Authority was told at its monthly City Hall meeting Tuesday night. All slated to be opening soon, and there are still more are on the way.” [Falls Church News-Press]

It’s Friday — Expect sunny skies today as temperatures reach a high near 84. A north wind of around 6 mph will shift east during the morning. Tonight, the weather will be partly cloudy and cool, with lows around 63, and a southeast wind blowing at 3 to 6 mph. [NWS]

Local Military Contractor Hits Snag — “Arlington defense contractor AeroVironment Inc. has been forced to suspend its work supplying certain military drones to the U.S. Army after a rival firm protested the award of a contract valued at close to $1 billion.” [Washington Business Journal]

End is Near for Circulator — “Oct. 1 will mark the end of the Rosslyn-Dupont Circle Route of the D.C. Circulator bus service, part of the phased elimination of the bus network, which is operated by a contractor on behalf of the District of Columbia government.” [GazetteLeader]

Architect Sought for DCA Revamp — “The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is seeking an architectural and engineering firm to kick off the planned redevelopment of Terminal 1 at Reagan National Airport… a design contract that could be worth as much as $108 million over eight years.” [Washington Business Journal]

Video: Crash in Pentagon City — From Dave Statter: “Two very lucky pedestrians. They almost got caught up in this two car crash at Army Navy & Hayes in Pentagon City around 9:20 a.m. No injuries.” [Twitter]

Another Crash at Same Intersection — From Statter: “The second crash in less than an hour at Army Navy & Hayes in Pentagon City. At least one injury from this one. And yes, the light was red for Army Navy traffic.” [Twitter]

More on Rosslyn Building Sale — “Brookfield has sold Potomac Tower, an office building in Rosslyn designed by late architect I.M. Pei, to the building’s largest tenant for $143 million. Venture Global LNG Inc., a liquefied natural gas provider whose global headquarters is located there, paid roughly $600 a square foot for the Class A building at 1001 19th St. N. in Arlington. The building, with leasable 242,000 square feet, is fully leased.” [Washington Business Journal]

It’s Thursday — Showers are possible today, with mostly cloudy skies and a high around 78°F. Expect a north wind at 6-8 mph and a 20% chance of precipitation. Thursday night will be partly cloudy and the temperature will drop to around 63°F. [NWS]

Ballston Redevelopment Advancing — “Penzance is moving forward with plans to redevelop Ballston One, a 1980s-era Arlington office tower it recently acquired for cheap, with a new multifamily building… A preliminary site plan application filed Sept. 13 with Arlington County’s planning department indicates the project is advancing apace.” [Washington Business Journal]

Support for Microtransit Pilot — “The Arlington County government’s plan for a pilot ‘microtransit’ effort won support at a recent advisory-subcommittee meeting. But it also faced flak over where it will be conducted. ‘I’m just sort of flabbergasted,’ said Kent Keyser… after hearing that the pilot will take place in what he termed the ‘next to the wealthiest’ section of the county.” [Gazette Leader]

DSW May Leave Pentagon City — “Another local DSW space is being marketed to new tenants. Federal Realty Investment Trust has listed the national shoe chain’s space at Westpost at National Landing as coming available as soon as Feb. 1… The chain’s space at DC USA in Columbia Heights is also being marketed for lease.” [Washington Business Journal]

Critics Giving Up Deer Fight? — “Over the past three years, the main institutional critic of plans in Arlington to embark on deer-management has been the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. But that organization seems to have now accepted its efforts have not turned the tide.” [Gazette Leader]

Food Security Grants Announced — “The Arlington County Board announced the allocation of $150,000 in one-time food security mini-grants to community organizations. These organizations provide support for key initiatives within the County’s Food Security Strategic Plan, which was adopted in October 2022.” [Arlington County]

Funding Drop for Doorways — “Organizations that support survivors of domestic violence and child abuse across the country are paring back resources — or preparing to shut down shelters — due to a dramatic drop in federal funds… this year’s cut has translated into a decrease of $200,000 — or 11 percent — for Doorways, Arlington’s sole provider of crisis services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.” [Washington Post]

Bikeshare Ridership is Up — “While the Washington region begins to cool, Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) ridership remains hot. CaBi broke the all-time monthly ridership record in August with 614,639 rides. This is a 31.1% increase in system use from August 2023 and marks the fourth consecutive month where CaBi has shattered its previous milestone for busiest month on record.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Home Prices Still Rising — “Sales prices of single-family homes in Arlington continued moving higher into the stratosphere in July, with the average sales price up nearly 13 percent from a year before. The average sales price of the 57 single-family properties that went to closing for the month stood at $1,575,170, according to figures reported Sept. 11 by Bright MLS.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2pm, with patchy fog before noon. The day will be mostly cloudy with a high near 75 and a northeast wind of 10 mph. There’s a 30% chance of showers and storms Wednesday night, with mostly cloudy skies and a low around 65. [NWS]