Author: ARLnow.com

Reminder: Events This Weekend — The Rosslyn Jazz Festival and the Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff and ECC 9/11 Memorial Race are both taking place this weekend, prompting some road closures in the area.

Lee Likely to Stay on Arlington House — “Unless they can come up with a political pincer movement at the relatively last minute, it looks life Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s name will remain on the Arlington House national monument for the foreseeable future. Measures by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) were introduced for the 2023-24 session on June 6, 2023, but continue to languish in committee.” [Gazette Leader]

Beyer and Challengers Debate — “[Republican Jerry] Torres and independents David Kennedy and Bentley Hensel are taking on Beyer in what is more akin to an exercise in political participation than a competitive campaign. The 8th District is among the most Democratic-leaning in the country, and Beyer, who was first elected in 2014, seems likely to cruise to victory. But there remained among some of the challengers a spirit of bonhomie despite the kamikaze mission they collectively were on.” [Gazette Leader]

F.C. Superintendent to Retire — “In a surprise development, Falls Church City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan announced his retirement last week, effective at the end of the 2024-25 school year. After dedicating 33 years to public education, including 14 years as a superintendent and eight years leading the Falls Church Public Schools, Noonan said in a letter that he’s decided to step down to spend more time with his family.” [Falls Church News-Press]

It’s Friday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high near 81, accompanied by a 6 mph east wind. Friday night will see mostly cloudy conditions and a low around 66, with a southeast wind of the same speed. [NWS]

POTUS and Veep Plan 9/11 Visit — From the White House: “On Wednesday, September 11, the President and the Vice President will travel to Ground Zero in New York, New York, the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia to honor and remember the victims of the September 11th terror attacks. Additional details to follow.”

Fight in Ballston — “A verbal dispute between two groups of individuals inside an establishment escalated into a physical altercation. A male victim and female victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and the male was transported to an area hospital. Responding officers observed individuals entering a car, approached it and attempted to detain the occupants as part of the ongoing investigation. The occupants were non-compliant and the suspect vehicle fled the scene.” [ACPD]

County Board Candidates Debate — “Three of four contenders for the open Arlington County Board seat believe the growth rate of property owners’ tax burdens is too high. The fourth – and the race’s almost guaranteed winner – appears to disagree. The impact of the double-whammy of higher home assessments and a higher tax rate in 2024 didn’t seem to faze Democratic nominee J.D. Spain Sr. during the Arlington County Civic Federation’s Sept. 3 candidate forum.” [Gazette Leader]

Wrong-Way Driver in Rosslyn — “More broad daylight wrong-way driving on Wilson Blvd near one of the usual trouble spots.” [Twitter]

International Award for AED — “Arlington Economic Development (AED) has been honored with the Gold Award in the 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Awards from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). This award, presented in the Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development Excellence category for communities with populations between 200,000 and 500,000, acknowledges the outstanding impact of the Arlington Innovation Fund (AIF).” [Arlington County]

CivFed to Examine Parks Expansion — “The Arlington County Civic Federation is moving forward with plans to be more involved in parks and parkland issues in the county. The body has reconstituted its Parks Committee, which will meet on Sept. 18 via Zoom. The initial effort will seek ways to assist in finding increased green space and forested areas in the 26-square-mile urban county.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s National Preparedness Month — “As part of the 2024 National Preparedness Month (NPM), Arlington County is calling on all residents to take action and be ready for emergencies. This year’s campaign theme is ‘Start a Conversation.’ The message emphasizes an important first step and encourages the community to have the discussion, ask questions, make decisions, and build a preparedness plan.” [Arlington County]

It’s Thursday — Expect partly sunny skies with a high of around 79 degrees, accompanied by a northeast breeze of about 7 mph. As night falls, the skies will turn mostly cloudy and the temperature will drop to approximately 62 degrees. [NWS]

Median 2BR Rent Tops $3K — “Apartment rents in Arlington continue to rise, with the median monthly price for two-bedroom units now more than $3,000 a month, according to new data. Rents in Arlington increased 0.8 percent month-over-month in August, compared to a 0.1-percent decline nationally. Rents in Arlington now stand 4.7 percent higher than a year before — the seventh largest percentage increase among the 100 large urban areas tracked by Apartment List.” [Gazette Leader]

Flyovers Planned Today — From Arlington Alert: “A United States military aircraft flyover is scheduled for Wednesday, September 4, at 11:45 AM at @ArlingtonNatl… A second United States military aircraft flyover is scheduled for this afternoon, September 4, at 1:20 PM at @ArlingtonNatl. While there will be an increase in air traffic noise, there is no cause for alarm.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Clement on Commission Change — “In an e-mail to supporters, Audrey Clement took issue with revisions that explicitly prohibit those thousands working for the county government from going to the Human Rights Commission for redress of employment concerns. That prohibition, long implicit, was made explicit in changes to the ordinances approved during an unusual August special meeting of the County Board.” [Gazette Leader]

ARLnow Publishing AP Articles — ARLnow is among the local news organizations participating in the following: “The Associated Press and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation… announced they will work together to ensure AP’s election content and services are accessible to local newsrooms in battleground states ahead of the U.S. presidential election.” [Associated Press]

List of Local Races — “It tracks that a region crowned the fittest and healthiest would host a bevy of cardio-crushing races. Carb-load, hydrate, stretch and take to the streets to feel the wind in your bib at these upcoming runners’ events.” [Arlington Magazine]

W-L Notches Blowout Win — “The Washington-Liberty Generals rolled up 421 total yards in their 49-13 opening-season victory over the visiting Edison Eagles on Aug. 30. The Generals also defeated Edison by a similar 45-13 score in last season’s opener. The first-week victory was the third in a row for Washington-Liberty.” [Gazette Leader]

Fall Foliage Forecast — “Using historical weather reports, tree species info, and user data, travel brand SmokyMountains.com put together 2024 foliage prediction maps of the U.S. In much of D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, leaves are predicted to change color by early October. Peak is predicted around Oct. 23, and past peak by Nov. 6.” [Axios]

Cooler September on Tap — “September has started off in style, with sunny highs in the 70s to near 80 degrees and crisp lows in the 50s. Near-normal to cooler-than-normal weather is likely for most of next week as well. Based on the weather pattern and computer model forecasts, we project a slightly cooler-than-normal September overall, with the average temperature about 1 to 2 degrees lower than the norm of 72.4 degrees.” [Capital Weather Gang]

It’s Wednesday — Expect a partly sunny day with temperatures reaching up to 77°F, accompanied by an east wind blowing at 5 to 9 mph. As for Wednesday night, the weather will be partly cloudy, with the temperature dropping to around 58°F. [NWS]

Flickr pool photo by Jason Gooljar